Goodbye
Michelle Marti
A fright to watch the ones you love fade into abyss.
A fright to watch the people die, the ones that you will miss.
To watch their last words whisper from their lips,
To watch them take their very last trip.
Who would have thought that their lives would turn to this?
Who would’ve thought that my dear friend would leave me?
Is it me?
Did I kill you with the way I turned out to be?
If so, I’m sorry.
I really meant no harm.
But sometimes, sorry isn’t good enough.
I pretend to be tough, when inside I’m breaking.
The loss of you, my friend, has me on my knees, shaking.
My heart is aching, slowly breaking.
You did not die, are they mistaken?
But deep inside, I know they are right.
Your body turns cold,
You are gone, that’s what I’m told.
Your eyes are shut,
Seems like you are in a deep slumber,
Watching you sleep is making me number.
I watch your body freeze over,
I feel the presence of your soul leaving your body,
So I take over.
I hug you and hold you to my chest,
I wish you a happy, loving rest,
And I must confess,
That as I sit and watch your tiny lips turn blue,
I gravely fear that this will happen to me too.
I miss you.
I want you.
I need you.
I love you.
They are just words,
What do they mean?
Well, those are the things that you told me before leaving...
And now I sit here and say goodbye,
And watch you fade away in the blink of an eye.
I miss you.
I want you.
I need you.
I love you.
Goodbye, my friend, goodbye.What We Used To Be
Michelle MartiI regret not being there when you called my name.
I regret being the one to put out the flame.
I regret not telling you that I loved you back.
I regret not saving our relationship when it started to slack.
I wish I was there to hold your hand,
To tell you that I love you,
To say it’d be okay.
I wish I was there to hug you when you got scared,
To make you smile too.
However, now it’s gone,
And my heart longs for you.
I used to believe love was just a game,
That relationships all ended,
But now I am ashamed,
To confess to you I love you,
When you’re with someone else.
Ashamed to say I need you,
When I know that you aren’t there.
The things that I regret with you have left me stranded here.
I’m sitting in the corner wishing that you were still near.
I regret leaving you in pain,
As I sit here and cry by myself in vain.
The things I regret have toppled over me,
As I sit here and cry about what we are and what we used to be.
Snowfall
Victoria Borisonnik
Silence,
Quiet,
Time to rest and sleep.
The sun is gone,
The moon is high.
The blanket of darkness,
Covers the land,
As everyone falls still,
At darkness peak,
A white star falls from the Heavens,
More follow after,
Leading to a shower of stars,
As a layer of white lies down.
When the sun rises the following day,
The earth is covered in white,
And all the creatures hide,
The earth is now still and quiet.
Silence is perfect,
For winter upcoming,
And winter is coming.
Alone
Victoria Borisonnik
I was alone,
Now.
By myself,
Forever.
She is gone,
The one I love.
Put away,
Gone away.
The one I trusted,
And the one I leaned on.
Gone.
My sanity fades away,
Day by day.
My heart dies,
Everyday.
I ache for her,
But one day,
She will escape,
And my heart will beat,
For she is back,
And my sanity returns.
She is back now,
My love as returned.
Energy
Victoria Borisonnik
The energy,
The power was full,
Dark and possessive.
It was black,
Oozing and thick.
This darkness,
Turns people cold,
Hard, and lifeless.
Eyes turn black,
Skin turns pale.
The oozing, thick energy,
Surrounds and controls me.
My head is blank,
But I knew one thing,
I was frozen,
I was corrupt,
And I was using,
It.
A Dark Friend
Victoria Borisonnik
A mare so dark,
shadow fear.
A mare untamable if you fear.
Land far and near.
Cower before the black struck mare,
But even darkness has a nice,
And this mare has a silver light.
For the night is not just black,
It has the silver moon.
A true friend,
The silver moon full of peace and stolen light.
The more protects its very own,
It's little light.
Another mare white light snow,
Fills it with life,
And when the darkness falls near,
Remember the friend.
Darkness always has a friends,
A silver light,
Full of life,
That brings it to its knee.
Feather
Victoria Borisonnik
The dark feathers
The black eyes
The eyes that open the door
Doors to a black world
A fire hole
With lava to spare
The beast rose
With black wings that float
As it glides across the sky
It brings a hellish night
To all under its flight
As dreams turn and break
The beast devours the taste
The gates close at suns first peak
As the beast goes back to sleep
Hell is gone
And those unlucky are trapped in a world
Full of doom
I’d Rather
Selina Lin
I’d rather write about love,
A heart made of doves,
Then you’ll figure out my heart,
Not all, only a small part...
I’d rather write about hope,
But my mind’s said “Nope!”
Then you’ll figure out my mind,
Thoughts run back and forth, on rewind…
I’d rather write about emotion,
I have enough to fill an ocean,
Then you’ll figure out my feelings,
There’s no cure, no healing…
I’d rather write about my stories,
About dragons and enemy territories.
Then you’ll figure out my life,
Carved into my soul with a knife…
But instead, I write about others,
About their families and caring mothers.
About their good and bads,
About their daughters and lads,
About their brave adventures,
About their endless treasures,
Yet I don’t know about myself…
I’d write about creatures, objects, and things,
I’ll write about almost anything!
But there’s one question on my mind...
Why?
Cold Days
Selina Lin
Cold days are near,
Autumn is here,
Trees speckled golden brown,
Leaves slowly falling down.
The autumn wind makes them dance,
It makes them look enhanced,
Floating through the night,
Pretty beautiful, right?
The trees become bare,
Winter has arrived here,
The days become much colder,
A white speck lands on a boulder.
Snow begins to fall,
The layers get too tall,
The shoveling of crystal, white snow
Makes summer seem so, so long ago.
The days are short, and night so long,
Summer’s weak when winter’s strong,
The snow keeps falling,
There are no birds calling,
The sun won’t come out,
It’s finally here, no doubt.
The cold days are now here,
Dark days, but have no fear,
Soon, these cold days, they’ll all end,
Just take a small break, I’d recommend...
We Have Hope
Selina Lin
What is Hope?
Hope is the shining light,
Wanting to be devoured
By the darkest of nights.
Hope is breathing underwater,
Where there is no air,
Go back to the surface,
There is nothing to fear.
A spark of fear,
Making a big change,
We’ll have something else,
Let’s give some hope in exchange.
With the spirit of hope,
The darkness is light,
The black is white.
The sad are happy,
The widows are married.
The death is new life,
Happy with afterlife.
We have hope.
Hope is the world,
No one should be scared.
Do not let go of hope,
Like Pandora, beware!
You have power? The greatest army? Everything?
Good for you, because we have some other thing.
The thing we have,
Desired by most,
We have one thing.
We have hope.
Winter Moments
Gopiga DassAs the last leaf of fall drifts down to the frost
covered grass,and the wind sends chills down
your spine, the only green trees you see,
are the tall, towering spruce spines.
The single breath of Jack Frost can
freeze the days away, the animals will all hibernate
in their dens, where they will peacefully lay.
For the days will get colder,and the night will get longer,
and you will be in wonderful bliss.
Sitting near the fire, cuddling with your dog,
is something you can never miss.
The time for festive cheer has come, your hands
will get frostbite and your thumbs will get numb.
The holidays arrive through your front door, bringing happiness
and joy, and food and family and sweet melodic
carols, don’t forget the toys!
Winter is coats and boots, drinking hot chocolate and having
snowball fights, but it is also sitting in the warmth, away from the
cold, frightening nights.
As the days of December pass away, the ecstaticness of New
Year is on its way. The year has passed by.
“As I think, I also fear, that the winter
moments will come in another year. So I must wait patiently
for it to come, and once again the Winter will start the fun!”
Fear
Akash ShahIt happens to everyone,
Being alone in the dark,
Adults are scared,
Aren’t you afraid,
What happens when you are scared,
Do you sit in a corner,
Do you feel tense,
Aren’t you afraid,
Fear, it is everywhere,
In you,
Other people,
Everyone,
You can’t see it,
You feel it, and fear itChristmas
Misha BankullaThe weather has gotten colder,
and we have all gotten older.
The christmas tree is really bright,
because it’s filled with so much light.
The road is covered with a blanket of snow,
and it is really starting to glow.
Wonderful times are here.
With family, friends, and plenty of cheer.
Pizza
Misha Bankulla Bread, sauce, and cheese
are enough to please
warm, gooey, cheese stuffed crust
I must…
it’s tasty
be hasty
before it’s all gone
dun dun dun
last slice
share and be nice
don’t say never
be clever
yum yum
pizza is fun
the joy food
brightens every moodHalloween
By:Misha Bankulla Halloween is really scary,
Monsters,dragons, and barely fairies.
Poisonous stews,
Made by an ugly cow that moos.
And monsters with one horn,
That like to eat candy corn.
Sticky fingers here and there,
These little kids are everywhere.Sleep
By: Akash ShahSleep, an amazing time,
It is such an amazing crime,
All the kids take their stinky blanky,
And get all blinky,
They all go into the the comfy bed to get refreshed,
Nothing is as great as sleeping
All the yawns coming one by one,
All the eyes starting to close with a few blinks,
Nothing is as great as sleeping
Mothers coming in to give hugs and kisses,
Everyone is going in,
s a wonderful time,
s a delightful time,
Nothing is as great as sleeping
we finally fallen asleep,
All the parents come to take a little peep,
The alarms turn on with a loud beep,
Nothing is as great as a long time to sleepSorrow
Akash ShahSorrow, it is everywhere
People crying
Running away
You can’t fight it
You feel it
Your feelings come alive
Shedding tears
Confused
Mad
Sorrow, it is everywhereWinter
Akash ShahFreezing cold,
Everything is white,
Drinking hot chocolate all day,
Making snowman,
It all happens in winter,
Breaking Icicles,
Putting up the Christmas tree,
Celebrating holidays,
It all happens in winter,
Making snow angels,
Getting all your clothes wet,
Running inside,
Eating hot food,
It all happens in winter,
Having fun,
Everything good happens in winter,
Going over friends house and playing on their t.v,
Writing in journals,
It all happens in WinterAutumn
Bella Bovasso
The leaves
They begin to die
Changing into so many different colors
As it gets colder
Gold
Orange
Red
Brown
So many shades of colors
As they fall to the ground
The weather
It begins to get colder
Soon it will begin to snow
Soon all of the leaves will be gone
The breeze becomes cooler and cooler
Each passing day
The Days
They begin to grow shorter
They grow darker and darker
Each and every day
The freedom
Our freedom
It begins to disappear
And the panic begins to rise
More supplies to be bought
More papers
Scissors
Pencils
Bags
Crayons
Pens
So much supplies
All of this leads up
To that one day
When you cannot sleep in
When the weather gets colder
Just as your heart does
And the skies become gloomy
Just like your spirit
And when that day approaches
The yelling
The panicking
The grading
It all begins
Restriction
A Poem with a Hidden Message
By: Chessie BovassoA long time ago it was
That I was taught to live and exist
I grew older and stronger
Until suddenly
My significance was ended short
Months passed before it returned
Every year this was my routine
I would hear them say
Horrible things about me
How I would be locked in my cage
For months to come
They never knew or understood me
Locked inside of a trap
As cold and dark as oblivion itself
But they don’t know this about me
I can be the strongest or the weakest thing in existence
If I am used correctly or given the chance to
Those who lock me up, those hypocrites
They restrict me all the time from being
But they can use my gift anytime they please to
They taught me to live
But know I’m stuck here in darkness
Is life a joke?
It is for me
You know who I am
Even if you haven’t heard of me
I am your voice
Shadows!!!!
By: Becca GitlevichWhere from the shadows that are forms fall
The moon wakes and the sun sleeps
Gravity lifting therefrom hearts
Dreams invade mind palaces
Who’s hosts fold dreams foreign
Forgotten chaos of worlds from mind
Mind up and over the heart
Mind is mine, ideas are personas
Glass
By: Becca GitlevichTomorrow came pain
Oh that smudged mirror
Blurred as time went on
Shattering to the floor
But not my reflection
In that smudged mirror
So strong and alive
So I must be too
Friends are too far
Family is too busy
My man is with another
but my reflection was there
Time did penance
Like funerals
Gone but not forgotten
What a crazy little thing
Never would I forget
Oh that smudged mirror
Holding my reflection
So alive and well
FICTIONBehind Closed Doors
By Michelle Marti
~Alieana’s POV~
When you see someone you have been close to for years, someone you have known for way too long, do you really know them? Or is this just what you perceive them to act or be like because that is what you’ve seen all the years you’ve known them? Maybe they really aren’t like that. Maybe you don’t know them as well as you thought you knew them, and everything you really thought about them was just a figment of your imagination. And maybe, just maybe, they really aren’t who they appear to be behind closed doors.
~~•~~
Alieana walked into class with an expressionless face once again, as it had been since the beginning of school. It was a chilly November day and Aliena was wearing black leggings and a skull t-shirt. A black beanie sat on top her head. In reality, you weren’t allowed to wear hats in school, but the teacher had pretty much given up on poor Alieana.
Alieana sat down and immediately pulled out her sketchbook and a mechanical pencil. Opening to a random page, she began to draw. Suddenly, she heard snickering near her. Looking up, she noticed the Populars, a group of guys and girls that were too good for everyone else, such as cheerleaders and football players, and noticed them laughing at her.
“Hey, Ally.” One of the cheerleaders, Natasha, spoke to her, stretching her name in the process. “How are you doing after, you know. The time when you tried to…” Natasha trailed off, and the group of Populars began cracking up.
Catalina wasn’t.
Instead, she felt empathy for the poor girl. She was the only one that knew what happened to Alieana in reality. She was also the only one that noticed the tears filling up her eyes and the tear slowly dripping down her face, leaving a tear track on Alieana’s pale, white face.
But not quite.
“Aww, crying, aren’t we, little Alieana. Do you want your mommy, have her hug you and kiss you until you feel all better?” Another cheerleader, Brianna threw her blonde head back and laughed.
Alieana grabbed her stuff and ran right of the room.
“What’s wrong, Catalina? You feel bad for your best friend? You’re gonna be goth now too?” The group began to laugh more.
Catalina laughed, fakely of course. Although she was aiming for it seem realistic, even she could see just how fake she sounded. Her dopey friends, on the other hand, could not. Put a new meaning to dumb blondes, thought Catalina. She bit her lip to keep from laughing.
“Of course not. Who’d wanna be someone like…” Catalina hiccuped. She really didn’t want to say it.
“Like who?” Natasha smirked, turning to the other cheerleaders and high-fiving them.
“Like Alieana.” Catalina felt a lump in her throat. She really hated herself at that moment.
“Good,” Brianna said and turned back to her boyfriend, Max. No one payed attention to Catalina. Getting up, Catalina got her stuff and walked to another desk by a girl named Cece.
Cece wasn’t all that popular, but she wasn’t a “loser” either. She was a nerdy hipster chick, and Catalina knew her since kindergarten, so sitting with her, hopefully, wasn’t going to be a problem.
“Hey,” whisper Cat, giving Cece a small smile. That was all she could muster after seeing what happened to Ally and not doing anything. She really hated herself.
“Hey,” Cece replied. “What happened over there? I thought you and Alieana were friends. Why didn’t you help her?”
After hearing that, Cat instantly felt upset. Why didn’t she? She wanted to keep her popular image over her best friend. She didn’t realize she was crying until a tear dripped onto her notebook and left a wet mark.
“Hey, you okay? Follow me to the bathroom,” Cece took her books and walked out of the room.
Getting her things, Cat got up and followed her. Walking into the bathroom, she saw Cece fixing her hair. Turning around, Cece walked slowly toward her.
“What’s wrong?” Cece asked, looking up at Cat. Cat’s boots elevated her a good two inches or so higher. Although the boots were Steve Maddens, Cat wished at that moment to be wearing her black, beat-up Converse, the pair she wore when Alieana and her were closer than close, the pair that was now stuck in the back of her closet, abandoned and unworn for God knows how long. Thinking of this pricked her eye, a needle through a thread. How could she?
“Are you alright?” Cece lightly brushed Cat’s hair behind her ear. “Does it have to do with Alieana?”
At her name, Catalina felt a tear slowly roll down her face. She blinked a few times, trying not to make her crying seem noticeable.
“Oh, sweetheart, it’s okay.” Cece pulled her into a hug. Cat began to feel more tears drip down her face. “It’s okay. It’s okay. Cry it out.” At her words, Cat burst into tears.
Minutes passed. Eventually, Cat stopped, hiccuping slowly with quick, uneven breath. Cece let her go.
“Okay, now are you ready to tell me?” Cece gave her a smile smile.
Cat nodded. Cat took a seat under the sinks, pushing her shirt up so she wouldn’t sit on it. Cece squatted under as well and took a seat a couple inches away from Cat.
“Go ahead.” Cece moved closer to Catalina, who was checking her French-manicured nails and trying, yet failing, to avoid Cece’s glance.
Catalina didn’t respond.
“Don’t worry, I won’t blab. You can trust me. After all, that’s what friends are for, right?”
At this, Catalina had to smile. Not an ear-to-ear smile, or one showing pearly whites,
but just enough to be noticeable. Not thinking, Cat told Cece the entire story.
~~•~~
“How long has it been since you guys have talked?” Apparently, Cece made a nice therapist, thought Catalina.
“About a year. Since she went emo…” Catalina trailed on, fiddling with her thumbs.
“Did you ever wonder why she went ‘emo’?” Cece made quotation marks with her pointer fingers.
Catalina hesitated. Did she? No, not really. Ever since she became a cheerleader, popularity took over her life. The only things she thought about at that time were when she would get those Gucci shoes all the cheerleaders had.
“No, not really,” Catalina responded, biting her lip.
The bell for study hall rang. They’d been there for two periods. Should they go back? No, thought Catalina. They’d eat her alive, both teachers and students. However, Cece had other thoughts.
“We should probably go to study hall. But remember, maybe instead of questioning how she went so ‘emo’, maybe ask yourself why,” Cece stated, getting up and sticking a hand out for Catalina. If they didn’t show now, Mrs. Bentley would kill them.
Catalina grabbed her hand and got up. Suddenly, she got an idea.
“Maybe I should pay her a visit.” After all, she somewhat knew why Alieana went emo. Was there a possibility that it got worse? No, there was no way; it was bad enough already. If it got any worse, Alieana would…
Cece broke Cat’s trail of thought. “Maybe you should. Go today. If you don’t, then you’ll procrastinate and forget altogether.”
Cat nodded in what seemed like the tenth time. But Cece was right. She should go today. Right after school, Cat decided. Ally’s house was on the way home for her.
She brushed dirt from her black skinny jeans. She walked up to the mirror and was terrified. Cat looked like a raccoon jumped into a pool. Quickly, she pulled out a tissue and wiped her face. Splashing water on her face, she pulled out mascara and a tube of lip gloss. Putting it all on quickly, she looked over at Cece.
“Ready?” Cece smiled.
“Yes.” Catalina smiled back.
Together, the pair walked out the bathroom, supporting each other. Messed-up people in a messed-up situation. Maybe this time, two wrongs make a right.
~~•~~
Study hall was a bore. Catalina sat through the class on her laptop listening to music and typing her language arts essay. Finally, after the dreadful minutes of getting strange looks from her “friends”, the bell rang. Saved by the bell, thought Catalina, grabbing her laptop and books and quickly walking out the door to her locker. She couldn’t bear being made fun of her “friends” now.
Clutching her backpack to her chest, Catalina hurried out of the school and began her walk home.
She walked slowly, scanning the area as if she’d never been there before. Lucky for her, she only lived a good half mile from the school, and Alieana even less. Eventually, she reached Ally’s house, and whoa, it looked different.
One of the windows was broken. The once-green grass was now long gone, it now being an ugly shade of brown. Roof shingles were falling off. Putrid smells polluted the air, making it smell like a dumpster. Inside, Catalina heard screaming. Instantaneously, Catalina bounded to the steps.
“You better not disrespect me again, you filthy little…!” The last word was drowned out by the sound of a slap, followed by a girl’s cry. Alieana!
Catalina ran and pushed open the door. What she saw struck her with surprise.
Alieana was sobbing while holding her red cheek. Her dad’s face was bright red, and he had his fists clenched as if he were about to hit her. The pair didn’t notice Catalina over the commotion. She jumped behind a counter to hide.
“How dare you say those things?! You were the cause of your mother’s death, you!” Alieana’s dad, Lucas, yelled. Alieana whimpered in response. Her dad walked towards her, cornering her against the wall.
“If you do that one more time, you will not live in this house anymore, and no one will do anything about it. Not even your “friend” Catalina. Did she realize how stupid you were too? About time.” Her dad chuckled evilly. At that, Catalina had enough.
She rose from where she was hiding. Only Alieana had seen her. Ally’s eyes became wide as she started shaking her head. Her dad, however, thought she was disagreeing with him.
“You shall not disagree with me in my own house, you hear me?!” Lucas brought his fist back, little drops of spit coming out of his clenched teeth, resembling an angry bulldog.
“No!” Catalina shrieked, bounding over in front of Ally. Instead of hitting Alieana, the punch hit her, the impact stinging her cheek, most likely leaving a red welt. Catalina’s eyes watered, and she became feeling light-headed and dizzy. After recovering slightly, she rammed into Lucas with as much force as possible. He fell back slightly. This gave Alieana enough time to pull out her phone. She began dialing 911.
“911, what’s your emergency?” The operator stated.
“We need police and an ambulance sent to 180 Larkspur Drive immediately. We have a man assaulting his daughter and her friend.” Catalina could hear the worry in Alieana’s voice. However, this worry was overpowered by something grander. Bravery.
Alieana’s dad had run upstairs the second sirens began wailing in the background. Thank God, Catalina thought, sighing. Alieana was finally going to get the justice she needed.
“Thank you so much,” Alieana said, looking at the white tile. If she wasn’t looking closely, Cat wouldn’t have noticed. A tiny tear slipping out of Alieana’s eye. Moving forward, she hugged Alieana, wrapping her arms and breathing in the smell of laundry detergent and body mist on her former best friend. Alieana fell into her grasp and began to sob.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. Everything will be alright,” whispered Catalina into her ear like a caring mother. Cece was rubbing off on her, and she couldn’t be more thankful for the girl.
Eventually, Alieana’s breathing slowed. The only thing now heard were tiny hiccups coming of her mouth. The two girls stood there for what seemed like seconds before they were interrupted by a bark.
“Which one of you called?” a police officer ran into the room, followed by four others. All were tall and buff, way too strong for Lucas.
“M-me,” stuttered Alieana.
“Where is he?” asked another police officer, pulling out a pistol from his holster. The other four did the same and started looking around the room.
“Upstairs,” spoke Alieana, her eyes wide. Catalina stroked her back and gave her a smile. The corner of Alieana’s mouth flicked up, the most Catalina had seen since months before.
“Stay here,” the police officer instructed. “It’s safer.”
The two nodded. Officer Johnson, Luke, Damian, Michael, and Jackson, according to their name tags, crept up the stairs slowly, reminding Catalina awfully of herself when she attempted to sneak out to the parties her friends went to, the kind of parties her parents would not let her go to.. Catalina and Alieana watched until they were out of sight. Catalina held her breath. Everything will be okay, everything will be okay.
Suddenly, they heard shouts upstairs.
The two looked at each other, panic etched on their faces like ink on parchment. Alieana looked at Catalina with pleading eyes. Catalina, on the other hand, somehow, to her despite, kept a strict and solemn face. Inside, she was freaking out. What if something went wrong? Deep down, however she knew that they must follow the officers’ orders.
Gradually, the shouting and swearing died down, only grunting and noises of protest to be heard. Finally, thought Catalina, as thumping was heard going down the stairs. The officers came out pushing Lucas, his hands wrapped in handcuffs.
“You will pay for this!” Lucas screamed to the girls.
Catalina glanced over to Alieana. The girl had a smile on her face. By the time the officers dragged her dad out of the house and into the car, Alieana’s smile turned into a cheeky grin, a somewhat smirk.
“Revenge is best served cold,” she snickered. Catalina was surprised. She expected sadness, maybe even some tears. She was wrong.
“Are we friends again?” Catalina said quietly, down at her feet.
Alieana gazed deep into Catalina’s eyes after pushing her chin up with her finger.
“We were always friends,” she whispered, pulling Catalina in for a hug. Catalina nuzzled Alieana’s neck, breathing in each other's presence and just happy to be together again.
“I missed having you as my friend,” Catalina murmured into Ally’s skin.
“I missed having you as my friend too.”
“I’m quitting cheerleading,” Catalina went on.
“Why? All because of me? Don’t give up your popularity for me.” Catalina could hear the surprise in her friend’s voice.
“Because I can’t risk losing our friendship again,” Catalina replied truthfully. Losing Alieana versus her cheerleading “friends?” Not on her watch. Alieana was the most important person in her life. Well, next to her parents.
“Thanks,” Alieana stated. Catalina was confused? What’d she do that was worth thanking? She turned Ally’s life into a living hell by becoming a cheerleader, she let her “friends” bully her. On top of that, she waited months to come by and apologize.
“For what?” Catalina questioned, cocking her head a little bit. Alieana held back a giggle. She looked like a confused puppy.
“You saved me. What’s not to thank?” Ally answered, meaning every word.
“But I’m… Me,” Catalina said bluntly.
“Exactly. Thanks.” Alieana smiled. That was the happiest Catalina had ever seen Ally. Her eyes were shining with a shine Catalina had never seen before. The smile on her face stretched from ear to ear, her pearly whites bringing out her ocean blue eyes. And with that, Catalina understood.
“Anytime,” Catalina stated, the smile on her face stretching an ocean. “Anytime.”
Toxic
By: Nicole Roche “Avery, do you know the answer?” My teacher said with a stern face, while her eyebrows raise. “No i'm not paying attention, I don't care.” I said in rude disrespectful voice, as my tiny lips turn into a little smirk.“Well maybe you should pay attention, and follow with this program.” She said in annoyed voice. “Well maybe I don't wanna pay attention, or maybe I just hate looking at your ugly face.” I said in a condescending voice. All I was paying attention to was the bottom of the floor, it took a minute before I noticed the teacher was not talking. Even after all this time of acting like I was not caring, but deep inside my real soul, I was scared. My head turned toward Mrs.Bell, all I could focus on was the sound of her high top one inch heel that hit that would hit against the perfect patterned floor. She rips out a lunch detention slip, she walks back over in a mad looking face, and she then smacked the tiny squared piece of paper on my desk. My face looked look as if I was not scared at all, but my mind was nervous for my parents finding out. That one piece of paper most likely got me grounded for two weeks. I was not all that upset because I did not have as many friends anyway, but I was just nervous about my parents thinking any less of me than they already did. Ever since the incident my mother has not looked at me, but on the other hand my dad does look at me but when he does it’s just a dirty one. A couple nights ago I overheard my parents talking but it was not one of those conversations about the weather or anything like that. “ She’s a disappointment Rodge.” My mother said in a disappointed voice.
“ I honestly don’t know what to say about her, I feel like I can’t even call her my baby girl because she is so far from it.” My father says with a sigh. After I heard that I felt like jumping in front of a moving train. Nobody likes me I thought, not even my so called parents.I’m a disgrace to this nation.
Feeling unwanted was the worst feeling, yet I was so used to the dead silence of an empty mind that did not run. The day at school was a blur, I could barely remember any information my teachers had given to my broken record of a brain. “Mom i’m going to the nature walk.” I yell as I throw my checkered backpack on the the floor. I had always gone to the nature walk after school. But it had always been on Friday but this time I went on a Tuesday. “Have fun” My mother says as I get her approval. These were the type of walks that made me feel a million miles away from everything that existed. It felt like my mind could finally breathe, and my soul could settle. My mind was lost with all the thoughts that had scattered, yet the sounds of the trees breathing through the wind helped these meaningless scattered thoughts. The rocky endless path allowed me to open my mind and express the forever long thoughts that haunted me. The foggy unclear breath hit the cold night temperature. As the cold night went on, the farther the nature walk had gone in. The night sky was not pitch dark, the light from the glimmering light of the moon kept the the dark sky awake. The light from the moon gave the tiny rivers around me a precise figure of each tree. There were an endless amount of stars, some big some little, yet all shined bright so beautifully.
I was so mesmerized of the beautiful serene surroundings that my brain had encountered, that the thought of time slipped from me. I had realized that my music had not been playing awhile, or maybe I had turned it off. I had immediately reached in my pocket to see what time it had been, but soon to find out that my phone had been dead. My heart raced, my mind was thinking of awful things that may be coming out of this, but I was most concerned with how my parents had been reacting to my no show. What if they had been trying to call me?! Or what if they called the cops to search for me?! The horrible possibilities had roamed throughout my head, and all I could do was think of the negative ending result. I let out a little sob as my eyes filled up with tears. I had ran as fast as I could but the tears kept coming, and the path never ended. My eyes blurry from the endless puddle of tears, and my face was sopping. My vision had started to become hard to see out of, and the path had just started to become very bumpy and rocky. I didn’t stop to think to slow down, but soon came back to be very painful.
My trembling legs made feet overlap each other, which had caused me to fall. My tiny skinny body had slammed against the rock hard floor, and rolled down the rocky mountain. The last thing I saw was the tall structure of teenage boy with something in his mouth, but then the color of black fulfilled my brain.
CODY’S POV: “ Why can’t you just let it go?” I say in with sad furrowed eyebrows.
“ Nobody will ever understand the pain your father put me through that night, not even a dumb child like you.”My mother says in a disgusted voice.
“ I’m seventeen years old, so stop treating me like i’m a child because i’m not!” I yell on the top of my lungs.
“ You're just like your father rude, loud, ignorant, and most of all a waste of space!” My mother says like it’s a fact.
I feel my heart crumble, and the verge of tears are being held back. Without saying anything I leave and slam the door on the way out. The feeling of having nobody was a sting to the heart, but most of all because you know you can’t do much about it. The more I thought about this, the more I wanted a tear to slide down the side of my cheek. The feeling of a warm salty tear brought warmth to me, it helped me express my feeling without talking to anyone. My whole life I had been on my own, and nobody helped through all the rough patches that has occurred. I never have had a normal life, my dad left when I was ten, and my mom has taken her feelings of her broken heart my father gave her at me. We all have problems that people get used to, well this was my problem that has grown on me. My typical mother drunk once again, and taking her bottled in feelings at me. The emptiness of an unloved heart that ached another time in my lonely pointless life. What’s the point of living the same old tears, the same old lies, and most of all the same old emptiness of nobody loving you?”
I sat in my car for hours before I brought myself together to start the engine. Most of the things that fly out of my mother when she’s drunk is not pleasant, but not as painful as the words she spoke of tonight. After she had said that, it felt like a stab through my heart, yet the problem is I would rather want that instead. It's sad how I would rather be dead, than rather live this empty unfulfilled life much longer. If i died I would be at peace, I would finally be free from this hell I have been living. The sad part is that dying makes me happy and excited for it, whereas for other people death makes them scared and nervous. I looked at myself as an outsider from everyone else in this world.
I start the engine of an old beater of a car and start driving to the nearest gas station. I was there for one thing only, and that was the small stick of nicotine that lived in a small package. I hop out the car as I wipe the leftover tears that lie on my red cheeks that I had kept wiping. I feel the cold breeze of the late night temperature, and tighten my tiny sweatshirt that had barely held any coverage from the cold winter night breezes. As I walk in the tiny bell goes off, which had indicated a customer had walked in. It was a tiny gas station, with just a few snacks and the occasional items.
“ What can I do for you sunny.” As the old man said as through his hat back on. “ Can I get Marlboros light 100’s.” I say as I hand over the crumbled pieces of green paper. “ Hold on, I’m gonna have to see some idee before you start buying a pack a cigarettes.” He says as he holds up his one veiny hand. “ Listen buddy I’m 19 I just left my idee at home, so no need to cart me.” I say as if i’m one to be honest. “Alright kid have a good night, stay safe.” He says as his eyes look worried,then hands the bag that revealed the rest of my night.
Truth was I was only 15 years old, yet a drag of a cancerous stick helped me through these rough nights. I knew staying in my car all night would not solve any of my problems, so I decided going to the nature would help me think things out. It only took me a few minutes to get to the part of the nature that I liked. The part I liked was pretty deep into the nature walk, but the only reason I liked was because it was pitch black and the moon shined the brightest there. It was under a bridge that held many trees and a lot of gaping trees. There was a mountain of rocks with a stream of water from the nearest river. As I get out of the car I grab the pack of cigarettes, and peel the wrapper off the pack as if it was a present. I walk over to the tree where I usually lean to light my cigarette.
As I take the first drag I feel a sense of happiness of overtake my body and I wanna take another one. Before I knew it the whole pack has already had been half gone. As I enjoy this happy moment of the silencesses of a cigarette burning through it’s perfectly wrapped paper my brain can sort and put things back into it’s original place. As I take out another white stick of nicotine, my ears can’t help but hear the running steps of a human in a panic, and the sobs of teenage girl. I see a short figure crying and walking over the difficult bumpy rocks that lie ahead a rocky mountain. I couldn’t quite make out what she looked like, but I can tell she was a she. She seemed quite skinny and little, yet the tiny sobs she let out seemed she was upset and scared. I felt for her and knew she was upset, I wanted to help her, but most of all I wanted to talk to her to make her feel better.
I saw she was having a tough time getting her way across the rocks, and saw she kept tripping. I immediately start walking toward the mountain to climb it and help her, but before I knew it she was already on the floor falling down the rocky mountain. I rushed over to the area she was lying near, and examined what she had looked like. I wasn’t the type of person that would help, but right now that’s all that roamed throughout my head. I kneel down and lift her tiny back to see if there were any injuries. My mind was concerned for the beautiful girl that lay in my arms. She had black curly hair that matched her pale peaches and cream skin, her nose was like a tiny slopey button nose, her tiny mouth curved into the tiniest little smile, and her cheeks stay as rosy as sprouting flower. She was the most gorgeous girl my eyes have ever laid on, and I was mesmerized by it. On the front of head there were a few deep scratches, and there was a scratch on the front of her lip.
Without even thinking I instantly picked this light beautiful girl off her feet to my car. She was easy to pick up, which made it easier for me to put her in my car. I wasn’t going to take her to the hospital, I didn’t know where she lived, so I was just going to take her back to my house. Her body temperature was cold, so without a doubt I take my hoodie off and wrap it around her tiny body. I grab the buckle and put it across her little body, and secure her position. It was funny how much I cared so much for a stranger than myself. The only thought kept running through my head, was how such beautiful girl could be so upset. It made me think even the greatest can rank at the lowest of the totem pole. I wanted to venture this girl, and live through her. Be apart of her world, and make her my own.
AVERY’S POV:
My head was aching, the pain hurt, and the dried up blood that lay on my forehead grossed me out. The flashing lights of cars hurt my eyes and kept me from opening my scrunched lids. The city lights seemed familiar, and the shine from the moon brings back the memory of what had happened. My mind was confused, and my eyeballs would not open to the bright artificial lights. My nose was assaulted with the smell of a ran down gasoline tank, as my ears banged from the sound of a beater engine. My mind has finally immune to the unfamiliar place that had made my confused mind panic.
Before I had known it my confused mind came back to reality, and cleared the way by yelling on the top of my lungs. I was scared, panicked, nervous, and most of all petrified of what my parents would say, my mind stressed from all the horrible possibilities.
THE STORM
BRENDAN ARTHURTo understand the story I’m about to tell, you have to believein the unbelievable. About a year ago something unbelievable happened. I was working in my lab and building a machine and something in my friends dads lab exploded so I opened the window that was next to machine and
the blast from the explosion was so big it did something to my machine. When I touched it, it
exploded. The next thing I know I’m in my friends dads lab and I felt fine. I got up and my friends dad Dr. Wells was next to me I asked him what happened and he told me he saved me. So I put my hand out to shake his hand to thank him and my hand had lighting coming out of it. I stepped back and said “what’s happening to me.” So I go out side and all of a sudden I can fly. Dr. wells says “ Jack calm down if you get to scared or angry something bad will happen and we have figured out what yet.” So I took a breath and I calmed down and I was back on the floor. We went back into their lab and I asked again “what happened to me.”
~~~
This time I got an answer “ I believe that when the explosion that you touched the machine and when you touched it you were given powers.” A few months later I can control my powers and I’ve been on a lot of missions already. I was on one of my missions that I didn’t know was going to be my last for a long time. I have been battling the man who looks like the guy who attacked me when I was on my first mission he said his name was Volt . I walked into the lab because I had a question for my friend RJ about my suit. As soon as I walked in the room I saw RJ lying in the floor. “ What happened” I said. Before he died he whispered one last thing “ Dr. Wells is Volt.”
~~~
I turned around and he was there. “ So now you know what are you going to do” Dr. Wells said. “ Why would you save and train me just if you are going to try to kill me.” Without saying anything he shoots me with his lightning bolt. I got up jumped and was about to punch him then.........
This was the story of how I became a what I like to call a super hero. I am Tony Peterson and I am THE STORMTHE MISSION
BRENDAN ARTHUR
It was 12 o‘clock on the dot. It was time to drop in. I grabbed my stuff and jumped. You might be asking why is he jumping. I’m in the navy seals. I was on a mission given to only me and two of my friends. It went bad at first because it was one hundred or more against three. It was hard we had a uniform of hundreds of packs of ammo, a hand gun, and a AK47 per person. We were going after Osama Bin laden. We were sent to find him and take him in, also if we need to….. we will kill him. We went in and we only had o800 hours to take him in or kill him. We got in and nothing bad happened I got him and we were taking him to prison. We got on the helicopter then something happened. My name is Jack and my life was great until this last month, but we will talk about that later. I was face timing my family just to say hi because I was going to go on a long mission. Right before I was going to end it my friends Ed and Sam to say high to my wife and kids. I ended it and we went outside to play some soccer then as soon as we stepped out the door we all heard something. It sounded like a chopper. It was but it wasn’t Bin laden’s it was ours. It was a fouls alarm. We were at a army base we had to stay on our toes it was very dangerous where we were. It’s one month later and me and my team have one week until we go on the special mission. We still have to go through one or two more days of training. It was the day of the mission and we were all nerves. It was 12 o‘clock on the dot. It was time to drop in. I grabbed my stuff and jumped. You might be asking why is he jumping. I’m in the navy seals. I was on a mission given to only me and two of my friends. It went bad at first because it was one hundred or more against three. It was hard we had a uniform of hundreds of packs of ammo, a hand gun, and a AK47 per person. We were going after Osama Bin laden. We were sent to find him and take him in, also if we need to….. we will kill him. We went in and we only had o800 hours to take him in or kill him. We got in and nothing bad happened I got him and we were taking him to prison. We got on the helicopter then something happened. As soon as we got on the helicopter a missile hit it. As soon as it hit it Sam shot the guy with the missile. It was now shoot to kill. We didn’t want to do this it was just a last resort if anything went wrong. We only had one hour left to get Bin laden out of there and take him to jail. We were heading to the plane that we called. We got on but for some reason when Bin laden’s men saw the plane they started to back up and go back in side. Then we started flying I went to the pilot and said “thanks for getting us out of there.” Then one of his men turned around and said “your welcome.” When went back and sat down then the guy came back and took Bin laden and held us by gun point and jumped out of the plane. When they left I went into the control room and the controls were shot up. The plane crashed and now I’m telling you this story. It has been a year since I’ve been off duty. I wrote this story to tell you to never give up and always try harder to do something if something else fails. This is Jack Johnson signing out.The "Best" Morning
By: Becca Gitlevich Well, that will certainly never happen now that her car broke down on the highway, leaving her late for class. Luckily for her the tow truck came quick and gave her a ride to campus. It began to rain hard and she heard the sound of thunder, roaring in the distance. She climbed out of the car an in mere seconds she was drenched. She entered the lobby reaching into her pockets for her ID, when she gasped and realized she let her ID in the car. She explained to the security guard who let her pass because he has seen her on campus loads of times before. She thanked him and ran to the elevator, then realizing the great big out-of-order sign taped on the door. Sighing, I ran to the stairwell and climbed 12 flights of stairs to get to class. I walked into class, miserable, wet, exhausted, and embarrassed. Everyone just stopped and stared at her, she sat down into her seat ready to cry. She explained to her teacher the chaotic morning she had and she excused her. Nature is indifferent to man, and no matter what; thunder will strike whether you are ready for it or not.
Gift From Above
By: Justin Freeman
Greater things save us from all mistakes
We can’t see them
We can’t hear them
But we know that they’re there
Teaching us how to see right from wrong
So that we don’t make the same mistake
And relive the same challenges
That we can’t solve
Surprisingly we get through them because
Of some great thing
Unfamiliar yet unknown and unrecognized
But they could tell you your life story
The Alpha to the Omega
And they never leave your side
Abiding by their commandments
To protect you from danger
Till you spread your wings and fly
Black Magic
By: Rebecca Gitlevich
Shatter
And break
Step
And tear
Take it
Break it
Throw it away
It’s not like
You cared
Anyway
I fell
And I fall
I am big
Then I’m small
Depression
Interpretation
They all judge
Anyway
You took
My heart
And you wrote
Your name
Then you crushed it
And threw it in my face
I Can't
By: Rebecca Gitlevich
I AM FLOATING
I CAN SEE THE BOTTOM
I CAN SEE THE TOP
IT’S THE QUESTION
OF WHERE I GO
UP
OR DOWN
THEN MY LUNGS CLAMP SHUT
MY CHEST TIGHTENS
I CAN’T BREATH
DARKNESS SUROUNDS
THE SIDES OF MY EYES
CLOSING IN
I CAN’T SEE
THEN
WHEN ALL GOES BLACK
AL I DO
IS ALL I CAN’T
Summer
By: Jarred Grabois Wind in my hair
Sun in my face
Silky sand running through my toes
The seagulls sound soothed my ears
Taste of sandwich calmed my mouth
The Feel of the ocean energized my body
The walk on the boardwalk cleared my mind
Fun it was
FICTION
Eternal Love
By: Jessica Malinsky
Chapter One
This Is Me
Have you ever wondered why all the stars align and why death isn’t optional? The answer is that it just happens to be that way. Life for me isn’t a box of chocolates anymore. I don’t run into surprises or new opportunities anymore. I don’t have a life anymore. If you’re wondering, my name is Cecelia Adkins. I’m 21 years old, and have stayed 21 years old for 200 years now. For me, eternity was a true gift at first, but now I just want life to be over. My world just feels like nothing to me anymore. When you can’t die or escape this world, you see how living forever can change you and it really isn’t a gift, if you think about it. It’s a curse.
Right now, I don’t live with anyone. I have no brothers or sisters, my parents both died at the age of 99, and marriage for me isn’t really a smart option. I guess I haven’t really met anyone special. Or maybe it’s just the never ageing part. Being 21 forever doesn’t open that many doors for that many people. For me, it never did. Until I met Liam. Liam Devlin was his name. He was my life. He was the reason I woke up every morning. I met him one day in high school. He was a cool dude. Or so I thought.
Chapter Two
Getting Ready
I didn’t turn everlasting yet. That didn’t happen till my 21st birthday. I just turned 17 years old, and it was the first day of senior year. I went to this high school where the usual stereotype of a cheerleader and a football player dating, never existed. My school didn’t match that stereotype. Sure, we had the group of nerds, Goths, populars, and then there was me. I didn’t really fit into a “group.” I didn’t have that many friends because I always moved from school to school. It was either had to do with my dad getting a new job or if the school I went to was in a bad neighborhood. I had a good feeling about this school though. Either the aura of the neighborhood was in good condition or maybe it had to do with what happened earlier that week.
At all of my schools, I was a loner. I was the only one that sat at “my” lunch table. I was the only one that sat by myself on “my” bus. I was always the only one that hung out by me at “my” school. I wasn’t a very “social” human being. I never liked being the center of attention because those people that are always in the spotlight are either snotty, stuck up, conceited, or full of themselves. I was never like that. My parents always thought that I was well behaved and polite because I was raised that way. But the truth is, inside of me, I was something more. More than what people thought of me. More than what my parents thought of me. The real truth is that inside of me was a lonely girl trying to peek out of her shyness. But the lonesome girl couldn’t because something was stopping her. That something was not just one thing, but two. Those “somethings” were my parents. Oh, if you met my parents, you would be so embarrassed. At least I would.
The alarm clock woke me up that morning with a loud buzz. I had to wake up at 6:00 because my bus came at 7:00. It never took me a long time to get ready in the morning before school, but since it was senior year at a new high school, I decided to look a little attractive.
“Oh my god! Mom, what time is it?”
“It’s 6:55.”
“Mom, MY BUS IS ALMOST HERE!”
I packed up my schoolbag as fast as I could and bolted down the stairs in my white apparel. I made it just in time. The bus waited outside my door and I confidently strolled across my lawn to the bus stop. Music was a big part of my life before I turned eternal. I was a prodigy when it came to playing the flute. I was thinking of going to Julliard, but I didn’t think I had a chance of getting in. Plus, I lived in California which was on the other side of America and far from New York. So, I’m still grasping onto the idea of going to Julliard. There’s just a lot of weight of on my shoulders at the moment with school and all.
I walked on to the bus and sat in the front away from all the popular kids. And plus, I could get off the bus before everyone else. I plugged my headphones into my iPhone and turned on pieces from Beethoven. It’s not the most hip and popular music around, but it’s relaxing. The bus made its last stop of the morning and that’s when it all began.
There he was. There Liam was. As he came onto the bus, he flipped his long hair and carried a guitar case. I figured he wrote music and played, but who knows what was in his case. His mouth opened and started speaking to me in this unknown language. I couldn’t concentrate because of how pretty he looked with his wavy hair and ripped up t-shirt. I heard nothing but the sounds of a beautiful flute.
“Um, hello?”
“Oh, hi. What did you say? I had music in my ears.”
“Can I sit next to you? There’s no room on the bus.”
“Sure thing.”
I moved down an inch and he sat down next to me. I kept listening to Beethoven. Something about his music kept me calm and relaxed. As I was listening to the sounds of Beethoven, something bothered me. I felt someone watching me. I took out my earphones and put them in my backpack. Suddenly, I turned to my left and found Liam staring at me.
“I’m sorry if I was creeping you out. It’s just.”
“What?”
“You are very pretty and very quiet. What’s your name?”
“Oh thank you. I’m Cecelia.”
“What’s your full name?”
“Cecelia Marie Adkins.”
“You have a beautiful name and a beautiful appearance. That’s a bonus.”
“Wow, you’re making me blush.”
“So what’s your story? What are your interests? Hobbies? Favorite things?”
“Well, my passion is to play flute.”
“I guess we are soul mates. I play guitar, and you play flute. Let’s get married. I’ll buy you a ring.”
“Woah, woah, woah. I don’t even know your name. But I do know that you are sweet.”
“I am Liam. Liam Devlin.”
The bus pulls around the corner of the high school, and all of a sudden I get butterflies in my stomach. Liam saw that I was panicking. Liam always saw when I was panicking. I guess he just gets me. Or maybe it’s just fate. I started to panic sweat, as I always did, and suddenly Liam’s hand creeps up to mine slowly. As, I felt his warm hand wrapped around mine, I felt this weird feeling. A feeling I never felt before. While I was holding on to his hand, he started to engage in conversation.
“So. Since you’re quiet and mysterious, do you like school?”
“Kind of. I don’t like the idea of it though. And on top of that, I move from new school to another like every other year or so. So yeah. That’s basically my life.”
We finally reached school and I wanted to get as far away from Liam as I could. I don’t know, but there was this odd feeling that I always got when I was around him. Either I liked him, or I thought that he was just downright weird. I came off the bus first, as I planned. But Liam followed me. He always followed me.
“Cecelia! Wait up!”
“Oh hey.”
“Can I see your schedule?”
“Um, sure.”
He quickly glanced through my schedule and his face abruptly lighted up with excitement as if he won the lottery or something. I never knew a piece of paper with words written on it could make a person so joyful. I have never seen Liam so happy before.
“Cecelia! We have all our classes together! And lunch! Isn’t that awesome?”
“Yeah, that sure is. Very, very awesome Liam.”
“Can I walk you to class, Madame?”
“I guess.”
Okay. I know you may be thinking, “Why isn’t Cecelia excited that such a cute boy is walking her to class?” Well I have a very obvious answer. HE IS IN EVERY CLASS WITH ME! PLUS LUNCH! How weird is that? Randomly, a cute boy sits next to me on the bus, and makes small talk with me. And on top of that, he has literally every hour of school with me. Am I the only one who thinks this is all so weird? There’s something I don’t trust about this “Liam” and I’m going to find out. But I need to get through school first.
So Liam walks me to class. And I got to say. He isn’t that bad. Maybe it’s just fate that brought us together. Or maybe it’s a curse.
“So Cecelia…”
“Yes Liam…”
“Can I walk you home from school?”
“Sure.”
We both walked to Calculus. It was first period and we didn’t get our locker numbers or locker combinations yet. The teacher spoke to us. I couldn’t really concentrate because all I could think of was why Liam came into my life. Why here? Why now? I don’t really now.
The teacher’s name was Mr. Quigley. Something about that name didn’t sit well with my stomach. During class, as Quigley was talking, Liam couldn’t stop staring at me. What the heck is wrong with this guy?
“So, from my speech, you should all know where each of your lockers are. Any questions, class?”
Of course Liam raised his hand. But the strange thing was that as he raised his hand, he kept staring at me. Are you starting to see why I think Liam is creepy?
“I have a question, Sir. I didn’t listen so could you refresh my memory for a second?”
“What’s your name?”
“Liam Devlin.”
“Well, Liam Devlin, you could listen to my speech from someone else who actually cares. Like that girl over there. Hey you! What’s your name?”
Oh. My. God. What did I do? I did absolutely nothing. If he calls on me to tell Liam about this “speech” then I won’t even have a clue of what to say.
“I’m Cecelia Adkins.”
“Well Cecelia Adkins, can you refresh this boy’s memory for me? You were paying attention, right?”
“Actually Sir, I wasn’t really paying attention. I was focusing on my schedule.”
“Are you kidding me? No one in my class will have this kind of behavior. EVER. Liam?!”
“Yes Sir?”
“Cecelia?!”
“Yes Mr. Quigley?”
“You both have detention!”
Chapter Three
Lots and Lots of Tension
Are you kidding me? How on Earth could a straight A student, advanced Calculus student, and a responsible student, get DETENTION on the first day of school? This is just ridiculous! The bell rang for second period and before Liam and I had to go to English, I wanted to give him a large and gigantic piece of my mind.
“Liam! There you are!”
“Cecelia, I was waiting for you so we could go to English together. C’mon, let’s go!”
“Okay, but let me find my locker because I am so confused. Where’s yours?”
“It’s probably next to yours. Um, I mean. I don’t know. ”
Wait. How would Liam know that his locker is “probably” next to mine? This probably has to do with our schedules being the same too. I don’t know why he would want to be with me 24-7, but it’s getting freaky. All of a sudden, Liam says something very strange. Something I never knew he could say before.
“Cecelia, I’m very sorry for my performance that took place in the classroom. The behavior was very unacceptable and it will not be tolerated. I hope you forgive me for my unforgiving behavior. I did not mean for you to be in detention based off of the knowledge you had presented to me with Julliard.”
“Um Liam. I forgive you, it’s only one detention.”
What am I saying? Of course detention is a big deal! Now I probably will never even go to Julliard. The events will take place in this order, I just know it. Maybe Liam secretly knows it.
1. Julliard will look at my application
2. They will like what they see
3. They will check the box that says “Yes, she will go here”
4. She will see my detention record
5. They will check the box that says “No, she won’t go here”
I took a peek at the clock and detention was around the corner. Detention was in five minutes. I suffered ALL DAY with Liam. But still there was this aching type of pain that I felt in my body whenever I was near him. Some might call it a tingling sensation. But, I guess I wanted Liam to be my one and only. I guess I thought that Liam was a special dude. I guess some might say he was a cool dude. Or so I thought.
Detention met up in the library. Liam told me that on the bus while we were talking. There’s something about Liam’s voice that makes me feel warm inside, yet cold at the same time. The words that come out of Liam’s mouth sound like some of Beethoven’s works. Yet better. There’s something special about him. I just need to get to know him better.
As I walked into the library, all I saw were popular kids. The cheerleaders sat with the tennis team, the Goths sat with the nerds, and then there was me. And there was Liam. Liam and I didn’t fit into a “group” or into a stereotype. I guess some kids don’t go through that like Liam and me. Me and Liam are different. We were always different.
I saw Liam sitting by himself near the Fiction section. Detention went on for forty minutes and I wanted to see what information I could get to spill out of Liam. I walked over to him and he was reading “The Fault in our Stars.” That book was my favorite along with playing the flute. That probably explains what I do after school:
1. Go home
2. Get dressed in comfy clothes
3. Eat something delicious
4. Do homework
5. Practice my flute for 2 hours
6. Read “The Fault in out Stars” for 2 hours
7. Go to sleep
I came up to Liam and abruptly he started to state a quote from the book. It was kind of nice and creepy at the same time. I guess Liam wanted it to be that way. Or so I thought.
“I’m on a rollercoaster that only goes up Cecelia Marie.”
“You know I love that book, right?”
“Yeah, I actually know lots of things about you. I mean I didn’t know that fun fact.”
Is it me or did that sound really eccentric? He knows a lot of things about me? How? How the heck does he know everything that mankind has to offer? He is weird. Really weird. But I like it. I always liked it.
“I’m on a rollercoaster that only goes up Liam. I’m on a coaster that always goes up.”
I was lying because the truth was; I’m not on that rollercoaster. If I was, I would probably crash, fall, and drown in my own puddle of tears and sorrow. Deep down inside, I am so scared of what’s about to happen. I am so nervous of what my future will hold for me. I am so frustrated with my parents and what they are doing to each other. And the truth is, I’m just scared.
For years and years, my parents have been fighting continuously about complete nonsense that no one could understand. Even I don’t understand it. The only words that always pop up are Aunt Jocelyn. My parents are the only family that I’m “aware” of. When I was 13, I got suspicious why my parents were talking about Jocelyn and why my parents have never introduced me to her or my grandparents. I have never, not even once in my life, met my grandparents, aunts or uncles, and cousins. I don’t even know any of their names. Except for Aunt Jocelyn. Even her name frightens me.
When I turned 14, my suspicions grew. On my 14th birthday, the only people that attended my party were my parents and me. My parents made me go to summer camp to make new friends, but that never worked. I came to the camp and all the kids there were already buddied up and I was left out. I was always left out. But I was fine with that. I guess so. Anyway, when I turned 14, I received a strange present from Aunt Jocelyn. My parents handed me the present and said, “Here open it, sweetie.” I asked who it was from, and all they said was, “Your,” then she whispers over to my dad, “Wes, what should we tell her?” He says, “Tell her the truth.”
“It’s from your Aunt Jocelyn, open it.”
“Okay mom.”
Before I open this present, which is wrapped in dark brown wrapping paper covered with a dark green bow, I think to myself, “Who is this person and what is in this present?” All these thoughts race around in my head and my heart beats so fast, I can’t hear myself breathe. Here goes nothing.
By: Justin Freeman
Greater things save us from all mistakes
We can’t see them
We can’t hear them
But we know that they’re there
Teaching us how to see right from wrong
So that we don’t make the same mistake
And relive the same challenges
That we can’t solve
Surprisingly we get through them because
Of some great thing
Unfamiliar yet unknown and unrecognized
But they could tell you your life story
The Alpha to the Omega
And they never leave your side
Abiding by their commandments
To protect you from danger
Till you spread your wings and fly
Black Magic
By: Rebecca Gitlevich
Shatter
And break
Step
And tear
Take it
Break it
Throw it away
It’s not like
You cared
Anyway
I fell
And I fall
I am big
Then I’m small
Depression
Interpretation
They all judge
Anyway
You took
My heart
And you wrote
Your name
Then you crushed it
And threw it in my face
I Can't
By: Rebecca Gitlevich
I AM FLOATING
I CAN SEE THE BOTTOM
I CAN SEE THE TOP
IT’S THE QUESTION
OF WHERE I GO
UP
OR DOWN
THEN MY LUNGS CLAMP SHUT
MY CHEST TIGHTENS
I CAN’T BREATH
DARKNESS SUROUNDS
THE SIDES OF MY EYES
CLOSING IN
I CAN’T SEE
THEN
WHEN ALL GOES BLACK
AL I DO
IS ALL I CAN’T
Summer
By: Jarred Grabois Wind in my hair
Sun in my face
Silky sand running through my toes
The seagulls sound soothed my ears
Taste of sandwich calmed my mouth
The Feel of the ocean energized my body
The walk on the boardwalk cleared my mind
Fun it was
FICTION
Eternal Love
By: Jessica Malinsky
Chapter One
This Is Me
Have you ever wondered why all the stars align and why death isn’t optional? The answer is that it just happens to be that way. Life for me isn’t a box of chocolates anymore. I don’t run into surprises or new opportunities anymore. I don’t have a life anymore. If you’re wondering, my name is Cecelia Adkins. I’m 21 years old, and have stayed 21 years old for 200 years now. For me, eternity was a true gift at first, but now I just want life to be over. My world just feels like nothing to me anymore. When you can’t die or escape this world, you see how living forever can change you and it really isn’t a gift, if you think about it. It’s a curse.
Right now, I don’t live with anyone. I have no brothers or sisters, my parents both died at the age of 99, and marriage for me isn’t really a smart option. I guess I haven’t really met anyone special. Or maybe it’s just the never ageing part. Being 21 forever doesn’t open that many doors for that many people. For me, it never did. Until I met Liam. Liam Devlin was his name. He was my life. He was the reason I woke up every morning. I met him one day in high school. He was a cool dude. Or so I thought.
Chapter Two
Getting Ready
I didn’t turn everlasting yet. That didn’t happen till my 21st birthday. I just turned 17 years old, and it was the first day of senior year. I went to this high school where the usual stereotype of a cheerleader and a football player dating, never existed. My school didn’t match that stereotype. Sure, we had the group of nerds, Goths, populars, and then there was me. I didn’t really fit into a “group.” I didn’t have that many friends because I always moved from school to school. It was either had to do with my dad getting a new job or if the school I went to was in a bad neighborhood. I had a good feeling about this school though. Either the aura of the neighborhood was in good condition or maybe it had to do with what happened earlier that week.
At all of my schools, I was a loner. I was the only one that sat at “my” lunch table. I was the only one that sat by myself on “my” bus. I was always the only one that hung out by me at “my” school. I wasn’t a very “social” human being. I never liked being the center of attention because those people that are always in the spotlight are either snotty, stuck up, conceited, or full of themselves. I was never like that. My parents always thought that I was well behaved and polite because I was raised that way. But the truth is, inside of me, I was something more. More than what people thought of me. More than what my parents thought of me. The real truth is that inside of me was a lonely girl trying to peek out of her shyness. But the lonesome girl couldn’t because something was stopping her. That something was not just one thing, but two. Those “somethings” were my parents. Oh, if you met my parents, you would be so embarrassed. At least I would.
The alarm clock woke me up that morning with a loud buzz. I had to wake up at 6:00 because my bus came at 7:00. It never took me a long time to get ready in the morning before school, but since it was senior year at a new high school, I decided to look a little attractive.
“Oh my god! Mom, what time is it?”
“It’s 6:55.”
“Mom, MY BUS IS ALMOST HERE!”
I packed up my schoolbag as fast as I could and bolted down the stairs in my white apparel. I made it just in time. The bus waited outside my door and I confidently strolled across my lawn to the bus stop. Music was a big part of my life before I turned eternal. I was a prodigy when it came to playing the flute. I was thinking of going to Julliard, but I didn’t think I had a chance of getting in. Plus, I lived in California which was on the other side of America and far from New York. So, I’m still grasping onto the idea of going to Julliard. There’s just a lot of weight of on my shoulders at the moment with school and all.
I walked on to the bus and sat in the front away from all the popular kids. And plus, I could get off the bus before everyone else. I plugged my headphones into my iPhone and turned on pieces from Beethoven. It’s not the most hip and popular music around, but it’s relaxing. The bus made its last stop of the morning and that’s when it all began.
There he was. There Liam was. As he came onto the bus, he flipped his long hair and carried a guitar case. I figured he wrote music and played, but who knows what was in his case. His mouth opened and started speaking to me in this unknown language. I couldn’t concentrate because of how pretty he looked with his wavy hair and ripped up t-shirt. I heard nothing but the sounds of a beautiful flute.
“Um, hello?”
“Oh, hi. What did you say? I had music in my ears.”
“Can I sit next to you? There’s no room on the bus.”
“Sure thing.”
I moved down an inch and he sat down next to me. I kept listening to Beethoven. Something about his music kept me calm and relaxed. As I was listening to the sounds of Beethoven, something bothered me. I felt someone watching me. I took out my earphones and put them in my backpack. Suddenly, I turned to my left and found Liam staring at me.
“I’m sorry if I was creeping you out. It’s just.”
“What?”
“You are very pretty and very quiet. What’s your name?”
“Oh thank you. I’m Cecelia.”
“What’s your full name?”
“Cecelia Marie Adkins.”
“You have a beautiful name and a beautiful appearance. That’s a bonus.”
“Wow, you’re making me blush.”
“So what’s your story? What are your interests? Hobbies? Favorite things?”
“Well, my passion is to play flute.”
“I guess we are soul mates. I play guitar, and you play flute. Let’s get married. I’ll buy you a ring.”
“Woah, woah, woah. I don’t even know your name. But I do know that you are sweet.”
“I am Liam. Liam Devlin.”
The bus pulls around the corner of the high school, and all of a sudden I get butterflies in my stomach. Liam saw that I was panicking. Liam always saw when I was panicking. I guess he just gets me. Or maybe it’s just fate. I started to panic sweat, as I always did, and suddenly Liam’s hand creeps up to mine slowly. As, I felt his warm hand wrapped around mine, I felt this weird feeling. A feeling I never felt before. While I was holding on to his hand, he started to engage in conversation.
“So. Since you’re quiet and mysterious, do you like school?”
“Kind of. I don’t like the idea of it though. And on top of that, I move from new school to another like every other year or so. So yeah. That’s basically my life.”
We finally reached school and I wanted to get as far away from Liam as I could. I don’t know, but there was this odd feeling that I always got when I was around him. Either I liked him, or I thought that he was just downright weird. I came off the bus first, as I planned. But Liam followed me. He always followed me.
“Cecelia! Wait up!”
“Oh hey.”
“Can I see your schedule?”
“Um, sure.”
He quickly glanced through my schedule and his face abruptly lighted up with excitement as if he won the lottery or something. I never knew a piece of paper with words written on it could make a person so joyful. I have never seen Liam so happy before.
“Cecelia! We have all our classes together! And lunch! Isn’t that awesome?”
“Yeah, that sure is. Very, very awesome Liam.”
“Can I walk you to class, Madame?”
“I guess.”
Okay. I know you may be thinking, “Why isn’t Cecelia excited that such a cute boy is walking her to class?” Well I have a very obvious answer. HE IS IN EVERY CLASS WITH ME! PLUS LUNCH! How weird is that? Randomly, a cute boy sits next to me on the bus, and makes small talk with me. And on top of that, he has literally every hour of school with me. Am I the only one who thinks this is all so weird? There’s something I don’t trust about this “Liam” and I’m going to find out. But I need to get through school first.
So Liam walks me to class. And I got to say. He isn’t that bad. Maybe it’s just fate that brought us together. Or maybe it’s a curse.
“So Cecelia…”
“Yes Liam…”
“Can I walk you home from school?”
“Sure.”
We both walked to Calculus. It was first period and we didn’t get our locker numbers or locker combinations yet. The teacher spoke to us. I couldn’t really concentrate because all I could think of was why Liam came into my life. Why here? Why now? I don’t really now.
The teacher’s name was Mr. Quigley. Something about that name didn’t sit well with my stomach. During class, as Quigley was talking, Liam couldn’t stop staring at me. What the heck is wrong with this guy?
“So, from my speech, you should all know where each of your lockers are. Any questions, class?”
Of course Liam raised his hand. But the strange thing was that as he raised his hand, he kept staring at me. Are you starting to see why I think Liam is creepy?
“I have a question, Sir. I didn’t listen so could you refresh my memory for a second?”
“What’s your name?”
“Liam Devlin.”
“Well, Liam Devlin, you could listen to my speech from someone else who actually cares. Like that girl over there. Hey you! What’s your name?”
Oh. My. God. What did I do? I did absolutely nothing. If he calls on me to tell Liam about this “speech” then I won’t even have a clue of what to say.
“I’m Cecelia Adkins.”
“Well Cecelia Adkins, can you refresh this boy’s memory for me? You were paying attention, right?”
“Actually Sir, I wasn’t really paying attention. I was focusing on my schedule.”
“Are you kidding me? No one in my class will have this kind of behavior. EVER. Liam?!”
“Yes Sir?”
“Cecelia?!”
“Yes Mr. Quigley?”
“You both have detention!”
Chapter Three
Lots and Lots of Tension
Are you kidding me? How on Earth could a straight A student, advanced Calculus student, and a responsible student, get DETENTION on the first day of school? This is just ridiculous! The bell rang for second period and before Liam and I had to go to English, I wanted to give him a large and gigantic piece of my mind.
“Liam! There you are!”
“Cecelia, I was waiting for you so we could go to English together. C’mon, let’s go!”
“Okay, but let me find my locker because I am so confused. Where’s yours?”
“It’s probably next to yours. Um, I mean. I don’t know. ”
Wait. How would Liam know that his locker is “probably” next to mine? This probably has to do with our schedules being the same too. I don’t know why he would want to be with me 24-7, but it’s getting freaky. All of a sudden, Liam says something very strange. Something I never knew he could say before.
“Cecelia, I’m very sorry for my performance that took place in the classroom. The behavior was very unacceptable and it will not be tolerated. I hope you forgive me for my unforgiving behavior. I did not mean for you to be in detention based off of the knowledge you had presented to me with Julliard.”
“Um Liam. I forgive you, it’s only one detention.”
What am I saying? Of course detention is a big deal! Now I probably will never even go to Julliard. The events will take place in this order, I just know it. Maybe Liam secretly knows it.
1. Julliard will look at my application
2. They will like what they see
3. They will check the box that says “Yes, she will go here”
4. She will see my detention record
5. They will check the box that says “No, she won’t go here”
I took a peek at the clock and detention was around the corner. Detention was in five minutes. I suffered ALL DAY with Liam. But still there was this aching type of pain that I felt in my body whenever I was near him. Some might call it a tingling sensation. But, I guess I wanted Liam to be my one and only. I guess I thought that Liam was a special dude. I guess some might say he was a cool dude. Or so I thought.
Detention met up in the library. Liam told me that on the bus while we were talking. There’s something about Liam’s voice that makes me feel warm inside, yet cold at the same time. The words that come out of Liam’s mouth sound like some of Beethoven’s works. Yet better. There’s something special about him. I just need to get to know him better.
As I walked into the library, all I saw were popular kids. The cheerleaders sat with the tennis team, the Goths sat with the nerds, and then there was me. And there was Liam. Liam and I didn’t fit into a “group” or into a stereotype. I guess some kids don’t go through that like Liam and me. Me and Liam are different. We were always different.
I saw Liam sitting by himself near the Fiction section. Detention went on for forty minutes and I wanted to see what information I could get to spill out of Liam. I walked over to him and he was reading “The Fault in our Stars.” That book was my favorite along with playing the flute. That probably explains what I do after school:
1. Go home
2. Get dressed in comfy clothes
3. Eat something delicious
4. Do homework
5. Practice my flute for 2 hours
6. Read “The Fault in out Stars” for 2 hours
7. Go to sleep
I came up to Liam and abruptly he started to state a quote from the book. It was kind of nice and creepy at the same time. I guess Liam wanted it to be that way. Or so I thought.
“I’m on a rollercoaster that only goes up Cecelia Marie.”
“You know I love that book, right?”
“Yeah, I actually know lots of things about you. I mean I didn’t know that fun fact.”
Is it me or did that sound really eccentric? He knows a lot of things about me? How? How the heck does he know everything that mankind has to offer? He is weird. Really weird. But I like it. I always liked it.
“I’m on a rollercoaster that only goes up Liam. I’m on a coaster that always goes up.”
I was lying because the truth was; I’m not on that rollercoaster. If I was, I would probably crash, fall, and drown in my own puddle of tears and sorrow. Deep down inside, I am so scared of what’s about to happen. I am so nervous of what my future will hold for me. I am so frustrated with my parents and what they are doing to each other. And the truth is, I’m just scared.
For years and years, my parents have been fighting continuously about complete nonsense that no one could understand. Even I don’t understand it. The only words that always pop up are Aunt Jocelyn. My parents are the only family that I’m “aware” of. When I was 13, I got suspicious why my parents were talking about Jocelyn and why my parents have never introduced me to her or my grandparents. I have never, not even once in my life, met my grandparents, aunts or uncles, and cousins. I don’t even know any of their names. Except for Aunt Jocelyn. Even her name frightens me.
When I turned 14, my suspicions grew. On my 14th birthday, the only people that attended my party were my parents and me. My parents made me go to summer camp to make new friends, but that never worked. I came to the camp and all the kids there were already buddied up and I was left out. I was always left out. But I was fine with that. I guess so. Anyway, when I turned 14, I received a strange present from Aunt Jocelyn. My parents handed me the present and said, “Here open it, sweetie.” I asked who it was from, and all they said was, “Your,” then she whispers over to my dad, “Wes, what should we tell her?” He says, “Tell her the truth.”
“It’s from your Aunt Jocelyn, open it.”
“Okay mom.”
Before I open this present, which is wrapped in dark brown wrapping paper covered with a dark green bow, I think to myself, “Who is this person and what is in this present?” All these thoughts race around in my head and my heart beats so fast, I can’t hear myself breathe. Here goes nothing.
The First One
By Victoria
A single snowflake fell
As a winter day goes by
Children, men, and women gone inside
By firelight
White covers the Earth
A cold blanket
Time for the Earth to rest and sleep
The Earth becoming a winter playground
In till the Earth is shunned in deep sleep
A single snowflake fell
Starting winters wrath
Staring the freezing cold
And Jake Frost nipping at the nose
Saying Christmas is coming and Hanukkah too
Saying bundled up loved ones too
A single snowflake fell can mean many things
What do you think?
The Filling
By Victoria
Dark time
Go back home
Lights from homes fill a secret world
Mysterious time
Bitterness putting humans inside
Small and large
As helpless creatures terrify us.
Time to eat the last meal
Time to sit and talk
Time to put the nightwear on
Time to read a book
Time to go to bed
Dark time
Burry yourself at home
Lights from houses disappear filling the Raven-colored world
Making it more mysterious and filling it with more darkness.
The Waking
By VictoriaDark lights
Shadows aglow
Peeks of flame above the world
Darkness lightened
Shadows disappear
The word is waking
From the nap it’s taken
Another day has come
To Rise and Shine
A busy day a normal time
For everyone buzzing around
Place to place
The world is waking
Here comes another day.
A Hoot
by Rebecca Gitlevich
I sat under a tree, drinking toxic, terrible tea
As I am sitting, I am thinking to take
Thinking to take my life away, so no more today
Thinking to make poisoned water from the lake
I think “Would I die for their sake?”
Would I put poison into water from the lake?
Then I hear a hoot over myself, as I think to myself
As I am thinking I am about to make
Make the end of my misery, oh what a theory
I should not let myself take
Take this poisoned water from the lake
I think “Is this a mistake to take water from the lake?”
Then I hear a hoot, on the tree root
It made me think to take
Take the misery, of today, take it all away
The repetition will make
You want to take your fate from the lake
Take the poisoned water from the lake.
All of a sudden
I hear a sound
That can hear a mistake
As this creature flies past the great lake
Trust Is Like A Seed
By: Delila MataraTrust is like a seed
The roots start out as friendship
And then it grows into something much more extravagant
Not only does it develop through time but
It also numbs out the pain
Almost like a bandage
Love is pure
But trust is next in line
Without life nothing is there
Or at least not worth living
If no one is trustworthy
Then how are secretes supposed to be kept?
And how are dreams supposed to be remembered….
3 Poems
By: Delila MataraYou could try your hardest to impress one person, but you may have already impressed all the rest.
My head is filled with emotions, so you stay in my heart with me.
It’s a small world , it’s just the miles that separates us.
Haunted Illusion
By: Delila Matara
Life is a roller coaster
It has its ups and downs
It has its rush and it has its screams
But some people…..
Take advantage
They don’t let time….
But a knife
Take their lives away
Some people wish that they had that extra day
Small things
These days……
Get inside our heads
Thinking about the negatives
Not the positives
Our generation for now…..
Is a joke
For if you do not get your wish
You must anger
But for some…
Food is scarce
Shouldn’t they anger?
No, yes?
Right now this is the question you must ask yourself
For now
Death is our only savior?
We don’t face the truth
Any longer
Drugs and money
Forced their way into our lives
And in return
We thank them.
Not for saving us
But for never giving us hope again
What so ever
Homes and jobs
Are taken
And are never given back
What do we do?
We sit
And watch
As we are controlled as puppets
Ashamed, nothing but air in our throat
Watching…….
Watching……...
Nature is no longer our resource
Our resource
Is a screen
Auto type
And social media
Control our lives
Without it
What would we be?
Cavemen
Back to the stone age
God may have given us all we need to survive
But us humans, need to develop
Whenever it’s right or wrong
Learning is in our blood
But if a robot…..
Is teaching you
Is it the same?
And god
He stands as a witness
Watching what he has done
His creation
Destroyed? Or employed?
Who knows?
If he doesn’t
Who does?
Rare beasts
That is what our names should be
For a piece of paper
Controls us
And those
Who break the rules……
Fail
And when we look in the mirror
What do we see?
A little book
Full of big questions
People say….
The only way to live a good life is….
Money
Drugs
And fame
But what happens when….
Too much money
Too much drugs
Too much fame happen?
You’ve swallowed the key
And you cannot take it back
The only door you may open
Is to the devil
Sweet and sour
Play your cards right
And you may win
For “may” is the key
But right will always be right
And dead will always…..
Be a haunted illusion
By Victoria
A single snowflake fell
As a winter day goes by
Children, men, and women gone inside
By firelight
White covers the Earth
A cold blanket
Time for the Earth to rest and sleep
The Earth becoming a winter playground
In till the Earth is shunned in deep sleep
A single snowflake fell
Starting winters wrath
Staring the freezing cold
And Jake Frost nipping at the nose
Saying Christmas is coming and Hanukkah too
Saying bundled up loved ones too
A single snowflake fell can mean many things
What do you think?
The Filling
By Victoria
Dark time
Go back home
Lights from homes fill a secret world
Mysterious time
Bitterness putting humans inside
Small and large
As helpless creatures terrify us.
Time to eat the last meal
Time to sit and talk
Time to put the nightwear on
Time to read a book
Time to go to bed
Dark time
Burry yourself at home
Lights from houses disappear filling the Raven-colored world
Making it more mysterious and filling it with more darkness.
The Waking
By VictoriaDark lights
Shadows aglow
Peeks of flame above the world
Darkness lightened
Shadows disappear
The word is waking
From the nap it’s taken
Another day has come
To Rise and Shine
A busy day a normal time
For everyone buzzing around
Place to place
The world is waking
Here comes another day.
A Hoot
by Rebecca Gitlevich
I sat under a tree, drinking toxic, terrible tea
As I am sitting, I am thinking to take
Thinking to take my life away, so no more today
Thinking to make poisoned water from the lake
I think “Would I die for their sake?”
Would I put poison into water from the lake?
Then I hear a hoot over myself, as I think to myself
As I am thinking I am about to make
Make the end of my misery, oh what a theory
I should not let myself take
Take this poisoned water from the lake
I think “Is this a mistake to take water from the lake?”
Then I hear a hoot, on the tree root
It made me think to take
Take the misery, of today, take it all away
The repetition will make
You want to take your fate from the lake
Take the poisoned water from the lake.
All of a sudden
I hear a sound
That can hear a mistake
As this creature flies past the great lake
Trust Is Like A Seed
By: Delila MataraTrust is like a seed
The roots start out as friendship
And then it grows into something much more extravagant
Not only does it develop through time but
It also numbs out the pain
Almost like a bandage
Love is pure
But trust is next in line
Without life nothing is there
Or at least not worth living
If no one is trustworthy
Then how are secretes supposed to be kept?
And how are dreams supposed to be remembered….
3 Poems
By: Delila MataraYou could try your hardest to impress one person, but you may have already impressed all the rest.
My head is filled with emotions, so you stay in my heart with me.
It’s a small world , it’s just the miles that separates us.
Haunted Illusion
By: Delila Matara
Life is a roller coaster
It has its ups and downs
It has its rush and it has its screams
But some people…..
Take advantage
They don’t let time….
But a knife
Take their lives away
Some people wish that they had that extra day
Small things
These days……
Get inside our heads
Thinking about the negatives
Not the positives
Our generation for now…..
Is a joke
For if you do not get your wish
You must anger
But for some…
Food is scarce
Shouldn’t they anger?
No, yes?
Right now this is the question you must ask yourself
For now
Death is our only savior?
We don’t face the truth
Any longer
Drugs and money
Forced their way into our lives
And in return
We thank them.
Not for saving us
But for never giving us hope again
What so ever
Homes and jobs
Are taken
And are never given back
What do we do?
We sit
And watch
As we are controlled as puppets
Ashamed, nothing but air in our throat
Watching…….
Watching……...
Nature is no longer our resource
Our resource
Is a screen
Auto type
And social media
Control our lives
Without it
What would we be?
Cavemen
Back to the stone age
God may have given us all we need to survive
But us humans, need to develop
Whenever it’s right or wrong
Learning is in our blood
But if a robot…..
Is teaching you
Is it the same?
And god
He stands as a witness
Watching what he has done
His creation
Destroyed? Or employed?
Who knows?
If he doesn’t
Who does?
Rare beasts
That is what our names should be
For a piece of paper
Controls us
And those
Who break the rules……
Fail
And when we look in the mirror
What do we see?
A little book
Full of big questions
People say….
The only way to live a good life is….
Money
Drugs
And fame
But what happens when….
Too much money
Too much drugs
Too much fame happen?
You’ve swallowed the key
And you cannot take it back
The only door you may open
Is to the devil
Sweet and sour
Play your cards right
And you may win
For “may” is the key
But right will always be right
And dead will always…..
Be a haunted illusion
POETRY
Moon and Sun
by Victoria
Black and white
Light and dark
Day and night
Day everyone awake
Night everyone hides away
Everything still even the mouse
Night dark on the bottom,
But sepals of light on top
A smile of light
I lay awake on my bed looking out an open window
Black and white
Light and dark
Day and night
Everyone awake
Everyone hides away
Moon and Sun
by Victoria
Black and white
Light and dark
Day and night
Day everyone awake
Night everyone hides away
Everything still even the mouse
Night dark on the bottom,
But sepals of light on top
A smile of light
I lay awake on my bed looking out an open window
Black and white
Light and dark
Day and night
Everyone awake
Everyone hides away
Come Back to Me
By Rebecca Gitlevich
I remember her long brown hair
It was smooth and shined in the air
“You are just like me,” she would say
We would make each other’s day
Helen had horrible cancer
I remember how she was a wonderful dancer
I would cry at her grave
Remembering how she was brave
Helen, Helen, I miss you
I miss the things we used to do
When you are far away
I miss you everyday
Helen, Helen, I miss you
I miss the things we used to do
Please come back
Back to me
You are a crack
In my heart that everyone can see
We are swans that no one can separate
Little Fox
by: Stephanie Kosashvili
Little fox,
In my box.
Playing hide and seek,
so let's play with her,
Because it's just a trick.
What Used To Be
By: Anonymous
The love of my life is standing right next to me.
He warmed my heart like the ocean sea.
From the day I first met him, the warmth in his eyes got me paralyzed.
I cannot believe I was trapped in his eyes for the way he kidnapped me.
I thought this would never happen,
We were meant to be
Forever and ever, I will still remember the heartbreaking words he said to me.
He will always be the love for me,
But the way he said those words was enough for me
When we broke up, the clouds were crying for me.
I could feel my anxiety anxiously kicking in
For then, I realized it was meant to be,
We loved each other as it should be.
He walked up to me and said your eyes remind me of what used to be.
He looked like Hercules when he said those words
I knew he would be the one for me,
So I said yes, and we set off to be the merry couple we were meant to be!
Friends
By: Stephanie Kosashvili
Look at the sky,
and never say goodbye.
It's only you and me.
Let's play,
because we're friends...
aren't we?
S
By: Annie Mepisashvili
Sandy said Sally screamed sourly.
Soon, Sally shall say Sammy seemed super sweet, so she screamed.
"Shouldn't Sammy shout so she shows sympathy," Samantha screeched.
Sammy's salad sprouted shortly, so Sandy, Sally, Sammy, still Samantha said, "Sorry, Sammy."
Samantha says she shuns salads.
Sammy swung sad, so she sprouted some sweet pop.
She showed Samantha some sweet sop.
Samantha seemed so sweet.
Samantha sewed Sammy salmon sweaters, sapphire sweaters, silver sweaters sized small, strawberry sweaters, sunflower sweaters, shiny sparkly sweaters, so Sammy showed Sandy.
Soon, Sammy showed Sally.
Sandy seemed swell.
Sally seemed so sad, so Samantha sewed Sally sweaters.
Sally seemed so sunny.
Sally showed Sandy.
Sandy seemed so somber, so Samantha sewed Sandy sweaters.
Sandy seemed so sparkly.
So, since Sandy, Sally, Sammy seemed smiley, Samantha showed some smiles.
Sally, Sandy, Sammy, Samantha seemed situated, so showers swayed shortly.
Seemingly Settled
Winter
By Kaylee Yam
In winter, there is Christmas
And there's special presents and bows
Family coming
People humming
It's winter, and we've all seemed to glow
In winter, there is snow
Descending from the sky and seeming to have no end
It's white, fluffy, and all puffy
As puffy as a cloud
And it's quiet and never too loud
In winter, there is nature
Trees blanketed with shiny, shimmering snow
Poor trees, so cold with snow
They shake and shiver as the winds blow
WOOSH, it goes.
For it is winter with lots of snow
It's the end of winter, and we must say bye
But we shall remember the good times
Winter is a best friend
It may make us feel frozen, but it is fun and never one to offend
We will remember Christmas
We will remember snow
We will remember the nature
And in winter, we know we glowed
My Soul
By: Vivian Voloshen
The pain was indescribable,
I thought it was the end of me.
My eyes, my head, all so numb, and
Me lying there with all that is left of me.
My heart, my soul aches for help;
How to do I reach for what is left?
I need to live...my soul, my mission relies on it.
Holiday Times
By: Vivian Voloshen
The clock is ticking to strike twelve.
The carolers chiming outside in the cold briskly air.
For it is time to celebrate Christmas that we all enjoy so much.
It's Christmas time, so let’s have fun!
It's Christmas time, so let’s see the tree shine.
Let’s decorate the house with lights; all to glow.
Its Christmas time, so let’s give some ho ho ho!
The Tree
By: Vivian Voloshen
The colors, the time, the wonders, oh mys.
For what its worth we enjoy the time when the leaves change
And we enjoy the memories that are made.
But it would not be the same.
A little puny tree to grow the size of a house,
Is what we remember of our past.
The life, the strength that we gained, could never be the same without
That small little tree.
The tree was made for the story to be told of the memories that we hold in between.
For the memories that are shared with that small little tree.
If that tree did not exist the memories would have never been told.
For what it's worth it was called
The Memory Tree
Fiction
By Rebecca Gitlevich
I remember her long brown hair
It was smooth and shined in the air
“You are just like me,” she would say
We would make each other’s day
Helen had horrible cancer
I remember how she was a wonderful dancer
I would cry at her grave
Remembering how she was brave
Helen, Helen, I miss you
I miss the things we used to do
When you are far away
I miss you everyday
Helen, Helen, I miss you
I miss the things we used to do
Please come back
Back to me
You are a crack
In my heart that everyone can see
We are swans that no one can separate
Little Fox
by: Stephanie Kosashvili
Little fox,
In my box.
Playing hide and seek,
so let's play with her,
Because it's just a trick.
What Used To Be
By: Anonymous
The love of my life is standing right next to me.
He warmed my heart like the ocean sea.
From the day I first met him, the warmth in his eyes got me paralyzed.
I cannot believe I was trapped in his eyes for the way he kidnapped me.
I thought this would never happen,
We were meant to be
Forever and ever, I will still remember the heartbreaking words he said to me.
He will always be the love for me,
But the way he said those words was enough for me
When we broke up, the clouds were crying for me.
I could feel my anxiety anxiously kicking in
For then, I realized it was meant to be,
We loved each other as it should be.
He walked up to me and said your eyes remind me of what used to be.
He looked like Hercules when he said those words
I knew he would be the one for me,
So I said yes, and we set off to be the merry couple we were meant to be!
Friends
By: Stephanie Kosashvili
Look at the sky,
and never say goodbye.
It's only you and me.
Let's play,
because we're friends...
aren't we?
S
By: Annie Mepisashvili
Sandy said Sally screamed sourly.
Soon, Sally shall say Sammy seemed super sweet, so she screamed.
"Shouldn't Sammy shout so she shows sympathy," Samantha screeched.
Sammy's salad sprouted shortly, so Sandy, Sally, Sammy, still Samantha said, "Sorry, Sammy."
Samantha says she shuns salads.
Sammy swung sad, so she sprouted some sweet pop.
She showed Samantha some sweet sop.
Samantha seemed so sweet.
Samantha sewed Sammy salmon sweaters, sapphire sweaters, silver sweaters sized small, strawberry sweaters, sunflower sweaters, shiny sparkly sweaters, so Sammy showed Sandy.
Soon, Sammy showed Sally.
Sandy seemed swell.
Sally seemed so sad, so Samantha sewed Sally sweaters.
Sally seemed so sunny.
Sally showed Sandy.
Sandy seemed so somber, so Samantha sewed Sandy sweaters.
Sandy seemed so sparkly.
So, since Sandy, Sally, Sammy seemed smiley, Samantha showed some smiles.
Sally, Sandy, Sammy, Samantha seemed situated, so showers swayed shortly.
Seemingly Settled
Winter
By Kaylee Yam
In winter, there is Christmas
And there's special presents and bows
Family coming
People humming
It's winter, and we've all seemed to glow
In winter, there is snow
Descending from the sky and seeming to have no end
It's white, fluffy, and all puffy
As puffy as a cloud
And it's quiet and never too loud
In winter, there is nature
Trees blanketed with shiny, shimmering snow
Poor trees, so cold with snow
They shake and shiver as the winds blow
WOOSH, it goes.
For it is winter with lots of snow
It's the end of winter, and we must say bye
But we shall remember the good times
Winter is a best friend
It may make us feel frozen, but it is fun and never one to offend
We will remember Christmas
We will remember snow
We will remember the nature
And in winter, we know we glowed
My Soul
By: Vivian Voloshen
The pain was indescribable,
I thought it was the end of me.
My eyes, my head, all so numb, and
Me lying there with all that is left of me.
My heart, my soul aches for help;
How to do I reach for what is left?
I need to live...my soul, my mission relies on it.
Holiday Times
By: Vivian Voloshen
The clock is ticking to strike twelve.
The carolers chiming outside in the cold briskly air.
For it is time to celebrate Christmas that we all enjoy so much.
It's Christmas time, so let’s have fun!
It's Christmas time, so let’s see the tree shine.
Let’s decorate the house with lights; all to glow.
Its Christmas time, so let’s give some ho ho ho!
The Tree
By: Vivian Voloshen
The colors, the time, the wonders, oh mys.
For what its worth we enjoy the time when the leaves change
And we enjoy the memories that are made.
But it would not be the same.
A little puny tree to grow the size of a house,
Is what we remember of our past.
The life, the strength that we gained, could never be the same without
That small little tree.
The tree was made for the story to be told of the memories that we hold in between.
For the memories that are shared with that small little tree.
If that tree did not exist the memories would have never been told.
For what it's worth it was called
The Memory Tree
Fiction
A Nightmare’s Beginning and End…
by: Cristina Duffy
by: Cristina Duffy
Not many know of how I pretty much saved our way of life. Heck, I don’t even fully remember! Last April, I met…. someone extraordinary. Her name was Skyla, and she could see the unseen. She had posted something on an art and writing website about seeing a teenage boy that no one else could see. That intrigued me, so I messaged her and we got each other’s Skype accounts; Skype is used for video chatting. As we Skyped, I saw her with floating objects. When she told me that she saw things, she wasn't lying. It was all real.
We soon found out that characters from games, yes games, were planning on secretly destroying political figures because they were unseen. I ended up learning about… my powers. I can create the elements with my mind and heal wounds. At first I healed simple wounds… but one of the good characters that only Skyla could see died…. and I brought him back to life somehow. We called this battle against these Bad characters “The war”.
The war ended in victory for us, but soon, we discovered things we create and publish are real. They were walking among us, though they no longer do. Skyla had created a character who was a killer. Unfortunately, she became real. I ended up with scratches from something I couldn’t see. I have a shield. I can’t be fatally wounded by these…. things, but sharp pains in my chest and scars were common to wake up to from the months of September to…January, actually. The beginning of January to be exact.
I was known as a “Psi Warrior” in this battle, meaning I used psychic powers to fight and heal. Whenever I'd attack, my eyes would change to a bright blue. I had one attack that could blind a room of people, well, people that could see my attacks. Only few people could, actually. We wanted this hell to end forever, and we decided to contact someone known as… The Doctor. I used that blinding attack to attract his attention. He ended up reaching Skyla somehow, and a few days later he contacted me using her phone to text message me.
“Hello, can we talk for a bit…?” he had sent.
“Sure, I’ve got time!”
“They’re gone now, all of them.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, beginning to get confused. Mind you, this happened a few days ago.
“In order to disable the portals and each connection to other worlds that were opened…. We had to stop ALL connections.” I got it after that. The boys Skyla originally saw, the ones that treated her like family and likewise, were gone.
I had paused for a minute to let it sink in, then I replied. “It’s better off this way.”
“I agree with you… but Skyla didn’t want to lose them, and I understood how she felt… to lose someone.”
“Is… is there anyway to wipe her memory?” I asked, not wanting her to feel any more pain. His response was no, as I expected.
He proceeded to tell me that my “powers,” or whatever you’d like to call them, may be gone. I tested it, and they were still there.
After more talk, he told me to write this story, then left. It’s been hard trying to forget and move on, but it’s so hard….
Especially because….
…
This was all a series of dreams me and Skyla both had at the same time, the same exact things every night.
The dreams were so vivid, it’s horrifying. I would wake up in sweats and I’d call her and ask if she dreamed it, too. The answer was always "yes." I sometimes think all of this did happen, but in a different timeline where all of this is possible. This was something that changed my views on life. I learned through this experience of some psychic abilities that I do have. It’s amazing. I can actually heal wounded people. I can also do a few other things that would make me extraordinary.
This chain of events probably have never happened to anyone other than me. It’s a rare occurrence of sorts, I guess. Those portals, I believe they exist, though unseen by the average human eye. It’s unfortunate, though. I now know that if a portal opens again, I will be injured as I sleep, like before. I may even be gravely injured.
My name is Dawn Adams, and this is how I became a warrior, a warrior that saved our way of life without anyone but me and Skyla knowing.
We soon found out that characters from games, yes games, were planning on secretly destroying political figures because they were unseen. I ended up learning about… my powers. I can create the elements with my mind and heal wounds. At first I healed simple wounds… but one of the good characters that only Skyla could see died…. and I brought him back to life somehow. We called this battle against these Bad characters “The war”.
The war ended in victory for us, but soon, we discovered things we create and publish are real. They were walking among us, though they no longer do. Skyla had created a character who was a killer. Unfortunately, she became real. I ended up with scratches from something I couldn’t see. I have a shield. I can’t be fatally wounded by these…. things, but sharp pains in my chest and scars were common to wake up to from the months of September to…January, actually. The beginning of January to be exact.
I was known as a “Psi Warrior” in this battle, meaning I used psychic powers to fight and heal. Whenever I'd attack, my eyes would change to a bright blue. I had one attack that could blind a room of people, well, people that could see my attacks. Only few people could, actually. We wanted this hell to end forever, and we decided to contact someone known as… The Doctor. I used that blinding attack to attract his attention. He ended up reaching Skyla somehow, and a few days later he contacted me using her phone to text message me.
“Hello, can we talk for a bit…?” he had sent.
“Sure, I’ve got time!”
“They’re gone now, all of them.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, beginning to get confused. Mind you, this happened a few days ago.
“In order to disable the portals and each connection to other worlds that were opened…. We had to stop ALL connections.” I got it after that. The boys Skyla originally saw, the ones that treated her like family and likewise, were gone.
I had paused for a minute to let it sink in, then I replied. “It’s better off this way.”
“I agree with you… but Skyla didn’t want to lose them, and I understood how she felt… to lose someone.”
“Is… is there anyway to wipe her memory?” I asked, not wanting her to feel any more pain. His response was no, as I expected.
He proceeded to tell me that my “powers,” or whatever you’d like to call them, may be gone. I tested it, and they were still there.
After more talk, he told me to write this story, then left. It’s been hard trying to forget and move on, but it’s so hard….
Especially because….
…
This was all a series of dreams me and Skyla both had at the same time, the same exact things every night.
The dreams were so vivid, it’s horrifying. I would wake up in sweats and I’d call her and ask if she dreamed it, too. The answer was always "yes." I sometimes think all of this did happen, but in a different timeline where all of this is possible. This was something that changed my views on life. I learned through this experience of some psychic abilities that I do have. It’s amazing. I can actually heal wounded people. I can also do a few other things that would make me extraordinary.
This chain of events probably have never happened to anyone other than me. It’s a rare occurrence of sorts, I guess. Those portals, I believe they exist, though unseen by the average human eye. It’s unfortunate, though. I now know that if a portal opens again, I will be injured as I sleep, like before. I may even be gravely injured.
My name is Dawn Adams, and this is how I became a warrior, a warrior that saved our way of life without anyone but me and Skyla knowing.
Renaissance
By: Rebecca Gitlevich
By: Rebecca Gitlevich
In a flash, everyone vanished, and my brother and I were all alone. The people holding cameras and wearing tourist hats had all disappeared. Even the driver was gone, but the bus was still moving. The vehicle swerved at the turns as if the driver was still behind the wheel. The blue bus we had been riding in had circles, triangles, and squares scattered on the wall. The bus sped along faster and faster without stopping. The bus raced past a police car at over 90 mph, when the speed limit was supposed to be only 45 mph. I wasn't that sure because the sign flew past me like a flash, leaving only a blur of black.
“Are you okay, Charlie?” I asked the little boy in the green striped shirt and blue jeans.
“Why you asking?” asked Charlie, answering my question with a question. I shook my head in a nevermind way. I turned to look through the window, seeing the bushy, green, tall trees that blur right past. Then, all of a sudden, there was a huge bump in the road, and I felt the bus fly for an extra five seconds, and then heard it crashing noisily into the ground.
But when we landed, the trees were gone, too, and the tall buildings that I saw through the window were gone. But the people or tourists appeared, as if they were there the whole time. Instead of buildings, there were cottages with straw roofs, and there was an area that looked like there would be one of those things in movies where they fight on horses with long sticks... jousts.
“I wonder where we are. Maybe at a tourist attraction,” I thought to myself. The only problem was that the tourists that were on the bus wore the same clothing as the people in the so-called village that I hadn't noticed on the bus before now. What was the freakish, most scariest part of the whole changing clothes thing was me and Charlie changed clothes, too. At first, I thought I fell asleep, and I was proven wrong. This place looked like the descriptions in my big, blue, heavy history textbook at school. We just finished the exciting Renaissance subject with the jousts, type of food, weapons, and buildings, which is way different than what we use today. When I looked in my luggage, all my money had been turned to gold and silver coins! My clothes changed to the style all these people were wearing!
“Where are Grandma and Grandpa?” asked Charlie, after inspecting his clothes very fondly. I looked at him, trying to hold back the secrets that ran through my head. I could not lie to my baby brother, as he looked at me with his big, blue, round eyes.
“That is a long story,” I said, gazing up into space.
“Are you okay, Charlie?” I asked the little boy in the green striped shirt and blue jeans.
“Why you asking?” asked Charlie, answering my question with a question. I shook my head in a nevermind way. I turned to look through the window, seeing the bushy, green, tall trees that blur right past. Then, all of a sudden, there was a huge bump in the road, and I felt the bus fly for an extra five seconds, and then heard it crashing noisily into the ground.
But when we landed, the trees were gone, too, and the tall buildings that I saw through the window were gone. But the people or tourists appeared, as if they were there the whole time. Instead of buildings, there were cottages with straw roofs, and there was an area that looked like there would be one of those things in movies where they fight on horses with long sticks... jousts.
“I wonder where we are. Maybe at a tourist attraction,” I thought to myself. The only problem was that the tourists that were on the bus wore the same clothing as the people in the so-called village that I hadn't noticed on the bus before now. What was the freakish, most scariest part of the whole changing clothes thing was me and Charlie changed clothes, too. At first, I thought I fell asleep, and I was proven wrong. This place looked like the descriptions in my big, blue, heavy history textbook at school. We just finished the exciting Renaissance subject with the jousts, type of food, weapons, and buildings, which is way different than what we use today. When I looked in my luggage, all my money had been turned to gold and silver coins! My clothes changed to the style all these people were wearing!
“Where are Grandma and Grandpa?” asked Charlie, after inspecting his clothes very fondly. I looked at him, trying to hold back the secrets that ran through my head. I could not lie to my baby brother, as he looked at me with his big, blue, round eyes.
“That is a long story,” I said, gazing up into space.
If Wishes Were Stars
By: Jessica Hutchison
Part One: The Discovery
Violet
RIIIIIING!
“That’s the bell! C’mon, let’s go!” Kara Flint is my best friend.
She’s like, so smart. All the teachers love her. I, on the other hand, can barely pull off a C+ in math. In all my subjects, actually.
“C’mon, we’re gonna be late for language arts!” Violet practically yanks my arm off dragging me to our class. She’s my other best friend, and probably the prettiest in 4th grade. She has golden blonde hair that shines in the sun, and somehow she manages to make her hair lie flat. No matter how I try, my long black hair sticks up everywhere.
“Welcome to class,” says Mrs. Grugan.
She’s a tiny lady, 4 1/2 feet tall, but she is actually really loud. I bet you could hear her in China… School is like, the “boringest” thing in the world. My grandparents are always saying I have lots of potential. Yeah, well MAYBE I’m saving my potential for more important things!
“Pay attention, Vio! This is on the test tomorrow!” Kara whispers.
Umm, wake up, Kara. Since when have I paid attention to anything? But I sigh and sit up straight, and… end up falling asleep again. RIIIIIING! Kara shakes me awake. “Holy crap! What does it take? Huh?” She cries in exaspiration. I let out a long sigh. “It’s lunch time. Let’s go to the closet and call Isabelle.”
Lunch time is when we always call Isabelle. We sneak to the Janitor’s Closet to call her, since we can’t use cell phones in school. It’s the perfect place to call her, too. Quiet, secret. Kara dials in Isabelle’s number. {267-625-XXXX} Ring! Ring! Ring! On the third ring, Isabelle picks up.
“Hey there!” says Isabelle.
“Hi!!!” I squeal. This is my favorite part of the day. I miss Isabelle so bad, and I call her twice a day. I call once at lunch, with Kara, and once before I go to sleep. We are always IM’ing each other. Like 24/7. Isabelle is so awesome. And pretty. And… She has short pale cream colored hair with navy blue highlights, and she has brown eyes. Before she moved, she was the prettiest girl in our grade. But her dad said the school was teaching very simple material, so she transferred to a better school in California.
“How’s 5th grade?” I ask.
“It’s good. I still think it’s too simple for me, but my dad said to wait and he’ll try to get me into 6th grade.”
“Oh, wow! Isabelle, are you really that smart? I mean, actually, is that even possible? Like, I don’t know, isn’t it illegal to skip 2 grades at once? I mean, there must be some rule against it. Well, I guess it is possible. Like, are you really smart enough? Or maybe they make you take a test. Yeah, I bet that’s it…”
I let out an irritated sigh and gave Kara a SHUT-UP-AND-BE-QUIET-look. She stopped talking. I wouldn’t be surprised if Isabelle was covering her ears the whole time.
“…Is it over yet?”
“Yeah...” I like Kara, and she is a good friend, but that motor mouth of hers could turn Mother Teresa into the ax murderer.
“Guess what! This time Violet even fell asleep in Langua-mfff!”
“Hey!” I snapped, covering her mouth. Not again!
“Look, guys, I really have to go. My dad…um, wants me to…clean my room! Bye!”
???
Gee, Isabelle was really in a hurry to get off the line. I wonder what was wrong… That really was short for a conversation with Isabelle. Kara looked at me all excited and started to babble excitedly.
“OMG! That is so cool! Like, Isabelle is skipping a grade! Like, OMG! Like, I can’t believe it! Can I believe it? OMG, Vio, isn’t this soooooooooo cool…” Here we go again…
“KARA!!! SHUT UP! MY EARS ARE BLEEDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
I turned to leave, and suddenly a huge gust of wind started swirling everywhere. I gasped and spun around, looking for Kara, but I coundn’t see her. Actually, I couldn’t see anything anymore. Just the wind swirling around, tossing and turning me around. Suddenly all the wind was gone, and I started falling through air. Gah! Down, down, down I fell, arms flailing. THUMP! I landed hard on my back, knocking the breath out of me, and rustling the leaves on the ground. Leaves?! I stood up and looked around. I was in a small clearing with trees surrounding the whole area. There were flowers and strange animals and plants everywhere. I looked up. It was dark out and glittering stars filled the sky. Where am I?
“Welcome to the Hadarac Woods!”
Who? I spun around, to see a little… thing… a… talking glowing blue ball with wings?! I must be dreaming… I hesitated, and then asked, “Erm, what are you?”
“I’m not a ‘what’, I’m a ‘who’! My name is Celia, sent by the great oak tree to help you!”
“Oh…where am I?”
“The Hadarac Woods.”
“Huh?! What’s that?”
Sigh. “You’re in the land of Alagaesia, in the Hadarac Woods.”
“Um, do you know how to get back to Firestone Park Elementary School? I’m going to be marked absent from class if-”
“You don’t need to go back there anymore.”
“YES!!! Wait…why?”
“Weeeeell…”
Isabelle
Why can’t they just forget to call me once?! Kara, she’s an obnoxious motor mouthed idiot, Violet…well, I guess she’s okay… I just got off the line. They drive me insane. They call me twice a day!!! Crazy…
“Isabelle! Where have you been? You are 1 minute and 29 seconds late for training! Come. Everyone’s waiting.”
“…Yes, Father.” That’s my dad, Lord Galbatrix. He’s training all the werecats (half-cat half-human) to become warriors. Once they are fully trained, me being among them, we’ll attack the other half of the Hadarac Woods. We’ll show them who’s in charge.
“Too many openings! If you want to defend yourself you have to close your openings!”
Training is harsh, and we always train with real swords and weapons, claws out. They say that it builds a resistance against severe pain. It also helps us do better in real duels, which is when you battle one-on-one with a battle trainer. At least, that’s what Dad told me. I’ve never actually seen one.
“Isabelle! Claws out, I said! Bite them if you have to! You have fangs!”
I sighed and unsheathed my claws. One of the werecats lept at me,and I ducked and watched as he flew over my head. He landed on his head in the corner of the arena with a thump. That had to hurt. She hissed and stood up. Hey lady! Maybe you could find someone your own level to fight with! I let out a heavy sigh and stood up too. We eyed each other for a couple seconds. She made the first move. There was a hiss, and she lept (again) at me, upside down. This time, when I ducked, I raked my claws down her back, and she howled in pain. She lunged again, but missed, though she managed to scar my right cheek, leaving 3 crimson red slashes. With a growl, I lept straight at her, claws outstretched, and landed square on her waist, knocking her over. Yes! Then I bit into her shoulder, sinking my fangs deep into her skin. She screamed and started flailing her arms. I tasted blood, but I held tight, digging my teeth deeper and deeper. I’ll teach you to mess with me!
“ISABELLE!!! STOP.”
I turned, and saw my trainer and Lord Galbatrix standing in front of me. I let go, and dipped my head in greeting. “I apoligize, Father. I guess I got carried away.”
“Carried away, huh? You did well. I’ve seen everything, and how you preformed was well over my expectations. Good work!”
I guess that was a test of my skill. I nodded. “Thank you.”
“Come. There is much to be done in preparation for the attack.”
As warriors in training, we are taught to fight mercilessly against our opponents, and to love the feeling of blood running through our claws. We’re taught to be completely loyal to out trainers. I’ve been training for almost a year, and at the next full moon, I’ll be a fully trained warrior.
Violet
“So you're saying I’m supposed to…save this forest from a bunch of human-cat people who fight each other with swords?! Why don’t they just use guns?” I guess I’m not dreaming. But how is a girl like me going to save a forest from a bunch of evil people?
“Erm, what’s a gun?”
“Whaaaaaaaaat? You don’t know what a gun is?”
“No. Oh, wait, I forgot to tell you. You went back in time, so they probably didn’t invent them yet.”
“No way! What year???”
“1820.”
“…I wish I could go home.”
“No.” (T.T)
I sighed. Apparently, I stepped on a transportation plate and went back in time to another world. Celia says it’s the “spiritual world” where all the spirits of animals and people that died go. I’m supposed to save it from hundreds of evil people. HOW??? I don’t even like gym…
“How come I have to do it? Why can’t someone like Isabelle do it instead?”
“…”
“Well?”
“…It’s complicated, and I don’t actually know much. But obviously you’re different than most people, because you activated the transportation plate. Maybe that’s why you were chosen.”
“…Oh.”
“C’mon. You need to meet your trainer.”
“Wait. What?”
“You don’t really expect to do this without any skill of any kind?”
“…Right…”
I guess that means I’m gonna train to fight. I don’t even like gym (T.T).
“So this is the Chosen one?” A woman with short, sloppily cut auburn hair walks up to us.
“…Yes.”
Celia… The woman smiles at me.
“Call me Clare. Lets go get you situated with some more comfortable clothes, shall we?” Clare chirps, eyeing my fadded sweater and torn jeans.
Soon, she had me outfitted in a black cami and black leggings. I also had a dark blue sweater with a hood, and black knee-high boots with traction on the bottoms. She’s debating with my trainer on what skill I should start with.
“...Just got here-"
“She should start with…”
“No, no, no! She has to-”
“I SAID-”
“NO!!!”
“SHE’LL START IN THE MIDDLE, GOT IT?!”
“…OK…”
Clare let out a heavy sigh and walked back to me. She rubbed her forehead and sighed again.
“I tried to get you into a beginner’s session, but the trainer has you in regular training sessions. I’m so sorry…”
“That’s okay. Thanks.”
My trainer, who has shoulder-long red hair and intense purple eyes walks over to us. She shoots a loathing look at Clare, and introduces herself.
“The name’s Armoni. I’m your instructor here. I believe Miss Clare already told you’re in regular training, correct?”
“Yeah…”
“Then let’s go.” She said briskly, steering me away from Clare. She hands me a scroll of paper. I open it, puzzled.
“Your schedule for each day. You’ll refer to this if you forget where to go. Right now you’d have close combat-”
“What’s close combat?”
“Never mind. How much do you know about fighting?”
“Um……”
“I see.”
………………………………………………
Soon I’m outside with Armoni, training with swords. It turns out she’s not so business-like as she seems. And she’s really patient with me. It also seems that I’m a much faster learner than I thought I was.
“Remember, try to keep your sword straight and perfectly balanced. Good!”
“This is really hard! But, it's also kinda fun…”
“You’re right, it is hard, but you’re a really fast learner, and you’ve got potential. If you keep this up, you’ll be finished training in a little less than a year!”
Potential again… By the end of the day, I had mastered most of the basics of swordsmanship. Maybe this isn’t so bad…I hope Kara’s okay…she probably won’t be worried…she was too focused on Isabelle…
Part Two: The Missing
Kara
Oh no, oh no…what should I do? She was right here…Oh, I’m so worried…She was standing right here, on this thingy… and then a gust of wind appeared…and then she was gone…gone with the wind…should I tell her parents? A teacher? No, she doesn’t have parents, and if I tell a teacher they’ll know everything with the cellphones…
I missed…Gah! Lunch was over half an hour ago! I’d better go…sigh, I wish Isabelle was here…she’d know what to do…guess I’d better get to class…
………………………………………………
“Yo Kara! Where’s Violet?’
“Yeah! You guys are like, glued together!”
Grrr…
“Whoa, Kara’s late for class!”
“Hey, Kevin! Kara’s late for class, and get this! She’s not with Violet!”
“Wow!”
Yeah…Breaking news!
“Order! Order!” yelled the teacher.
“I’ll have a mushroom pizza and fries!”
“I want Chinese!”
“I WANT YOU TO SHUT UP!!! Now…Miss Kara, you’d better have a very good reason for being this late.”
“……”
“Detention, after school. Miss Kara, you know better. I’m very disappionted in you. Go sit down.”
Oh, this is terrible! Detention…I wish I hadn’t been late for class…
………………………………………………
I just got out of detention and, of course, it had to start raining. Violet and Isabelle would have waited…Violet…sigh. Momma’s probably worried about me…I need to get home…I hope Violet’s okay…sigh…oh, Violet…where are you? I looked at the sky, almost willing Violet to come running to me and say she was okay. Like that would ever happen. What if she’s gone? I shuddered and ran the rest of the way home.
Vio…wherever you are…come home soon…I wish you were here.
-Kara
Violet
I rose bright and early in the morning, ready for schoo- I don’t have school anymore…Oh yeah. I dressed in the cami and leggings, put on my boots and sweater. I grabbed my sword and schedule, and was about to run out of my room when I remembered I didn’t know this place very well. All I knew was the building was underground, the gym was on the 1st floor (or the bottom floor), and all the bedrooms were on the 2nd floor. I had breakfast at 6:00am. I looked at my yellow clock. Its hands read 7:42. Gah! 15 minutes left! Where do I go anyway??? I opened the map and my schedule. It said to go to bedroom 25. ??? I found it after searching 100 halls. Hesitantly, I rang the doorbell. Armoni answered the door.
“Hi, Violet! Come in…you're just in time!”
“Hi, Armoni.”
Soon, she had a tall plate of golden blueberry pancakes dripping in glistening syrup. Oh, my god…that looks so good…I was right. It tasted like heaven.
“…How do you cook without electricity?”
“We do have electricity, we just don’t like to use it, because the generator in the basement below runs on wind power…and solar power, too. The panels are all on top of the trees.”
“Oh…this is really good, anyway. I wish I could have this everyday at home…Kara would love it…um…Kara was with me when I came here. Can I go tell her I’m okay?”
“Violet, I’m really sorry. I wish…I wish you could, but the transportation plate…it needs to be activated before you can use…did you say she saw you disappear in the transportation???”
“…yeah…is that bad?”
Violet
RIIIIIING!
“That’s the bell! C’mon, let’s go!” Kara Flint is my best friend.
She’s like, so smart. All the teachers love her. I, on the other hand, can barely pull off a C+ in math. In all my subjects, actually.
“C’mon, we’re gonna be late for language arts!” Violet practically yanks my arm off dragging me to our class. She’s my other best friend, and probably the prettiest in 4th grade. She has golden blonde hair that shines in the sun, and somehow she manages to make her hair lie flat. No matter how I try, my long black hair sticks up everywhere.
“Welcome to class,” says Mrs. Grugan.
She’s a tiny lady, 4 1/2 feet tall, but she is actually really loud. I bet you could hear her in China… School is like, the “boringest” thing in the world. My grandparents are always saying I have lots of potential. Yeah, well MAYBE I’m saving my potential for more important things!
“Pay attention, Vio! This is on the test tomorrow!” Kara whispers.
Umm, wake up, Kara. Since when have I paid attention to anything? But I sigh and sit up straight, and… end up falling asleep again. RIIIIIING! Kara shakes me awake. “Holy crap! What does it take? Huh?” She cries in exaspiration. I let out a long sigh. “It’s lunch time. Let’s go to the closet and call Isabelle.”
Lunch time is when we always call Isabelle. We sneak to the Janitor’s Closet to call her, since we can’t use cell phones in school. It’s the perfect place to call her, too. Quiet, secret. Kara dials in Isabelle’s number. {267-625-XXXX} Ring! Ring! Ring! On the third ring, Isabelle picks up.
“Hey there!” says Isabelle.
“Hi!!!” I squeal. This is my favorite part of the day. I miss Isabelle so bad, and I call her twice a day. I call once at lunch, with Kara, and once before I go to sleep. We are always IM’ing each other. Like 24/7. Isabelle is so awesome. And pretty. And… She has short pale cream colored hair with navy blue highlights, and she has brown eyes. Before she moved, she was the prettiest girl in our grade. But her dad said the school was teaching very simple material, so she transferred to a better school in California.
“How’s 5th grade?” I ask.
“It’s good. I still think it’s too simple for me, but my dad said to wait and he’ll try to get me into 6th grade.”
“Oh, wow! Isabelle, are you really that smart? I mean, actually, is that even possible? Like, I don’t know, isn’t it illegal to skip 2 grades at once? I mean, there must be some rule against it. Well, I guess it is possible. Like, are you really smart enough? Or maybe they make you take a test. Yeah, I bet that’s it…”
I let out an irritated sigh and gave Kara a SHUT-UP-AND-BE-QUIET-look. She stopped talking. I wouldn’t be surprised if Isabelle was covering her ears the whole time.
“…Is it over yet?”
“Yeah...” I like Kara, and she is a good friend, but that motor mouth of hers could turn Mother Teresa into the ax murderer.
“Guess what! This time Violet even fell asleep in Langua-mfff!”
“Hey!” I snapped, covering her mouth. Not again!
“Look, guys, I really have to go. My dad…um, wants me to…clean my room! Bye!”
???
Gee, Isabelle was really in a hurry to get off the line. I wonder what was wrong… That really was short for a conversation with Isabelle. Kara looked at me all excited and started to babble excitedly.
“OMG! That is so cool! Like, Isabelle is skipping a grade! Like, OMG! Like, I can’t believe it! Can I believe it? OMG, Vio, isn’t this soooooooooo cool…” Here we go again…
“KARA!!! SHUT UP! MY EARS ARE BLEEDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
I turned to leave, and suddenly a huge gust of wind started swirling everywhere. I gasped and spun around, looking for Kara, but I coundn’t see her. Actually, I couldn’t see anything anymore. Just the wind swirling around, tossing and turning me around. Suddenly all the wind was gone, and I started falling through air. Gah! Down, down, down I fell, arms flailing. THUMP! I landed hard on my back, knocking the breath out of me, and rustling the leaves on the ground. Leaves?! I stood up and looked around. I was in a small clearing with trees surrounding the whole area. There were flowers and strange animals and plants everywhere. I looked up. It was dark out and glittering stars filled the sky. Where am I?
“Welcome to the Hadarac Woods!”
Who? I spun around, to see a little… thing… a… talking glowing blue ball with wings?! I must be dreaming… I hesitated, and then asked, “Erm, what are you?”
“I’m not a ‘what’, I’m a ‘who’! My name is Celia, sent by the great oak tree to help you!”
“Oh…where am I?”
“The Hadarac Woods.”
“Huh?! What’s that?”
Sigh. “You’re in the land of Alagaesia, in the Hadarac Woods.”
“Um, do you know how to get back to Firestone Park Elementary School? I’m going to be marked absent from class if-”
“You don’t need to go back there anymore.”
“YES!!! Wait…why?”
“Weeeeell…”
Isabelle
Why can’t they just forget to call me once?! Kara, she’s an obnoxious motor mouthed idiot, Violet…well, I guess she’s okay… I just got off the line. They drive me insane. They call me twice a day!!! Crazy…
“Isabelle! Where have you been? You are 1 minute and 29 seconds late for training! Come. Everyone’s waiting.”
“…Yes, Father.” That’s my dad, Lord Galbatrix. He’s training all the werecats (half-cat half-human) to become warriors. Once they are fully trained, me being among them, we’ll attack the other half of the Hadarac Woods. We’ll show them who’s in charge.
“Too many openings! If you want to defend yourself you have to close your openings!”
Training is harsh, and we always train with real swords and weapons, claws out. They say that it builds a resistance against severe pain. It also helps us do better in real duels, which is when you battle one-on-one with a battle trainer. At least, that’s what Dad told me. I’ve never actually seen one.
“Isabelle! Claws out, I said! Bite them if you have to! You have fangs!”
I sighed and unsheathed my claws. One of the werecats lept at me,and I ducked and watched as he flew over my head. He landed on his head in the corner of the arena with a thump. That had to hurt. She hissed and stood up. Hey lady! Maybe you could find someone your own level to fight with! I let out a heavy sigh and stood up too. We eyed each other for a couple seconds. She made the first move. There was a hiss, and she lept (again) at me, upside down. This time, when I ducked, I raked my claws down her back, and she howled in pain. She lunged again, but missed, though she managed to scar my right cheek, leaving 3 crimson red slashes. With a growl, I lept straight at her, claws outstretched, and landed square on her waist, knocking her over. Yes! Then I bit into her shoulder, sinking my fangs deep into her skin. She screamed and started flailing her arms. I tasted blood, but I held tight, digging my teeth deeper and deeper. I’ll teach you to mess with me!
“ISABELLE!!! STOP.”
I turned, and saw my trainer and Lord Galbatrix standing in front of me. I let go, and dipped my head in greeting. “I apoligize, Father. I guess I got carried away.”
“Carried away, huh? You did well. I’ve seen everything, and how you preformed was well over my expectations. Good work!”
I guess that was a test of my skill. I nodded. “Thank you.”
“Come. There is much to be done in preparation for the attack.”
As warriors in training, we are taught to fight mercilessly against our opponents, and to love the feeling of blood running through our claws. We’re taught to be completely loyal to out trainers. I’ve been training for almost a year, and at the next full moon, I’ll be a fully trained warrior.
Violet
“So you're saying I’m supposed to…save this forest from a bunch of human-cat people who fight each other with swords?! Why don’t they just use guns?” I guess I’m not dreaming. But how is a girl like me going to save a forest from a bunch of evil people?
“Erm, what’s a gun?”
“Whaaaaaaaaat? You don’t know what a gun is?”
“No. Oh, wait, I forgot to tell you. You went back in time, so they probably didn’t invent them yet.”
“No way! What year???”
“1820.”
“…I wish I could go home.”
“No.” (T.T)
I sighed. Apparently, I stepped on a transportation plate and went back in time to another world. Celia says it’s the “spiritual world” where all the spirits of animals and people that died go. I’m supposed to save it from hundreds of evil people. HOW??? I don’t even like gym…
“How come I have to do it? Why can’t someone like Isabelle do it instead?”
“…”
“Well?”
“…It’s complicated, and I don’t actually know much. But obviously you’re different than most people, because you activated the transportation plate. Maybe that’s why you were chosen.”
“…Oh.”
“C’mon. You need to meet your trainer.”
“Wait. What?”
“You don’t really expect to do this without any skill of any kind?”
“…Right…”
I guess that means I’m gonna train to fight. I don’t even like gym (T.T).
“So this is the Chosen one?” A woman with short, sloppily cut auburn hair walks up to us.
“…Yes.”
Celia… The woman smiles at me.
“Call me Clare. Lets go get you situated with some more comfortable clothes, shall we?” Clare chirps, eyeing my fadded sweater and torn jeans.
Soon, she had me outfitted in a black cami and black leggings. I also had a dark blue sweater with a hood, and black knee-high boots with traction on the bottoms. She’s debating with my trainer on what skill I should start with.
“...Just got here-"
“She should start with…”
“No, no, no! She has to-”
“I SAID-”
“NO!!!”
“SHE’LL START IN THE MIDDLE, GOT IT?!”
“…OK…”
Clare let out a heavy sigh and walked back to me. She rubbed her forehead and sighed again.
“I tried to get you into a beginner’s session, but the trainer has you in regular training sessions. I’m so sorry…”
“That’s okay. Thanks.”
My trainer, who has shoulder-long red hair and intense purple eyes walks over to us. She shoots a loathing look at Clare, and introduces herself.
“The name’s Armoni. I’m your instructor here. I believe Miss Clare already told you’re in regular training, correct?”
“Yeah…”
“Then let’s go.” She said briskly, steering me away from Clare. She hands me a scroll of paper. I open it, puzzled.
“Your schedule for each day. You’ll refer to this if you forget where to go. Right now you’d have close combat-”
“What’s close combat?”
“Never mind. How much do you know about fighting?”
“Um……”
“I see.”
………………………………………………
Soon I’m outside with Armoni, training with swords. It turns out she’s not so business-like as she seems. And she’s really patient with me. It also seems that I’m a much faster learner than I thought I was.
“Remember, try to keep your sword straight and perfectly balanced. Good!”
“This is really hard! But, it's also kinda fun…”
“You’re right, it is hard, but you’re a really fast learner, and you’ve got potential. If you keep this up, you’ll be finished training in a little less than a year!”
Potential again… By the end of the day, I had mastered most of the basics of swordsmanship. Maybe this isn’t so bad…I hope Kara’s okay…she probably won’t be worried…she was too focused on Isabelle…
Part Two: The Missing
Kara
Oh no, oh no…what should I do? She was right here…Oh, I’m so worried…She was standing right here, on this thingy… and then a gust of wind appeared…and then she was gone…gone with the wind…should I tell her parents? A teacher? No, she doesn’t have parents, and if I tell a teacher they’ll know everything with the cellphones…
I missed…Gah! Lunch was over half an hour ago! I’d better go…sigh, I wish Isabelle was here…she’d know what to do…guess I’d better get to class…
………………………………………………
“Yo Kara! Where’s Violet?’
“Yeah! You guys are like, glued together!”
Grrr…
“Whoa, Kara’s late for class!”
“Hey, Kevin! Kara’s late for class, and get this! She’s not with Violet!”
“Wow!”
Yeah…Breaking news!
“Order! Order!” yelled the teacher.
“I’ll have a mushroom pizza and fries!”
“I want Chinese!”
“I WANT YOU TO SHUT UP!!! Now…Miss Kara, you’d better have a very good reason for being this late.”
“……”
“Detention, after school. Miss Kara, you know better. I’m very disappionted in you. Go sit down.”
Oh, this is terrible! Detention…I wish I hadn’t been late for class…
………………………………………………
I just got out of detention and, of course, it had to start raining. Violet and Isabelle would have waited…Violet…sigh. Momma’s probably worried about me…I need to get home…I hope Violet’s okay…sigh…oh, Violet…where are you? I looked at the sky, almost willing Violet to come running to me and say she was okay. Like that would ever happen. What if she’s gone? I shuddered and ran the rest of the way home.
Vio…wherever you are…come home soon…I wish you were here.
-Kara
Violet
I rose bright and early in the morning, ready for schoo- I don’t have school anymore…Oh yeah. I dressed in the cami and leggings, put on my boots and sweater. I grabbed my sword and schedule, and was about to run out of my room when I remembered I didn’t know this place very well. All I knew was the building was underground, the gym was on the 1st floor (or the bottom floor), and all the bedrooms were on the 2nd floor. I had breakfast at 6:00am. I looked at my yellow clock. Its hands read 7:42. Gah! 15 minutes left! Where do I go anyway??? I opened the map and my schedule. It said to go to bedroom 25. ??? I found it after searching 100 halls. Hesitantly, I rang the doorbell. Armoni answered the door.
“Hi, Violet! Come in…you're just in time!”
“Hi, Armoni.”
Soon, she had a tall plate of golden blueberry pancakes dripping in glistening syrup. Oh, my god…that looks so good…I was right. It tasted like heaven.
“…How do you cook without electricity?”
“We do have electricity, we just don’t like to use it, because the generator in the basement below runs on wind power…and solar power, too. The panels are all on top of the trees.”
“Oh…this is really good, anyway. I wish I could have this everyday at home…Kara would love it…um…Kara was with me when I came here. Can I go tell her I’m okay?”
“Violet, I’m really sorry. I wish…I wish you could, but the transportation plate…it needs to be activated before you can use…did you say she saw you disappear in the transportation???”
“…yeah…is that bad?”
The Etcetera Project
By: Tucker J. Shipp
PART I
Strange sightings have been reported that there was awkward behavior occurring somewhere near Neptune. For 50 years, there have been rumors that there was an unusual object in Neptune’s orbit. The object consisted of exotic and unusual shapes. But the object looked almost like a ship. I have been studying these movements closely which made my observations make it hard for me to depict the most unimaginable beings, no, THINGS that they were. All I have to ask is one question: Are we alone?
If I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Fred Wendall. Earlier, I didn’t mention that I'M the one who’s studying this epidemic, and I’M the one who reported these strange and peculiar sightings. But I couldn’t have done it alone. The president helped me recruit a team in order to conduct a search investigation called The Etcetera Project. He gave me an engineer, a weapon’s specialist, a navigator, and then there was me, the scientist and the leader of the team.
“As you all know, you are here to investigate some activity that has been recorded by our specialist, Fredward. So, in order to find out where and what this activity is coming from, we need to send you all, The ETC Team, to search for any evidence that we in fact are NOT alone. And as always, you need to keep this information confidential.”
“But where are we going?” says Benjamin, the engineer.
“I’m glad you asked. Fred, will you do the honors.”
“Of course. Ladies and Gentlemen, we’re going to Neptune.”
“I’m not an expert,” says Malcom, the weapon’s specialist, “ but isn’t Neptune too far away from the sun? I mean, isn’t there rarely any life on Neptune, well because it’s too far from the sun? Why Neptune?”
“Well, you can talk to the UFO surrounding the planet itself.”
Next Scene…
“Okay team, time to set course for Neptune. Ben, is the aircraft ready to fly?”
“Si Senior, this machine is ready to work.”
“Alright, let’s get out of here. Sid, you’re coming with me to power the engine.” Sid is our Navigator. When we’re in a situation when we might get lost, he’ll come in handy anytime. On the other note, when everyone was ready, we took off, looking for a better chance at fame, fortune, and history.
“So what do we do now? Wait?"
"Well, do you see anything else to do?"
"Well I don’t wait. I gotta talk or do something 'cause this expedition is getting me pumped. ” As you can tell, Sid is usually the energetic one.
After a long time, and by a long time, I mean about 2 days, we finally approached Neptune’s reach of sight. And there it was, the close-up rare image of that ship I’ve been studying for pretty much my whole life. The texture of the ship was really dark and intense, looking as though it had been tossed around and pounded senselessly, and it also looked like there was rarely any signs of life.
“Seniors, I have a bad feeling about this place.”
“Yeah, something also tells me this isn’t such a good area to be searching, but-"
“Almost like a place where animals and humans get slaughtered,” Malcom interrupts.
“Senior Wendall do you think… we’re really… ALONE?”
PART II
“I don’t know, maybe it would be better if we stay inside the aircraft and have a steak out, just to make sure this place shows no signs of harm.”
“I agree. I think it would be safer. Plus, who knows what kind of things are out there. I vote we steak out.”
Then it was official, all we’d do is just stay inside the ship and stare at the ceiling for who knows how long and do absolutely NOTHING. Other than me, I found some things to do myself. For example, STUDYING. So now I’m sitting here looking at the floating object in Neptune’s orbit, but there was an odd distortion in the glimpse of the object. Wait… could this be?
“Oh no, I have to tell the guys…”
PART III
“Sid, Malcom, Ben, I need you to see something,” (very quickly) “do you know how I was studying that picture of the ship, well take a look.”
“MOTHER OF GOD…” Said Sid with a burst of shock.
When everyone looked at that picture, what they saw was real. It was hard to depict the features of this figure, but here is my description of the unimaginable creature it was…
It was tall, approximately 10 feet in length, diameter of head was large and overbearing, it was unimaginable, All that was on his face was a nose, nothing more. He, NO IT! It had scales instead of skin. The creature had very high muscle tones and appeared to be looking at the camera that took the picture, like it was a foreign object, which it was to them. No further descriptions of this figure can be explained.
“Fred, we have to get out of here. Now-
“No! We have to finish this mission, I’ve wasted my life studying this picture with all I could and I’m not going to just leave. Got it? Go ahead and kill yourself if you want but I’m the leader and what I say goes UNDERSTAND?
“Fine, but if we get killed, it was all because of you.”
PART IV
So after that long and tough argument we went out to find any evidence to see if there was any signs of inhabitants.
“Ben, are you picking up any life forms of some sort?”
“No signs yet, but there’s a dark tunnel leading to an abandoned room of some sort.”
“Could you brief me on it?”
“Not easy to describe, but whatever it is, it can’t be good but we should check it out anyways.”
“Okay it sounds good, let’s go.”
So we travel down the tunnel, looking for any proof when suddenly out of nowhere there was a sound. When I turned to see where the sound was coming from, Ben and Sid weren’t there, but as soon as I was done facing the fact that they might have “chickened out” I turned around to see them both dangling from a vine… there was nothing but dead silence.
“Okay, Malcom, it's just you and… uh oh!”
I’m running towards the entrance hoping to find a way out but all there was, was my insanity causing me to go in circles. Then, there was the exit. I started running, and then I looked behind me and I saw the giant figure up close. And when I looked in his face I began to feel weird like I was being possessed and for some odd reason, he left. Then as quickly as I could, I ran to the ship and took off as fast as I could, and on the ship, there’s no sound, but my own voice saying that we are not alone.
Strange sightings have been reported that there was awkward behavior occurring somewhere near Neptune. For 50 years, there have been rumors that there was an unusual object in Neptune’s orbit. The object consisted of exotic and unusual shapes. But the object looked almost like a ship. I have been studying these movements closely which made my observations make it hard for me to depict the most unimaginable beings, no, THINGS that they were. All I have to ask is one question: Are we alone?
If I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Fred Wendall. Earlier, I didn’t mention that I'M the one who’s studying this epidemic, and I’M the one who reported these strange and peculiar sightings. But I couldn’t have done it alone. The president helped me recruit a team in order to conduct a search investigation called The Etcetera Project. He gave me an engineer, a weapon’s specialist, a navigator, and then there was me, the scientist and the leader of the team.
“As you all know, you are here to investigate some activity that has been recorded by our specialist, Fredward. So, in order to find out where and what this activity is coming from, we need to send you all, The ETC Team, to search for any evidence that we in fact are NOT alone. And as always, you need to keep this information confidential.”
“But where are we going?” says Benjamin, the engineer.
“I’m glad you asked. Fred, will you do the honors.”
“Of course. Ladies and Gentlemen, we’re going to Neptune.”
“I’m not an expert,” says Malcom, the weapon’s specialist, “ but isn’t Neptune too far away from the sun? I mean, isn’t there rarely any life on Neptune, well because it’s too far from the sun? Why Neptune?”
“Well, you can talk to the UFO surrounding the planet itself.”
Next Scene…
“Okay team, time to set course for Neptune. Ben, is the aircraft ready to fly?”
“Si Senior, this machine is ready to work.”
“Alright, let’s get out of here. Sid, you’re coming with me to power the engine.” Sid is our Navigator. When we’re in a situation when we might get lost, he’ll come in handy anytime. On the other note, when everyone was ready, we took off, looking for a better chance at fame, fortune, and history.
“So what do we do now? Wait?"
"Well, do you see anything else to do?"
"Well I don’t wait. I gotta talk or do something 'cause this expedition is getting me pumped. ” As you can tell, Sid is usually the energetic one.
After a long time, and by a long time, I mean about 2 days, we finally approached Neptune’s reach of sight. And there it was, the close-up rare image of that ship I’ve been studying for pretty much my whole life. The texture of the ship was really dark and intense, looking as though it had been tossed around and pounded senselessly, and it also looked like there was rarely any signs of life.
“Seniors, I have a bad feeling about this place.”
“Yeah, something also tells me this isn’t such a good area to be searching, but-"
“Almost like a place where animals and humans get slaughtered,” Malcom interrupts.
“Senior Wendall do you think… we’re really… ALONE?”
PART II
“I don’t know, maybe it would be better if we stay inside the aircraft and have a steak out, just to make sure this place shows no signs of harm.”
“I agree. I think it would be safer. Plus, who knows what kind of things are out there. I vote we steak out.”
Then it was official, all we’d do is just stay inside the ship and stare at the ceiling for who knows how long and do absolutely NOTHING. Other than me, I found some things to do myself. For example, STUDYING. So now I’m sitting here looking at the floating object in Neptune’s orbit, but there was an odd distortion in the glimpse of the object. Wait… could this be?
“Oh no, I have to tell the guys…”
PART III
“Sid, Malcom, Ben, I need you to see something,” (very quickly) “do you know how I was studying that picture of the ship, well take a look.”
“MOTHER OF GOD…” Said Sid with a burst of shock.
When everyone looked at that picture, what they saw was real. It was hard to depict the features of this figure, but here is my description of the unimaginable creature it was…
It was tall, approximately 10 feet in length, diameter of head was large and overbearing, it was unimaginable, All that was on his face was a nose, nothing more. He, NO IT! It had scales instead of skin. The creature had very high muscle tones and appeared to be looking at the camera that took the picture, like it was a foreign object, which it was to them. No further descriptions of this figure can be explained.
“Fred, we have to get out of here. Now-
“No! We have to finish this mission, I’ve wasted my life studying this picture with all I could and I’m not going to just leave. Got it? Go ahead and kill yourself if you want but I’m the leader and what I say goes UNDERSTAND?
“Fine, but if we get killed, it was all because of you.”
PART IV
So after that long and tough argument we went out to find any evidence to see if there was any signs of inhabitants.
“Ben, are you picking up any life forms of some sort?”
“No signs yet, but there’s a dark tunnel leading to an abandoned room of some sort.”
“Could you brief me on it?”
“Not easy to describe, but whatever it is, it can’t be good but we should check it out anyways.”
“Okay it sounds good, let’s go.”
So we travel down the tunnel, looking for any proof when suddenly out of nowhere there was a sound. When I turned to see where the sound was coming from, Ben and Sid weren’t there, but as soon as I was done facing the fact that they might have “chickened out” I turned around to see them both dangling from a vine… there was nothing but dead silence.
“Okay, Malcom, it's just you and… uh oh!”
I’m running towards the entrance hoping to find a way out but all there was, was my insanity causing me to go in circles. Then, there was the exit. I started running, and then I looked behind me and I saw the giant figure up close. And when I looked in his face I began to feel weird like I was being possessed and for some odd reason, he left. Then as quickly as I could, I ran to the ship and took off as fast as I could, and on the ship, there’s no sound, but my own voice saying that we are not alone.
The Valkyrie
By Gabrielle Janovsky
“Let me out of here!” screamed Arianna from inside of her dirty and rusty cell. She sat on her dark knees, her long and thin body was hunched over. She looked around, observing the room, the walls had been red and splattered in blood. The room looked as if it had been a bathroom, with white square tiles on the wall, and tubes protruding from a part of the floor. Dried blood was splattered on the dirt floor from inside Arianna’s cell as well as clumps of dust and hair. Arianna screeched again, her throat sore from her yells, she panted loudly in panic. A sound came from the door as it creaked open slowly. A pale, tall, and thin woman entered the room containing the cell. She pushed a cart holding surgical equipment of all types. Saws, blades, thread, and more lied still on the silver cart. The woman stopped and turned to Arianna, observing her demeanor with her snake-like eyes.
“You’ll die like the rest of them.” She laughed, her accent heavy and German. As if a switched turned on, the woman went right back to her serious expression and she immediately went to work. Arianna observed her quietly as she worked quickly and efficiently. The woman wore a black uniform with a patch on her arm that held the Nazi parties’ symbol, a swastika. Arianna noted the patch, and then slumped down in defeat realizing nothing she could do would help, they captured people like her, people of color. She buried her face into her hands and knees then began to sob. After a few minutes of crying, Arianna lifted her head, her eyes bloodshot and her lips chapped, she looked helplessly at the vicious Nazi standing before her.
“What are you going to do to me?” Arianna asked, her voice cracking from the fear of what lied ahead for her. Her mind wandered to the many experiments done on women and how none have ever made it. She remembered her mother being captured and taken away from her when she was much younger. Arianna wondered if her fate would turn out the same as her mother’s. Before the woman had a chance to respond, two large men entered the room. They were tall, not as tall as Arianna, but very built. They wore suits the same color as the woman’s and both had the same red patches. One man looked as if he had not shaven his face in months. Arianna could smell the blood and ale on him from across the room. He was in his mid-forties, but looked much older. His eyes had been bloodshot, but filled with excitement as he locked eyes with Arianna’s. She cowered in response. The other man was much younger, he had a wild grin on his face and his ice blue eyes were filled with excitement and evil. The older man gestured to the woman and she immediately handed him a white piece of cloth. He nodded then continued to move towards the cage containing Arianna. The younger man followed him and then proceeded to open the rusty cage. Arianna looked up at the two men and screamed, she began to thrash out her legs at them, trying to fend them off. “Let me go!” Arianna screamed. The large and vicious men held her down and pressed the cloth to her mouth and nose. Arianna breathed in, her eyes rolled behind her head, and she immediately passed out, leaving her frail and vulnerable.
What seemed to be days later, Arianna awoke in the same cell she had previously been contained in. Everything was the same, except, there had been a crowd of people around her, observing her. She gasped quietly at the crowd. They muttered in German and began to point at Arianna, cheering. Arianna attempted to analyze the situation, but remained confused. Suddenly, a strange sensation pierced through her back. She screamed quietly and turned to try to look at her back and that was when she noticed it. Large flesh wings covered in what seemed to be her own blood, protruded from her now hunched back. “What am I?” she whispered to herself, burying her face into her hands. She cried loudly while the others around her began to cheer and celebrate their new discovery, their new creation, the Valkyrie.
“You’ll die like the rest of them.” She laughed, her accent heavy and German. As if a switched turned on, the woman went right back to her serious expression and she immediately went to work. Arianna observed her quietly as she worked quickly and efficiently. The woman wore a black uniform with a patch on her arm that held the Nazi parties’ symbol, a swastika. Arianna noted the patch, and then slumped down in defeat realizing nothing she could do would help, they captured people like her, people of color. She buried her face into her hands and knees then began to sob. After a few minutes of crying, Arianna lifted her head, her eyes bloodshot and her lips chapped, she looked helplessly at the vicious Nazi standing before her.
“What are you going to do to me?” Arianna asked, her voice cracking from the fear of what lied ahead for her. Her mind wandered to the many experiments done on women and how none have ever made it. She remembered her mother being captured and taken away from her when she was much younger. Arianna wondered if her fate would turn out the same as her mother’s. Before the woman had a chance to respond, two large men entered the room. They were tall, not as tall as Arianna, but very built. They wore suits the same color as the woman’s and both had the same red patches. One man looked as if he had not shaven his face in months. Arianna could smell the blood and ale on him from across the room. He was in his mid-forties, but looked much older. His eyes had been bloodshot, but filled with excitement as he locked eyes with Arianna’s. She cowered in response. The other man was much younger, he had a wild grin on his face and his ice blue eyes were filled with excitement and evil. The older man gestured to the woman and she immediately handed him a white piece of cloth. He nodded then continued to move towards the cage containing Arianna. The younger man followed him and then proceeded to open the rusty cage. Arianna looked up at the two men and screamed, she began to thrash out her legs at them, trying to fend them off. “Let me go!” Arianna screamed. The large and vicious men held her down and pressed the cloth to her mouth and nose. Arianna breathed in, her eyes rolled behind her head, and she immediately passed out, leaving her frail and vulnerable.
What seemed to be days later, Arianna awoke in the same cell she had previously been contained in. Everything was the same, except, there had been a crowd of people around her, observing her. She gasped quietly at the crowd. They muttered in German and began to point at Arianna, cheering. Arianna attempted to analyze the situation, but remained confused. Suddenly, a strange sensation pierced through her back. She screamed quietly and turned to try to look at her back and that was when she noticed it. Large flesh wings covered in what seemed to be her own blood, protruded from her now hunched back. “What am I?” she whispered to herself, burying her face into her hands. She cried loudly while the others around her began to cheer and celebrate their new discovery, their new creation, the Valkyrie.
Winter Edition
POETRYWinter
Delila Martara
Trees stand bear
Looking for coats to wear
Winter arrived with no warning
Snow covered the ground
Like a weightless blanket
The air was brisk
Christmas
Delila Martara
Decorations on the doors
Snow covering the floors
Bells and candles light the way
On this special Christmas day
Gifts and presents shared by all
While the wrappings begin to fall
The smell of gingerbread
Gets kids jumping out of bed
The tree shines bright
All throughout the winter night
When Santa’s reindeer fly by
The Stars sparkle in the sky
And finally when the snowmen begin to drip
This is the end of our holiday trip.
A Hoot
Rebecca Gitlevich
I sat under a tree, drinking toxic, terrible tea
As I am sitting, I am thinking to take
Thinking to take my life away, so no more today
Thinking to make poisoned water from the lake
I think “Would I die for their sake?”
Would I put poison into water from the lake?
Then I hear a hoot over myself, as I think to myself
As I am thinking I am about to make
Make the end of my misery, oh what a theory
I should not let myself take
Take this poisoned water from the lake
I think “Is this a mistake to take water from the
lake?”
Then I hear a hoot, on the tree root
It made me think to take
Take the misery, of today, take it all away
The repetition will make
You want to take your fate from the lake
Take the poisoned water from the lake.
All of a sudden
I hear a sound
That I can never mistake
As this creature flies past the great lake
The Speed
Justin Freeman
One day the speed
Was challenged
Speed was able to see
All of the racers talents
Of driving a car
So fast
Like a shooting star
On this day it collided
With a tree
A crumbled up paper
It could be
Took away two lives
Who love the drive
For speed
Two passionate men
Who love the rush
Of life
In the fast lane
My life
Justin Freeman
It’s hard to live
Without a dad
Think about him just make me
sad
Even though I see him in my dreams
It just seems pointless
To live my life
Trying to fight how I feel
For him.
Time is Precious
Justin Freeman
When you have something you love
You try to nurture it
Not murder it
Before it sits down
With a frown
Forever
When you need to be together
To be able to your life
Without to have a human sacrifice
Neverland
Emma Dorval
There was a girl
Who only wanted
To go
To Neverland
So every night
She closed her eyes
And fell asleep
And dreamed
That she could go to Neverland
And get away
With Peter
And Tink
And she wouldn’t be like Wendy
She wouldn’t go back
But she couldn’t
Ever go to
Neverland
No matter how many times
She tried
But she
kept trying
To go
Anyway
Until
One day
She won
She was so happy
Because Peter was there
And Tink
And she knew
She wouldn’t be like Wendy
And she’d never go back
She couldn’t understand
Why everyone else
And her parents
And her friends
Wouldn’t be so happy for her
And why when she went back
Just to look at them
Why they were all crying
And she wanted
To ask
Why they
Were crying
But she realized
She couldn’t
Go
Back
And then
She knew
She wasn’t so different
From Wendy
After all
But
She
Couldn’t
Go
Back
Butterflies
Olivia Kogan
Breathing
in the fresh air that was once longed,
Breaking
barriers
Fleeing
from our country
To
have freedom
But
how?
Hiding
is our only chance,
Keeping
quiet for many hours
Without
a peep
Can
we do it?
What
would we have?
Food?
Water?
Butterflies
to flutter away when winter arrives?
Maybe
it is a sign hope,
Or
life
Lanterns
Danielle Kogan
The
lanterns are glowing in the sky,
which
they are ever so bright,
They
all have different shapes and colors,
But
they all have wonder,
I
look up at the sky and see that they are pretty things,
And
they are lighter then what they seem,
Lanterns
seem so tiny in the sky,
On
the ground they are not that small at all.
Love
Danielle Kogan
Love
is all the things I need in you,
everyday is truly new,
why does it need
to be this way,
between you and me.
Winter
Danielle Kogan
Cold,
sunless winter,
Has
materialized my way,
Because
whatever is in front me,
Is
sadness another day,
Sometimes
pretty at the eye,
But mostly it would whirlwind by,
You
will see now and then,
Children
playing pretend,
With
an object called snow.
She Cries
Nicole Jurado
A girl hidden in the
shadows
Lost behind her
peers
A less than perfect
life
With sad and hopeless fears
One day she dreams of
leaving
Just trying to
survive
She has a hard time
breathing
As tears fall from her eyes
And
she cries
School’s Out!
Sasha Khripkova
The halls are filled with laughter and
joy,
Just thinking of playing with new summer
toys.
The final bell about to
ring,
About to feel the summer
sting
Excitement’s running through the
halls,
Get ready to do some
summer shopping at the
mall.
Amusement
parks I’m going to see,
No
time to take a break and
pee.
Just imagine the way the teachers’
wave,
As we
are about to leave into the summer
haze.
But my agenda book is
full
I still have another 157
days of school!
Drawings
Taylor Konen
I know a girl who likes to
draw
She likes to draw in places she thought no one would
see
She liked to draw late at night in her room out of
sight
No one told her it wasn’t okay
So she drew everyday
She got sadder and he days got
longer
One day she went to her friend
And rolled up her sleeve,
Her friend looked un happy
At what she had
seen
Her friend looked
around nervously
And eventually started to roll up her
sleeve
She looked at me, tears in her eyes
so
Softly says I draw too
She told me she wanted to go to never
land
I want to go to
But she wouldn’t let me, and I wouldn’t let
her
So we stood by each other through thick and
thin
Made me smile when I thought all hope was lost
After that never land wasn’t in my thoughts
Competition
By Morgan Lawler
No matter what is said or who says it we all know the
truth
We all think that we can do
better
We all think we are better
Deep inside it’s true
We say we feel sympathy when internally we want to come off as
kind so others see us in that light
Everyone has personal motives
We all have our own agenda
Everything we as humans do and say is to better our
selves
We ask you what your score is to make us feel better not to
compliment you
We all feel the need to be better than someone,
something
Even if we don’t let it show
The competitors inside us keep us moving
forward
In the direction we want to go
We may just not know which way that is
yet
Who knows where we would be without
competition
Definitely not where we are
today
Even though competition may not be encouraged it is certainly
not frowned upon
It is in every nook and cranny of the
world
We cannot live without it
It is essential to our
existence
Sometimes it can help us, keep us
going
When other times it can push us down and make us feel
worthless
Some say it comes naturally I say we force competition upon
ourselves
At the back of our minds we know it is bad for
society
But we still turn it in to something
positive
Why do we do this
Ask yourself
Maybe you will learn something you never thought was
possible
I have heard we are our own worst enemies
It usually rained true
So I started to believe it
Until I have come to this realization that competition is a
force we create not some unstoppable being
Stopping competition would be difficult to
do
And would we even want to do it if we had the
chance
I think the real answer is no
Even if we say we would without a doubt stop the
competition
In truth we would and could never stop it
It is the reason of our
existence
Life
Carly Sibick
No one understands,
No matter what,
If you're rich, have nice things, good parents, You're assumed to
have a perfect life, But it's the horrors we keep down inside, That no one
knows, We all have them, No matter if we show them or not, That truly defines
us, Not how big our house is, How many siblings we have, Or how well our parents
treat us, Our nice things can never compare or make up for the things that haunt
us inside.
Fiction
The Mystery of Candy Land
Delilah Martara
“Watch out, Audrey!” I
remarked as the wind pressed against my face as we rode our brand new bikes
closer and closer to my grandmother’s house. Audrey’s eyes kept following the
cars flowing beside instead of the back of my purple bike. “Just stay close to
me!” I yelled again, trying to get my friend’s attention.
Within minutes, my grandma’s famous cherry pie tickled our noses with
delight as we turned onto Bonnie Road leaving behind black marks on the slick
street. Audrey and I dropped our bikes into the tall thick grass and I sprinted to my grandma who was on the
front step of her old red brick house. “Come on in!” she suggested with a big
grin on her face, her yellow dress sparkling in the sun. “Hi grandma, how are
you?” I asked almost out of breath with sweat dripping down my face. “Great, Delila, the pie is almost ready.
It’s going to be extra delicious with some vanilla ice cream,”she stated with
her sweet honey voice. As Audrey
and I entered the bright, white door and made our way to the kitchen table, my
mouth was watering thinking about our delicious treat. “Delila,” my grandmother
bellowed calmly as she checked the oven and began to slightly pull the bubbling
pie out. “Can you please go ahead and get the carton of ice cream in the
basement?” “Of course, Grandma,” I stated in an annoyed tone, anxiously waiting
for my piece of pie. Audrey
followed me down the dark, cold steps into the basement. We had no idea that one
carton of ice cream was about to lead to a carton of
trouble.
“We had three more steps to go and I could feel the ice cold railing”,
against my hands. I peeked out from the railing and all I could see was
darkness. We reached the last stair and I could hear our feet dragging against
the slick tile floor. We looked around to find a light switch but, it was
nowhere to be found. “Hey! Look over there,” shouted Audrey as I followed her
finger to where she was pointing. It was a small faint red light blinking on the
other side of the room. Audrey and I started moving closer and closer to the
mysterious light “Look, Delila it’s a door. Let’s go in and see what’s inside
“She commented. “Are you crazy? It could be dangerous,” I roared. “What if the
ice cream is in here, then what smarty pants?” Audrey hissed with her voice
getting higher and higher. “Well, I guess it might be in there,” I stammered as
I looked down at my feet. “Come on, don’t be a wimp!”
Audrey whooped. “Ok, but if the vanilla ice cream is not in here, don’t
be crying to me if we get in trouble”, I howled. We were about to enter the door
but, before we went in I spotted a key on the floor and put it in my boot
without telling Audrey. “Well, here goes! “Audrey shouted. The door opened as I
put my hand on the cold metal door knob and twisted it in the opposite
direction. And all we saw was Chocolate Rivers, lollipop trees, marshmallow
clouds, and the licorice grass. It was the most wonderful place on earth. I
nearly fainted and my mouth was full of drool. I could see the express on
Audrey’s face that she was close to fainting too. I was close to sitting down on
a stone made out of cookie dough before I heard a voice. “Well, hello there!” a
voice shouted from across the melted chocolate river.” My name is Peppermint,
Peppermint Pea to be exact,” she commented in a sweet voice. “My name is Delila,
I said as I took some steps closer. She finally came out of the shadows and we
were amazed. She was literally made out of candy. Her hair was made out of candy
canes and her eyes, mouth, and even her nose was made out of mints “Wow, you’re
amazing y-y-you are made out of candy,” Audrey mumbled in a surprised way. “Thank
you, I have to say I’ve never seen a creature such as you, what type of candy is you made of”?
The little girl asked in delight. “We are not made out of candy!” We shouted. “Come over
here! I can’t see you Cleary?” I commented as I squinted to the other end. “You’re not
from here are you?” She asked raising her heels in the air. “No, not really I
just want to go back to my grandma’s house to get some pie”, I exclaimed. “Home?
Hah, you can’t go home, you’re stuck here!” She shouted trying to make her voice
higher. “What do you mean, stuck here?” I questioned with my eyes opened wide.
“No one told you, you can’t go home unless you go through gummy bear meadows,
lollipop land, and marshmallow kingdom.” Our mouths dropped open and what we did
not know that candy was not always good.
“How is this possible?”
Audrey whined almost pulling her hair out. “Come down, its ok, all we have to do
is go through some kingdoms”, I laughed trying to make it better than it really
was. “So, Peppermint Pea, how do we get to this gummy bear meadow?”
I said smiling. “It’s pretty simple all you have to do is follow the
cotton candy road”, she boomed as the sweet smelling wind swept beneath her
feet. “Ok, let’s go!” I commented
in delight. Now, we were on our way skipping along the blue cotton candy road to
gummy bear meadows. Peppermint pea was in the middle and Audrey and I were on
opposite sides of her. We finally reached Gummy Bear Meadow and boy was it worth
dying for. Everything and everyone was made out of gummy bear’s. Lamp posts,
mail boxes, and even manhole covers. Audrey’s eyes opened wide. She always loved
gummy bears and now she had her chance. She got in running position and stormed
off. “What should I eat first?”
Audrey screamed as she looked around to see her first victim to eat. She spotted
a house made out of blue jelly and also most devoured the house in seconds.
Everything started turning into a riot and every gummy bear in Gummy Bear
Meadows started chasing after us for eating the house of the blue gummy bears.
Audrey realized what she had done and now was up running. “Get them!” Voices
echoed from all around us. We kept on running until we got to a place no one had
ever imagined seeing. Lollipops were on every corner.
“This is Lollipop Land,” asserted Princess Pea in excitement. “Wow, it’s
amazing!” I added. Audrey and I stared in excitement at the beautiful colors of
the lollipops. “We better keep on going to reach home”, I commented. Our legs
where sore and the walking felt like forever. We went through a field full of
lollipops as the colors of all the different lollipops blinded our eyes. “Ok, guys all we have to do now is go
through Marshmallow Kingdom then we get to go home!” Audrey shouted in joy.
Audrey and I followed the small child down the cotton candy path watching her
tiny feet skip along the path. We all enjoyed watching the overgrown squirrels
put there tiny sharp teeth into the sweet sugar plums from the forest trees. We
also enjoyed feeding skittles to the baby ducks made out of licorice that sat in
the chocolate river as they nibbled on the tip of our finger nails. We stopped
here and there to snack on whatever was near bye. We kept on walking and
walking. And finally reached what we were looking for, The Marshmallow
Kingdom.
Lovely gabbles hung down on the rims and edges of the windows. There were
two huge statues on the each side of the castle in the shape of a key. I could
smell the sweet smell of all the marshmallows in the air. The sky was even bluer
then before. None of us knew what to do; we all just stared at this huge fluffy
castle. “Well, we can’t stay here forever, let’s go in”, I cried without a
doubt. “Delila, I know you really want to go home and so do I, but you don’t
know what could be in there”, Audrey commented as she fixed her eyes on the
ground. “I know Audrey, but what if the door to get home is in there”? I
asserted. “Ok, if you say so”, Audrey babbled but, I could tell that her eyes
were telling a different story. We wanted to walk closer but, it was as our
minds were pushing us back. After a while of thinking I got up my courage and
burst open the big doors of the castle. When we thought it could not get any
better that was our second big mistake of the day.
Everything in the castle was made out of marshmallows but, us. Icing was
the borders of the room. The chandelier from the ceiling up above us.
“Imposters” someone screamed from behind us. The next thing we knew our hands
and feet were in the arms of marshmallow guards. We squiggled and squirmed but
it was no use. “I wonder were there taking us”, Audrey squeaked. “I’m not sure
“I answered in despite. “ They’re taking us to their king”, Princess pea
hollered. “Oh no, now we will never get home”, Audrey groused. We had now come
to a stop and the only thing between us and the king is the big door that stood
right in front of us. The marshmallow men finally took us into a mouthwatering
room. In a chair almost as high as the celling a white fluffy man with a crown
sat before us. “So, you are the children who tried to sneak into my home and
take my jewels”? The man screeched. “Oh, sir we did not try to steal your jewels
we just want to go home you see we are not from here”, Audrey stated with a
sniff. “Well, then why are you here”? He asked. “Don’t not play foolish with us,
they might not be from here but, I am”, Princess Pea pleaded. “What in the world
are you talking about, little girl”, the man asked as he took a sip of the apple
cider that was sitting on the other side of the throne. “Oh, you don’t know,
remember the old portal you have in the basement”? Princess Pea stated. The old
man got up and he asked us to follow him. The soldiers let go of us and we
follow the kings white glazed cape. We went down steep stairs to the basement.
The king opened the door and was now pointing to a tarp with something
underneath. “Well, here it is but, it does not work because we lost the key for
it in battle” he said devastated . Now we all stared at the mysterious object
under the tarp. The king had now shifted towards the object as if he was
unreeling a science project at the country fair. He put his hands on the tarp
and lifted the tarp. It was a beautiful glass mirror with golden flowers around
the edges and with gems as red as cherries. “I told you there was a portal”
princesses pea hollered. “Well, let’s go then…” I shouted with excitement.
“Listen, I wish you could leave but I told you we lost the key years ago “the
king whispered. “Now we never get home” Audrey cried. “No, were going home”, I
laughed. “Did you not listen, we don’t have the key” Audrey sneered as a tear
came across her face. I quickly pulled out the key out of my boot as it shined
in the sunlight that was peeking through the window. “Wow, how did you get
that”? Asked Audrey. “I found it in the basement, but I don’t know if it is the
right key for the door” I concluded. We had to try. The king took the key out of
my hand and quickly placed it in the door.
“Thump!”
“Owww, that hurt!” I shouted rubbing by head. “Yes, were home!,” Audrey shouted as we both ran upstairs.
“Honey”, did you get the carton of ice cream yet? I heard a familiar voice say.
It was grandma. “Grandma, we just
had the best time ever, we went through a magic portal and entered a world
called candy land”, I shouted exited to be home.” Oh, and by the way I am sorry
I got back so late “I bellowed. “Sweetie, you have only been gone for 5 min,”
she said with a confused look on her face. “So, did you get the ice cream or
not?” Grandma sneered. We both went back down stairs to get the carton of
vanilla ice cream. Suddenly, we stepped on something sticky and we could not
believe our eyes. Melted butterscotch covered my sneakers.
Becca
Emma Dorval
Becca likes chocolate
Becca likes owls
Her favorite color is
orange
And owls
She just really loves owls
Also chocolate
That too
She enjoys listening to the
Beatles
She likes to take Emma’s stress ball
And hold it
In her hands
It has a smiley face on it
It is yellow
The face is black
It doesn’t have a nose
I like Becca
I think she likes me
I hope she likes me
I smile. The poem is complete. The ending is a bit weird. But
that’s okay because no one else will see it. “Hey, Lewis! What’s that?”
my friend Leo asks.
“OOOHH NOOOOOO!” I wail. “MY SECRET’S OUT! MY FUTURE IS OVER! NOTHING
WILL EVER BE OKAY AGAIN!”
“Who’s Becca?”
“No one!” I say
quickly.
“OOOOOOOOH,” he gasps. “Is that
Becca?”
“NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!” I protest.
“Yes it is! HEY BECCA!” He runs over to her in slow
motion.
“Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo,” I say in slow
motion.
BUT IT IS FOR NAUGHT.
“LEWIS LIKES YOU!”
“Oh. I like Lewis too,” she says.
“ReeEEAlly?” I squeak.
“Yeah.”
We share in a kiss.
AN EPILOUGE TO “THE
GIVER”
Nick Kasander
The music was just an echo. As we got to the house we saw the
sign “Mrs. R’s home for lost children”. We realized this is for us.
Gabe and I would not make it as we got out of the sled we collapsed going
down to the ground. I see a light and I feel like I am going up. I thought
heaven would look a lot different. I see Rosemary, The Giver, but then I see
Fiona. Fiona. They killed Fiona! How could this happen I loved her. Is that why
they killed her?! I feel my life coming back. I am ALIVE. I run back to the
community, to the chief elder’s dwelling. I creep in and scream “WHY DID YOU
KILL THEM”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I run to her room pull her up and pin her to the wall
demanding answers. But then I notice a knife stuck in her back. I hear an
announcement “There is a mad killer in the community everybody evacuate now!”
They’re going to think it was me, that I killed her. I run away from the
community grabbing Gabe leaving him on the step of the house for lost children,
ringing the bell, and run. I run to the creek and whisper “Goodbye”. I jump in
and before I die I hear the faint words of “Jonas, Jonas, Jonas”.
Even in Death We Won't Be Apart
Rebecca Gitlevich
No one ever notices the beauty in the sky anymore. You would expect that
during war. His big bright, light, lovely, intelligent eyes eclipsed
mine.
“Why?” he asked quietly, so quietly that it was almost a whisper. He had
tears in his eyes as he spoke.
He opened his long, peach hands and wrapped them around my cold, lifeless
body. I felt his sad, wet, sour, tears on my cheek, falling slowly and
mournfully.
“I…love…you,” Lewis said slowly as he put his head on my stomach. He
closed his eyes letting everything out. I lay motionless, sinking, falling away,
yet every word he said picked me back up. The green grass tickled my pale nose
but I had no life to sneeze.
“Do you love me?” He asked, looking at me hard in my closed eyelids. It
is weird; my eyelids are closed and I see black hollow darkness, yet I see all
past and future, my point of view and others’, all and none. But HIS deep,
secretive, closed mind was not one I could enter, not one I wanted to know, see,
feel, and hear. For in his mind was the answer that I ran away from. The answer
to a question I asked before. I remember it as if it happened 3 minutes and 52
seconds ago. It was a nice, spring, majestic day. Lucky me the war hadn’t
reached my city...yet. I had enjoyed and cherished that moment. There is a big,
bright blue sky with puffy and full clouds. The blue birds and red birds are
settling down on the brown trees on the school ground. I was glad I decided to
have a picnic with Lewis on my free period at school. Lewis and I were sitting
in the grass eating. Then we heard a loud, high pitch scream. We bolted up
immediately. I looked him in the eyes, as kids were running away. Children in
all grades pushed through each other, terrified as they ran in all directions.
I looked him in the eyes wanting to run but we just stood there frozen. Then I
saw his mouth move, yet I heard no sound. He first turned around and started
pushing off the ground running. In reality he bolted like a cheetah but in my
eyes I saw a boy that liked me run slowly. My heart told me he was waiting for
me to be by his side and that he was running slowly to motivate me to run. That
was not the case. He turned his head back 160 degrees and looked at me. I still
stood there. Before he could stop, a bomb fell a foot away and all went
black.
It was very quick and painless. I wished I could tell him that it was okay to
let me go, and move on. The problem was that I didn't even know if I was
gone. I wanted to tell him that I
enjoyed those last few moments with
him. “I enjoyed those last few moments too.” Lewis said softly, while looking
at me with gentle eyes. My eyes shot open with life and color in them. I felt my
chest move up and down. I felt my lungs suck in the, once very fresh, air that
is now filled with hate and war. He looked at me surprised. When I looked back
into his eyes, I only saw delight and tears of joy. Most importantly I saw his
soul. I saw his soul open wide up
for me to venture into. His soul rang with welcoming colors not of my fears but
of my dreams. I wrapped my peachy arms around his body and squeezed as hard as I
could not wanting to let go.
“I thought you were dead!” Lewis cried out so glad that I
wasn't.
“So did I,” I answered softly. Then I
added.“Even in death we wont be apart,” as I look up at him,
smiling.
Sunday Morning
Stephanie Kosashvili
Sunday morning. I heard a knock on my front door. I really did not want to answer,
because I would need to stand up then. Sooner my curiosity got the better of me and
I went to open the door. To my surprise, no one was there. I was about to close the door,
but I looked down and I saw a paper bag with something inside, a notecard with a
phone number on it, and a key. I stood there for couple of minutes and did not
really understood what was really happening. I was standing there and thinking,
“Who bring this here? Why? Should I open the bag? Should I call the number on
the business card?” Actually, I grabbed everything and went inside. I placed all
three things on my coffee table and started thinking what should I do with it. I
was walking around my coffee table and looking at those things. Then I sat down
on my couch and stared at them. The time was flowing away very fast. It was
already noon. Soon, after thinking more than an hour, I realize that somebody
wants to play a detective game with me. Everybody knew that I like to read and
watch detectives and I really wanted to find the answer to this one. I picked
the phone number on the business card to start out with. I breathed in the air
and took a business card. I carefully called the number that was on the business
card. I heard long pauses in my phone. After, the voice mail turned on. I was
very shocked and was about to turn off my call, but then I heard the message
that was left on the recorder.
"Find something that opens with this key."
After hearing that, I glanced at the key and said out loud "Let's do
that!"
I took the key and look at it very carefully. It was not too hard to understand that it was a key
that opens a mailbox. The number on the key had my zip code, so the mailbox was
somewhere near my house. I took every object with me and walked out of my house.
Feeling of curiosity was overwhelming me about what is inside the paper bag, but
I was scared to open it. I started to search for mailbox in my neighborhood
first. During my walk to the first mailbox, I had a million thoughts inside my
head. I could think about this 'game' forever, but I actually walked to my first
mailbox. First mailbox had ten containers in it. I tried to fit the key in every
of them, but my try was not accomplished.
"Should I continue?" I asked myself.
No matter on my bad thoughts, I still was curious. I started my walk to the second
container. It was quiet around, maybe even very quiet. In couple of minutes, I was
already at the second mailbox. I tried the key to the other ten containers and my try
was not so bad. On the third container key fitted in. I stand there for another minute
and did not do anything. Scared, that is how I felt in that moment. Scared to
open that container. Soon I changed my mind and opened the mailbox. I carefully
looked inside. There was a bright pink envelope. I took it out of the container
and looked at it. There was my name written on the envelope in black pen. I
turned the envelope over and opened it. There was a card inside. So carefully, I
opened that card. With the same black pen, somebody wrote with a big letters
“Open the bag". After I really did opened my bag, but I could really see what
was inside, because in the same moment my best friend ran out of her house, that
was just across the street, and started scream happy birthday. In couple of
minutes, the rest of my friends came out of the best friend’s backyard with a
cake and presents. How could I didn’t understand that all this game was my
friend’s idea? All that time that I was walking around my neighborhood, they
looked at me from my best friend’s house. I was so interested in that game that
I really forgot that it was my birthday! I was so happy that I even forgot about
the paper bag. I took a minute and actually opened it. There was a present from
my best friend. The newest iPhone 5s, that I really wanted. My friends and I
spent all day together. Now I am slowly walking home with a lot of presents, and
pieces of cake in my hands, but the most important that I am walking home with a
big smile on my face.
POETRYWinter
Delila Martara
Trees stand bear
Looking for coats to wear
Winter arrived with no warning
Snow covered the ground
Like a weightless blanket
The air was brisk
Christmas
Delila Martara
Decorations on the doors
Snow covering the floors
Bells and candles light the way
On this special Christmas day
Gifts and presents shared by all
While the wrappings begin to fall
The smell of gingerbread
Gets kids jumping out of bed
The tree shines bright
All throughout the winter night
When Santa’s reindeer fly by
The Stars sparkle in the sky
And finally when the snowmen begin to drip
This is the end of our holiday trip.
A Hoot
Rebecca Gitlevich
I sat under a tree, drinking toxic, terrible tea
As I am sitting, I am thinking to take
Thinking to take my life away, so no more today
Thinking to make poisoned water from the lake
I think “Would I die for their sake?”
Would I put poison into water from the lake?
Then I hear a hoot over myself, as I think to myself
As I am thinking I am about to make
Make the end of my misery, oh what a theory
I should not let myself take
Take this poisoned water from the lake
I think “Is this a mistake to take water from the
lake?”
Then I hear a hoot, on the tree root
It made me think to take
Take the misery, of today, take it all away
The repetition will make
You want to take your fate from the lake
Take the poisoned water from the lake.
All of a sudden
I hear a sound
That I can never mistake
As this creature flies past the great lake
The Speed
Justin Freeman
One day the speed
Was challenged
Speed was able to see
All of the racers talents
Of driving a car
So fast
Like a shooting star
On this day it collided
With a tree
A crumbled up paper
It could be
Took away two lives
Who love the drive
For speed
Two passionate men
Who love the rush
Of life
In the fast lane
My life
Justin Freeman
It’s hard to live
Without a dad
Think about him just make me
sad
Even though I see him in my dreams
It just seems pointless
To live my life
Trying to fight how I feel
For him.
Time is Precious
Justin Freeman
When you have something you love
You try to nurture it
Not murder it
Before it sits down
With a frown
Forever
When you need to be together
To be able to your life
Without to have a human sacrifice
Neverland
Emma Dorval
There was a girl
Who only wanted
To go
To Neverland
So every night
She closed her eyes
And fell asleep
And dreamed
That she could go to Neverland
And get away
With Peter
And Tink
And she wouldn’t be like Wendy
She wouldn’t go back
But she couldn’t
Ever go to
Neverland
No matter how many times
She tried
But she
kept trying
To go
Anyway
Until
One day
She won
She was so happy
Because Peter was there
And Tink
And she knew
She wouldn’t be like Wendy
And she’d never go back
She couldn’t understand
Why everyone else
And her parents
And her friends
Wouldn’t be so happy for her
And why when she went back
Just to look at them
Why they were all crying
And she wanted
To ask
Why they
Were crying
But she realized
She couldn’t
Go
Back
And then
She knew
She wasn’t so different
From Wendy
After all
But
She
Couldn’t
Go
Back
Butterflies
Olivia Kogan
Breathing
in the fresh air that was once longed,
Breaking
barriers
Fleeing
from our country
To
have freedom
But
how?
Hiding
is our only chance,
Keeping
quiet for many hours
Without
a peep
Can
we do it?
What
would we have?
Food?
Water?
Butterflies
to flutter away when winter arrives?
Maybe
it is a sign hope,
Or
life
Lanterns
Danielle Kogan
The
lanterns are glowing in the sky,
which
they are ever so bright,
They
all have different shapes and colors,
But
they all have wonder,
I
look up at the sky and see that they are pretty things,
And
they are lighter then what they seem,
Lanterns
seem so tiny in the sky,
On
the ground they are not that small at all.
Love
Danielle Kogan
Love
is all the things I need in you,
everyday is truly new,
why does it need
to be this way,
between you and me.
Winter
Danielle Kogan
Cold,
sunless winter,
Has
materialized my way,
Because
whatever is in front me,
Is
sadness another day,
Sometimes
pretty at the eye,
But mostly it would whirlwind by,
You
will see now and then,
Children
playing pretend,
With
an object called snow.
She Cries
Nicole Jurado
A girl hidden in the
shadows
Lost behind her
peers
A less than perfect
life
With sad and hopeless fears
One day she dreams of
leaving
Just trying to
survive
She has a hard time
breathing
As tears fall from her eyes
And
she cries
School’s Out!
Sasha Khripkova
The halls are filled with laughter and
joy,
Just thinking of playing with new summer
toys.
The final bell about to
ring,
About to feel the summer
sting
Excitement’s running through the
halls,
Get ready to do some
summer shopping at the
mall.
Amusement
parks I’m going to see,
No
time to take a break and
pee.
Just imagine the way the teachers’
wave,
As we
are about to leave into the summer
haze.
But my agenda book is
full
I still have another 157
days of school!
Drawings
Taylor Konen
I know a girl who likes to
draw
She likes to draw in places she thought no one would
see
She liked to draw late at night in her room out of
sight
No one told her it wasn’t okay
So she drew everyday
She got sadder and he days got
longer
One day she went to her friend
And rolled up her sleeve,
Her friend looked un happy
At what she had
seen
Her friend looked
around nervously
And eventually started to roll up her
sleeve
She looked at me, tears in her eyes
so
Softly says I draw too
She told me she wanted to go to never
land
I want to go to
But she wouldn’t let me, and I wouldn’t let
her
So we stood by each other through thick and
thin
Made me smile when I thought all hope was lost
After that never land wasn’t in my thoughts
Competition
By Morgan Lawler
No matter what is said or who says it we all know the
truth
We all think that we can do
better
We all think we are better
Deep inside it’s true
We say we feel sympathy when internally we want to come off as
kind so others see us in that light
Everyone has personal motives
We all have our own agenda
Everything we as humans do and say is to better our
selves
We ask you what your score is to make us feel better not to
compliment you
We all feel the need to be better than someone,
something
Even if we don’t let it show
The competitors inside us keep us moving
forward
In the direction we want to go
We may just not know which way that is
yet
Who knows where we would be without
competition
Definitely not where we are
today
Even though competition may not be encouraged it is certainly
not frowned upon
It is in every nook and cranny of the
world
We cannot live without it
It is essential to our
existence
Sometimes it can help us, keep us
going
When other times it can push us down and make us feel
worthless
Some say it comes naturally I say we force competition upon
ourselves
At the back of our minds we know it is bad for
society
But we still turn it in to something
positive
Why do we do this
Ask yourself
Maybe you will learn something you never thought was
possible
I have heard we are our own worst enemies
It usually rained true
So I started to believe it
Until I have come to this realization that competition is a
force we create not some unstoppable being
Stopping competition would be difficult to
do
And would we even want to do it if we had the
chance
I think the real answer is no
Even if we say we would without a doubt stop the
competition
In truth we would and could never stop it
It is the reason of our
existence
Life
Carly Sibick
No one understands,
No matter what,
If you're rich, have nice things, good parents, You're assumed to
have a perfect life, But it's the horrors we keep down inside, That no one
knows, We all have them, No matter if we show them or not, That truly defines
us, Not how big our house is, How many siblings we have, Or how well our parents
treat us, Our nice things can never compare or make up for the things that haunt
us inside.
Fiction
The Mystery of Candy Land
Delilah Martara
“Watch out, Audrey!” I
remarked as the wind pressed against my face as we rode our brand new bikes
closer and closer to my grandmother’s house. Audrey’s eyes kept following the
cars flowing beside instead of the back of my purple bike. “Just stay close to
me!” I yelled again, trying to get my friend’s attention.
Within minutes, my grandma’s famous cherry pie tickled our noses with
delight as we turned onto Bonnie Road leaving behind black marks on the slick
street. Audrey and I dropped our bikes into the tall thick grass and I sprinted to my grandma who was on the
front step of her old red brick house. “Come on in!” she suggested with a big
grin on her face, her yellow dress sparkling in the sun. “Hi grandma, how are
you?” I asked almost out of breath with sweat dripping down my face. “Great, Delila, the pie is almost ready.
It’s going to be extra delicious with some vanilla ice cream,”she stated with
her sweet honey voice. As Audrey
and I entered the bright, white door and made our way to the kitchen table, my
mouth was watering thinking about our delicious treat. “Delila,” my grandmother
bellowed calmly as she checked the oven and began to slightly pull the bubbling
pie out. “Can you please go ahead and get the carton of ice cream in the
basement?” “Of course, Grandma,” I stated in an annoyed tone, anxiously waiting
for my piece of pie. Audrey
followed me down the dark, cold steps into the basement. We had no idea that one
carton of ice cream was about to lead to a carton of
trouble.
“We had three more steps to go and I could feel the ice cold railing”,
against my hands. I peeked out from the railing and all I could see was
darkness. We reached the last stair and I could hear our feet dragging against
the slick tile floor. We looked around to find a light switch but, it was
nowhere to be found. “Hey! Look over there,” shouted Audrey as I followed her
finger to where she was pointing. It was a small faint red light blinking on the
other side of the room. Audrey and I started moving closer and closer to the
mysterious light “Look, Delila it’s a door. Let’s go in and see what’s inside
“She commented. “Are you crazy? It could be dangerous,” I roared. “What if the
ice cream is in here, then what smarty pants?” Audrey hissed with her voice
getting higher and higher. “Well, I guess it might be in there,” I stammered as
I looked down at my feet. “Come on, don’t be a wimp!”
Audrey whooped. “Ok, but if the vanilla ice cream is not in here, don’t
be crying to me if we get in trouble”, I howled. We were about to enter the door
but, before we went in I spotted a key on the floor and put it in my boot
without telling Audrey. “Well, here goes! “Audrey shouted. The door opened as I
put my hand on the cold metal door knob and twisted it in the opposite
direction. And all we saw was Chocolate Rivers, lollipop trees, marshmallow
clouds, and the licorice grass. It was the most wonderful place on earth. I
nearly fainted and my mouth was full of drool. I could see the express on
Audrey’s face that she was close to fainting too. I was close to sitting down on
a stone made out of cookie dough before I heard a voice. “Well, hello there!” a
voice shouted from across the melted chocolate river.” My name is Peppermint,
Peppermint Pea to be exact,” she commented in a sweet voice. “My name is Delila,
I said as I took some steps closer. She finally came out of the shadows and we
were amazed. She was literally made out of candy. Her hair was made out of candy
canes and her eyes, mouth, and even her nose was made out of mints “Wow, you’re
amazing y-y-you are made out of candy,” Audrey mumbled in a surprised way. “Thank
you, I have to say I’ve never seen a creature such as you, what type of candy is you made of”?
The little girl asked in delight. “We are not made out of candy!” We shouted. “Come over
here! I can’t see you Cleary?” I commented as I squinted to the other end. “You’re not
from here are you?” She asked raising her heels in the air. “No, not really I
just want to go back to my grandma’s house to get some pie”, I exclaimed. “Home?
Hah, you can’t go home, you’re stuck here!” She shouted trying to make her voice
higher. “What do you mean, stuck here?” I questioned with my eyes opened wide.
“No one told you, you can’t go home unless you go through gummy bear meadows,
lollipop land, and marshmallow kingdom.” Our mouths dropped open and what we did
not know that candy was not always good.
“How is this possible?”
Audrey whined almost pulling her hair out. “Come down, its ok, all we have to do
is go through some kingdoms”, I laughed trying to make it better than it really
was. “So, Peppermint Pea, how do we get to this gummy bear meadow?”
I said smiling. “It’s pretty simple all you have to do is follow the
cotton candy road”, she boomed as the sweet smelling wind swept beneath her
feet. “Ok, let’s go!” I commented
in delight. Now, we were on our way skipping along the blue cotton candy road to
gummy bear meadows. Peppermint pea was in the middle and Audrey and I were on
opposite sides of her. We finally reached Gummy Bear Meadow and boy was it worth
dying for. Everything and everyone was made out of gummy bear’s. Lamp posts,
mail boxes, and even manhole covers. Audrey’s eyes opened wide. She always loved
gummy bears and now she had her chance. She got in running position and stormed
off. “What should I eat first?”
Audrey screamed as she looked around to see her first victim to eat. She spotted
a house made out of blue jelly and also most devoured the house in seconds.
Everything started turning into a riot and every gummy bear in Gummy Bear
Meadows started chasing after us for eating the house of the blue gummy bears.
Audrey realized what she had done and now was up running. “Get them!” Voices
echoed from all around us. We kept on running until we got to a place no one had
ever imagined seeing. Lollipops were on every corner.
“This is Lollipop Land,” asserted Princess Pea in excitement. “Wow, it’s
amazing!” I added. Audrey and I stared in excitement at the beautiful colors of
the lollipops. “We better keep on going to reach home”, I commented. Our legs
where sore and the walking felt like forever. We went through a field full of
lollipops as the colors of all the different lollipops blinded our eyes. “Ok, guys all we have to do now is go
through Marshmallow Kingdom then we get to go home!” Audrey shouted in joy.
Audrey and I followed the small child down the cotton candy path watching her
tiny feet skip along the path. We all enjoyed watching the overgrown squirrels
put there tiny sharp teeth into the sweet sugar plums from the forest trees. We
also enjoyed feeding skittles to the baby ducks made out of licorice that sat in
the chocolate river as they nibbled on the tip of our finger nails. We stopped
here and there to snack on whatever was near bye. We kept on walking and
walking. And finally reached what we were looking for, The Marshmallow
Kingdom.
Lovely gabbles hung down on the rims and edges of the windows. There were
two huge statues on the each side of the castle in the shape of a key. I could
smell the sweet smell of all the marshmallows in the air. The sky was even bluer
then before. None of us knew what to do; we all just stared at this huge fluffy
castle. “Well, we can’t stay here forever, let’s go in”, I cried without a
doubt. “Delila, I know you really want to go home and so do I, but you don’t
know what could be in there”, Audrey commented as she fixed her eyes on the
ground. “I know Audrey, but what if the door to get home is in there”? I
asserted. “Ok, if you say so”, Audrey babbled but, I could tell that her eyes
were telling a different story. We wanted to walk closer but, it was as our
minds were pushing us back. After a while of thinking I got up my courage and
burst open the big doors of the castle. When we thought it could not get any
better that was our second big mistake of the day.
Everything in the castle was made out of marshmallows but, us. Icing was
the borders of the room. The chandelier from the ceiling up above us.
“Imposters” someone screamed from behind us. The next thing we knew our hands
and feet were in the arms of marshmallow guards. We squiggled and squirmed but
it was no use. “I wonder were there taking us”, Audrey squeaked. “I’m not sure
“I answered in despite. “ They’re taking us to their king”, Princess pea
hollered. “Oh no, now we will never get home”, Audrey groused. We had now come
to a stop and the only thing between us and the king is the big door that stood
right in front of us. The marshmallow men finally took us into a mouthwatering
room. In a chair almost as high as the celling a white fluffy man with a crown
sat before us. “So, you are the children who tried to sneak into my home and
take my jewels”? The man screeched. “Oh, sir we did not try to steal your jewels
we just want to go home you see we are not from here”, Audrey stated with a
sniff. “Well, then why are you here”? He asked. “Don’t not play foolish with us,
they might not be from here but, I am”, Princess Pea pleaded. “What in the world
are you talking about, little girl”, the man asked as he took a sip of the apple
cider that was sitting on the other side of the throne. “Oh, you don’t know,
remember the old portal you have in the basement”? Princess Pea stated. The old
man got up and he asked us to follow him. The soldiers let go of us and we
follow the kings white glazed cape. We went down steep stairs to the basement.
The king opened the door and was now pointing to a tarp with something
underneath. “Well, here it is but, it does not work because we lost the key for
it in battle” he said devastated . Now we all stared at the mysterious object
under the tarp. The king had now shifted towards the object as if he was
unreeling a science project at the country fair. He put his hands on the tarp
and lifted the tarp. It was a beautiful glass mirror with golden flowers around
the edges and with gems as red as cherries. “I told you there was a portal”
princesses pea hollered. “Well, let’s go then…” I shouted with excitement.
“Listen, I wish you could leave but I told you we lost the key years ago “the
king whispered. “Now we never get home” Audrey cried. “No, were going home”, I
laughed. “Did you not listen, we don’t have the key” Audrey sneered as a tear
came across her face. I quickly pulled out the key out of my boot as it shined
in the sunlight that was peeking through the window. “Wow, how did you get
that”? Asked Audrey. “I found it in the basement, but I don’t know if it is the
right key for the door” I concluded. We had to try. The king took the key out of
my hand and quickly placed it in the door.
“Thump!”
“Owww, that hurt!” I shouted rubbing by head. “Yes, were home!,” Audrey shouted as we both ran upstairs.
“Honey”, did you get the carton of ice cream yet? I heard a familiar voice say.
It was grandma. “Grandma, we just
had the best time ever, we went through a magic portal and entered a world
called candy land”, I shouted exited to be home.” Oh, and by the way I am sorry
I got back so late “I bellowed. “Sweetie, you have only been gone for 5 min,”
she said with a confused look on her face. “So, did you get the ice cream or
not?” Grandma sneered. We both went back down stairs to get the carton of
vanilla ice cream. Suddenly, we stepped on something sticky and we could not
believe our eyes. Melted butterscotch covered my sneakers.
Becca
Emma Dorval
Becca likes chocolate
Becca likes owls
Her favorite color is
orange
And owls
She just really loves owls
Also chocolate
That too
She enjoys listening to the
Beatles
She likes to take Emma’s stress ball
And hold it
In her hands
It has a smiley face on it
It is yellow
The face is black
It doesn’t have a nose
I like Becca
I think she likes me
I hope she likes me
I smile. The poem is complete. The ending is a bit weird. But
that’s okay because no one else will see it. “Hey, Lewis! What’s that?”
my friend Leo asks.
“OOOHH NOOOOOO!” I wail. “MY SECRET’S OUT! MY FUTURE IS OVER! NOTHING
WILL EVER BE OKAY AGAIN!”
“Who’s Becca?”
“No one!” I say
quickly.
“OOOOOOOOH,” he gasps. “Is that
Becca?”
“NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!” I protest.
“Yes it is! HEY BECCA!” He runs over to her in slow
motion.
“Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo,” I say in slow
motion.
BUT IT IS FOR NAUGHT.
“LEWIS LIKES YOU!”
“Oh. I like Lewis too,” she says.
“ReeEEAlly?” I squeak.
“Yeah.”
We share in a kiss.
AN EPILOUGE TO “THE
GIVER”
Nick Kasander
The music was just an echo. As we got to the house we saw the
sign “Mrs. R’s home for lost children”. We realized this is for us.
Gabe and I would not make it as we got out of the sled we collapsed going
down to the ground. I see a light and I feel like I am going up. I thought
heaven would look a lot different. I see Rosemary, The Giver, but then I see
Fiona. Fiona. They killed Fiona! How could this happen I loved her. Is that why
they killed her?! I feel my life coming back. I am ALIVE. I run back to the
community, to the chief elder’s dwelling. I creep in and scream “WHY DID YOU
KILL THEM”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I run to her room pull her up and pin her to the wall
demanding answers. But then I notice a knife stuck in her back. I hear an
announcement “There is a mad killer in the community everybody evacuate now!”
They’re going to think it was me, that I killed her. I run away from the
community grabbing Gabe leaving him on the step of the house for lost children,
ringing the bell, and run. I run to the creek and whisper “Goodbye”. I jump in
and before I die I hear the faint words of “Jonas, Jonas, Jonas”.
Even in Death We Won't Be Apart
Rebecca Gitlevich
No one ever notices the beauty in the sky anymore. You would expect that
during war. His big bright, light, lovely, intelligent eyes eclipsed
mine.
“Why?” he asked quietly, so quietly that it was almost a whisper. He had
tears in his eyes as he spoke.
He opened his long, peach hands and wrapped them around my cold, lifeless
body. I felt his sad, wet, sour, tears on my cheek, falling slowly and
mournfully.
“I…love…you,” Lewis said slowly as he put his head on my stomach. He
closed his eyes letting everything out. I lay motionless, sinking, falling away,
yet every word he said picked me back up. The green grass tickled my pale nose
but I had no life to sneeze.
“Do you love me?” He asked, looking at me hard in my closed eyelids. It
is weird; my eyelids are closed and I see black hollow darkness, yet I see all
past and future, my point of view and others’, all and none. But HIS deep,
secretive, closed mind was not one I could enter, not one I wanted to know, see,
feel, and hear. For in his mind was the answer that I ran away from. The answer
to a question I asked before. I remember it as if it happened 3 minutes and 52
seconds ago. It was a nice, spring, majestic day. Lucky me the war hadn’t
reached my city...yet. I had enjoyed and cherished that moment. There is a big,
bright blue sky with puffy and full clouds. The blue birds and red birds are
settling down on the brown trees on the school ground. I was glad I decided to
have a picnic with Lewis on my free period at school. Lewis and I were sitting
in the grass eating. Then we heard a loud, high pitch scream. We bolted up
immediately. I looked him in the eyes, as kids were running away. Children in
all grades pushed through each other, terrified as they ran in all directions.
I looked him in the eyes wanting to run but we just stood there frozen. Then I
saw his mouth move, yet I heard no sound. He first turned around and started
pushing off the ground running. In reality he bolted like a cheetah but in my
eyes I saw a boy that liked me run slowly. My heart told me he was waiting for
me to be by his side and that he was running slowly to motivate me to run. That
was not the case. He turned his head back 160 degrees and looked at me. I still
stood there. Before he could stop, a bomb fell a foot away and all went
black.
It was very quick and painless. I wished I could tell him that it was okay to
let me go, and move on. The problem was that I didn't even know if I was
gone. I wanted to tell him that I
enjoyed those last few moments with
him. “I enjoyed those last few moments too.” Lewis said softly, while looking
at me with gentle eyes. My eyes shot open with life and color in them. I felt my
chest move up and down. I felt my lungs suck in the, once very fresh, air that
is now filled with hate and war. He looked at me surprised. When I looked back
into his eyes, I only saw delight and tears of joy. Most importantly I saw his
soul. I saw his soul open wide up
for me to venture into. His soul rang with welcoming colors not of my fears but
of my dreams. I wrapped my peachy arms around his body and squeezed as hard as I
could not wanting to let go.
“I thought you were dead!” Lewis cried out so glad that I
wasn't.
“So did I,” I answered softly. Then I
added.“Even in death we wont be apart,” as I look up at him,
smiling.
Sunday Morning
Stephanie Kosashvili
Sunday morning. I heard a knock on my front door. I really did not want to answer,
because I would need to stand up then. Sooner my curiosity got the better of me and
I went to open the door. To my surprise, no one was there. I was about to close the door,
but I looked down and I saw a paper bag with something inside, a notecard with a
phone number on it, and a key. I stood there for couple of minutes and did not
really understood what was really happening. I was standing there and thinking,
“Who bring this here? Why? Should I open the bag? Should I call the number on
the business card?” Actually, I grabbed everything and went inside. I placed all
three things on my coffee table and started thinking what should I do with it. I
was walking around my coffee table and looking at those things. Then I sat down
on my couch and stared at them. The time was flowing away very fast. It was
already noon. Soon, after thinking more than an hour, I realize that somebody
wants to play a detective game with me. Everybody knew that I like to read and
watch detectives and I really wanted to find the answer to this one. I picked
the phone number on the business card to start out with. I breathed in the air
and took a business card. I carefully called the number that was on the business
card. I heard long pauses in my phone. After, the voice mail turned on. I was
very shocked and was about to turn off my call, but then I heard the message
that was left on the recorder.
"Find something that opens with this key."
After hearing that, I glanced at the key and said out loud "Let's do
that!"
I took the key and look at it very carefully. It was not too hard to understand that it was a key
that opens a mailbox. The number on the key had my zip code, so the mailbox was
somewhere near my house. I took every object with me and walked out of my house.
Feeling of curiosity was overwhelming me about what is inside the paper bag, but
I was scared to open it. I started to search for mailbox in my neighborhood
first. During my walk to the first mailbox, I had a million thoughts inside my
head. I could think about this 'game' forever, but I actually walked to my first
mailbox. First mailbox had ten containers in it. I tried to fit the key in every
of them, but my try was not accomplished.
"Should I continue?" I asked myself.
No matter on my bad thoughts, I still was curious. I started my walk to the second
container. It was quiet around, maybe even very quiet. In couple of minutes, I was
already at the second mailbox. I tried the key to the other ten containers and my try
was not so bad. On the third container key fitted in. I stand there for another minute
and did not do anything. Scared, that is how I felt in that moment. Scared to
open that container. Soon I changed my mind and opened the mailbox. I carefully
looked inside. There was a bright pink envelope. I took it out of the container
and looked at it. There was my name written on the envelope in black pen. I
turned the envelope over and opened it. There was a card inside. So carefully, I
opened that card. With the same black pen, somebody wrote with a big letters
“Open the bag". After I really did opened my bag, but I could really see what
was inside, because in the same moment my best friend ran out of her house, that
was just across the street, and started scream happy birthday. In couple of
minutes, the rest of my friends came out of the best friend’s backyard with a
cake and presents. How could I didn’t understand that all this game was my
friend’s idea? All that time that I was walking around my neighborhood, they
looked at me from my best friend’s house. I was so interested in that game that
I really forgot that it was my birthday! I was so happy that I even forgot about
the paper bag. I took a minute and actually opened it. There was a present from
my best friend. The newest iPhone 5s, that I really wanted. My friends and I
spent all day together. Now I am slowly walking home with a lot of presents, and
pieces of cake in my hands, but the most important that I am walking home with a
big smile on my face.