Photo By: Anjali Shah
POETRY
The Titanic’s Dark Mark
Adriana Ciuciu
My eyes stare blankly at the rust encrusted artifact,
Is this what killed my father,
Why does this haunt me to this day,
It’s been ages,
Father went for a trip on the Titanic with mother,
Mother came out alive,
Not my courageous father who died tragically on that godforsaken boat,
The boat that took lives from many families,
I ask myself,
Was it me,
Was it me that caused this,
No I tell myself,
That was not my fault,
I let him i didn’t lead him,
I tell myself and I feel the cold from inside me begin to fade away,
But deep down inside,
I feel a dark hole of sadness filling up inside of me and slithering out in tears,
Tears that pour out from the unfathomable hatred that perfuses inside my body,
Why did that happen to him,
Why did they not take me on that ship,
So that I could have died as a brave citizen just like my father,
So that I would not have to feel this pain towards a ship,
Tear drops surge down my beige skin,
Leaving a long mark of grief,
That travels from the outside in,
Everyday a new cut splits open,
Is this what killed my father,
Why does this haunt me to this day,
It’s been ages,
Father went for a trip on the Titanic with mother,
Mother came out alive,
Not my courageous father who died tragically on that godforsaken boat,
The boat that took lives from many families,
I ask myself,
Was it me,
Was it me that caused this,
No I tell myself,
That was not my fault,
I let him i didn’t lead him,
I tell myself and I feel the cold from inside me begin to fade away,
But deep down inside,
I feel a dark hole of sadness filling up inside of me and slithering out in tears,
Tears that pour out from the unfathomable hatred that perfuses inside my body,
Why did that happen to him,
Why did they not take me on that ship,
So that I could have died as a brave citizen just like my father,
So that I would not have to feel this pain towards a ship,
Tear drops surge down my beige skin,
Leaving a long mark of grief,
That travels from the outside in,
Everyday a new cut splits open,
Pretty Hurts
Nicole Perlin
They say pretty hurts
Beauty is pain
Suck in your stomach
Lose some weight
Pretty shouldn't hurt
Beauty shouldn't be painful
Don't suck in your stomach
Don't change yourself
Here is some truth
From me to you
Without the pain
You're beautiful too
You don't have to change
For him or for her
You're so beautiful
Please don't let that blur
Don't you dare let them tell you
That you're not enough
I know that it hurts
I know the words are rough
But please don't believe
That you're short of perfection
Look in the mirror
And love your perfect reflection
Beauty is pain
Suck in your stomach
Lose some weight
Pretty shouldn't hurt
Beauty shouldn't be painful
Don't suck in your stomach
Don't change yourself
Here is some truth
From me to you
Without the pain
You're beautiful too
You don't have to change
For him or for her
You're so beautiful
Please don't let that blur
Don't you dare let them tell you
That you're not enough
I know that it hurts
I know the words are rough
But please don't believe
That you're short of perfection
Look in the mirror
And love your perfect reflection
Epic Poem: In Every Good There is Evil
Adrianna Ciuciu
She opened her eyes,
She saw lion,
A cobra,
A fox,
Pressed upon her legs,
She runs screaming from the predators,
Though,
It seems as if she is not moving,
Her legs lay still,
But images swirl in her brain,
She lays still,
Without breath,
She pants,
She runs,
From these nightmares came memories,
That ended her life,
A large claw inserts itself in her back,
She turns and sees the lion,
A ferocious beast it was,
She rips the claw out,
Blood drips on her skin,
It was not from the claw,
The snake was now wrapped around her leg,
It’s fangs in her thigh,
Then comes a bite,
Not from the snake,
But from the fox,
She is it’s dinner,
One final bite finished her off,
One more time this image would appear in her mind,
Once more,
But this time she is able to run,
Unable to outrun,
She was slashed,
At the chest,
Blood drained out of her as quickly as the predators arrived,
People cry over her,
The bear who lost it’s life,
Her cubs cry over her,
Her husband sobbs,
Whilst the snake, fox, and the lion
Filled their stomachs,
Out of another life,
Comes evil,
Demolishing everything they have created for themselves
She saw lion,
A cobra,
A fox,
Pressed upon her legs,
She runs screaming from the predators,
Though,
It seems as if she is not moving,
Her legs lay still,
But images swirl in her brain,
She lays still,
Without breath,
She pants,
She runs,
From these nightmares came memories,
That ended her life,
A large claw inserts itself in her back,
She turns and sees the lion,
A ferocious beast it was,
She rips the claw out,
Blood drips on her skin,
It was not from the claw,
The snake was now wrapped around her leg,
It’s fangs in her thigh,
Then comes a bite,
Not from the snake,
But from the fox,
She is it’s dinner,
One final bite finished her off,
One more time this image would appear in her mind,
Once more,
But this time she is able to run,
Unable to outrun,
She was slashed,
At the chest,
Blood drained out of her as quickly as the predators arrived,
People cry over her,
The bear who lost it’s life,
Her cubs cry over her,
Her husband sobbs,
Whilst the snake, fox, and the lion
Filled their stomachs,
Out of another life,
Comes evil,
Demolishing everything they have created for themselves
Heart Of Glass
Gianna Vona
He held my shattered glass heart in his hands.
His fingers tracing some of the mixed up pieces.
He looked up at me with a sorrowful look, and held the shards close to his chest.
I didn't ask him to do so.
He placed the fragile pieces in the center of his blue sheets,
taking each piece one by one and slowly putting them back together.
Some of the pieces he tried to fix were insecurities
while others were hatred,
but he didn't mind, you see.
In fact he was most gentle with those pieces,
accepting that they were apart of who i am.
-
After spending time on fixing my broken heart, he held out his hands covered in love and superglue,
carefully returned my newly repaired heart of glass.
This time the once shattered cluster of pieces were now all put together.
I looked at him,
his gleaming smile and
bright blue eyes
waited for my reaction.
I took his cut up and bruised hand in mine,
and returned to him
my newly repaired glass heart.
Trusting he won't shatter it.
He held it close to his chest, slowly putting in place of where his own heart should be.
Giving him a puzzled look,
he reached out to show me
his scarred bandaged heart
that has already been placed in my heart's old spot.
-
I gave him a warm smile,
slowly leaning in
our faces only inches away.
He placed his hand on my soft face,
then slowly pressed
his soft lips
against my own.
-
I put my hand on his stitched chest,
right over the sensitive space where my heart was just inserted.
I looked up at him once more,
feeling the slow beats.
The words slipped out of my mouth.
The foreign words feeling just right.
Suddenly the same words were repeated back to me.
I could feel my heart slowly starting to mend in its place.
His fingers tracing some of the mixed up pieces.
He looked up at me with a sorrowful look, and held the shards close to his chest.
I didn't ask him to do so.
He placed the fragile pieces in the center of his blue sheets,
taking each piece one by one and slowly putting them back together.
Some of the pieces he tried to fix were insecurities
while others were hatred,
but he didn't mind, you see.
In fact he was most gentle with those pieces,
accepting that they were apart of who i am.
-
After spending time on fixing my broken heart, he held out his hands covered in love and superglue,
carefully returned my newly repaired heart of glass.
This time the once shattered cluster of pieces were now all put together.
I looked at him,
his gleaming smile and
bright blue eyes
waited for my reaction.
I took his cut up and bruised hand in mine,
and returned to him
my newly repaired glass heart.
Trusting he won't shatter it.
He held it close to his chest, slowly putting in place of where his own heart should be.
Giving him a puzzled look,
he reached out to show me
his scarred bandaged heart
that has already been placed in my heart's old spot.
-
I gave him a warm smile,
slowly leaning in
our faces only inches away.
He placed his hand on my soft face,
then slowly pressed
his soft lips
against my own.
-
I put my hand on his stitched chest,
right over the sensitive space where my heart was just inserted.
I looked up at him once more,
feeling the slow beats.
The words slipped out of my mouth.
The foreign words feeling just right.
Suddenly the same words were repeated back to me.
I could feel my heart slowly starting to mend in its place.
Falling
Leah Silverman
I fell off of my pedestal,
Just like a broken statue.
The sound of my mistakes
Crumbling around me.
Why was it me,
Who said those words?
Why was it me,
Who had to be the one?
Just like a falling angel,
I fell without my wings,
Nothing to carry me back onto my pedestal.
Why would I think,
Those horrible insults?
Why would i say them aloud?
All of the jeering was directed at me.
All of my ‘friends’ joining in.
Now I understand,
The reason why she cried,
When I called her fat or ugly.
Now I understand.
But why couldn’t I understand sooner,
When it was still soon enough.
I wish I could go back in time,
To tell myself “Shut up.”
But I can’t.
There’s no such thing as time travel,
There’s no way to forget.
Just like a broken statue.
The sound of my mistakes
Crumbling around me.
Why was it me,
Who said those words?
Why was it me,
Who had to be the one?
Just like a falling angel,
I fell without my wings,
Nothing to carry me back onto my pedestal.
Why would I think,
Those horrible insults?
Why would i say them aloud?
All of the jeering was directed at me.
All of my ‘friends’ joining in.
Now I understand,
The reason why she cried,
When I called her fat or ugly.
Now I understand.
But why couldn’t I understand sooner,
When it was still soon enough.
I wish I could go back in time,
To tell myself “Shut up.”
But I can’t.
There’s no such thing as time travel,
There’s no way to forget.
Ocean
Gianna Vona
The waves finally stopped.
The ocean returned to a mellow drift.
The smell of salt splashed my face like water against the jagged rocks.
I slowly dragged my fingertips along the face of the smiling sea.
Finally at rest.
-
The relaxation didn't last a coon's age.
The water had wars against itself.
Battles they could not handle themselves, needing time to recover their lost hope.
Hoping to put an end to an everlasting controversy.
-
The smashing sounds of water against rock reminds me of harsh rain storms.
The dark clouds shooting bullets at our homes.
Not needing to take cover, but feeling as if you should.
As if it's what we are supposed to do.
-
Battles aren't just faced in the ocean.
The ocean returned to a mellow drift.
The smell of salt splashed my face like water against the jagged rocks.
I slowly dragged my fingertips along the face of the smiling sea.
Finally at rest.
-
The relaxation didn't last a coon's age.
The water had wars against itself.
Battles they could not handle themselves, needing time to recover their lost hope.
Hoping to put an end to an everlasting controversy.
-
The smashing sounds of water against rock reminds me of harsh rain storms.
The dark clouds shooting bullets at our homes.
Not needing to take cover, but feeling as if you should.
As if it's what we are supposed to do.
-
Battles aren't just faced in the ocean.
Anxiety
Lea Silverman
They were judging me,
Looking at me.
HATING me.
I could feel them watching me,
Glaring at me,
Just judging me.
But they really weren’t.
There was no one there.
But won’t they judge me?
Won’t they hate me?
Glare at me?
Watch me with strange faces?
What if they don’t like me,
Don’t like my clothes
Or my hair.
What if I’m too ugly?
Or they think I’m a twig?
As much as I want to believe they won’t,
As much as I want to think they aren’t,
Those thoughts are always there.
Just like the instinct to breathe,
I will always have that fear.
Looking at me.
HATING me.
I could feel them watching me,
Glaring at me,
Just judging me.
But they really weren’t.
There was no one there.
But won’t they judge me?
Won’t they hate me?
Glare at me?
Watch me with strange faces?
What if they don’t like me,
Don’t like my clothes
Or my hair.
What if I’m too ugly?
Or they think I’m a twig?
As much as I want to believe they won’t,
As much as I want to think they aren’t,
Those thoughts are always there.
Just like the instinct to breathe,
I will always have that fear.
Blue
Gianna Vona
I fell in love with the color
blue.
Blue represented everything that i loved.
The ocean,
The sky,
His room,
His jacket,
and his eyes.
Don't get me started on those eyes,
i can get lost in for hours.
soon enough,
i got carried away in an ocean of blue.
-
when i reached shore
i fell in a hole; and i called it blue.
i guess you can say blue was another word for love.
but i mean, i don't really know entirely what love is.
or at least so i thought.
-
blue knots are tied.
my heart is captured in ropes,
i don't know how i got myself here,
honestly i don't remember much.
the only memories i can retrace are laced with the color blue.
-
his eyes are baby blue, intertwined with strings of green.
i am lost again, and
i couldn't find my way back home.
but home for me was in his arms.
in his blue room.
-
so many memories are held captive there.
i refused to believe this couldn't simply be my home,
but it was.
and it still is.
he asked me what my favorite color was.
i reached out, and kissed his soft face.
i looked at him, smiling.
and told him
you.
blue.
Blue represented everything that i loved.
The ocean,
The sky,
His room,
His jacket,
and his eyes.
Don't get me started on those eyes,
i can get lost in for hours.
soon enough,
i got carried away in an ocean of blue.
-
when i reached shore
i fell in a hole; and i called it blue.
i guess you can say blue was another word for love.
but i mean, i don't really know entirely what love is.
or at least so i thought.
-
blue knots are tied.
my heart is captured in ropes,
i don't know how i got myself here,
honestly i don't remember much.
the only memories i can retrace are laced with the color blue.
-
his eyes are baby blue, intertwined with strings of green.
i am lost again, and
i couldn't find my way back home.
but home for me was in his arms.
in his blue room.
-
so many memories are held captive there.
i refused to believe this couldn't simply be my home,
but it was.
and it still is.
he asked me what my favorite color was.
i reached out, and kissed his soft face.
i looked at him, smiling.
and told him
you.
Not Me
Gianna Vona
I looked into the mirror.
Like time and time before to see the face I knew too
well
looking back at me.
Giving me a sorrowful look,
I read her big blue eyes like a fairytale.
Her story only revealing one word, lost.
The girl in the mirror looked like me, but was surely not.
I frowned, as I watched her light pink lips stretch from
ear to ear revealing
her white pearls, ones i know of too
well.
I can't remember the last time i looked as happy as her.
My teeth never to be shown, god forbid my lips stretched from ear to ear.
-
Her confidence made my self esteem drop.
I began to yell at her, questions i knew she didn't know the answer to.
‘Why can't I be as happy as you?’
‘Why are you so proud of your body?’
‘Why can't I feel confident in my own?’
‘Why
can't I
feel confident in my own?’
She looked up at me, her face stained with tears.
-
And I looked down, my chest wasn't risen like hers.
I looked back into the mirror, her flowy skirts looked like black sweatpants on me.
My baggy tee couldn't compare to her white lace blouse.
Why couldn't I look so elegant?
Why couldn't I look so beautiful and cheerful as she?
Her long brown locks looked so much better than my shaggy hair.
My masculine build overpowered her small frame,
one I wish I could obtain.
-
The clock struck midnight, not only was i missing one glass slipper i was missing two.
If only i could have been her.
The one whose eyes were all on her immaculate facade.
Elegant dresses, beautiful shoes, and long strawberry blonde hair
Pearl earrings and diamond rings, why couldn't that be me?
I wanna look like the princesses in fairytales,
That's an understatement you see,
I want to be the princesses in the fairytale.
I want to look in the mirror and finally be happy with what I see,
-
My mom shouts to up to me through the creaky wooden floors
“Mason, come down for dinner”
I spoke under my breath..
“Don’t call me Mason.”
I stumbled out of my room, and made my way down to our victorian dining room.
I greeted my mother at the table,
Thoughts were flooding my mind.
I held my head in my sweaty palms.
My mother asked “Mason.. what’s wrong”
Repeating her statement once more.
I couldn't take it
I snapped
“Stop calling me that! That's not my name.”
Staring at me blankly, her eyes started to fill with tears.
She proceeded to send me to my room when I beat her to it.
Rushing up the stairs, I made my way to my blue bedroom.
Rage filling me,
I threw the mirror that makes a mockery out of me each and every day,
the shards spreading along my floor.
My fingers started to bleed,
but that didn't matter to me.
I shouted out in pure anger
“Why couldn't you have just kept to yourself?!”
-
My mother barged into my room,
She didn't ask if I was okay.
She simply and cold heartedly told me to pack my things and leave.
So I did.
-
I took my school bag and filled it with several things,
I proceeded to turn and walk out of my room.
I stumbled down the stairs with tears in my eyes,
And walked out the door.
I was wrong,
Life doesn't always end in happy endings.
Like time and time before to see the face I knew too
well
looking back at me.
Giving me a sorrowful look,
I read her big blue eyes like a fairytale.
Her story only revealing one word, lost.
The girl in the mirror looked like me, but was surely not.
I frowned, as I watched her light pink lips stretch from
ear to ear revealing
her white pearls, ones i know of too
well.
I can't remember the last time i looked as happy as her.
My teeth never to be shown, god forbid my lips stretched from ear to ear.
-
Her confidence made my self esteem drop.
I began to yell at her, questions i knew she didn't know the answer to.
‘Why can't I be as happy as you?’
‘Why are you so proud of your body?’
‘Why can't I feel confident in my own?’
‘Why
can't I
feel confident in my own?’
She looked up at me, her face stained with tears.
-
And I looked down, my chest wasn't risen like hers.
I looked back into the mirror, her flowy skirts looked like black sweatpants on me.
My baggy tee couldn't compare to her white lace blouse.
Why couldn't I look so elegant?
Why couldn't I look so beautiful and cheerful as she?
Her long brown locks looked so much better than my shaggy hair.
My masculine build overpowered her small frame,
one I wish I could obtain.
-
The clock struck midnight, not only was i missing one glass slipper i was missing two.
If only i could have been her.
The one whose eyes were all on her immaculate facade.
Elegant dresses, beautiful shoes, and long strawberry blonde hair
Pearl earrings and diamond rings, why couldn't that be me?
I wanna look like the princesses in fairytales,
That's an understatement you see,
I want to be the princesses in the fairytale.
I want to look in the mirror and finally be happy with what I see,
-
My mom shouts to up to me through the creaky wooden floors
“Mason, come down for dinner”
I spoke under my breath..
“Don’t call me Mason.”
I stumbled out of my room, and made my way down to our victorian dining room.
I greeted my mother at the table,
Thoughts were flooding my mind.
I held my head in my sweaty palms.
My mother asked “Mason.. what’s wrong”
Repeating her statement once more.
I couldn't take it
I snapped
“Stop calling me that! That's not my name.”
Staring at me blankly, her eyes started to fill with tears.
She proceeded to send me to my room when I beat her to it.
Rushing up the stairs, I made my way to my blue bedroom.
Rage filling me,
I threw the mirror that makes a mockery out of me each and every day,
the shards spreading along my floor.
My fingers started to bleed,
but that didn't matter to me.
I shouted out in pure anger
“Why couldn't you have just kept to yourself?!”
-
My mother barged into my room,
She didn't ask if I was okay.
She simply and cold heartedly told me to pack my things and leave.
So I did.
-
I took my school bag and filled it with several things,
I proceeded to turn and walk out of my room.
I stumbled down the stairs with tears in my eyes,
And walked out the door.
I was wrong,
Life doesn't always end in happy endings.
Snow Race
Misha Bankulla
It was the beginning
And I was winning
In a sled
As I fled
Down the bumpy way
Riding on my slay
Snowflakes carefully fell to the ground
As me and my brother raced at the speed of sound
The race was ending
As the path started bending
Almost at the end
Or the beginning of winning
Closer...closer
Wait
Closer to what
The end?
No Closer to crashing
Into…
Into what?
Into the only thing that could possibly be in my way
But I hope I don’t hit him so I even pray
We crashed
And we laughed
Nobody won
But we both had fun
And now this day is done
And I was winning
In a sled
As I fled
Down the bumpy way
Riding on my slay
Snowflakes carefully fell to the ground
As me and my brother raced at the speed of sound
The race was ending
As the path started bending
Almost at the end
Or the beginning of winning
Closer...closer
Wait
Closer to what
The end?
No Closer to crashing
Into…
Into what?
Into the only thing that could possibly be in my way
But I hope I don’t hit him so I even pray
We crashed
And we laughed
Nobody won
But we both had fun
And now this day is done
Fire & Water
Nicole Perlin
There was a boy that I met long ago
How I wish I could leave it at that
We loved each other
More than most grown ups could love
We made each other happy
Which really means a lot
For happy was not what either of us knew well
-
This boy, he was fire
Me, I was water
We needed each other
He needed water to calm him and provide the cool relief
I needed the fire to keep me warm when my thoughts made me oh so cold
-
It hurt to realize that we weren't good for eachother
That this wasn't meant to be
It would have been better for both of us to walk away
Yet we stayed together
We refused to give up
We tried and tried to keep going
-
But though the love remained
I held him back
Back from the bright, beautiful, passionate fire that he could be
And he pushed me
Pushed me to be a warm, happy ocean, when I was a cold lake
-
And in the end
We destroyed each other
He was too warm, I dried up
And me, I was too cold, he burnt out
The boy of fire and the girl of water destroyed each other
Leaving behind a cold and dry emptiness
And from this I learned
To never mix fire with water
How I wish I could leave it at that
We loved each other
More than most grown ups could love
We made each other happy
Which really means a lot
For happy was not what either of us knew well
-
This boy, he was fire
Me, I was water
We needed each other
He needed water to calm him and provide the cool relief
I needed the fire to keep me warm when my thoughts made me oh so cold
-
It hurt to realize that we weren't good for eachother
That this wasn't meant to be
It would have been better for both of us to walk away
Yet we stayed together
We refused to give up
We tried and tried to keep going
-
But though the love remained
I held him back
Back from the bright, beautiful, passionate fire that he could be
And he pushed me
Pushed me to be a warm, happy ocean, when I was a cold lake
-
And in the end
We destroyed each other
He was too warm, I dried up
And me, I was too cold, he burnt out
The boy of fire and the girl of water destroyed each other
Leaving behind a cold and dry emptiness
And from this I learned
To never mix fire with water
Coffee and Toothpaste
Michelle Marti
You used to be a hot cup of coffee,
On a freezing winter morning,
With just the right amount of cream and sugar,
And some peppermint to spice it up,
To give my life some flavour.
While I was a mint toothpaste,
A refreshing addition to your life.
We mixed two positives,
But somehow,
We ended with a negative anyway.
We mixed coffee and toothpaste,
And were left with a bitter aftertaste,
Followed by silence and resentfulness
Coming from both ends.
Don’t want both,
But don’t want neither,
So how should we move forward?
I moved on,
You took a step back,
Still a cup of coffee,
This time, it’s black.
Bitter and unwanted,
To someone like me.
It should be quite blatant to see,
That sometimes,
Two positives don’t hold true,
And I’ll be better off,
Without you.
Maybe this time I prefer,
A large mug of tea,
After a long, eventful day.
Those come in many flavors,
And I’ll find the one for me.
You used to be a steaming cup of coffee,
As sweet as can it can be.
Then we ran out of sugar,
And I realized I prefer tea.
I mixed tea with toothpaste,
And the aftertaste wasn’t bad,
That was when I realized
It was the best I’ve ever had.
So I experimented,
Another day,
Another flavor.
And eventually I found the one,
That I’d be with forever.
Sometimes,
I miss the taste of coffee,
But nostalgia is simply a memory,
And I will be okay.
A mix of us together,
Is not meant for me.
So this time,
I believe,
That I will stick with tea.
On a freezing winter morning,
With just the right amount of cream and sugar,
And some peppermint to spice it up,
To give my life some flavour.
While I was a mint toothpaste,
A refreshing addition to your life.
We mixed two positives,
But somehow,
We ended with a negative anyway.
We mixed coffee and toothpaste,
And were left with a bitter aftertaste,
Followed by silence and resentfulness
Coming from both ends.
Don’t want both,
But don’t want neither,
So how should we move forward?
I moved on,
You took a step back,
Still a cup of coffee,
This time, it’s black.
Bitter and unwanted,
To someone like me.
It should be quite blatant to see,
That sometimes,
Two positives don’t hold true,
And I’ll be better off,
Without you.
Maybe this time I prefer,
A large mug of tea,
After a long, eventful day.
Those come in many flavors,
And I’ll find the one for me.
You used to be a steaming cup of coffee,
As sweet as can it can be.
Then we ran out of sugar,
And I realized I prefer tea.
I mixed tea with toothpaste,
And the aftertaste wasn’t bad,
That was when I realized
It was the best I’ve ever had.
So I experimented,
Another day,
Another flavor.
And eventually I found the one,
That I’d be with forever.
Sometimes,
I miss the taste of coffee,
But nostalgia is simply a memory,
And I will be okay.
A mix of us together,
Is not meant for me.
So this time,
I believe,
That I will stick with tea.
Plastic
Michelle Marti
Silicone skin,
Fake nails,
Plentiful amounts
Of deceptive makeup and hair.
Caked-on foundation,
Concealer,
Spray tan.
In this world,
Be your own fan.
Paint your nails,
Curl your hair,
Put on lipstick,
Let them know you care.
Put on your heels,
And your little black dress.
Get that surgery,
Don’t second guess.
Beauty is all that matters,
And paying the price,
Is nothing compared to looking nice.
Trump the haters,
And rise above all,
Fake smile if needed to,
Build up your walls.
Nothing compares to
A beautiful face,
Long blonde hair,
Elegant clothes
That can make people stare.
Because in this world,
Beauty is an expectation,
A factor of who you should be
Society’s standards
Drags you away from being free.
Pretend that you are happy,
That everything’s fantastic,
And try to forget about society’s desire
To become plastic.
Fake nails,
Plentiful amounts
Of deceptive makeup and hair.
Caked-on foundation,
Concealer,
Spray tan.
In this world,
Be your own fan.
Paint your nails,
Curl your hair,
Put on lipstick,
Let them know you care.
Put on your heels,
And your little black dress.
Get that surgery,
Don’t second guess.
Beauty is all that matters,
And paying the price,
Is nothing compared to looking nice.
Trump the haters,
And rise above all,
Fake smile if needed to,
Build up your walls.
Nothing compares to
A beautiful face,
Long blonde hair,
Elegant clothes
That can make people stare.
Because in this world,
Beauty is an expectation,
A factor of who you should be
Society’s standards
Drags you away from being free.
Pretend that you are happy,
That everything’s fantastic,
And try to forget about society’s desire
To become plastic.
If It Were Meant To Be
Michelle Marti
If it were meant to be,
It would have happened.
If it were meant to be,
It would’ve worked out.
Don’t stress over someone,
If they’re not worth your tears,
Even if losing them,
Can very likely be your worst fear.
They all say it,
It is indeed true.
You only have one life to live,
And maybe he’s not for you.
You fell hard,
So did your tears.
Who knows,
From what I gathered,
I believe the end is near.
Your heart is fragile,
He toyed around,
And broke it in the end.
But don’t worry, darling.
It will mend.
I know that you’re just trying,
To keep him around.
But in the process,
Your face is plastered with a frown.
I love you dearly,
Believe me.
I hate seeing you get hurt.
But saying this and seeing your face,
I wish the truth was easy to blurt.
Coming across like a bad person,
Is not my intention at all.
Simply said,
I’m just worried that next time
I won’t be there to break your fall.
You put your heart before your brain,
This I know for sure.
I just wish you thought this through some more,
That way the pain,
You wouldn’t have to endure.
I wish to hug you tightly,
And say that it’ll be okay.
And that he is not the reason,
That tomorrow,
Is another day.
If the end comes,
Please remember,
That it is for the best.
Don’t think about it too much,
I don’t want to see you stressed.
The smile on your face,
However real or fake it is.
Perhaps it will be brighter,
When you are no longer his.
It would have happened.
If it were meant to be,
It would’ve worked out.
Don’t stress over someone,
If they’re not worth your tears,
Even if losing them,
Can very likely be your worst fear.
They all say it,
It is indeed true.
You only have one life to live,
And maybe he’s not for you.
You fell hard,
So did your tears.
Who knows,
From what I gathered,
I believe the end is near.
Your heart is fragile,
He toyed around,
And broke it in the end.
But don’t worry, darling.
It will mend.
I know that you’re just trying,
To keep him around.
But in the process,
Your face is plastered with a frown.
I love you dearly,
Believe me.
I hate seeing you get hurt.
But saying this and seeing your face,
I wish the truth was easy to blurt.
Coming across like a bad person,
Is not my intention at all.
Simply said,
I’m just worried that next time
I won’t be there to break your fall.
You put your heart before your brain,
This I know for sure.
I just wish you thought this through some more,
That way the pain,
You wouldn’t have to endure.
I wish to hug you tightly,
And say that it’ll be okay.
And that he is not the reason,
That tomorrow,
Is another day.
If the end comes,
Please remember,
That it is for the best.
Don’t think about it too much,
I don’t want to see you stressed.
The smile on your face,
However real or fake it is.
Perhaps it will be brighter,
When you are no longer his.
Winter is Great
Akash Shah
Burr
Freezing in the night
All alone
We all love
Snow
Making snowman with the crystal ice
Winter is great
Getting cold hands
Making them warm
With a nice warm hot chocolate
Winter is great
Sitting on the couch
Watching a movie
Feeling all good
Winter is great
Writing stories
Being bored
Winter is great
Staying warm
Wearing heavy layers
Winter is great
Have fun
Be yourself
Make the most out of your day
Winter is great
Freezing in the night
All alone
We all love
Snow
Making snowman with the crystal ice
Winter is great
Getting cold hands
Making them warm
With a nice warm hot chocolate
Winter is great
Sitting on the couch
Watching a movie
Feeling all good
Winter is great
Writing stories
Being bored
Winter is great
Staying warm
Wearing heavy layers
Winter is great
Have fun
Be yourself
Make the most out of your day
Winter is great
Stories
F. A. T.
Jenna Feldman
F
A
T
One word. 3 letters.
Does it define me?
When I hide myself under sweatshirts does it make you feel good? When I cry myself to sleep? When I stick my finger down my throat after every meal does it make you feel good? When I rip open my own skin does it make you feel good? When I don't look in the mirror to avoid looking at my stretch marks does it make you feel good? When you call me that 3-letter-word does it really make you feel that much better? Does it thrill you to see me hurt? When I walk away why do you follow?
F
A
T
One word. 3 letters.
It does not define me! It does not tell you who I am! F A T is a word! It's a nasty word! You may try to bring me down but in the end; it's a word. One word. And only 3 letters.
B
E
A
U
T
I
F
U
L
One word. 9 letters. Me. My stretch marks are beautiful! My body is beautiful! I am beautiful.
F
A
T
One word. 3 letters. 0 meaning.
A
T
One word. 3 letters.
Does it define me?
When I hide myself under sweatshirts does it make you feel good? When I cry myself to sleep? When I stick my finger down my throat after every meal does it make you feel good? When I rip open my own skin does it make you feel good? When I don't look in the mirror to avoid looking at my stretch marks does it make you feel good? When you call me that 3-letter-word does it really make you feel that much better? Does it thrill you to see me hurt? When I walk away why do you follow?
F
A
T
One word. 3 letters.
It does not define me! It does not tell you who I am! F A T is a word! It's a nasty word! You may try to bring me down but in the end; it's a word. One word. And only 3 letters.
B
E
A
U
T
I
F
U
L
One word. 9 letters. Me. My stretch marks are beautiful! My body is beautiful! I am beautiful.
F
A
T
One word. 3 letters. 0 meaning.
The Figure, Based On a True Event
Kyle Stone
3:00 A.M.
I awoke in a cold sweat, laying in my bed. My bed was next to my wall, so when I awoke, I was on my side facing the wall. The tall, white structure was all I saw. I looked at my watch. 3:02 A.M. Not again, I thought. I tended to wake up in the middle of the night a lot, and everytime I do so, I cannot fall back asleep. I was just about to get up and go to my computer, when I heard the door creak open. My door creaks so much, if I had a nickel for every time I heard it creak, I’d have a small loan of a million dollars! Heh, heh. I didn’t think much of it, as it was probably my mom or dad coming in to make sure I was okay. I kept expecting the voice of my mom to call out, “May I come in?” but it never came. I just lay there, not moving. I then felt as if the temperature in my room had just dropped twenty degrees. Then, I heard my door creak a long, ugly sound. Then, CLICK! My door closed. I thought whoever had come had left until I heard a short but moderately loud Thump! on the floor. Then after several seconds, Thump! As if I wasn’t sweaty enough, my body became infested with sweat and chills, and I started shivering. Thump! I didn’t know if it was because of the temperature drop or if I was scared. Thump! Whoever was in my room, it was definitely not my mother or father. I don’t have any siblings, so it can’t be them messing with me. Thump! Thump! I expected another one to come, but it didn’t. The noise had stopped. I lay there for what seemed like an eternity, just staring at the white nothingness of the wall. My heart pounded in my chest like a burst of thunder. Pound after pound after pound after pound. After all the time I lay there, (five minutes felt like five hours) I mustered up enough courage to turn around. I thought in my head three, two, one! I stood up straight in my bed and whipped my body around to face whatever had entered my room. There it was. A figure. A figure clothed in all black, it’s face shrouded in a empty void, and the general shape of a body was there, but I saw no visible skin. It’s arms dangled like tree branches at it’s side, and it’s legs were stiff and close together. And the kicker...it was eight feet tall. Eight feet. A whole thirty-six inches taller than me. It just stood there, letting the wind of the open windows blow around its dark robe. To my surprise, I did not scream. I did not cry. I just sat there, watching the wind act on this figure’s clothing. I shivered as if I was in Antarctica. I sweated as if I was in the Sahara Desert. I whimpered like a puppy but rather than a whiny, high sound, deep, gruff whimpers came out. It began to move. I jumped a little bit as the figure preceded to pick up it’s long, slender arm. The sleeves on the thing rolled back to find fingers longer than anyone should have. The index finger was as long as a teenage boy’s foot. The thing’s arm reached the same level that my face was at. For a moment, the arm just dangled there, about ten inches away from my face. The long index finger preceded to lift up out of the figure’s hand. It reached, slowly and surely toward my face. A small, lonely tear was shed from my right eye. The cold, rough finger made contact with the skin to the right of my nose. The finger moved slowly to the right, and then left my face. The thing had wiped the tear. I let my head dangle so I was looking at the bed covers in fear. After a couple seconds, the finger from before landed beneath my chin and pushed up so that I was looking at the figure once more. The thing pulled it’s arm back to it’s side with such a fast movement, that my heart skipped a few beats. The thing then took one step forward with each foot and leaned in. I saw the outline of it’s face behind the cloak. It had two large, circular eyes with a triangular nose and a long mouth that showed no emotion whatsoever. I was frozen, I couldn’t breathe, and my heart was at least forty feet below sea level. I was the most scared I had ever been in my life. The figure then muttered one, simple word.
“Boo.”
That was enough. I screamed at the top of my lungs, I began flailing my arms in fear, I jumped back so far that my back hit the wall behind me! My parents busted in, throwing open the door faster than the speed of light!
My dad exclaimed, “What is it?!”
There was no figure. There was nothing but thin air. It was gone. Six months have passed since. My parents keep saying that it’s just my imagination to this day. But you can’t just imagine something like that...You can’t imagine something like that…
Based on the true story on the YouTube Channel of “Mr. Nightmare”
I awoke in a cold sweat, laying in my bed. My bed was next to my wall, so when I awoke, I was on my side facing the wall. The tall, white structure was all I saw. I looked at my watch. 3:02 A.M. Not again, I thought. I tended to wake up in the middle of the night a lot, and everytime I do so, I cannot fall back asleep. I was just about to get up and go to my computer, when I heard the door creak open. My door creaks so much, if I had a nickel for every time I heard it creak, I’d have a small loan of a million dollars! Heh, heh. I didn’t think much of it, as it was probably my mom or dad coming in to make sure I was okay. I kept expecting the voice of my mom to call out, “May I come in?” but it never came. I just lay there, not moving. I then felt as if the temperature in my room had just dropped twenty degrees. Then, I heard my door creak a long, ugly sound. Then, CLICK! My door closed. I thought whoever had come had left until I heard a short but moderately loud Thump! on the floor. Then after several seconds, Thump! As if I wasn’t sweaty enough, my body became infested with sweat and chills, and I started shivering. Thump! I didn’t know if it was because of the temperature drop or if I was scared. Thump! Whoever was in my room, it was definitely not my mother or father. I don’t have any siblings, so it can’t be them messing with me. Thump! Thump! I expected another one to come, but it didn’t. The noise had stopped. I lay there for what seemed like an eternity, just staring at the white nothingness of the wall. My heart pounded in my chest like a burst of thunder. Pound after pound after pound after pound. After all the time I lay there, (five minutes felt like five hours) I mustered up enough courage to turn around. I thought in my head three, two, one! I stood up straight in my bed and whipped my body around to face whatever had entered my room. There it was. A figure. A figure clothed in all black, it’s face shrouded in a empty void, and the general shape of a body was there, but I saw no visible skin. It’s arms dangled like tree branches at it’s side, and it’s legs were stiff and close together. And the kicker...it was eight feet tall. Eight feet. A whole thirty-six inches taller than me. It just stood there, letting the wind of the open windows blow around its dark robe. To my surprise, I did not scream. I did not cry. I just sat there, watching the wind act on this figure’s clothing. I shivered as if I was in Antarctica. I sweated as if I was in the Sahara Desert. I whimpered like a puppy but rather than a whiny, high sound, deep, gruff whimpers came out. It began to move. I jumped a little bit as the figure preceded to pick up it’s long, slender arm. The sleeves on the thing rolled back to find fingers longer than anyone should have. The index finger was as long as a teenage boy’s foot. The thing’s arm reached the same level that my face was at. For a moment, the arm just dangled there, about ten inches away from my face. The long index finger preceded to lift up out of the figure’s hand. It reached, slowly and surely toward my face. A small, lonely tear was shed from my right eye. The cold, rough finger made contact with the skin to the right of my nose. The finger moved slowly to the right, and then left my face. The thing had wiped the tear. I let my head dangle so I was looking at the bed covers in fear. After a couple seconds, the finger from before landed beneath my chin and pushed up so that I was looking at the figure once more. The thing pulled it’s arm back to it’s side with such a fast movement, that my heart skipped a few beats. The thing then took one step forward with each foot and leaned in. I saw the outline of it’s face behind the cloak. It had two large, circular eyes with a triangular nose and a long mouth that showed no emotion whatsoever. I was frozen, I couldn’t breathe, and my heart was at least forty feet below sea level. I was the most scared I had ever been in my life. The figure then muttered one, simple word.
“Boo.”
That was enough. I screamed at the top of my lungs, I began flailing my arms in fear, I jumped back so far that my back hit the wall behind me! My parents busted in, throwing open the door faster than the speed of light!
My dad exclaimed, “What is it?!”
There was no figure. There was nothing but thin air. It was gone. Six months have passed since. My parents keep saying that it’s just my imagination to this day. But you can’t just imagine something like that...You can’t imagine something like that…
Based on the true story on the YouTube Channel of “Mr. Nightmare”
Unsinkable
Aram Al-Saleem
Chris couldn't wait to get back to America. They were so happy because they were going to visit their relatives! The other reason why was because they were boarding a gigantic and luxurious boat. It was called, the Titanic. But Allen didn’t want to go. Since 13 years old, he has been extremely frightened to get on boats since the time his grandfather died from his boat sinking. Everyone was anxious to get on the boat, except Allen.
“We have to get on quickly mom!” Chris screams over the loud cheering of the crowd.
It was the day that the boat was departing from Southampton, England. The passengers were waving back in excitement, nonstop. “Run faster! It is gonna depart in 30 seconds!” He can already see the bridge being removed with a slight shriek. They finally make it to the bridge. They needed to jump to the boat before it withdraws.
“Watch your step!” The crew member says.
Dazzled, they all jump into the boat of people’s dreams. The captain is standing there, too, welcoming all the the fellow passengers.
“Welcome aboard! We hope you enjoy your stay.”
So they walk confidently to their room, relaxing as soon as they get there. When he sees the room, he is in heaven. It’s perfect.
“Oh-la-la!” The room is spacious, and far more elegant than they had expected. It rather looked like a hotel room, concealed with paintings, and few lamps to illuminate the room. The window is facing the appealing skyline, with it shining against the water, turning it clear to blue. Suddenly, they hear a big roar. They realize until about a minute of wandering around what it was. The Titanic is ready to start its expedition.
4 days later at 10:00pm
“I think I should sleep, it has been a long day.” Chris says “Ok, Chris, see you in the morning.” They all say, and with that said, Mom, Dad, and Allen sit at the table and play cards. They also told jokes, “Why couldn’t the kid go to the pirate movie? Because it was rated Arrr!!!” They decided to sleep. As tired as they were, none of them could fall asleep, so they decided to leave the room and explore the decks of the ship. They woke up Chris and asked him if he wanted to join. He looked as tired as a bear in hibernation.
“Ugh! I don’t feel like it. Just be back by midnight.” Allen and his parents nod and rush out the door.
+++++
They go into the fancy elevator, which is controlled manually. A crew member asks “What level?”
The family replies, “Lower deck, please.” He closes the black metal bars and starts the elevator. When they reach the boiler room, they drop their mouths in astonishment.
“It takes this much power to run the Titanic?” Allen says. Then they hear an immense thump. It sounded like an immense gunshot from where they were standing. “W-What was that?” And that's when they hear the crew screaming, “RUN! WATER GUSHING THROUGH!!” They immediately start running frantically looking for an exit, but then they see the gates closing!
They can see about 8 tons of freezing water coming in per second! The squeaking noise coming from the gates is unbearable . They aren't going to make it!
"You need to bolt swifter than that!" Allen screams. They are now scampering as fast as they can, meandering half conscious and half not.
In an instant, dad screams, "RUN!!"
They finally reach the door after a long run through the treacherous water.
“Allen, you go first.” Mom coaxes.
So Allen goes first, and he gets through, but there is one problem. The crew members are getting in their way and pushing to get to the other side, but the gates are still closing! Mom and Dad don’t have enough time to get in.
“Take care of your brother, Allen.” They say
“I am not leaving you here!” Tears are pouring down Allen’s eyes.
But there was no time to talk back; just like that, his parents were swept away in the harsh swoosh of the water, and the next thing he hears is a series of bangs! coming from the closing of the doors before left alone.
The first thing he does is he dashes for his room to warn Chris that water is coming, and about their parents.
“Wait, so you left mom and dad ALONE?!?!” Chris screams.
“The point is water is rushing through the whole boat! We need to get out of here!” Allen responds
“Hold on, do you even know what is happening?” Chris squeaks with an extremely intricate look covering his whole face.
“No, but-”
“THE BOAT IS SINKING YOU IDIOT!!!”Chris yells at the maximum his vocal cords let him go. They see crew coming down handing everyone lifejackets. Everyone asks what is going on, but the crew refuse to answer. They don’t want a party of racket in the Titanic, knowing that the problem could be resolved.
I knew I should have never went on this boat. It’s gonna kill me, just like my grandfather….
Right after, they run to the upper deck. There are about 400 people there already! They look to the side, and then they see an immense iceberg, which dropped chunks of ice onto the boat. Somehow cheerful, some men just play around with it acting like nothing ever happened!
“Oh crud.” Chris says.
There are lifeboats getting ready to load up some people.
“Women and children only!” A crew member says.
Waiting for the next boat, they hear an extremely loud creak. They all know what is happening; the boat is starting to timber! They look behind them and then they see a crew member pointing a gun at his head, and another crew member shooting anyone who tried to go in a lifeboat. It was so hard to look at.
“Well, now we have to find a lifeboat as soon as we c-" Chris gets interrupted by the first gunshot. It came from the first crew member who was intending to kill himself.
"I need to get out of here!" Allen demands, and that's when he jumps in front of the crew member that was holding the gun, guarding the life boat, and immediately gets shot. Suddenly, a passenger pushes the crew member overboard and rushes for Allen. He was shot in the leg, so he wasn't hurt too bad, but it still burns. The boat tilts at a 50 degree angle, and now people can’t hold on. It tilts faster and faster, but luckily, Allen and Chris are towards the top of the boat.
“We need to get to the top of this boat, at the highest point,” Chris says. Pieces of wood are whizzing past their heads, while trying to climb up. When they look down, they see so many people trying to hold on, others are screaming:
“Help me!”
“Take my baby”
And right next to them, they see a man grasping objects to hold on to.
The boat is now at a full 90 degree angle and Allen, and Chris are at the top, so they just have to wait until the boat reaches the bottom. Some are falling into the icy, clear water, shiney against the moonlight.
“On my count, we jump, Allen. One.” Utters Chris.
“This is not gonna be good.” Allen replies, and just as Chris opens his mouth to speak, Allen and him are jostled off the boat, into the below, by the immense tremble of the boat.
“AHHH!!!” Chris hears from the startled Allen.
But they still hold hands together, to make sure they don’t lose each other. After being splashed into the water, they sink into it but rise back up. Everyone is looking for material to hold on to, but there is none, except the small piece of the boat fallen off, that Allen found and brought with him, enough to fit only one person. A piece of wood that shines against the sky saying that there is more to come.
So Allen lays down, and Chris holds on, but they still hear ear-piercing sounds coming from the travelers stranded in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. They won’t stop yelling, “HELP!” But Allen and Chris don’t blame them. They are in the middle of a death-welcoming, freezing ocean.
Whistles are being blown, but no one is coming to help. There are some boats though, about ½ a mile away, but everyone is almost certain they will not come. Screams carry on, but it’s no use. The water is freezing, and death is nearing every second. They just stay, knowing they are going to die and there is no way to get out. It’s a person’s worst nightmare. Just waiting there, Allen finally awakens. It suddenly grew so quiet. He sits up and looks around him. He is shocked to see what’s in front of him. He clamps his mouth shut from screaming.
The passengers have frozen to death.
He looks behind himself and sees Chris. He can’t hold it in. A barrier of tears in his brain shatters, crying like he did many years ago.
He is frozen, too.
Then he hears a noise. Some lifeboats look over to where Allen is lying. They swore they heard something. Allen can’t quite pick up the words, but makes most of them out: We heard someone, there is someone alive over there and it is up to us to save whoever is there. Then Allen realizes, are they coming to me? Could I make it back alive? He doesn’t think it’s true. At that moment, he was stricken in the face It’s coming by a staff holding a lantern. The lifeboat found him!
“Was that you who was making that noise?” A crew member says.
“Yes.” Allen replies with a shudder in his voice. They pull him in, and the passengers rearrange the seating so they have room for him. I can’t believe I made it out!
Don’t they all.
+++++
“Psst, wake up!” A woman says. He gets up. He’s still in the lifeboat, with his ragged clothes on. He looks over the lifeboat. Wait a second. Why are we… flying? Or being pulled up? And right at that moment, Allen twists his head so much he hears a crack in his neck, and standing right in front of him is a gigantic boat. Well, not as big compared to the Titanic. On the back is written in big letters:
C A R P A T H I A
He didn’t know what it was. He rethought it. Maybe it is a boat that is saving us! And he was right! A boat had finally come to his rescue. They welcomed him onto the ship, the same way Captain Smith did when his passengers roamed onto the Titanic. How gentle he was. But everyone thinks it’s his fault. The boat made him feel safe, since they have passed the arena of icebergs already, so there is a less chance it would sink. Limping in, he asked for help where he was shot. They removed the bullet. He just sat there afterwards, staring up, and thinking about what he just went through. “I wish my family were with me.” He mutters to himself.
+++++
When the boat docks, he spots his relatives. Immediately, he runs to them.
“Where is your par-,” But they all know the answer. They give him a sincere look and step up to furnish him with a hug. He can’t be afraid though. He has a new family. He needs to restart his life.
The Titanic has always given us a question. How did it sink? Couldn’t they have seen the ice ahead of time? Who’s fault was it? Well, it sank because of the ice, obviously. They didn’t see the ice ahead because there was a mirage. It made the ice seem far away, when it was really close. There is no one to blame it on. The Titanic has become part of our culture and folklore, a part of everyday speech. No real-life story can match it.
“We have to get on quickly mom!” Chris screams over the loud cheering of the crowd.
It was the day that the boat was departing from Southampton, England. The passengers were waving back in excitement, nonstop. “Run faster! It is gonna depart in 30 seconds!” He can already see the bridge being removed with a slight shriek. They finally make it to the bridge. They needed to jump to the boat before it withdraws.
“Watch your step!” The crew member says.
Dazzled, they all jump into the boat of people’s dreams. The captain is standing there, too, welcoming all the the fellow passengers.
“Welcome aboard! We hope you enjoy your stay.”
So they walk confidently to their room, relaxing as soon as they get there. When he sees the room, he is in heaven. It’s perfect.
“Oh-la-la!” The room is spacious, and far more elegant than they had expected. It rather looked like a hotel room, concealed with paintings, and few lamps to illuminate the room. The window is facing the appealing skyline, with it shining against the water, turning it clear to blue. Suddenly, they hear a big roar. They realize until about a minute of wandering around what it was. The Titanic is ready to start its expedition.
4 days later at 10:00pm
“I think I should sleep, it has been a long day.” Chris says “Ok, Chris, see you in the morning.” They all say, and with that said, Mom, Dad, and Allen sit at the table and play cards. They also told jokes, “Why couldn’t the kid go to the pirate movie? Because it was rated Arrr!!!” They decided to sleep. As tired as they were, none of them could fall asleep, so they decided to leave the room and explore the decks of the ship. They woke up Chris and asked him if he wanted to join. He looked as tired as a bear in hibernation.
“Ugh! I don’t feel like it. Just be back by midnight.” Allen and his parents nod and rush out the door.
+++++
They go into the fancy elevator, which is controlled manually. A crew member asks “What level?”
The family replies, “Lower deck, please.” He closes the black metal bars and starts the elevator. When they reach the boiler room, they drop their mouths in astonishment.
“It takes this much power to run the Titanic?” Allen says. Then they hear an immense thump. It sounded like an immense gunshot from where they were standing. “W-What was that?” And that's when they hear the crew screaming, “RUN! WATER GUSHING THROUGH!!” They immediately start running frantically looking for an exit, but then they see the gates closing!
They can see about 8 tons of freezing water coming in per second! The squeaking noise coming from the gates is unbearable . They aren't going to make it!
"You need to bolt swifter than that!" Allen screams. They are now scampering as fast as they can, meandering half conscious and half not.
In an instant, dad screams, "RUN!!"
They finally reach the door after a long run through the treacherous water.
“Allen, you go first.” Mom coaxes.
So Allen goes first, and he gets through, but there is one problem. The crew members are getting in their way and pushing to get to the other side, but the gates are still closing! Mom and Dad don’t have enough time to get in.
“Take care of your brother, Allen.” They say
“I am not leaving you here!” Tears are pouring down Allen’s eyes.
But there was no time to talk back; just like that, his parents were swept away in the harsh swoosh of the water, and the next thing he hears is a series of bangs! coming from the closing of the doors before left alone.
The first thing he does is he dashes for his room to warn Chris that water is coming, and about their parents.
“Wait, so you left mom and dad ALONE?!?!” Chris screams.
“The point is water is rushing through the whole boat! We need to get out of here!” Allen responds
“Hold on, do you even know what is happening?” Chris squeaks with an extremely intricate look covering his whole face.
“No, but-”
“THE BOAT IS SINKING YOU IDIOT!!!”Chris yells at the maximum his vocal cords let him go. They see crew coming down handing everyone lifejackets. Everyone asks what is going on, but the crew refuse to answer. They don’t want a party of racket in the Titanic, knowing that the problem could be resolved.
I knew I should have never went on this boat. It’s gonna kill me, just like my grandfather….
Right after, they run to the upper deck. There are about 400 people there already! They look to the side, and then they see an immense iceberg, which dropped chunks of ice onto the boat. Somehow cheerful, some men just play around with it acting like nothing ever happened!
“Oh crud.” Chris says.
There are lifeboats getting ready to load up some people.
“Women and children only!” A crew member says.
Waiting for the next boat, they hear an extremely loud creak. They all know what is happening; the boat is starting to timber! They look behind them and then they see a crew member pointing a gun at his head, and another crew member shooting anyone who tried to go in a lifeboat. It was so hard to look at.
“Well, now we have to find a lifeboat as soon as we c-" Chris gets interrupted by the first gunshot. It came from the first crew member who was intending to kill himself.
"I need to get out of here!" Allen demands, and that's when he jumps in front of the crew member that was holding the gun, guarding the life boat, and immediately gets shot. Suddenly, a passenger pushes the crew member overboard and rushes for Allen. He was shot in the leg, so he wasn't hurt too bad, but it still burns. The boat tilts at a 50 degree angle, and now people can’t hold on. It tilts faster and faster, but luckily, Allen and Chris are towards the top of the boat.
“We need to get to the top of this boat, at the highest point,” Chris says. Pieces of wood are whizzing past their heads, while trying to climb up. When they look down, they see so many people trying to hold on, others are screaming:
“Help me!”
“Take my baby”
And right next to them, they see a man grasping objects to hold on to.
The boat is now at a full 90 degree angle and Allen, and Chris are at the top, so they just have to wait until the boat reaches the bottom. Some are falling into the icy, clear water, shiney against the moonlight.
“On my count, we jump, Allen. One.” Utters Chris.
“This is not gonna be good.” Allen replies, and just as Chris opens his mouth to speak, Allen and him are jostled off the boat, into the below, by the immense tremble of the boat.
“AHHH!!!” Chris hears from the startled Allen.
But they still hold hands together, to make sure they don’t lose each other. After being splashed into the water, they sink into it but rise back up. Everyone is looking for material to hold on to, but there is none, except the small piece of the boat fallen off, that Allen found and brought with him, enough to fit only one person. A piece of wood that shines against the sky saying that there is more to come.
So Allen lays down, and Chris holds on, but they still hear ear-piercing sounds coming from the travelers stranded in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. They won’t stop yelling, “HELP!” But Allen and Chris don’t blame them. They are in the middle of a death-welcoming, freezing ocean.
Whistles are being blown, but no one is coming to help. There are some boats though, about ½ a mile away, but everyone is almost certain they will not come. Screams carry on, but it’s no use. The water is freezing, and death is nearing every second. They just stay, knowing they are going to die and there is no way to get out. It’s a person’s worst nightmare. Just waiting there, Allen finally awakens. It suddenly grew so quiet. He sits up and looks around him. He is shocked to see what’s in front of him. He clamps his mouth shut from screaming.
The passengers have frozen to death.
He looks behind himself and sees Chris. He can’t hold it in. A barrier of tears in his brain shatters, crying like he did many years ago.
He is frozen, too.
Then he hears a noise. Some lifeboats look over to where Allen is lying. They swore they heard something. Allen can’t quite pick up the words, but makes most of them out: We heard someone, there is someone alive over there and it is up to us to save whoever is there. Then Allen realizes, are they coming to me? Could I make it back alive? He doesn’t think it’s true. At that moment, he was stricken in the face It’s coming by a staff holding a lantern. The lifeboat found him!
“Was that you who was making that noise?” A crew member says.
“Yes.” Allen replies with a shudder in his voice. They pull him in, and the passengers rearrange the seating so they have room for him. I can’t believe I made it out!
Don’t they all.
+++++
“Psst, wake up!” A woman says. He gets up. He’s still in the lifeboat, with his ragged clothes on. He looks over the lifeboat. Wait a second. Why are we… flying? Or being pulled up? And right at that moment, Allen twists his head so much he hears a crack in his neck, and standing right in front of him is a gigantic boat. Well, not as big compared to the Titanic. On the back is written in big letters:
C A R P A T H I A
He didn’t know what it was. He rethought it. Maybe it is a boat that is saving us! And he was right! A boat had finally come to his rescue. They welcomed him onto the ship, the same way Captain Smith did when his passengers roamed onto the Titanic. How gentle he was. But everyone thinks it’s his fault. The boat made him feel safe, since they have passed the arena of icebergs already, so there is a less chance it would sink. Limping in, he asked for help where he was shot. They removed the bullet. He just sat there afterwards, staring up, and thinking about what he just went through. “I wish my family were with me.” He mutters to himself.
+++++
When the boat docks, he spots his relatives. Immediately, he runs to them.
“Where is your par-,” But they all know the answer. They give him a sincere look and step up to furnish him with a hug. He can’t be afraid though. He has a new family. He needs to restart his life.
The Titanic has always given us a question. How did it sink? Couldn’t they have seen the ice ahead of time? Who’s fault was it? Well, it sank because of the ice, obviously. They didn’t see the ice ahead because there was a mirage. It made the ice seem far away, when it was really close. There is no one to blame it on. The Titanic has become part of our culture and folklore, a part of everyday speech. No real-life story can match it.
The Invasion
Brendan Arthur
It all started one week ago. I was walking down the street with a few friends. All of a sudden i saw it. I didn’t know what it was. It looked like a rocket but it had a very bright lite coming off of it so I couldn't really see what it was. It was almost as if we were looking at the sun but way brighter. It landed two miles from my house so we told my mom that we were going out. We went over to the crash sight.
“OH MY GOD!!!!!” said my friend Johnny.
“What is it” I said
“It looks like an alien” Alexa said.
Whatever it was it didn’t matter we took off running. When we stopped we looked back and it was there. Behind us. It started to run right at us. So we kept running for five blocks. We stopped and looked back and nothing was there. That was one week ago and since then there have been more coming everyday.
One day the entire camp got called by the person in charge we called him The GOVERNOR. There was a big screen and something that looked just the thing that chased us last week. The thing on the screen said that they are a special race of alien called The Krall. They are the most powerful creatures in the universe. They have taken over thousands of planets. The dakon on the screen was the leader. He said “You humans have two days to get on the ships we have ready for you to leave or stay and be killed.”
Later that day my family and my friends families took all of our stuff, got in the car and just drove until we ran out of gas. Once we did we all got out of the car and started to walk. We only had one gun and a few pocket knives to keep us safe. We walked for miles until we got to a camp taken over by the Krall.
“Well looks like they didn’t leave” Alexa said
We just kept walking toward the camp. But we were stopped by a bullet hitting the ground and a loud scream saying “Turn back or be shot!” But I told my dad to give me the AR-15. He gave it to me and I shot at him. We just stayed and started to kill them all and take the camp back. Yet what we didn’t know is that the base wasn’t just above ground it was under ground. Soon after taking over the base we heard an alarm. Then more were there in 1 minute. We were surrounded by hundreds of Krall then we saw him. Even scarier than he was on the screen. He was the leader of the Krall.
“Who are you” he said
“We are survivors of the invasion” Johnny said
After Johnny said that the leader looked up at one of the towers then I heard a bang. I looked over and Johnny was bleeding.
“JOHNNY!!!” I said
I ran over to him.
“You can’t go. Don’t leave us” I said
“It will all be ok” Johnny said
“NOOOOOOOOOO” I said as I watched his head fall back.
“Why did you do that he was just telling you who we are.” Alexa said.
There was silence. He backed up and they formed a circle around us.
We got ready to fight. The Alexa’s and my mom and dad start talking Krall. I didn’t know what they were saying all i knew was that after they were done talking they just let us walk right out. Later we asked them how they knew how to talk Krall. They said there job was to study how to speech alien languages because the company they worked for knew that the Krall would come one day.
It’s been two weeks since we lost johnny and I haven’t left the camp in that time. Then one day i came out of the tent and saw my dad carrying Alexa’s dad and her mom and my mom were not far behind.
“What happened” Alexa said
“We were attacked by the Krall” my dad said
“How many” she said
“Hundreds” my dad said
“That’s it” I said. I grabbed the the AR-15 and all the knives i could find and asked my dad where they were attacked. He said one mile down the road.
“Why do ask that” my dad said
“I’m going to finish this here and now” I said
“No don’t go i don’t know what i will do without you here” my mom said
“Yes please just listen to your mom. What if you get hurt? If you go who will protect us with my dad hurt?” I said
“You have my dad. It will be ok Alexa.” I said
I throw my dad a hand gun and said “KEEP THEM SAFE”
“I will” my dad said. Then i picked up my gun and ran to end this. I got there in 20 minutes. There were a lot of them and one of me I didn't know how I would kill all of them but I would find a way. I found a machine gun “ this will help” I said. I took the machine gun the pulled the trigger and all but 10 were dead. I didn’t bother with them. I just ran back to camp.
When i got back everyone was sitting around the fire. Then i asked
“Where is he”?
“In the tent” Alexa said
“Ok” I said. I went in the tent and he was laying in the bed. He didn’t look good. He was pale and could move.
“How do you feel?” i asked
“I could be better. Listen to me Brendan you have to make it your job to take care of Alexa and keep her safe. Do you hear me?”
“Yes sir, I will keep her safe” I said
“Thank you”
“Alexa get in here” he yelled.
“Yea dad what do you need”
“I just wanted to tell you that i love you”
“I love you, too, dad”. After she said that he put his head back and closed his eye’s.
“Dad ….Dad don’t go don’t leave me. Please don’t leave me. Dad!!!” she screamed.
“Alexa …. Alexa” i yelled “he’s gone. It will be ok we will get through this together” I said as i was holding her back.
After a few weeks we started to give up on thinking that this will ever end. Then we heard a helicopter that had the U.S. military sign on it. They landed next to the camp and said it was over they killed the leader and they retreated and took off into space. They were gone and it was over. But we would never forget the people he lost. Johnny and Alexa’s dad were buried in the graveyard and every year on the anniversary of there death we go and visit the graveyard. After the invasion everything went back to normal. We started to rebuild all the things that were lost in the invasion. Then one snowy night I received a call. It was from an old man. He said that he saw a bright lite. Brighter than the sun.
It all started one week ago. I was walking down the street with a few friends. All of a sudden i saw it. I didn’t know what it was. It looked like a rocket but it had a very bright lite coming off of it so I couldn't really see what it was. It was almost as if we were looking at the sun but way brighter. It landed two miles from my house so we told my mom that we were going out. We went over to the crash sight.
“OH MY GOD!!!!!” said my friend Johnny.
“What is it” I said
“It looks like an alien” Alexa said.
Whatever it was it didn’t matter we took off running. When we stopped we looked back and it was there. Behind us. It started to run right at us. So we kept running for five blocks. We stopped and looked back and nothing was there. That was one week ago and since then there have been more coming everyday.
One day the entire camp got called by the person in charge we called him The GOVERNOR. There was a big screen and something that looked just the thing that chased us last week. The thing on the screen said that they are a special race of alien called The Krall. They are the most powerful creatures in the universe. They have taken over thousands of planets. The dakon on the screen was the leader. He said “You humans have two days to get on the ships we have ready for you to leave or stay and be killed.”
Later that day my family and my friends families took all of our stuff, got in the car and just drove until we ran out of gas. Once we did we all got out of the car and started to walk. We only had one gun and a few pocket knives to keep us safe. We walked for miles until we got to a camp taken over by the Krall.
“Well looks like they didn’t leave” Alexa said
We just kept walking toward the camp. But we were stopped by a bullet hitting the ground and a loud scream saying “Turn back or be shot!” But I told my dad to give me the AR-15. He gave it to me and I shot at him. We just stayed and started to kill them all and take the camp back. Yet what we didn’t know is that the base wasn’t just above ground it was under ground. Soon after taking over the base we heard an alarm. Then more were there in 1 minute. We were surrounded by hundreds of Krall then we saw him. Even scarier than he was on the screen. He was the leader of the Krall.
“Who are you” he said
“We are survivors of the invasion” Johnny said
After Johnny said that the leader looked up at one of the towers then I heard a bang. I looked over and Johnny was bleeding.
“JOHNNY!!!” I said
I ran over to him.
“You can’t go. Don’t leave us” I said
“It will all be ok” Johnny said
“NOOOOOOOOOO” I said as I watched his head fall back.
“Why did you do that he was just telling you who we are.” Alexa said.
There was silence. He backed up and they formed a circle around us.
We got ready to fight. The Alexa’s and my mom and dad start talking Krall. I didn’t know what they were saying all i knew was that after they were done talking they just let us walk right out. Later we asked them how they knew how to talk Krall. They said there job was to study how to speech alien languages because the company they worked for knew that the Krall would come one day.
It’s been two weeks since we lost johnny and I haven’t left the camp in that time. Then one day i came out of the tent and saw my dad carrying Alexa’s dad and her mom and my mom were not far behind.
“What happened” Alexa said
“We were attacked by the Krall” my dad said
“How many” she said
“Hundreds” my dad said
“That’s it” I said. I grabbed the the AR-15 and all the knives i could find and asked my dad where they were attacked. He said one mile down the road.
“Why do ask that” my dad said
“I’m going to finish this here and now” I said
“No don’t go i don’t know what i will do without you here” my mom said
“Yes please just listen to your mom. What if you get hurt? If you go who will protect us with my dad hurt?” I said
“You have my dad. It will be ok Alexa.” I said
I throw my dad a hand gun and said “KEEP THEM SAFE”
“I will” my dad said. Then i picked up my gun and ran to end this. I got there in 20 minutes. There were a lot of them and one of me I didn't know how I would kill all of them but I would find a way. I found a machine gun “ this will help” I said. I took the machine gun the pulled the trigger and all but 10 were dead. I didn’t bother with them. I just ran back to camp.
When i got back everyone was sitting around the fire. Then i asked
“Where is he”?
“In the tent” Alexa said
“Ok” I said. I went in the tent and he was laying in the bed. He didn’t look good. He was pale and could move.
“How do you feel?” i asked
“I could be better. Listen to me Brendan you have to make it your job to take care of Alexa and keep her safe. Do you hear me?”
“Yes sir, I will keep her safe” I said
“Thank you”
“Alexa get in here” he yelled.
“Yea dad what do you need”
“I just wanted to tell you that i love you”
“I love you, too, dad”. After she said that he put his head back and closed his eye’s.
“Dad ….Dad don’t go don’t leave me. Please don’t leave me. Dad!!!” she screamed.
“Alexa …. Alexa” i yelled “he’s gone. It will be ok we will get through this together” I said as i was holding her back.
After a few weeks we started to give up on thinking that this will ever end. Then we heard a helicopter that had the U.S. military sign on it. They landed next to the camp and said it was over they killed the leader and they retreated and took off into space. They were gone and it was over. But we would never forget the people he lost. Johnny and Alexa’s dad were buried in the graveyard and every year on the anniversary of there death we go and visit the graveyard. After the invasion everything went back to normal. We started to rebuild all the things that were lost in the invasion. Then one snowy night I received a call. It was from an old man. He said that he saw a bright lite. Brighter than the sun.
Two Sides
Misha Bankulla, Gopiga Dass, Lea Silverman
Abooksigun P.O.V.
December 16, 1608
The snow crunched under my feet and the wind pushed my hair behind me. As I scouted my tribe for anything unusual, I was thinking of how I could make my daughter’s birthday celebration even better than it already would be. Suddenly, I heard a distant sob. I walked closer to see my daughter crying as tears rolled down her face. I walked up to her and put my hand on her back as comfort. I questioned my daughter, “Thinking about Mother again?”, even though I knew the answer from the look on her face. She sighed letting me know that she was.
“Come on, let’s get you back to the tribe.” I told her. The night lit up with laughter and joy. We danced, sang, and ate delicious food picked from the fields. The grand feast had a wild boar caught by our finest hunters and seasoned by the most delicious herbs in the area, but the best part of it all was the love that roamed the air. The villagers congratulated me on my daughter becoming a woman under my care.
The time had rushed past us as it suddenly neared midnight. As I went back to my teepee, I saw a dim light in the forest moving farther away slowly. I cautiously walked towards the light and realized it was my daughter. I ran until I reached her and saw another figure standing inches before her. The suspicious figure ran away. I grabbed my daughter by the arm and took her back to our teepee.
I threw my hands into the air in frustration. My daughter took a step back. I asked her, “WHAT WERE YOU DOING OUT THERE IN THE DARK WITH SOME OTHER CREATURE!” Her eyes started to water up and she crashed into me and we stayed like that for a while. We sat down and I explained, “What would I have done without you? Your mother is already gone. I couldn’t imagine living by myself. That creature, whatever it was. It could have been dangerous and killed you.” My daughter replied, “ I’m sorry.” I sighed with disappointment and asked, “What did it do to you?” She talked slowly but steadily, “Well...it said that I was a babaran, I think.” I wondered what that meant, but I figured that it spoke something I couldn’t understand. I spoke again and said, “The point is that you should never talk to strangers.” She replied with a soft “Yes, father.” and that’s how it ended.
That day was the beginning of a new rivalry between the native and the Europeans, as we now know today. Wars began and many people died leaving sadness and death in our hearts. Luckily, my daughter and I escaped and found a safe place to live far away from there… for now.
Dyani P.O.V.
December 16, 1608
The wind softly blew through my hair, rustling the leaves around me as I walked through the beautiful forests of my home. My feet were cold from the frozen grounds of December, but I was soon warmed by thoughts of the festive celebration my tribe was going to have for my 13th birthday.
Oh, how proud mother would have been to see me grow up and start to take on responsibilities as an active council member of the Powhatan tribe. I then was reminded of my beautiful mother, Nakoma, and her loving face, and the heat of her hands when she used to cradle me in her arms and tell me ancient fables and the spirits of our past. Tears began to swell in my eyes, and I tried to stop myself from thinking about her, but like usual, I always just kept seeing images of her popping up in my brain, and the shrill of her scream echoing in my head.
“Dyani!” I heard her scream that spring afternoon. I raced toward where I thought was the location of my mother. I neared a clearing in the woods and saw the fresh, green grass stained with drops of blood. I turned my head slightly to see my mother, breathing heavily, squeezing a wound on the side of her stomach that was flooding with blood. I could also see bite marks on her skin.
“Mother!” I cried as I knelt beside her.
“My beautiful Dyani,” she cooed. “ I don’t have much time to tell you everything but I will say this, you have the strength and caring and curiosity of the great grizzly bear. I have loved every second since the moment you have entered my life. You are the most valuable treasure the Powhatan tribe has.” I was there sobbing beside her, listening to every word.
“Promise me one thing, Dyani,” croaked my mother.
“No, mom, you won’t die, we...we’ll get through this, just hold on,” I managed to choke out.
“My sweet Dyani,” she chuckled and smiled, “promise that you will do whatever you can to protect you tribe and your culture.”
“I promise,” I said, finally giving up and proceeding to lay down beside her. I took her hands in mine and held them close to my heart. I was crying so loud that I didn’t notice the end of my mother’s heavy breathing until it had been a complete hour and my eyes started to sting. I stood up, knees wobbly and heart heavy, and started to look for flowers. I placed the bouquet of daisies over my mother’s wounds.
“May you now find peace with the spirits of our ancestors,” I whispered. I turned and silently walked back to my tribe, wondering what to tell them about these painful events, events no 7 year old should have to go through.
I suddenly noticed my father’s warm hand gently resting on my shoulder.
“Thinking about mother again?” he asked. I sighed, letting him know that I was.
“Come on, let’s get you back to the tribe.”
The night was thrilling! There was dancing and singing and scrumptious food, freshly picked from our fields. The centerpiece was the wild boar that was killed by our finest hunters. Everybody was congratulating me and wishing me a happy birthday and finally becoming a woman.
It was nearing midnight and everybody was almost ready to go to sleep. Through the mess of all the celebration and the happiness, I heard a few twigs snap. I saw a black silhouette roaming around the outer circle of my tribe’s camp.
Curious as I was, I grabbed a lit torch and slowly stepped into the darkness. It’s fur was straggly and the color of dark oak wood.
“Barbarian,” it muttered. I was frozen stiff in place, careful not to move a single muscle. It took another step towards me. It was about to be an inch away from me before my father ran up behind me and scared it away. I was still shocked about the image I had just saw.
“It….it looked like me,” I thought. My father instantly grabbed me by the arm and dragged me back to the camp. He then proceeded into a long lecture, talking about how unsafe it was to talk to strangers. He was like a bumblebee, droning on and on about things I did not want to hear about right now. When he seemed to be done, I replied, “Yes, father,” unsure of the right answer
That day was the beginning of a new rivalry between the native and the Europeans as we now know today. Clashes between both sides aroused in wars that were sadly never settled. The Cherokee tribe was forced to move out, not only separating them from their homeland, but the people that have died in war against the Europeans. But the memories will never leave us, both good and bad, for memories are the only things that remind us of the past to think about the future. That day, my father, the rest of my tribe, and I left to a distant land where we were safe, safe for now...
Cassandra’s P.O.V
December 16, 1608
The boat rocked softly, slowly beginning to irritate the people on board. We have been traveling for more than two months and everyone was ready to get off the boat. We were all excited to finally reach the land found by John Rolfe.
“A new life,” I said to myself. A small frown crossed my face. “But there is a chance we don’t reach land.” I shoved the thoughts from my head, watching the waves. I held my journal, ready to write the animals I saw. So far, I have seen some dolphins, different types of birds, and what I thought was a shark. I closed my eyes and imagined the land that awaited us. I imagined the settlement we were traveling to. Jamestown.
The word itself was beautiful.
“Land ahoy!” Yelled someone on the boat. People around me dropped everything they were doing to look the way of the man who had yelled. He pointed towards where he was looking. Everyone looked the way he was pointing. Instantly, they started to cheer and dance around on the boards.
One year ago.
A large boat was docked in front of the crowd of people. There were many men boarding the ship, saying their goodbyes to their family, and hesitantly moving onto the boat. My brother knelt before me, trying to make me smile.
“Just think, Cassandra! A new land, a new home! Think of the adventure.” I smiled at the thought of a land untouched by humans. I sighed and looked at my feet, not wanting to look at my brother. He gave me a hug and stood.
“Please, don’t be mad at me. I beg of you.” With that, my brother walked towards the boat. That was the last I had seen of him. Later that year, I heard that him and his group were attacked by people that were already in the new land.
Now
After about an hour, we had lowered the anchor at land. People flooded off of the boat and began to move towards Jamestown.
“A new life, a new way of living.” I said to myself, feeling a smile grow across my face. Later, we celebrated with food, music, and dancing. There was much talking and reminiscing about childhood in England. I decided to move away from the celebration, feeling a bit homesick. I walked towards the woods and stopped. I was told that the woods were dangerous, filled with barbarians and wild animals.
I sighed, refusing to believe that this new land was dangerous. Moving without haste, I began to venture into the woods. When I first entered the woods, every noise scared me, but eventually I calmed down. When I had been walking for about thirty minutes, I began to hear a different type of music. I stopped, my heart beat quickening. I took small steps forward towards the music, feeling curiosity rather than fear. I pushed through bushes, and found myself in a camp.
Barbarians... I thought of what the others had said. “No,” I said aloud, shaking my head. I began to walk around, trying to make as little noise as possible. While I was walking, I accidentally snapped a few twigs. I winced, drawing myself back. I listened to see if someone was coming to investigate. I saw a girl coming towards me. She had dark skin and dark hair.
“Barbarian,” I muttered, feeling my heart stop for a moment. I made myself walk forward towards the girl, scared and curious at the same time. From behind the girl, I could see a big man running towards us moving frantically and wildly. I began to run, my instincts taking over.
I ran until I reached my new home. Two men were walking nearby and came over to me.
“Are you ok, miss?” One of the men asked. I caught my breath and straightened up, looking at him.
“Barbarians, in the woods. There was a whole tribe of them. They look like us, too!” I felt my fear being slowly replaced by something strange and exciting. I instantly knew what coming to the this new land meant for us. It meant danger, adventure, and a new way of surviving.
After time, the people of Jamestown and of the Native Tribe began to argue and fight. One day, the Natives had disappeared from their home, taking everything with them. The people of Jamestown began to make towns, roads, and different structures. Never again did we see the Native tribe that shared the land with us. But, I will never forget the first time I found the tribe, with the different feelings that were going through me at the time.
December 16, 1608
The snow crunched under my feet and the wind pushed my hair behind me. As I scouted my tribe for anything unusual, I was thinking of how I could make my daughter’s birthday celebration even better than it already would be. Suddenly, I heard a distant sob. I walked closer to see my daughter crying as tears rolled down her face. I walked up to her and put my hand on her back as comfort. I questioned my daughter, “Thinking about Mother again?”, even though I knew the answer from the look on her face. She sighed letting me know that she was.
“Come on, let’s get you back to the tribe.” I told her. The night lit up with laughter and joy. We danced, sang, and ate delicious food picked from the fields. The grand feast had a wild boar caught by our finest hunters and seasoned by the most delicious herbs in the area, but the best part of it all was the love that roamed the air. The villagers congratulated me on my daughter becoming a woman under my care.
The time had rushed past us as it suddenly neared midnight. As I went back to my teepee, I saw a dim light in the forest moving farther away slowly. I cautiously walked towards the light and realized it was my daughter. I ran until I reached her and saw another figure standing inches before her. The suspicious figure ran away. I grabbed my daughter by the arm and took her back to our teepee.
I threw my hands into the air in frustration. My daughter took a step back. I asked her, “WHAT WERE YOU DOING OUT THERE IN THE DARK WITH SOME OTHER CREATURE!” Her eyes started to water up and she crashed into me and we stayed like that for a while. We sat down and I explained, “What would I have done without you? Your mother is already gone. I couldn’t imagine living by myself. That creature, whatever it was. It could have been dangerous and killed you.” My daughter replied, “ I’m sorry.” I sighed with disappointment and asked, “What did it do to you?” She talked slowly but steadily, “Well...it said that I was a babaran, I think.” I wondered what that meant, but I figured that it spoke something I couldn’t understand. I spoke again and said, “The point is that you should never talk to strangers.” She replied with a soft “Yes, father.” and that’s how it ended.
That day was the beginning of a new rivalry between the native and the Europeans, as we now know today. Wars began and many people died leaving sadness and death in our hearts. Luckily, my daughter and I escaped and found a safe place to live far away from there… for now.
Dyani P.O.V.
December 16, 1608
The wind softly blew through my hair, rustling the leaves around me as I walked through the beautiful forests of my home. My feet were cold from the frozen grounds of December, but I was soon warmed by thoughts of the festive celebration my tribe was going to have for my 13th birthday.
Oh, how proud mother would have been to see me grow up and start to take on responsibilities as an active council member of the Powhatan tribe. I then was reminded of my beautiful mother, Nakoma, and her loving face, and the heat of her hands when she used to cradle me in her arms and tell me ancient fables and the spirits of our past. Tears began to swell in my eyes, and I tried to stop myself from thinking about her, but like usual, I always just kept seeing images of her popping up in my brain, and the shrill of her scream echoing in my head.
“Dyani!” I heard her scream that spring afternoon. I raced toward where I thought was the location of my mother. I neared a clearing in the woods and saw the fresh, green grass stained with drops of blood. I turned my head slightly to see my mother, breathing heavily, squeezing a wound on the side of her stomach that was flooding with blood. I could also see bite marks on her skin.
“Mother!” I cried as I knelt beside her.
“My beautiful Dyani,” she cooed. “ I don’t have much time to tell you everything but I will say this, you have the strength and caring and curiosity of the great grizzly bear. I have loved every second since the moment you have entered my life. You are the most valuable treasure the Powhatan tribe has.” I was there sobbing beside her, listening to every word.
“Promise me one thing, Dyani,” croaked my mother.
“No, mom, you won’t die, we...we’ll get through this, just hold on,” I managed to choke out.
“My sweet Dyani,” she chuckled and smiled, “promise that you will do whatever you can to protect you tribe and your culture.”
“I promise,” I said, finally giving up and proceeding to lay down beside her. I took her hands in mine and held them close to my heart. I was crying so loud that I didn’t notice the end of my mother’s heavy breathing until it had been a complete hour and my eyes started to sting. I stood up, knees wobbly and heart heavy, and started to look for flowers. I placed the bouquet of daisies over my mother’s wounds.
“May you now find peace with the spirits of our ancestors,” I whispered. I turned and silently walked back to my tribe, wondering what to tell them about these painful events, events no 7 year old should have to go through.
I suddenly noticed my father’s warm hand gently resting on my shoulder.
“Thinking about mother again?” he asked. I sighed, letting him know that I was.
“Come on, let’s get you back to the tribe.”
The night was thrilling! There was dancing and singing and scrumptious food, freshly picked from our fields. The centerpiece was the wild boar that was killed by our finest hunters. Everybody was congratulating me and wishing me a happy birthday and finally becoming a woman.
It was nearing midnight and everybody was almost ready to go to sleep. Through the mess of all the celebration and the happiness, I heard a few twigs snap. I saw a black silhouette roaming around the outer circle of my tribe’s camp.
Curious as I was, I grabbed a lit torch and slowly stepped into the darkness. It’s fur was straggly and the color of dark oak wood.
“Barbarian,” it muttered. I was frozen stiff in place, careful not to move a single muscle. It took another step towards me. It was about to be an inch away from me before my father ran up behind me and scared it away. I was still shocked about the image I had just saw.
“It….it looked like me,” I thought. My father instantly grabbed me by the arm and dragged me back to the camp. He then proceeded into a long lecture, talking about how unsafe it was to talk to strangers. He was like a bumblebee, droning on and on about things I did not want to hear about right now. When he seemed to be done, I replied, “Yes, father,” unsure of the right answer
That day was the beginning of a new rivalry between the native and the Europeans as we now know today. Clashes between both sides aroused in wars that were sadly never settled. The Cherokee tribe was forced to move out, not only separating them from their homeland, but the people that have died in war against the Europeans. But the memories will never leave us, both good and bad, for memories are the only things that remind us of the past to think about the future. That day, my father, the rest of my tribe, and I left to a distant land where we were safe, safe for now...
Cassandra’s P.O.V
December 16, 1608
The boat rocked softly, slowly beginning to irritate the people on board. We have been traveling for more than two months and everyone was ready to get off the boat. We were all excited to finally reach the land found by John Rolfe.
“A new life,” I said to myself. A small frown crossed my face. “But there is a chance we don’t reach land.” I shoved the thoughts from my head, watching the waves. I held my journal, ready to write the animals I saw. So far, I have seen some dolphins, different types of birds, and what I thought was a shark. I closed my eyes and imagined the land that awaited us. I imagined the settlement we were traveling to. Jamestown.
The word itself was beautiful.
“Land ahoy!” Yelled someone on the boat. People around me dropped everything they were doing to look the way of the man who had yelled. He pointed towards where he was looking. Everyone looked the way he was pointing. Instantly, they started to cheer and dance around on the boards.
One year ago.
A large boat was docked in front of the crowd of people. There were many men boarding the ship, saying their goodbyes to their family, and hesitantly moving onto the boat. My brother knelt before me, trying to make me smile.
“Just think, Cassandra! A new land, a new home! Think of the adventure.” I smiled at the thought of a land untouched by humans. I sighed and looked at my feet, not wanting to look at my brother. He gave me a hug and stood.
“Please, don’t be mad at me. I beg of you.” With that, my brother walked towards the boat. That was the last I had seen of him. Later that year, I heard that him and his group were attacked by people that were already in the new land.
Now
After about an hour, we had lowered the anchor at land. People flooded off of the boat and began to move towards Jamestown.
“A new life, a new way of living.” I said to myself, feeling a smile grow across my face. Later, we celebrated with food, music, and dancing. There was much talking and reminiscing about childhood in England. I decided to move away from the celebration, feeling a bit homesick. I walked towards the woods and stopped. I was told that the woods were dangerous, filled with barbarians and wild animals.
I sighed, refusing to believe that this new land was dangerous. Moving without haste, I began to venture into the woods. When I first entered the woods, every noise scared me, but eventually I calmed down. When I had been walking for about thirty minutes, I began to hear a different type of music. I stopped, my heart beat quickening. I took small steps forward towards the music, feeling curiosity rather than fear. I pushed through bushes, and found myself in a camp.
Barbarians... I thought of what the others had said. “No,” I said aloud, shaking my head. I began to walk around, trying to make as little noise as possible. While I was walking, I accidentally snapped a few twigs. I winced, drawing myself back. I listened to see if someone was coming to investigate. I saw a girl coming towards me. She had dark skin and dark hair.
“Barbarian,” I muttered, feeling my heart stop for a moment. I made myself walk forward towards the girl, scared and curious at the same time. From behind the girl, I could see a big man running towards us moving frantically and wildly. I began to run, my instincts taking over.
I ran until I reached my new home. Two men were walking nearby and came over to me.
“Are you ok, miss?” One of the men asked. I caught my breath and straightened up, looking at him.
“Barbarians, in the woods. There was a whole tribe of them. They look like us, too!” I felt my fear being slowly replaced by something strange and exciting. I instantly knew what coming to the this new land meant for us. It meant danger, adventure, and a new way of surviving.
After time, the people of Jamestown and of the Native Tribe began to argue and fight. One day, the Natives had disappeared from their home, taking everything with them. The people of Jamestown began to make towns, roads, and different structures. Never again did we see the Native tribe that shared the land with us. But, I will never forget the first time I found the tribe, with the different feelings that were going through me at the time.
Flower
Michelle Marti
I saw a beautiful flower in the meadow behind my house. It was white with small petals with little teeth-like marks around the edges. The gorgeous designs on the flower felt fragile and delicate in my fingertips like a china doll. I breathed in the scent of the flower, and it took me thousands of miles away, to a world where everything would be okay. Where there was world peace, no wars, nothing. Just happiness. If only…
Closing my eyes, I felt the soft petals under my fingertips and twirled it around slowly, feeling every edge of the flower. Some pollen fell onto my fingers, leaving tiny yellow stains. Without realising it, I had plucked the flower right out of the ground, roots and everything.
Holding the precious flower in my hands, I caressed it in my hands while walking back to my house. Pulling out a small vase to match its size, I filled it up with some fresh water and gently laid the flower inside.
Over the next couple days or so, I watched the flower, watched the petals slowly turn inwards, shying away from those who dared to glance at such a masterpiece. I watched them darken like the night sky and all the twinkling stars. Eventually, the once-beautiful flower had slowly shriveled up, its edges curled in and darkened to a shade of light brown. The petals were brittle, crumbling at the lightest touch. Gentle as can be, I caressed the flower only to see bits and pieces of petals falling into my hands, as if the broken flower was weeping right into my hands.
As much as I had tried, I was unable to keep the flower in the same condition as it was from the start. The flower was gradually fading away, becoming something it would otherwise not have become if it were not for me.
Before I knew it, the flower had died. Crumbled, weak, and dead, the flower resembled a broken orphan, torn from where he belonged and deprived of what it so strongly needed.
I wondered if the flower had died because it wished to be back where it was before? Or maybe it was deprived of the life it had prior to me. Maybe if I had left the flower alone, it would still live to see the day and hear all the chirping birds. Feel the sunshine raining down it, filling it with a warmth like no other. Feel the world I was blessed to live in.
If you love a flower, don’t pick it, because it ceases to be what you love and will die. Love isn’t about possession but appreciation.
Perhaps the same applies to people as well.
Daisy
Anna Akhenainen
Daisy loves daisies. She wears only white. She picks whole bouquets of them. She draws them. She even eats them. Her parents regret naming her that, because of her unhealthy obsession. They should’ve named her A+ so that she couldn’t stop getting A’s, but that failed, as she refused to go to school in the winter, because she spent the whole day yearning staring at photos of daisies. During (In) the summer, there were only a few days at (of) school, during which she carried her hand-made daisy toy around and looked like an angel with her pearl white teeth and hair, which she dyed to be brilliant white. Her favorite white hat had a tint of yellow and pink to it, but it still remained white. She could not stand any colors except white, yellow, pink, and green. She liked daisies with a pink tint, honored their green stems for holding up the beautiful white flower, and the yellow center for helping them reproduce. Her room was so white that she couldn’t tell her white bed from her white walls, and constantly had to feel around for her all-white surroundings. She was most unhappy when in their living room, as her parents refused changing its color from brilliant blue to one of her “acceptable” colors, like they did to the rest of the house. Over the years, Daisy’s love for daisies grew.
At age sixteen, she got sick of being a human. She decided to become a daisy. She went to the town’s witch, the one everybody joked about as “fake” and a “liar”. Daisy opened the door and the witch exclaimed,
“Oh, look what we’ve got here! Daisy, come here.” Daisy reluctantly stepped into the witch’s ugly black cottage. “My name is Raven, dearie, and I can help you turn into a daisy.”, the witch continued and Daisy, flustered and amazed, nodded without a single word, as she had stopped speaking for two weeks already, just to sound more like a daisy. The witch handed her a potion, and escorted her without another word. Daisy was confused, but liked the fact that the liquid was white. After a minute of examining the bottle, she noticed a little note on the bottom of it that had three words written on it- “Take Before Sleep”. She understood. That night, before sleep, she enthusiastically swallowed all of the contents of the bottle and lay down to sleep. That night, she had dreams about daisies (like always) and had a good, long, peaceful night. She woke up wet. Around her was white, and under her was green. Was this some ‘silly’ joke from her parents? No. She was a daisy! She was covered in dew and was in her daisy garden. She wanted to whirl around to absorb the beauty of it all, but, her thick stem wouldn’t allow her to. She did what was supposed to be a sneeze from her pollen, and swayed. Her petals rustled in the wind. It was cold.
Very soon, a dark shadow stooped over her.
“Daisy! Where are you?” came the voice of her mother. She wanted to shout; “I’m here!” but couldn’t. The many daisies from her garden stood silent, just as she did. Her mother, now extremely worried, headed back in. Then, the next door neighbor’s seventeen year old boy came striding up to their lawn. He hated Daisy’s daisies. He never missed the chance to trample them and say that his dog did it. Daisy knew that because he thought she wasn’t there, he would most certainly take this opportunity. But she was one of them now. He would trample her! At the moment he lifted his foot to stamp right on her, her mother came back out. “You rascal! The dog did it, you say? I never want to see you on my lawn ever again!” The boy, half smirking, wandered away and off to his house. Daisy silently thanked her mother, who went back inside. Being a daisy was horrible. She wanted to turn back into a human. She focused on the word “human” for a long time. Soon enough, she was back in her (now disgustingly) white room. She squinted and thought; “I undid the potion!” She found some of her mother’s old light blue clothes, which now seemed very appealing and changed into them from her white dress. Then she ran off to remove the white dye from her hair to reveal pretty brown curls. She hurried downstairs to show her true colors to her worried parents. She wouldn’t tell them what happened, no, they would think that she was crazy, but she would just tell them that she realized that her strange obsession wasn’t really doing her any good. Her parents agreed with relief, and soon enough her room was painted light blue like the living room. After some time, she went to visit Raven, the witch. When she came there, she told Raven all about her experience as a daisy and how she managed to undo the potion’s effects. Raven just laughed.
“Dearie, it was I who helped you ‘undo’ the potion! I made it so it would only last one hour and so that you would realize in that time that daisies don’t really have a fun life.” Daisy left Raven’s with a smidge of disappointment, though she was very grateful that the wise witch cured her obsession and didn’t make her a daisy forever. As the years went by, Daisy still liked daisies, but her new favorite color became light blue. She wore white only one more time- at her wedding with the next door boy, Julian. There were daisies in her wedding bouquet along with poppies, bluebells, and more. Daisy and Julian had a daughter, and they decided to name her after the witch, Raven, that helped Daisy have a better life. Raven grew up to love ravens. She set up a small birdfeeder for them on their backyard. She only wore black, and her room was all black. Black as night. She couldn’t stand any other color. Julian was extremely worried, as Daisy still didn’t tell anybody about how she got cured, but Daisy was way too experienced to let Raven’s obsession go far. She decided to have a small meal with Raven before bed and add some raven potion to her drink, and let it do
the rest (She had asked the original Raven for some). Raven was glad to help. Daisy knew that the potion would start up as soon as Raven woke up, so she took Julian out for breakfast so he wouldn’t notice their daughter’s absence. Soon enough, Raven Jr. was a normal girl, whose room was now yellow and who became a wonderful artist that used all the colors of the rainbow in her art, though she did wonder how she turned into a raven in the first place. She actually had a horrible experience as a raven, as boys threw rocks at her and she smashed into more than one window.
At age sixteen, she got sick of being a human. She decided to become a daisy. She went to the town’s witch, the one everybody joked about as “fake” and a “liar”. Daisy opened the door and the witch exclaimed,
“Oh, look what we’ve got here! Daisy, come here.” Daisy reluctantly stepped into the witch’s ugly black cottage. “My name is Raven, dearie, and I can help you turn into a daisy.”, the witch continued and Daisy, flustered and amazed, nodded without a single word, as she had stopped speaking for two weeks already, just to sound more like a daisy. The witch handed her a potion, and escorted her without another word. Daisy was confused, but liked the fact that the liquid was white. After a minute of examining the bottle, she noticed a little note on the bottom of it that had three words written on it- “Take Before Sleep”. She understood. That night, before sleep, she enthusiastically swallowed all of the contents of the bottle and lay down to sleep. That night, she had dreams about daisies (like always) and had a good, long, peaceful night. She woke up wet. Around her was white, and under her was green. Was this some ‘silly’ joke from her parents? No. She was a daisy! She was covered in dew and was in her daisy garden. She wanted to whirl around to absorb the beauty of it all, but, her thick stem wouldn’t allow her to. She did what was supposed to be a sneeze from her pollen, and swayed. Her petals rustled in the wind. It was cold.
Very soon, a dark shadow stooped over her.
“Daisy! Where are you?” came the voice of her mother. She wanted to shout; “I’m here!” but couldn’t. The many daisies from her garden stood silent, just as she did. Her mother, now extremely worried, headed back in. Then, the next door neighbor’s seventeen year old boy came striding up to their lawn. He hated Daisy’s daisies. He never missed the chance to trample them and say that his dog did it. Daisy knew that because he thought she wasn’t there, he would most certainly take this opportunity. But she was one of them now. He would trample her! At the moment he lifted his foot to stamp right on her, her mother came back out. “You rascal! The dog did it, you say? I never want to see you on my lawn ever again!” The boy, half smirking, wandered away and off to his house. Daisy silently thanked her mother, who went back inside. Being a daisy was horrible. She wanted to turn back into a human. She focused on the word “human” for a long time. Soon enough, she was back in her (now disgustingly) white room. She squinted and thought; “I undid the potion!” She found some of her mother’s old light blue clothes, which now seemed very appealing and changed into them from her white dress. Then she ran off to remove the white dye from her hair to reveal pretty brown curls. She hurried downstairs to show her true colors to her worried parents. She wouldn’t tell them what happened, no, they would think that she was crazy, but she would just tell them that she realized that her strange obsession wasn’t really doing her any good. Her parents agreed with relief, and soon enough her room was painted light blue like the living room. After some time, she went to visit Raven, the witch. When she came there, she told Raven all about her experience as a daisy and how she managed to undo the potion’s effects. Raven just laughed.
“Dearie, it was I who helped you ‘undo’ the potion! I made it so it would only last one hour and so that you would realize in that time that daisies don’t really have a fun life.” Daisy left Raven’s with a smidge of disappointment, though she was very grateful that the wise witch cured her obsession and didn’t make her a daisy forever. As the years went by, Daisy still liked daisies, but her new favorite color became light blue. She wore white only one more time- at her wedding with the next door boy, Julian. There were daisies in her wedding bouquet along with poppies, bluebells, and more. Daisy and Julian had a daughter, and they decided to name her after the witch, Raven, that helped Daisy have a better life. Raven grew up to love ravens. She set up a small birdfeeder for them on their backyard. She only wore black, and her room was all black. Black as night. She couldn’t stand any other color. Julian was extremely worried, as Daisy still didn’t tell anybody about how she got cured, but Daisy was way too experienced to let Raven’s obsession go far. She decided to have a small meal with Raven before bed and add some raven potion to her drink, and let it do
the rest (She had asked the original Raven for some). Raven was glad to help. Daisy knew that the potion would start up as soon as Raven woke up, so she took Julian out for breakfast so he wouldn’t notice their daughter’s absence. Soon enough, Raven Jr. was a normal girl, whose room was now yellow and who became a wonderful artist that used all the colors of the rainbow in her art, though she did wonder how she turned into a raven in the first place. She actually had a horrible experience as a raven, as boys threw rocks at her and she smashed into more than one window.
Courtesy
Anna Akvenainen
Kingsley’s mother was obsessed with manners. “Courtesy”, she called it. She always talked in a high-pitched voice -”It sounds ‘sophisticated’”, as she retorted to Kingsley’s complaints that it sounds annoying-, and she always watched his father so as not to allow him to embarrass the family. The only two people who weren’t scared of breaking the rules and having the chance to be dragged to their room by the ear, were Kingsley and his brother, Jordan. They often played tricks on their mother’s “Most Important Guest(s)”, as she called every single guest who decided to call on them, like putting pins on the guests’ chairs, sneaking honey into their pasta, or shoving cake into their coat pockets. Their mother lectured them every time they were expecting someone, telling them to be good boys: open the door for the guests and smile, volunteer to take their coats, tell a nice cute rhyme, bring the dinner tray, take them on a walk outside or show them around the house, and escort them warmly. The boys listened through the lecture patiently, but then would run off as though her words flew into one ear and fluttered out the other without leaving even the slightest mark. The boys were best friends, not only brothers. They were often dragged up to their room together by their mother, and would quietly discuss their next escapade there. Their rear ends would later be beaten raw, but it was worth it.
One day, their family was invited to a party at their mother’s best friend’s, Mrs. Catsby’s, home. She was just as prissy as their mother, though even more annoying because of the tiny and aggressive white dog with pink frills that the lady carried everywhere with her. Mrs. Catsby would always make the boys do chores for her, and would “accidentally” spill tea on the floor blaming it on them and making them clean it up, leaving them with blisters on their palms. Before the party, their mother gave them the usual lecture, and, wearing tight “manly” suits, they set off. Kingsley, as the elder brother, was supposed to come in first carrying a bouquet. The two brothers exchanged looks. Jordan couldn’t wait to see what Kingsley would make up to put in the flowers. “What an excellent opportunity to prank prissy little Mrs. Catsby!” Jordan thought. “I would shove a big fat cockroach in there!” But, with a throb of disappointment, Jordan saw that Mrs. Catsby, who knew of the brothers’ trickery, carefully checked the flowers and didn’t even flinch, meaning that she didn’t find anything out of the ordinary. He shot a glare at Kingsley, but he wasn’t looking. To Jordan’s horror, Kingsley was modestly chatting away with Mrs. Catsby about how recently stocks have been inflating! Had his partner in crime grown up? Later, before Jordan had a chance to speak to Kingsley, Kingsley volunteered to go and polish Mrs. Catsby’s shoes. “Surely he’s planning to do something bad to them!” thought Jordan with excitement. But no. About a quarter
of an hour later, Kingsley returned with shining shoes, at which Mrs. Catsby exclaimed, “What a lovely boy you are!”, and proceeded to tell their mother what a gentleman her first son was. By then, Jordan was determined to give Kingsley a slap. But Kingsley hung around their mother, who wouldn’t allow Jordan to come close if she suspected that he had bad intentions. Then, he asked if he could give the dog a treat! All that was left for Jordan to do was to sulk in the corner watching out for anything that seemed fishy. Kingsley continued being a “gentleman” throughout the whole length of the party,avoiding eye contact with Jordan. On the way back to their home, they sat on different sides of their mother.
The next day, Mrs. Catsby burst into the house looking extremely unwell. She was screaming something about a “wretched boy”. Her whole body was covered in mosquito bites, she was wearing ruffled hot pink slippers, and her dress was perfectly tattered. Kingsley quietly slipped out of the boys’ room and whispered to Jordan, who was watching the show from around the corner, to follow him. Jordan hopefully obeyed and sneaked off after Kingsley. When they reached the end of the hallway and were out of earshot of their mother, Kingsley smirked and told Jordan the whole story of why he acted so weirdly the other day. “Well, for the bouquet, I put in a motion-activated flower of my own invention, which, after we left, opened up to reveal a dozen mosquitoes when Mrs. Catsby bent down to smell them. When I was polishing her shoes, I painted the insides of them with super glue, so when she put them on after the party, her feet got stuck in them. And when I was giving her dog treats, I also gave it another treat, of my own invention, that made it go wild this morning. I didn’t approach you yesterday because I didn’t want her to suspect me in anything, and I’m sorry if you were worried that I had grown up.” Jordan wasn’t mad at all. He thought that Kingsley’s plan was brilliant, and that his horrible night had been worth it. The two brothers embraced, with the background “music” of Mrs. Catsby’s screeches.
Epilogue:
The two boys grew up to be clever men and excellent helpers to their mother and father. They learned not to fidget at the table, not to interrupt elders, to be polite, etc. Their mother was extremely proud of them. They were still jokers, but their pranks were now smart and funny to everybody. They admitted later that their childhood jokes were quite a bit cruel, and when they had kids of their own, and they taught them tricks that weren’t bad, but were really funny and even the “victims” had a good laugh.
One day, their family was invited to a party at their mother’s best friend’s, Mrs. Catsby’s, home. She was just as prissy as their mother, though even more annoying because of the tiny and aggressive white dog with pink frills that the lady carried everywhere with her. Mrs. Catsby would always make the boys do chores for her, and would “accidentally” spill tea on the floor blaming it on them and making them clean it up, leaving them with blisters on their palms. Before the party, their mother gave them the usual lecture, and, wearing tight “manly” suits, they set off. Kingsley, as the elder brother, was supposed to come in first carrying a bouquet. The two brothers exchanged looks. Jordan couldn’t wait to see what Kingsley would make up to put in the flowers. “What an excellent opportunity to prank prissy little Mrs. Catsby!” Jordan thought. “I would shove a big fat cockroach in there!” But, with a throb of disappointment, Jordan saw that Mrs. Catsby, who knew of the brothers’ trickery, carefully checked the flowers and didn’t even flinch, meaning that she didn’t find anything out of the ordinary. He shot a glare at Kingsley, but he wasn’t looking. To Jordan’s horror, Kingsley was modestly chatting away with Mrs. Catsby about how recently stocks have been inflating! Had his partner in crime grown up? Later, before Jordan had a chance to speak to Kingsley, Kingsley volunteered to go and polish Mrs. Catsby’s shoes. “Surely he’s planning to do something bad to them!” thought Jordan with excitement. But no. About a quarter
of an hour later, Kingsley returned with shining shoes, at which Mrs. Catsby exclaimed, “What a lovely boy you are!”, and proceeded to tell their mother what a gentleman her first son was. By then, Jordan was determined to give Kingsley a slap. But Kingsley hung around their mother, who wouldn’t allow Jordan to come close if she suspected that he had bad intentions. Then, he asked if he could give the dog a treat! All that was left for Jordan to do was to sulk in the corner watching out for anything that seemed fishy. Kingsley continued being a “gentleman” throughout the whole length of the party,avoiding eye contact with Jordan. On the way back to their home, they sat on different sides of their mother.
The next day, Mrs. Catsby burst into the house looking extremely unwell. She was screaming something about a “wretched boy”. Her whole body was covered in mosquito bites, she was wearing ruffled hot pink slippers, and her dress was perfectly tattered. Kingsley quietly slipped out of the boys’ room and whispered to Jordan, who was watching the show from around the corner, to follow him. Jordan hopefully obeyed and sneaked off after Kingsley. When they reached the end of the hallway and were out of earshot of their mother, Kingsley smirked and told Jordan the whole story of why he acted so weirdly the other day. “Well, for the bouquet, I put in a motion-activated flower of my own invention, which, after we left, opened up to reveal a dozen mosquitoes when Mrs. Catsby bent down to smell them. When I was polishing her shoes, I painted the insides of them with super glue, so when she put them on after the party, her feet got stuck in them. And when I was giving her dog treats, I also gave it another treat, of my own invention, that made it go wild this morning. I didn’t approach you yesterday because I didn’t want her to suspect me in anything, and I’m sorry if you were worried that I had grown up.” Jordan wasn’t mad at all. He thought that Kingsley’s plan was brilliant, and that his horrible night had been worth it. The two brothers embraced, with the background “music” of Mrs. Catsby’s screeches.
Epilogue:
The two boys grew up to be clever men and excellent helpers to their mother and father. They learned not to fidget at the table, not to interrupt elders, to be polite, etc. Their mother was extremely proud of them. They were still jokers, but their pranks were now smart and funny to everybody. They admitted later that their childhood jokes were quite a bit cruel, and when they had kids of their own, and they taught them tricks that weren’t bad, but were really funny and even the “victims” had a good laugh.