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  Writing from Altadena, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

In Just One Moment

By Katie, 13

I flicked the lights on and watched while they flashed dimly, as though threatening to retire, and then brighten, basking the room in a golden light. My eyes searched the room cautiously. Though the room was my own, stories of robbers and other criminals had me shaken up. Slowly, my muscles relaxed as my eyes found nothing but my midnight blue walls, sloppily made bed, overflowing trash bin, and the picture frame on my white dresser that held the last memory I had of my father.

In the picture, I was a giddy nine year-old girl on my father's shoulders. We were both smiling wide grins; mine missing a few teeth. I stood up and looked in my circular mirror. My shoulder-length hair was made up of the same red ringlets my dad's had been and my bright green eyes were of the exact same hue. I stood still as a single tear rolled down my cheek and lingered momentarily on my chin before falling to the ground.

The event that changed my life happened in just one moment.

My father was killed in a series of attacks that occurred six years ago today. It was the year I began fourth grade. I remember waking up early to see my dad off to the airport. His job often required him to represent the company at conferences nationwide, so the morning seemed to be of usual routine. Later that morning, I was sitting cross-legged on my living room floor as my mother tried to pull my unruly curls into a braid while she watched the news.

When word started reaching the ears of the news stations, every major channel was broadcasting live reports regarding the attacks taking place at the very hotel my dad was staying in. As we did not know whether or not my dad was one of the victims, my mom began to cry. She stumbled to the remote and flipped through the channels until she came across the name of the first victim, a woman in her late thirties. Thinking this was the only victim, my mom turned off the T.V. and cried tears of relief. At school that day, I watched as the students and teachers worried and wondered about their family and friends, smiling to myself when I remembered that my dad was safe.

That night, we didn't hear from my dad and assumed that he couldn't put a call through. The next morning I woke up to the sound of my mother screaming. I froze as terror swept through me. Somehow, I managed to uproot myself and make my way down the stairs. It petrified me to find my mom, her hair tousled, her face tear stained, looking helpless on the couch. She let out the worst of all the screams yet and buried her face in a cushion as she broke into another fit of tears. It frightened me to see my mother, usually so cool and collected, acting in such a manner. I could hear the T.V. playing in the background and tried to make out the words to no avail. Some time had passed and I realized I was shaking. I squeezed my eyes shut, praying that when I opened them, I would find my mom dressed in her clean, crisp pantsuit, her brunette locks just so. As I slowly opened them, I turned my head to sneak a peak at my mom. She was still dressed in sweatpants and the running eyeliner on her cheeks had not vanished no matter how much I had wished it would. My mom's crying faded to sniffling and whispering. I couldn't make out her words but knew her tone was grave by the expression on her face.

'What's wro-', my voice cracked. I cleared my throat and tried once more, 'what's wrong Mom?'

She jumped, obviously startled. It was as though she hadn't noticed I was there.

'Oh,' she said, more loudly than she needed to, 'Alyssa, sweetie, you're awake.'

'What's wrong?' I repeated.

She hesitated and sighed. Slowly, she lifted a tissue to her face, making a feeble effort to clean herself up. Her fingers felt for the hair elastic around her skinny wrist and she used it to pull her hair into a messy bun. Silent tears rolled down her cheeks, dragging her makeup with them.

'Your dad, Ally. It's your daddy,' she whispered, 'It's Ben. He promised, he promised he wouldn't leave me...but he lied...he lied. Oh my Ben.'

My mom looked at me with wide, sad eyes as she whispered my dad's name. I could see fear flickering through them.

'Mom, I don't understand. Where's dad?' I was on the verge of tears.

'Gone..gone. No, he can't be gone. But he is,' she sounded as though she were arguing with herself.

I stood up involuntarily and yelled at my already distraught mother.

'No! Mom! You must be mistaken! What do you mean he's gone?!'

Instantly, I regretted yelling. My mother looked up at me as though she were a child, her blue eyes begging for understanding and help.

'Dead. Dead, Ally. Ben is dead.'

With that, she broke into another fit of sobs. The events of the day before flooded into my head. I hated myself for thinking he was safe. I hated myself for letting him go. I hated myself for ever being happy.

'Mom, how do you know?' I asked, as calmly as I could, my voice shaking despite the effort.

She merely shook her head and pointed a limp finger at the T.V. I reached for the remote and increased the volume. The voice of the news anchor dripped with fake sympathy as she ended a report about a group of men who had been killed in the attacks during a conference, the conference my dad had attended. I instantly understood that my dad belonged to the group of men who were now dead. My eyes welled up and I tried to choke back the tears but my efforts were fruitless. My dad was dead. I felt most of the hope I had felt only a few hours before depart, leaving only a spark behind. When I heard the anchor's last words before the end of the broadcast, I felt even that mere spark go out.

'None of the men in the conference are thought to have survived.'

She may as well have said, 'All is lost,' for that is how I felt.

The color drained from my face and I turned to stare at my mother who was lying on the floor, her body shaking, and her head in her hands. I wanted so much to comfort her but didn't know how. At that moment, I felt that I had lost both of my parents; my father to terrorists and my mother to grief. In a sense, I had.

I put forth my best effort to clear my head but my efforts were futile. I became dizzy and felt faint. My hand felt for the chair behind me and I sat myself down. Lowering my head into my hands, I broke down. Usually when I cried, I felt my mom or dad's arms around me. I wanted to feel that so much at that moment. But my mom was lying on the ground, crying silent tears and my dad was dead. He was gone. The thought made the tears fall even harder.

Now, the annoying voice of the news anchor began to talk about a robbery in Florida. I wanted to throw something at the T.V. How could the rest of the world go on with every day things as I sat in my house with my broken down mother, crying about my dead father? Before I got the chance to lift my hand and throw something, my mother hurled the remote towards the screen, as though she had read my mind. I sat, awestruck, as I watched the T.V. shatter before my eyes. My head whipped around to face my mom who was staring at the T.V, unphased. She had never so much as cracked a plastic cup and now this?

I was supposed to act like a child, not her. She was supposed to cradle me in her arms and tell me that my dad was in a better place. Instead, I felt as though I should be hugging and soothing her. After crawling over to her, my small hands held her head as I did my best to comfort her. She leaned her head against my chest and I felt her body shaking. Somehow, this simple act allowed me to clear my mind and think logically.

I eased the hair elastic out of my mother's hair and picked the brush up off the coffee table. My mom had used the brush the morning before as we sat exactly where we were now, hearing word of the attacks. She had taken charge then and I wished so much that I could follow her lead now. Carefully, I ran it through her tangles and my fingers worked her hair into a simple braid. I pulled a few tissues out of the box on the kitchen counter and began to clean up her face and my own. Through all this, she stared blankly ahead.

When I was satisfied with the way we both looked I sat down to figure out what to do next. I sat for only a few minutes before I began to throw up over and over. My world seemed to be crashing down around me. That's when the majority of the tears came. I sat sobbing while my mom sat beside me absentmindedly running her hand up and down a pillow she was holding.

Suddenly, an urge to hurt her overcame me. I resisted, but all the while I was asking myself why she wasn't mothering me like she was supposed to. Nothing seemed right. I shook off my own thoughts and began cleaning up the mess I had made on the floor my mom had cleaned the day before. Part of me wondered whether she would ever clean anything again. My thoughts were intrigued by her current actions. She was still sitting there like a child when she should have been helping me; she should have been comforting me. Wasn't that what mothers were for?

I continued to clean up the mess, occasionally glancing up at my mom, only to find that she was still staring blankly ahead. She seemed to be mumbling to herself, but no sound was audible. One glance allowed me to catch a glimpse of a single tear making its way down towards her chin. I was abruptly aware of my own tears. Finally, the floor was cleaned to the best of my ability and I sat back down. I let out a sigh and leaned back.

An unexpected noise tore through my thoughts. I looked down at my mother and found that she was rolling on the ground, screaming my father's name.

'BEN! Ben! Ben? Ben!' she turned to look at me but I could tell that she didn't really see me, 'Ben!'

'Mom,' I yelled, above her noise.

I crouched down and put my arms on her, trying to calm her. She pushed me off and began ranting about how she had now lost everything.

'I'm here. It's me, Ally. It's Alyssa. I'm here, mom. I'm here,' my voice faded to silence.

Her screaming stopped and she looked up at me. Her eyes were wild and her face full of terror.

'Alyssa?'

'Yes. Mom, you don't have to worry. I'm going to make sure everything is alright.'

I stroked her cheek lightly and she fell asleep with her head in my lap. I moved her head to a pillow and stood up. I didn't know where I had gotten the courage to say those words but was glad I had because now I felt as though I had no choice but to follow through. Steadily, I made my way towards the telephone. I felt a bit woozy, but made the decision to deal with that later. It felt good to be making my own decisions, no matter how small, but I still wanted somebody else to take charge, to show me which path to take.

After much thought, I decided that I needed to call my aunt. I picked up the phone and dialed her number. My dad had made me memorize it after I had fainted at school and couldn't reach either of my parents. The phone rang twice before my aunt picked up,

'Aunt Maggie?' I heard my voice shake.

'Alyssa, darling, is that you?'

'Yes.'

'What's wrong? Why aren't you in school?' her voice was sweet and sincere, but I could sense her worry.

So much had happened; I didn't know where to begin. The words flooded out of my mouth, some parts too senseless for me to tell her, but they all came anyway. Silence clouded Aunt Maggie's side of the line while she made sense of the matter.

'Alyssa, sweetie, I will be over in a minute,' her voice sounded panicked.

She hung up and took the only comfort I felt with her. At least now she would be coming over to help me.

About 15 minutes later, the doorbell rang and woke my mother. She began screaming again.

'Ben! Ben! Ben? BEN!'

At the sound of this, Aunt Maggie let herself in and rushed to my mom's side.

'Kristen, Kristen, are you all right? I'm here. Alyssa is here too. Kristen? Kristen?' She cooed my mother's name over and over again.

Soon, my mom quieted and my aunt's calming, cool voice was the only sound besides the steady clicking of the fan as it twirled above our heads.

'Maggie?' my mom's voice sounded rather confused.

'I'm here, Kristen. Everything is alright.'

Soon she had my mother asleep on the couch and she stepped to where I was standing in the kitchen.

'Now, tell me everything. I want to know it all.'

So I told her. I didn't leave out a detail. Once I had started, I couldn't stop. I told her about yesterday, my dad, the broken T.V., how I wanted to be mothered, and how I had to resist the urge to hurt my mom. I was, of course, ashamed of the last part but I told anyway. I let the tears fall as soon as she hugged me. That was all I had wanted all day. Just for someone to caress me, for someone to mother me, for someone to understand, for someone to simply care.

'No survivors have been found,' I whispered softly into Aunt Maggie's blouse as she held me close and we rocked on the balls of our feet.

She shook her head sympathetically. Swiftly, she moved me to arms length and told me that she was going to make sure everything was alright before she pulled me back into a hug. That was exactly what I had told Mom. Only, when Aunt Maggie said it, there wasn't a hint of fear in her voice. I admired the way she could walk into a room and immediately relieve all others of responsibility. She simply took control and brought everybody back to their feet. I wondered why I couldn't do that.

My muscles relaxed under her grip as I realized she did have everything under control. Well, at least she had everything controllable under control. My dad was gone and that wouldn't change.

I couldn't help but wonder how she was going to get my mom back to normal so I asked.

'Ally, your mom is a strong woman. She'll make it through. Don't worry. I'll make sure she makes it through.'

As she said those words, I knew she was right. I knew we would all make it through together.
(July 2008)

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Muffin!

By Kellsie , 13

There once was a puppy named Muffin. She had golden brown fur, a soft cold nose, and a very fluffy tail. She lived with her owner Kristen in a large suburban neighborhood, in a medium size house with a balcony outside her room. Muffin loved her owner, Kristen, very much, almost as much as Kristen loved her puppy. The two were never apart. They went to the park, the store, they went everywhere to together. The family loved Muffin too.

Then one day Kristen and Muffin were walking through the park when there was another dog up ahead. Muffin went crazy and started barking and pulling on the leash. Kristen tried to pull back, but the leash broke and soon Muffin was running away from Kristen. She tried to run after Muffin but she couldn't find her anywhere.

Kristen ran home and burst through the door.

'Muffin just broke away from the leash!!! My Muffin is missing!!!' screamed Kristen.

'What?! Slow down and tell me what happened,' replied her mom, in a soothing voice.

Once Kristen calmed down she explained to her mom that she had been walking Muffin through the park and there was a dog and Muffin went wild and broke from her leash. When Kristen got to that part of the story she started crying so hard. She took a minute to calm down.

'So after Muffin broke away from her leash what happened?' her mother asked.

'After she broke away she started running down the sidewalk and I tried to chase her, but she was too fast.'

Kristen started sobbing again and her mother sent her to her room to go and take a rest. When Kristen's dad got home Kristen was still sleeping. When the dad asked what was wrong the mother replied,

'Muffin ran away. Kristen was walking her in the park and apparently there was a dog and Muffin broke free and ran away,' replied Kristen's mom.

'How's Kristen?'

'Not so well. She burst in the house crying and after she told me what happened she started crying so I sent her to go and rest.'

'Has she been up there since you sent her?'

'Yes. I went up there a little while ago and she was muttering in her sleep about Muffin.'

'We have to find Muffin if Kristen will ever be happy again,' replied Dad.

'I know. But I have no idea how we are going to find her. She could be anywhere by now.'

'I know. But we have to try.'

Just then they heard a scream from upstairs and they both ran up to see Kristen on her bed crying.

'Sweetie what's the mater?' asked Mom.

'I...I... don't know, I miss Muffin,' hiccupped Kristen.

'We will find her, I promise,' said the father.

'Yes, we will,' said the mom, agreeing with the father.

'Go back to bed, when you wakeup call us and we will bring you some food up.'

Kristen lay back down in her bed curling up in a ball and went back to sleep.

Her mom and dad both went back downstairs. When their oldest daughter and son came home they told them the news.

'We have some bad news to tell you,' began the mother.

'What? I need to go and do some stuff,' replied the oldest daughter, with an attitude.

'Yeah. I need to go. Can we hurry?'

'Muffin is missing. She broke away from her leash when Kristen was walking her.'

'So? What has that got to do with us?' asked the daughter.

'What has this got to do with you? Everything. Your sister is upstairs asleep and missing her dog and you two could care less?' said their father in a raised voice.

'Well, sorry Dad. But that dog didn't even like us.'

Their father made them help make signs and help look for her. So while Kristen was sleeping they made tons of flyers then posted them all around the neighborhood.

The next day Kristen's mom took her to the pound. Kristen tried not to get her hopes up, but they went up anyway. The whole ride to the pound Kristen was excited. She was talking about how good it will be when they find Muffin.

'Don't get your hopes up Kristen. She may not be here,' said her mom.

'Don't worry I won't,' replied Kristen.

When they got to the pound Kristen ran in and started looking for Muffin. They couldn't find her. They went around and around, but she wasn't there. When Kristen was finally done she started crying right in the middle of the pound. Then her mom took her to the ice cream store. As Kristen and her mom sat in the quaint, almost empty ice cream parlor Kristen began crying.

'Why couldn't she have been there?'

'I don't know why she wasn't there. But she could be with someone nice who found her.'

'You don't know that. She could be somewhere with no home and all cold.'

Kristen's mom didn't know what to say after that so she just stopped talking and let Kristen cry. After a while Kristen stood up and said to her mom,

'I think I'm going to walk home.'

'Ok. I'll see you when you get home.'

While Kristen was walking home and just about to give up all hope she saw a woman and a dog. That dog looks much like Muffin, thought Kristen.

'Hey wait a minute, that is Muffin,' she said, out loud.

Then she ran all the way to the lady.

'Excuse me, where did you get that dog?' asked Kristen.

The woman looked at her curiously, 'This poor puppy? I found her wandering in the park.'

'Oh wow. Um sorry to bother you about this, but I lost my dog in the park. And that puppy looks exactly like my dog. Her name is Muffin.'

At the mention of the name Muffin, Muffin's ears perked up. They both looked down at her.

Then all of a sudden Kristen sat down on the ground and said,

'Muffin, come here puppy, come to me.'

Then Muffin started jumping all over Kristen. Kristen started to laugh.

'Well I guess this is your dog,' said the woman who was smiling at Kristen and Muffin.

Then the woman gave the leash to Kristen.

'Thank you so much you have no idea how much I wanted Muffin back.'

'No problem,' replied the woman. Then she walked away.

Kristen was excited, she and Muffin ran all the way back to her house. When she ran through the door her mother came out of the kitchen.

'What in the world are you banging around for?'

'Look Mom! I found Muffin!'

'Where did you find her?'

'Well, I didn't. I was walking home and I saw this woman and a dog and the dog looked much like Muffin. So I went up and asked where she found the dog and she said she found her in the park. Then I called Muffin and she came and started jumping on me.'

After Kristen explained where she found Muffin they went up to her room and laid on her bed.

'I'm so happy your back Muffin. I missed you.'

They played together just like the happy old times.
(July 2008)

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Fable

By Ryan, 10

Many years ago, in the realm of Dark Matter, the word of a prophecy spread forth. It was told that once every new millennium, a single dragon baby would grow up to be a heroic, bold savior of the dark matter realm. It would fall under reign of an evil Dragon King. The newborn hero would take on a quest to defeat the evil Dragon King, save the realm, but fail to save what matters most in the end...

The time has come for the prophecy to fulfill itself. It is the year 2,000 in the realm of dark matter. The new millennium has begun. A baby dragon is on its way in a family that has yet to discover what their future holds...

In the nest of a mother dragon, with the father near by her side, a single shimmering, golden egg was about to crack a tiny crevice in the mystical outer shell. As tension built up, so did the egg's crack. After a minute, that felt like an hour, the egg split in two, and thus, a hero was born. The two new parents named their son, Fable. They had no idea that their baby dragon would grow up to save the Dark Matter realm from the clutches of the evil dragon they now bowed to, Thoran the Dragon King. He was a cruel dragon with a swirling black pattern on his black-as-deep-night skin.

At the age of seven, Fable blew his first fire. Sure it wasn't a blazing path of infernos, taking down everything in its path, but it was fire. He was satisfied. At eight, he learned to fly through the skies and soar like a graceful young dragon. Then, devastation struck at his ninth year. His parents were at a ceremony, honoring Thoran, the Dragon King, and they forgot to bow at his presence. This act of disgrace was enough to be blasted by fire and unfortunately, die. Fable's life seemed to have spun into a swirling back hole after his parent's death, resulting in depression. He had to feed himself, clean himself, find a new home, and since he couldn't find one, he built one on top of a hill covered in beautiful Dragon Berry Bushes. Luckily... he made a new friend...

On the morning of his third day in his wooden home, Fable was walking outside to pick berries for food. It was hard work. There was only a few bushes left with berries on them so there wasn't really much of a variety. As Fable walked up to a bush, out popped a figure of a dragon just like him. The dragon's name was Silver. Silver was a boy, nine years old, could fly, and could breathe fire. They became best friends and lived in the house on the hill. On their ninth day together, they devised a plan to overthrow the Dragon King, Thoran. They kept their plans in a secret box, behind the house. Years passed and the box filled up with ideas and plans. It was at the age of 16 when Fable got the scar...

It was a good harvest day for Fable and Silver. The bushes were ripe and appetizing. Yet, there was a cold chill in the air as if the Dragon King had been there... But they weren't that suspicious. After all, their plans were still in the box. They came upon a bush and plucked off the berries. They came to another and did the same thing. On bush five, there was something strange. It was a different color and the berries were not plentiful. Fable reached out to pick a berry when it happened.

WHOMP!

The bush reached out and scarred Fable right next to his eye! The bush had been enchanted with dark magic! It must've been the work of Thoran!

After Fable was scarred, Silver put a healing spell on Fable which Silver always carried just in case. The wound healed up and sealed off, relieving the pain. Fable then realized that Silver was a true friend. They came up with even more plans to defeat the Dragon king, Thoran, as revenge for Fable's pain and suffering. The Dragon King would fall. Fable was sure of it.

Fable and his bold friend Silver set out on a quest to take revenge on the devastating Dragon King. They were about to embark on their epic journey. Together they flew and soared through the night sky. They were gaining on the palace of the Dragon King. Past the sleeping guards they flew, seeking the drawbridge entrance. The palace was shimmering in the moonlight, casting a beautiful glow on all around it. Now, to get inside...

Inside the palace was like being inside a dreadful cave of shadows, making everything around look frightening. Stalactites clung to the ceiling. Molten lava surrounded the floor of the thrown. Inside the thrown of fear was the Dragon King himself, Thoran. He seemed to be waiting for Fable and Silver. The smug grin on his evil face was a sign of a villainous plot. He was anxious to engage in battle with Fable the dragon. He thought that he would destroy Fable, just like his parents. Or so he thought...

And so the big secret is revealed... What secret you ask? Find out...

Thoran nodded to Silver. Then Silver joined his side like father and son. It was Silver who enchanted the bush with dark magic. It has been revealed. Like father, like son. Fable was petrified. How could Silver have been his best friend? Now united they stood and were about to attempt to kill Fable. What a friend he was. Fable's scar seemed to glow in the dim light... Could this scar be...a power source? Suddenly Fable gleamed as golden as sun rays and became a fully-grown Dragon Master. Now THAT was a fair fight...

About to rage was a fully fledged Dragon Fight. It would be a fight against good and evil, light and darkness, fire and ice. A battle of epic proportions in the realm of Dark Matter. The dragons' domain. Thoran made the first strike. It was a devastating blow of molten lava, fiery infernos, and pure acid that shot out of his mouth as speedy as a flaming bullet. Fable's scar glowed stronger. It was his turn now. He unleashed a spectacular ray of light, partially blinding the Dragon King, Thoran. With Thoran's eyes still recuperating from the light rays, Silver made the next attack. He put a spell on Fable, causing Fable to grow weak. The first attacks of the battle were made and it raged on...

As the battle raged on, Fable grew stronger. The enchanted bush's magic infected the scar, making Fable uncover new power. Fable was all but winning, until he unleashed the supernova. A supernova is a dragon's most amazing power. One dragon gets the power every new millennium, and can only use it once. As Fable unleashed his supernova, he blasted a ray of fire that radiated as much heat as the sun. It could burn down iron. When the flames reached Thoran, the battle was over. Fable had defeated the Dragon King!

King Thoran was disintegrated into microscopic particles. The Battle was over the Dragon King was defeated. Silver and Fable remained enemies. Indeed the prophecy came true. Fable defeated the evil Dragon King, but failed to save what mattered most. Friendship. However, the Dark Matter realm was safe!

Or was it...
(July 2008)

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Best Friends, Minus One

By Caitlin and Becca, 13

Ring! The phone rang. 'Hello?' I answered it.

'Hi Catherine! Where's Rachel?' Ben was calling.

'I'll get her.' I told him, 'Rachel!!'

'What?' She yelled back.

'Ben's on the phone.'

'Okay, coming.'

I put the phone on speaker so we could both talk.

'Guess what?' Ben said. He sounded excited.

'What?' We both asked, simultaneously.

'I'm going to space camp with my grandparents! In Kansas!'

'Wow, that's great!' I exclaimed.

'How long are you staying at the camp?' Rachel asked.

'For a week, but I'll send you a letter when I get there.'

'We won't see you for a week?' I moaned. 'I'm happy for you, but we'll miss you.'

The phone was quiet. He was thinking,

'I'll bring souvenirs for you guys!'

'When will you be leaving?' Rachel asked.

'Sorry, I've got to go, bye,' Ben said rapidly.

What we didn't know was, we wouldn't get the letter or the souvenirs.

The next day we meet Ben at the ice cream parlor.

'Sorry I had to go so fast yesterday, my parents wanted me to get off the phone.'

'It's okay,' we both assured him.

We went to the counter to order our ice cream.

'What would you like?' The cashier asked Ben.

'Vanilla, please,' he responded.

'Okay and you two?'

'Chocolate with gummy bears, please,' we said together.

'Wow, are you guys twins?' she asked us.

'Yes.'

'That's cool.' she told us.

People always make a big deal of Rachel and I being twins.She gave us our ice cream, we paid, and then we sat down at a booth.

So when will you be leaving for space camp?' Rachel asked Ben.

'June 15. So, in a week.'

'That's the day school ends. You'll miss it?' Rachel asked him.

'But that's the most fun day of the year! We'll have a party and watch a movie. You sure you want to miss it?' I exclaimed.

'I won't miss it, Catherine. I'm leaving after school,' he said, laughing at my too-fast reaction.

'Have you packed your stuff yet?' I asked

'No but I'm asking my mom to help me.'

We finished our ice cream and left for home.

A week later.....

Ring! It was Ben again. I called Rachel down and put the phone on speaker.

'Hello,' I said, 'yes?'

'Are you going with me to watch me leave? My grandparents and I are going on their small plane,' Ben told us.

'Sure, when are you leaving?' Rachel asked.

'In half an hour. My grandparents are driving me. They can pick you guys up. My mom and dad are coming in a different car, so they can drive you home.'

'Okay, sounds good,' we both said.

'Great, well, I have to go and finish packing now. See you later.'

'Bye, Ben.'

Rachel and I hung up.

Thirty minutes later, we were in the car with Ben. We were talking and laughing because we wanted to have as much fun as possible with him before he left for a week.

'We're here!' Ben's grandmother said.

I never saw Ben look so excited.

'Goodbye!' Rachel and I said to Ben.

Ben said goodbye to his parents and got on the plane. Then he was off and on his way to Kansas.

The next day....

It was seven o'clock in the morning and we were awakened by our little sister Heather.

'Wake up guys! It's the first day of summer break!'

We were both tired and didn't want to wake up. Rachel and I liked school and didn't want it to end.

'Heather, go away,' Rachel commanded.

Rachel is always a little grumpy in the morning. Heather just glared at her and went back downstairs.

'Well, since we're awake, let's go downstairs and eat breakfast,' I told Rachel.

'Whatever,' she hissed.

I was looking the newspaper, not paying much attention to what I was reading, and Rachel was sleepily watching the news on TV. I absent-mindedly skimmed an article, and she watched a news report, half-awake. It wasn't long until we realized that we were seeing the same shocking story. We both screamed.

'Ben's plane crashed!' We shrieked together.

'NO! This can't be true,' Rachel exclaimed.

'Did he survive?' I could barley whisper that last agonizing word.

'I don't know, it didn't say.'

All of a sudden, the news reporter said,

'It was just discovered that, in the crash, there were two senior citizen's bodies found, both deceased.'

'Oh no! His grandparents are dead,' Rachel screamed, her voice cracked, 'but Ben might still be-' she was interrupted by the next announcement.

'Investigators have just uncovered a young boy's body, but he is unidentified. We will have more details later.'

We were both silent. We couldn't say anything. Finally, Rachel broke the silence.

'Maybe it wasn't his plane. There weren't any names released.'

I still couldn't say anything. It looked a lot like Ben's plane; we just saw it yesterday. I wanted to believe Rachel, and believe that Ben was safely at space camp in Kansas, not lying dead on the ground. I managed to say one thing,

'I hope so.'
A couple of hours later.....
'Turn on the TV,' I said to my mom.

'Why?' she replied.

Rachel and I didn't tell her about the crash.

'Just do it!' I yelled at her, annoyed.

'Catherine! Don't yell at me. What's gotten into you?'

She turned on the TV. The news was on. There was a report about a thief robbing some stores, and a fire in some forest, then politics. I was getting impatient; I wanted to hear the details on the plane crash! After the political stuff ended, commercials began. Rachel and I were so frustrated that we both sighed loudly and menacingly.

'What is wrong with you girls? You seem very irritable today. Did something happen?'

Just as our mom said that, the news came back on, with the following announcement.

'Investigators have released the names of the three people that died in the plane accident yesterday. They are William Shepard, 64, Jeannine Shepard, 63, and Benjamin Shepard, 12. We will have more details on the crash later this afternoon.'

Rachel turned the TV off. Silence. Finally, Mom started talking too much, like she usually does.

'Oh, I'm so sorry. Now I know why you were so upset. That's terrible.'

We cut her off. We couldn't stand any more of this. Mom always tried to comfort us by talking when we just want her to be quiet.

'Stop!' we shouted.

'I'm sorry. All I was going to say was we should go over to his parents house, and..'

Rachel interrupted again, 'Whatever. Not now.' she said.

I couldn't say anything. It was all I could do not to break down in tears. I think Rachel sensed my struggle, so she led me upstairs and into our room. We sat down on our beds. Sometimes I wish that I was more like Rachel. I am so envious of the control she has over her feelings. She doesn't even seem upset, but I know she was. She wasn't crying. Just as I was thinking that, Rachel started sobbing. That made me begin to cry, which made her tears come faster. We just sat there in tears for what seemed like hours. When we finally got a hold of ourselves, I looked up at her. She was a mess. Her hair was sticking out everywhere, and her face was red and tear-stained. Then I realized I must look the same way too. Rachel started talking, between fast breaths.

'We need a plan.'

'A plan? For what?' I asked her, now curious.

'Bringing Ben back. What do you think we should do, just sit here crying and leave him dead?'

'You're crazy Rachel, just because we're geniuses doesn't mean we can go around taking people's bodies and performing advanced biological experiments on them! And, how are we supposed to bring him back? It would take years.'

Rachel cut me off.

'So, you like him dead?'

'No! Of course not, but this is near impossible! Scientists, who have gone to college and studied for years, haven't been able to accomplish this! We are in eighth grade!'

We were shouting now.

'Don't you remember? We took the IQ test, we are WAY above average. The person who gave us the test said we could be the next Einstein! Well, Einsteins.'

'I know, but death is natural, and it's hard to reverse natural causes.'

I tried to convince her.

'We have to try. Maybe the scientists are working a little too hard on this. Maybe there is just a simple answer that is easy to discover.'

I'd have to think about that. She may have a point!

'Hmmmm, maybe you are on to something. To reverse death, we have to find out what death really is,' I proposed.

'Death is when the organs and vital substances in the body cease to function properly, and the body can't work. Therefore, it dies,' Rachel replied, knowingly.

'But, that is of natural causes. In Ben's case, it was a forced death. A plane crash. First we have to figure out why he died,' I told her.

Rachel was about to say something, but then Mom called us.

'Rachel, Catherine, let's go! We have to go see Ben's parents,' she said.

We didn't say anything. We just went downstairs and got into the car.

We rang the doorbell at Ben's house. His mom answered the door. She looked like she had been crying. Mom didn't pay much attention to the look on her face, and started talking non-stop.

'Oh, I'm so sorry, this is so terrible, and he was so young.'

'Mom, stop,' I told her.

Mrs. Shepard's face was ghostly white and miserable. I could tell she had been crying; her eyes were red and swollen.

'I don't think we should be bothering Mrs. Shepard right now,' Rachel whispered to Mom.

'Thank you for coming over,' Mrs. Shepard said, to Rachel's surprise, between fast breaths, 'it means a lot. Come on in.'

I didn't expect her to welcome us in at this time. I thought she would be too devastated to talk to anyone. We went into her house and sat down on the couch. I was thinking about Rachel's idea. Maybe we could reverse his death, I mused. But the chances were against us. As I was thinking that, Rachel surprised me with a sudden question to Mrs. Shepard.

'Do you think that we could borrow Ben's body? Catherine and I are trying to, well, um, bring him back to life, uh, using biological, um, technology.'

I could tell that Rachel was having a hard time explaining it to Mrs. Shepard, especially because it was so direct. Mrs. Shepard knew of our high intelligence, but how could she believe we were capable of bringing the dead back to life?

'Oh, um, well, that is a very interesting,' Mrs. Shepard started.

It was obvious that she was trying to keep her tears back. Why was Rachel so direct?

I truly doubted that she would believe us about bringing Ben back, let alone say yes. That is why her next comment surprised me.

'I want you guys to take good care of his body if I let you do this, okay?' she replied softly.

Everyone was shocked. Mom's mouth was open, her eyes wide. Rachel's face was flushed and her eyes wide as well. I don't know what I looked like, but. I felt as white as a ghost.

'Are you? Wait, what do you mean?' Mom stammered.

'I trust the girls completely and they are very, very smart. Catherine and Rachel will bring my son back to life.'

'Thank you, but the twins, they can't, what they are suggesting is impossible!'

'You should trust them. You will be surprised at what they can do,' she said, 'now I have to go talk to my husband. He does not know about the accident, because he is at work.'

'Of course, I'll see you later,' Mom said, sounding exasperated, 'thank you for letting us talk to you.'

'Of course. Goodbye,' Mrs. Shepard replied.

We were in the car, and Mom began to furiously yell at us.

'That was a horrible thing you suggested. I can't believe you even thought of that! I don't know why Mrs. Shepard went along with your idea, but that was very rude to say that.'

We didn't say anything after that and neither did Mom. There really was nothing to say, everyone was too devastated about Ben and his grandparents death. I was not sure what mom would do, but Rachel and I decided we would just leave her alone. We need to work on our theory to bring Ben back to life.

A few days later....

Rachel and I went on the computer to check our email. We opened up a new email that was from Mrs. Shepard. It was a formal document giving us the rights to Ben's body, although it stated that his body was damaged during the wreck. We looked for how long our rights to his body would last; three months! We probably won't even need that long!

'Awesome!' we both shouted to each other.

We called Mom up to our room. We wanted her to accept the concept of us bringing a human back to life. When we showed the email to our mother, she started to apologize to us.

'I'm very sorry for doubting you guys. I know what you are capable of, and...' she trailed off.

I don't know why she stopped, but she looked forlorn.

'I was just so shocked about Ben dying that I took it out on you two, but, I truly believe in your potential as young scientists. Now, when and where do we pick up Ben's body?'

We were so startled by our mother's remark that we didn't answer for a moment. When my shock ended, I looked through the document to answer Mom's question. When I found the answer, I reported;

'We can retrieve the body at The Clark County Hospital on June 20th.'

'That's tomorrow!' Rachel exclaimed.

'We'll go at nine tomorrow, okay? Be up by six. Until then, you two should clean yourselves up. You're a mess!' mom told us, jokingly, 'Goodnight, you two.'

We checked the clock. It was ten o'clock already! Rachel must have checked the clock too, because she told me,

'We better get to sleep now if we want to be even semi-conscious at six a.m.'

'Yes. I'm tired, and there's no way I will be able to get up that early without enough sleep.'

I yawned, although we both knew that even if I had no sleep I would still be full of energy tomorrow getting Ben. Rachel and I brushed our teeth and climbed into bed. My last thoughts were of Ben as I dozed off.

The Next Day...

We went to the hospital to pick up Ben's body. We were so happy to see him, but he was dead, deader than the one time mom accidentally ran over a chipmunk with her car. We brought him to our lab. (We built it ourselves; it is not technically a lab, just our basement with lab equipment. We simply liked to call it a lab.)

We arranged cameras around the lab to tape our efforts. No one would believe that we brought a human back to life without proof. Rachel set him down on a table we prepared for him, and started on the procedure that we had been planning, since the day Rachel proposed we do this. It was all typed out, complete with diagrams, exactly what our 'Theory of Life' was and how to execute it.

First, we would X-ray his body so we could assess the damage done. That was not completely necessary for we received a spreadsheet containing his internal and external injuries, we did it anyway we were just being thorough. Ben was slightly bruised throughout his entire body with some slight and open scratches. He also had some broken bones, but that was not what killed him. The lethal injury was damage to his head. We assumed that a large piece of debris must have hit him on the head, and hard. A piece of his skull had broken off and was lodged into his brain. The scratches and broken bones were easy; but both Rachel and I were dreading the surgery to repair his head.

Rachel began our procedure by stitching the open scratches up and I examined the x -ray of the broken bones. They were nothing serious. When Rachel completed with her work, I began putting Ben's arms and legs into casts to help heal the bones when he was restored to life. I know the casts would not help now, but hopefully they would soon.

'I don't know how much more of this I can take Catherine,' Rachel sighed, 'It's just too weird to see Ben like this, and really sordid. It's just horrible.'

'I know, I feel the same way. Just think of him being alive again. That's the only thing that helps me continue.' I told her.

I tried to sound confident, but in the back of my mind I was still terrorized by the fact that we would soon be cutting into Ben's head.

Forcing myself not to think of that, I continued on with the procedure. It took about three hours until we were finally finished. We were being very careful to be sure we did not overlook anything. Now it was the time that we were definitely not looking forward to; cutting Ben's head open. Although we are familiar with surgeries, even brain surgeries (our mom being a quite successful surgeon), we were extremely nervous of this. For one thing he was our friend and if we failed to do something correctly, Ben may be dead forever. Also, Mrs. Shepard is counting on us to save her son. These two things put tremendous pressure on Rachel and me.

'Ready for this next step of our procedure?' I asked Rachel.

'No. But we either do it now or never. Prepare him for the incision,' Rachel directed.

I cleared off the spot on his head where the skull was damaged. To stall for time, I was slower than I should have been with the preparation. With trembling hands, Rachel picked up her surgical knife, and slowly, and very, very carefully, made the incision.

We worked gradually and as careful as ever removing the lodged piece of skull from Ben's brain. The sight was nauseating and terrible to look at. The only thing that kept me going was the thought of Ben being alive again.

The piece of skull was about the length of a golf ball. It was tremendously complicated to simply lift the skull out of its current position, let alone put it back in its correct position! Somehow we got the piece out of his brain and cleaned it off for repositioning. Rachel was about to staple it in when I realized a colossal error in our procedure.

'We didn't fix his brain where the skull wounded it!' I cried.

As I said that, Rachel's eyes got bigger, and she screamed,

'Oh no, how could we forget to do that? We have to repair it, and soon!'

'It's already 11:00 P.M.!' I said as I checked the clock, 'should we continue or go to sleep and restart in the morning?'

'I think we should sleep. We will be less likely to make more errors when we are refreshed.'

'I agree. Let's go,' I told her.

We turned off the camera, and reluctantly left Ben and headed up to our room to go to sleep.

In the morning...

We ate breakfast as quickly as we could and went down to finish our procedure. After taking some X-rays and measurements, we discovered the problem in Ben's brain. It was a simple, but apparently deadly issue. We fixed it in about an hour or so, and resumed our procedure. Rachel stapled the missing piece of skull to its rightful place. We were done healing him!

'Yes! We are finished!' Rachel joyfully shouted.

We were both relived, but now we had to stimulate his heart and brain back to life.

'Almost finished, Rachel. One more step to go, and it is by far the most suspenseful one,' I told her.

'Of course,' she said, more gloomily now, 'let's get him outside.'

Once we had him outside in our backyard, we prepared the new machine we built. In those days before we received the email from Mrs. Shepard, we began building an electric machine that would send a current through Ben's body, and hopefully stimulate his brain and his heart. We tested the machine out on a dead bird we found. It was successful, but the human body is much more complex and intricate than that of a bird. All Rachel and I could do now is hope for success.

'You ready?' Rachel asked me.

I couldn't answer at first. I took a deep breath, and said,

'I'm not ready as. I will ever be, but just make him come alive.'

Rachel slowly pulled the switch of our machine and sent the current through out his body.
Nothing happened. His body jerked when the electricity hit him, but no signs of life. Wait did he just-

'He moved!' Rachel screamed. 'He must be alive! Catherine, hook him up to some heart monitors and see if he has a pulse!'

I hooked him up, and sure enough, he had a pulse! Not a normal one of course, but he was alive!

'Yes! WE DID IT!' I shouted.

I was ecstatic!

In my excitement, I nearly forgot that Ben probably could not support himself for long.

'Rachel, we have to get Ben to a hospital, now!'

'Of course!' Rachel replied, while calling the hospital.

An ambulance arrived to pick Ben up. I grabbed the tape out of the camera, and attempted to get onto the ambulance. The doctors were reluctant to allow us to be with him, but we were eventually permitted to come to the hospital with our friend. The doctors were running all kinds of tests on Ben and putting lots and lots of different tubes in him. Rachel and I were worried, but we just couldn't bring ourselves to ask. Finally, a doctor reported to us,

'He is not in good condition, very unstable. I'll give him a 50/50 chance of living,' she said.

'50/50?' Rachel exclaimed, teary eyed, 'what are you going to do to sustain him?'

'Operate. I'm sorry, but I can't give you the details on that. It would be against the hospital's policy. We will be sure to update you on his progress.'

'Can we at least come in the operating room with him?' I asked the doctor, who stayed behind with us.

'I'm afraid not; sorry girls,' she replied.

Just then, Rachel lost her temper. 'We can't even go in with him? We brought him back to life! If it wasn't for us, he would still be dead! You probably don't believe us, but it's the truth!' she hollered.

'Brought him back to life, um, what are you talking about?' the doctor sounded confused, and suspicious.

'Ben died in a plane crash and we brought him back to life. We are geniuses,' Rachel sounded offended, as if the doctor had insulted her intelligence.

'I even have the tape of us in the process. You should watch it,' I said to her, trying to be as convincing as possible.

'I think I should,' the doctor said.

The doctor (whose name I learned was Amy) took the tape and led us to a room with a TV. It looked like a break room for the nurses. She slid the tape into the VCR and played it.

'Our procedure was quite long,' I told her, 'you might want to fast forward a few hours to when we performed the surgery on Ben for his head injury.'

She did what I suggested. She watched in amazement, her eyes glued to the TV screen. When the tape came to us electrifying Ben, she shut the tape off.

'I don't believe it,' she said, 'how is this possible?'

'Well, if you don't believe that, check your hospital records. Ben was recorded as dead a few weeks ago. Now he is alive, and we brought him here. What more proof do you need?' Rachel said brusquely.

'This is amazing! How did you..,' she did not finish her last sentence, as a paramedic from the ambulance burst into the room.

'Amy, you won't believe this, but the records say this boy was dead a few weeks ago!' he shouted.

'I know, how is the boy doing?' she asked him.

Rachel and I knew she was asking that for us.

'He is actually doing quite well, he is probably going to make it,' he said.

Rachel and I screamed with delight and ran out of the room. We had to call Mom and Mrs. Shepard to tell them of our success!

A month later...

The Shepard's and our family were having a huge party to celebrate Ben being alive. Everybody was so cheerful, it was like the whole ordeal never happened. Ben has to take pills for the rest of his life to help with his brain trauma, and for minor seizures that he may suffer from throughout his life. But, the important thing was that he was alive and happy! News spread of our achievements and received an award and recognition from the governor of Oregon. That was great, but Rachel and I were just glad to have Ben back!
(July 2008)

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Santa's Rude Awakening

By Karen, 14

We would like to dedicate this book to our friends and family. Thank you for your love and kindness.

On a cold snowy day in December, I was walking to school. My name is Cheyenne. Everyday I have to travel through Central Park in New York. The park was beautiful during December, but I dreaded the Christmas spirit. I had to walk five blocks everyday to get to school. I noticed everyone hugging and laughing with their friends, I didn't have that because I was unkind to my classmates. When I arrived to her class room, I noticed a new kid with brown curly hair, blue eyes, and who was very small, sitting in my seat.

I walked up to the new kid and asked,

'Excuse me, who are you, and what do you think you are doing in my seat?!'

My fifth grade teacher, Mr. Lewis, yelled,

'Matt, Cheyenne, sit down! Matt, you sit in the corner by Joseph and Cheyenne.'

As I was sitting down in my seat I realized that everyone in the classroom was staring at me. I reached in my backpack to get a pencil for the math test, which I didn't study for. During the whole test, Matt kept staring at me, but I wasn't sure why.

One my way home I was beginning to get excited for the A I earned on my math test. When I got home my mom was sitting at the table with her new boyfriend, Zane. They were talking about our Christmas plans we had with my grandma. Zane invited my mom to dinner and a movie on Christmas Eve, which was tomorrow night. I hoped that she wouldn't forget about our shopping spree we are going on.

It was Saturday, Christmas Eve. My mom wanted to go to Macy's and I was forced to go along. Either I go with her, or stay home and clean the house. Our planes for our big shopping spree were crushed; my mom actually thought I liked Macy's. When we were there everyone was cheerful and in the Christmas spirit, I hated this. Why did everyone like Christmas? What was so exciting about it? You wake up one morning get some presents from Santa and then its over. Who is Santa anyway?

As my mom was still shopping, I asked her,

'Why are you going to dinner with Zane on Christmas? Shouldn't you be home with me sitting by the fire, drinking hot chocolate like we always do?'

'Well Cheyenne, ever since your father and I separated, I have been feeling lonely,' she said.

'Ok, ok, I guess I'll stay home alone,' I said, 'but I won't be the same.'

'I'm sorry,' my mom said.

We shopped for three hours and when I arrived home, I was very tired. My mom was getting ready for her date, it was eight o'clock and Zane came to pick her up. I answered the door and in his hand he had a red rose. As they left, my babysitter told me to go to my room.

When I arrived to my room I started to get excited about the next morning which was Christmas. As I drifted off to sleep, I began to think about how much I hated Christmas.

'Ho, Ho, Ho!' someone shouted. 'Oh how I love Christmas!'

I could recognize this voice. Very deep and strong, but who was it? It was coming from the living room. I wanted to find out who it was so I quietly tip-toed down the stairs. And there he was! Santa? Could it really be Santa? Don't be silly Cheyenne; Santa isn't even real I thought. A red outfit with a hat to match, black boats, long white beard, and a bag over his shoulder, it had to be.

I hit my toe on the table near the stairs and yelled 'OUCH!'

The old man turned around and said,

'What are you doing up this late Cheyenne?'

'I couldn't sleep,' I said nervously, 'wait, how do you know my name?'

'I know everyone's name, I'm Santa of course!'

'Sa... Sa... Santa?' I said.

'Why, yes my dear, I am Santa Claus.'

'Oh, wow!' I said, with a snobby voice.

'You are not a fan of Christmas are you?'

'No, not really.'

'Well.'

'Oh Cheyenne! I'm home!' someone said.

And then it hit me, this was all a dream. I woke up to see my moms face lying right beside me.

'Uhhh,' I was very tired, and also confused about what had happened while I was asleep, 'how was your date?'

'Fantastic!' my mother said with a cheerful voice.

'Oh well that's good, I guess. The babysitter sent me up to my room early so I just went to sleep.'

'Zane was such a gentleman! He held the door for me, paid the bill, and gave me a rose.'

My mom clearly didn't care what I said. She picked up her purse and left my room. Now I had time to think about the dream. Was Santa real? As I thought about this I yawned, so I just forgot about it and fell asleep. I had no idea the dream would happen again.

'Ho Ho! Welcome to the North Pole!' Santa shouted.

'North Pole?' Cheyenne questioned.

'Yes the North Pole. It's nice to see you again.'

'Yea. Yea. Whatever.'

'Would you like to come to my workshop?'

'Sure.'

'Wow! This is so cool!' Cheyenne blurted.

His workshop was huge! Just like in the stories, little elves everywhere! Toys, candy, and wrapping paper was all over!

'Welcome, to my workshop,' said Santa Claus.

'This is amazing!' I yelled.

This can't be real I thought. Was this all a dream? It had to be.

'Come to my office, Cheyenne,' Santa said.

The walls in his office were green and red and his desk was on a platform. There was a chair that was twice the size of me. He asked if I wanted to sit in his desk so I said yes.

'So, Cheyenne, you don't believe in Christmas. Is this true?' he said.

'Yes,' I answered, 'I have never believed in Christmas, or you.'

'Oh well not many people do, but they usually do when they are young. Did you ever believe in me?' he asked.

'Nope, never,' I answered.

'Do you believe in me now?' Santa said.

'Oh yeah, come on I'm in the North Pole! In your workshop!' I exclaimed.

Then, an alarmed rang.

'Christmas is over in 3 hours! Lets go! Lets go!' someone yelled.

'I have to go, I still have to go deliver presents to Missouri,' stated Santa, 'would you like to come with me?'

'Yes!!'

'Ok, but you'll have to stay in the sleigh,' he told me.

As we walked to his sleigh a little elf handed Santa a large bag with all the presents in it. His sleigh was huge! There were eleven reindeers in the front, and as I climbed in, the sky roof opened. And we were off.

The view was beautiful! City lights were on, snow covered the ground, and large Christmas trees were lit up.

'Can anyone see us?' I asked.

'No,' he answered.

We went to about 100,000 houses, Santa delivered the presents so fast! Right when Santa drove the sleigh into the clouds, you could see the sun starting to rise.

Santa said, 'I better get you home before your mom gets worried.'

'Aw do I really have to go?'

'Yes, I'm sorry Cheyenne.'

I gave Santa a hug and we said our goodbyes. I was upset I had to leave, but happy that he showed me how great Christmas was. I quietly opened my front door and tip-toed to my bedroom. I hopped into bed and fell asleep. Then I realized that I had already done this before. It was all a dream. Do I really believe in Santa?

The next morning my mom came up to my room.

'Cheyenne would you like to open presents?'

'Yes!' I said.

After this whole dream I was excited for the first Christmas ever! I walked downstairs and saw the wrapped presents that were under the tree. Zane was sitting by the fire, but I appreciated that he was there with my mom. I opened my first present, it was a cell phone.

'No way!' I screamed, 'mom, I don't deserve this, I have been treating you badly the past holiday.'
(July 2008)



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Dylan and The Bullies

By Suzie, 13


Dylan is 14 years old and has brown hair, blue eyes, with geeky glasses and he wasn't the best looking kid, but he was very intelligent. He told his mom in the car,

'I don't want to go to school.'

Freshmen year was about to start and poor Dylan didn't have any friends.

Dylan got to class early, to get a seat in the back where the popular kids would usually sit. He said to himself,

'I know I shouldn't sit back here, but oh well.'

As the bell rang everyone started to come in. The popular kids, who are mean and rude to all students classified as anything but popular, demanded Dylan to move. Dylan did what they said instantly.

Dylan went home and ran straight to his bedroom. His mom walked in and saw that Dylan was crying. She asked what was wrong and sat on the bed next to him.

He exclaimed, 'The popular kids yelled at me today.'

His mom sighed and said, 'None of this is your fault.'

Dylan replied, 'Yes it is, I knew not to sit in the back and I knew that since I'm so ugly and so much smarter than they are that they would do this to me.'

'No, none of this is your fault,' replied his mom.

Dylan finally stopped crying and went down for dinner. When he arrived at the table, he is pleasantly surprised by the by the aroma of the meatloaf.

'Yum meatloaf,' he exclaimed.

'Yes, I hope you're hungry because your dad won't be coming home tonight,' his mom said.

Dylan got up and went to the bathroom to wash up. As he did he looked in the mirror, and thought,

'Why can't I be handsome and popular?'

Dylan then decided to go to the barber shop.

His mom asked him, 'Is this really what you want?'

He told her, 'Yes, this is what I really want.'

She said, 'Okay.'

The next day, after school, Dylan and his mom went to one of barber shops. When he got there the man asked,

'What would you like to do with your hair?'
He replied, 'I have no idea. I just don't want this hair anymore.'

The man said, 'Okay.'

'Would you like to dye your hair today?' the man questioned.

Dylan took a deep breath and thought about it.

'No, I think I will be fine,' he answered.

When the man was done Dylan went immediately to the eye doctor to get contacts. After that they went shopping for 'better' cloths that he liked. The next day at school everyone looked at him and whispered to each other. Two weeks later he got his first girlfriend.

When he went to school the next day all the popular kids asked him to sit next to them so that they could look cool. He told them,

'All you are doing and have been doing is being bullies and you won't have a lot of friends when you get older.'

All their mouths doped and were astonished with his speech. He said to his girlfriend,

'See what you have been missing with hang out with them.'

Dylan and his girlfriend stayed together for almost a year. But, they did get in little bicker fights and arguments. They thought they loved each other, but they found out that they really didn't like each other like that and broke up. They stayed friends forever and did everything together. They were so happy.

Later on Dylan and everyone else heard about a fire that was in the area and was headed north. They all said,

'Great thing that we are south of the fire.'

The teachers shut off the TVs. Yet, they didn't know the wind started blowing south. The fire spread through the school and most of the bullies got hurt but not horribly. Dylan and his friends were the ones that helped the bullies get out of the school. The bullies felt guilty and learned what goes around comes around.

R.I.P Sam Brown, we'll miss you.
(July 2008)

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The Magical Mountain

By Alex, 12

In a faraway palace where no one would ever know is a boy and girl named Ricky and Sophia. They both are brother and sister and each other's best friends. Everyday they would both travel around their enormous size kingdom. Their parents Maya and Bill both work during the day and the children only go to school early in the morning so they usually have the house to themselves. They have 1 dog and sometimes a nanny/ maid but she never is around because she has her own room in the house which she spends most of her time in.

It was 8 in the morning when Sophia heard their dog Mouse under her bed fighting with a noisy headache will it ever stop type of toy. Rick came into the room shouting BOO to his alarmed sister. In a second she fell out of her bed rolling all over her cold wood floor.

Sophia said,'That wasn't polite of you.'

Knocking on the door the children ran down the lengthy wooden stair case wondering who would be up knocking on their door so early. They peeked through the tiny hole on the metal door and saw the newspaper boy standing in a t-shirt with a dorky saying on it, ' My Dog Ate My Homework Leave Me Alone' , a pair of dark shaded blue jeans that looked expensive, new Sketcher shoes that had red and black stripes and a baseball team hat facing sideways. His total of his look was expensive and pricy.

Still, banging on the door like an extremely impatient person, Rick whispered to his little sister, '1, 2, 3, OPEN'.

Standing there like the impatient person he is walking into there house saying,

'Hey, Sophia how you doing? Want to catch a movie this afternoon?'

The not so surprised look on Sophia's face was pleasing to Rick. The joyful boy went striding into the kitchen finding a couple of dollars to pay the rich, impatient kid.

Sophia started to say, 'I'm too young to go on a date especially with you.'

The kid stared at her with a nasty look on his perfect face.

'Here's the money Franklin', Rick uttered.

'It's Frank, not Franklin,' he ordered.

As they all paced toward the front door Frank winked at Sophia giving her a disgusting feeling.
The same night their parents told them they all could go on a hike on Mountain Flea. Sophia did not like the idea of heights because she almost fell off the edge of a different mountain when she was only 5 years old. They all had hiking equipment from previous hiking adventures. Their parents were perfectionists on hiking, even on their honeymoon they stayed at a resort by a mountain which they hiked on everyday. Tomorrow would be the longest day of Sophia's life and the scariest day of her life from hiking.

The next morning Mouse jumped on my bed and licked my soft face with his icky mouth. When I was searching on the Internet for a dog, I discovered many facts about dogs. Two of those facts were dogs have cleaner mouths than humans and most dogs do well with other dogs. I told my mom both fine facts but she stated that I could only have 1 dog or none so I decided 1 is better than nothing at all. My brother came into my room like a screaming maniac that almost got eaten alive by a starving pack of wolves.

The morning breeze was soft, that just passed my face while I walked into the entrance of Flea Mountain. Around the filthy trail were dozens of colorful, gorgeous, silent flamingos that ate birds with fish in their mouths. The tour guide led us to a dark suspicious cave that had bats on the top of it. Sophia lunged to her mom because of the terrifying ugly black bats. All of a sudden a fat, grey bat swooped out of the cave and landed on dumb Rick's head. He screamed with fright and fear as the bat started to chew on his dirty brown dandruff hair.

My dad ran after Rick until BOOM they both landed face first into the monkey's mud. The monkeys love to bath and get dirty in this large pile of goop. Everybody that visited that destination always took pictures with their cameras and throw rotten bananas at the poor little fat spider monkeys.
The tour guide, Amy took us on the last stop elephant land where all you see for miles is herds of big funny elephants. The exhibit was full of mean nasty people that just wanted to throw paper at the large mammals. When the paper hit the animal they all ran to the edge and made tons of horrible noises and everybody ran for their lives. Bill and Maya ran one way and their children ran another way. The park closed in 2 hours and their parents left figuring that the children were right behind them.

The children opened their eyes in fright and yelled for their lovable parents. No one replied and they went to sit on the cold dry bench in terror. A park official came to them but in one second she disappeared into the cave and never appeared out. The clock right ahead of them started to turn to 7:00pm and the doors closed in one nervous hour. They started to get up ahead to the front entrance and talk to an official about the disappearance of one of the park workers.

As soon as they started to leave they quickly realized that they had absolutely no idea where they were going. They looked around the dark mysterious park but could not find any one in sight. It was now getting dark and they could hear scary noises all around them! In the distance they saw an old man with grey hair and a blue shirt feeding the elephants.

The children ran over and quickly yelled to the official, 'Help, help!' One of the workers has disappeared into the cave.'

It took a few seconds, but he got it in his head, he had a very worried and frightened look on his face.

He pulled out his walkie-talkie and pressed the red emergency button! When a voice appeared he said in a low, bored voice, 'Susan got stuck in the cave again, I'll go get her.'

Finally, the man left and when the kids realized they were lost he had already vanished. Sophia suddenly stopped.

Ricky stopped too and said, 'Sophia, lets go, we have to get out of here it is already dark!'

'Rick! Rick!' Sophia said, in a shaky voice, 'there is something following us!'

At the same time the kids peered behind them and screamed.

Once they looked back they saw a big, blackish-brown, fuzzy grizzly bear! Right before the bear attacked them, out ran a lion and pounced on the bear. The children shrieked and ran until they could run no more. They found themselves hiding behind a thick branch of vines near the swampy lake.

The lion came up and beckoned the kids to climb on his back. They climbed on the lion's huge back and held on while he ran full speed straight ahead. The lion suddenly stopped and shook the kids off and ran to join the other lions by the water fountain. By now it was pitch dark and the wind was cold and felt harsh went it swept by their face.

Suddenly, the ground started to shake and Rick and Sophia started to get scared. The heard of elephants came charging out and the children ran out of the way to avoid the mess. Once the larger elephants were gone, out stumbled a little baby elephant carrying a large tree trunk, swinging its head side to side trying to find someone to play with. Rick came and picked up the cute cuddly baby elephant. They all took off to the plaza but they couldn't see their way through so Sophia got out a portable flash light but it still didn't work because it was tiny.

CRACK! Another CRACK! The little elephant was stepping on rocks and with his huge feet it felt like a very shaky earthquake.

'I think we should keep walking and see if we end up somewhere,' said Rick.

Next, they saw an old magical wizard that was on the phone with a sales woman.

'I think their talk is actually an argument,' said Sophia laughing historically.

The wizard said, 'Want a ride to home?'

'But how do you know we were lost?' asked Sophia

'I know lots of things, I am a genuine wizard and study different things about human life every week to know how to communicate with humans,' said the wizard.

They all, even the baby elephant, hopped into a flying car. The ride was about 30 minutes and was awesome. They could see everything, kind of like an airplane but even better.

'5, 4,3,2,1 we're here,' said the wizard.

They got out of the awesome flying vehicle and rang the door bell 3 times which felt like 100.

Their mom Maya, opened the front door and said, 'O my word.'

She ran toward her two kids.

'Where were you? We thought you were with us,' said her mother.

Bill came running down the long flights of wooden stairs and hugged their children for a very long time. As they were about to say, how did you appear, they turned around and the vehicle was gone.

'But I thought, O well then,' yawned Sophia.

The rest of their time they were 8 and 10 years old, they stayed in their house with their family like Maya, Bill, Mouse, Nanny, and their brand new pet elephant Hippo. They had a great time with their family and even their nanny came out more often. Now they spend more family time together and make sure everyone is there when leaving a place.
(July 2008)

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Destination: Imagination

By Emily, 14

Max stumbled over a duck, teddy bear, squirrel, and a bunny stuffed animal along with a bunch of other junk. His eighth birthday just passed and now he's getting rid of his little baby toys.

'Max, is your room clean yet?' Mrs. Mac, his mom, yelled.

Max didn't tell his mom that he was giving away his animal toys.

'Yeah, yeah, I'm getting to it,' Max said back, annoyed.

He grabbed his new toy cars and monster trucks.

'Vroom, vroom,' he said as he rolled them over his stuffed animals, 'I will crush all you little animals.'

Then Max put everything on the floor and ran downstairs with an evil smile on his face.

When he returned, he was holding a big black trash bag. Quickly he stuffed the duck, teddy bear, squirrel, bunny, and turtle into the bag and dragged it all the way downstairs to the backyard where he shoved it in the tool shed. Max slammed the doors shut.

'Mwahaha,' he laughed and ran back upstairs.

Max jumped on his bed with the race car comforter and kept bouncing up and down and up and down.

'Thump!' Max fell off his bed, onto the ground.

'Max, honey, are you ok?' Mrs. Mac rushed in and Max sat up, 'Oh, Max, how many times do I have to tell you? Don't jump on your bed! Now will you come help me get the trash out?'

'Ok, Mom,' Max groaned and got up slowly.

Mrs. Mac went downstairs and out the back door to the garbage can and Max dragged the trash from the kitchen outside.

'Thanks Max. Now, sweetie, can you go open up the tool shed and hand me some tape?'

'Uh, well, um.'

Max didn't want his mother to find his stuffed animals in the trash bag in there, so he just kept thinking of what to do.

'Alright, fine, I'll do it myself,' Mrs. Mac said.

As she opened the doors of the tool shed, out popped a black trash bag which held the stuffed animals, but she didn't know that because it was tied shut.

'What is this garbage doing in here?'

'Umm, I don't know,' Max lied.

He didn't like lying to his mom, but he didn't like getting in trouble either.

'Oh well, I'll just put it in,' Mrs. Mac said and put it in the trash.

Then together they rolled the big trash bin out in the front yard so it could be picked up by the garbage truck.

'Bye little stuffed animals. You're off to the garbage truck now. Ha-ha!' Max laughed and was so happy that his baby toys were finally gone for good, or so he thought.

The brave Puppy Bear peeped from a hole in the trashcan. He took great gulps of air because the stench of rotting food was unbearable.

'Well, what's up there? We're dying of the poisonous fumes in here!' choked Dewy Ducky.

'I can't believe Max would do this to us,' mourned Daffy, her ears drooping sadly.

Everyone was silent for a moment, some angry, some sad at Max's cruelty. They were interrupted by Puppy Bear.

'Be quiet, someone is coming,' he hissed.

He swiftly closed the green lid of the trash can.

And indeed, an enormous, burly man swung up the trash can with ease and tipped all the contents out of it into a dump truck, making thunderous noises. Everyone began to panic as they dropped into yet another pile of horribly smelling trash. They screamed wildly for help as the mechanical lid closed over them, shutting out the light of the day along with it.

Though they did not know it, the animals (still screaming) were on their way to the city dump. As the dump truck noisily rattled along a river, the driver, who was more than a trifle intoxicated, began to swerve uncontrollably. At that precise moment, his arm hit a switch that opened the mechanical lid. Air whipped in, giving the animals air and blowing trash everywhere. Before he knew it, the brawny man had swerved off the road. The massive dump truck flew into the river, spilling out all of the garbage and animals (smelly and shrieking) into it. None of them, not even Pokey or Dewy Ducky, knew how to swim.

Luckily, a large wooden board floated by, and at Puppy Bear's command, everyone leaped on. The intense current carried them to calmer waters, where the resourceful Nutsy seized a sturdy branch and rowed them to a nearby bank, where other debris had already landed. Shaking with fear and cold, the animals carefully got off the cardboard and fell onto the muddy grass, exhausted. Puppy Bear was the first to recover, and went to explore the debris, looking for something that might get them all home.

He cried, 'A map, just the thing to get us home!'

The map, wet but still readable, was one belonging to some sort of treasure hunting game, complete with a red-dashed trail that led to different destinations. Puppy Bear, who had an imagination too large for his own good, concluded that 'X', the last stop, must be their home. Excited, he rushed over to his friends.

'According to this map, we are in The Amazon Rainforest!' he cried, waving the rather worn out map before their eyes.

Since he was the only bookworm among them who read of such places (even though he hadn't read about any of the destinations on the map), no one protested his accuracy.

He went on, 'We must be very careful. According to what I've read, the Amazon Rainforest is a very dangerous place. Why, there could be monsters in there just waiting to pounce on us and turn us into lunch!' he finished fearfully, 'Oh, we could be drowned by a flood from so much rain. After all, it is called a rainforest.'

Everyone began to panic at Puppy Bear's comforting words. He managed to get them all under control and they decided to run through the Amazon Rainforest and hope that they would make it out ok. Puppy Bear decided to carry Pokey. Off they went.

Unfortunately, halfway through, it began to rain.

When they finally burst out into a clearing, soaking wet and shouting for joy, they heard a low rumble of a laugh. Instantly, all was silent.

Puppy Bear ventured, 'Who are you? Show yourself!'

A lazy voice drawled back, 'Don't be thinking yourselves too high up in the world now. No one orders me around. But, since you showed yourselves, I think I'll do it myself.'

From out of nowhere, a terrifically rusty-colored tabby flew from out of nowhere. Terrified and thinking that they were trapped, the animals screamed and prepared to run at Puppy Bear's command. He was just about to grant permission when they all heard the low, mocking rumble.

'Run if you will, I'm in no hurry to get you. You see, I only go after real animals. Stuffed ones are incredibly disgusting, based on my experience,' the Cat explained, amused.

'I merely took interest because you,' nodding to Puppy Bear, 'said something foolish. You came running out of a wood, not the Amazon Rainforest. You seem to have gotten our own USA mixed up with South America!'

Puppy Bear said offended, 'We are too in South America. Why should we listen to you? Why, you're just a...a scrawny cat.'

The other animals cheered.

The Cat, impressed by the others undying loyalty, swallowed his pride and said, 'I have to admit, that was a nice shot. Mind if I join you? A stray cat like me needs something to entertain him once in a while, just to keep his spirits up.'

Daffy, shy but friendly, replied softly, at Puppy Bear's nod, 'Welcome to our clan, I guess. We're on a mission to find our home. Although we don't think you're very right in the head, you don't sound like a bad cat either.'

'Off we go then,' the Cat yawned, getting to his feet.

Puppy Bear led the way.

The animals, one real, the others not, walked on for about an hour, following Puppy Bear, until they came upon a most remarkable sight. The air suddenly became hot and windy, and the ground was covered in sand and dirt, mostly flat, but with some mounds larger than the Cat.

Puppy Bear, who had some background knowledge about deserts, immediately thought that this new landscape must be the Sahara Desert. He announced this thought.

The Cat, who had taken one glance at a bulldozer about 10 feet away, corrected casually,

'Construction Site.'

The other animals ignored him, trusting Puppy Bear.

Puppy Bear ordered, 'Don't think about being thirsty. You might see mirages, and you might go crazy from trying to run towards them.'

Nutsy, who was usually hyperactive, asked curiously, 'What's a mirage?'

'An image that one thinks is real but is not,' answered Puppy Bear, smartly.

The Cat rolled his eyes.

They marched on the hot sand, with the scorching sun upon their backs. Puppy Bear was the only one who was energetic enough to encourage everyone along while trying to find a way out of the desert. One by one, the animals began to drop.

Then Nutsy suddenly cried, 'Look, water! We're not going to die!'

Puppy Bear tried to stop the animals, but was too late. They all stampeded towards the oasis everyone but Puppy Bear seemed to see.

Until Puppy Bear had tasted the water for himself, he refused to believe such a miracle was true. The Cat, who had taken his fill of water, said annoyed,

'It's just a puddle of water.'

He was about to say more when all the animals glared him into silence. He shrugged and Puppy Bear felt proud of the animals faith in him.

After resting by the puddle, Puppy Bear carefully examined the map and once again, took lead of the animals. The animals, full of water, traveled comfortably, and soon they made their way out, stepping into slightly moist land. They continued on their mission to get back home, not knowing what was in store for them next.

'Puppybear, what is that? It looks like a waterfall or something huge!' Nutsy said, excitedly.

'Well guys, it's a waterfall and it's huge. It must be Niagara Falls! Yup, this is it alright. This is the next place on the map,' Puppybear told them.

Everyone was amazed.

'Gee, Puppybear, I wish I was as smart as you. You know everything!' Dewy Ducky said.

'It's not Niagara Falls, it's just a river! You don't know what you're talking about,' said a blue bird as it soared through the air.

'But how do we get across it? We'll drown if we go in! I can't swim! What do we do? What do we do?' Daffy asked, and was getting really scared.

'Relax, you little rabbit. Puppybear knows what to do, don't you Puppybear?' Pokey asked.

'Well sure I do. All we have to do is find something. Everyone start looking,' Puppybear ordered.

They all scattered and bumped into each other and then searched.

'I found a rock,' Nutsy said.

'I found a stick,' Daffy said.

'I found a board,' the Cat said.

'Ah-ha! That's just what we need! Dewy, you're a genius! We can all get on this and float to the other side, just like it's a boat! Okay, I'll go in front and Pokey, you go on back. Everyone else, hop on in between,' Puppybear said.

They pushed and shoved until everyone was on.

'Okey-dokey, Pokey, push us off into the water now. Let's get moving!'

Pokey pushed and pushed the board until it dropped into the water. Then he jumped on and off they went.

After a few moments of floating, they reached the other side. Everyone got off the board and safely on shore except for Pokey, the last one.

'Come on Pokey. We'll help you, just grab my hand and we'll pull you out!' Puppybear grabbed Pokey's arm and soon he was on the land with them.

'Yippee! We made it!' Daffy cheered.

Then they set off to the next place on the map.

Daffy, Dewy Ducky, the Cat, Nutsy and Pokey all followed Puppybear to the next stop.

'Here we are. According to my map, we are at a cliff,' Puppybear said, wisely.

'I don't see a cliff,' said Dewy Ducky as he looked around.

'It's right over there, but don't get too close or you'll fall off and the alligators will get you at the bottom!' Puppybear warned them.

'Now what do we do? Oh this is just awful! There's no way I can jump that far! We're doomed!' Daffy screamed and grabbed onto Puppybear.

'Oh be quiet, Daffy. Puppybear will think of something. He always does,' Pokey said to calm down Daffy.

'Okay, everybody think of what we can do,' Puppybear demanded, so they all sat down and thought.

'I've got it!' he exclaimed. 'Cat, you stretch yourself across the cliff like a bridge as far as you can go and we will all walk over you!'

'But Puppybear, it's so scary. How come I have to be the bridge?' asked the Cat.

'Because you're the biggest out of all of us. I can't stretch and neither can Daffy, Pokey, Nutsy or Dewy Ducky. Please, please?'

'Yeah, come on Cat. You're our only hope!' everyone said.

'Well, okay, I guess,' the Cat said, 'here I go.'

The Cat stretched himself so much so he could reach the other side and be the bridge. Slowly all the animals tiptoed across him very carefully.

'You're doing great, Cat. Just don't look down!' Puppybear said.

Everybody was on the other side now and jumping up and down.

'We made it! We made it!' Daffy and Dewy Ducky yelled, together.

'Wait! What about me?' the Cat said and started crying.

He didn't know what to do.

'Don't worry, buddy. We would never just leave you here. We can help you. After all, that's what friends are for,' Puppybear said, 'Daffy, you grab his left paw. Dewy Ducky, you grab his right paw. Now pull!'

Suddenly, Dewy Ducky slipped and fell down the side of the cliff, but luckily he was still holding on to the Cat. Then Pokey, Nutsy and Puppybear all reached for his hand and together they all pulled the Cat and Dewy Ducky back up.

'Phew, I thought you would surely fall,' Nutsy said, relieved.

All the little critters hugged each other and then studied the map.

'Everyone listen up. I've got great news! According to the map, we should be home really soon!' Puppybear announced, and they all cheered.

'Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go home!' Nutsy yelled.

After walking for about an hour, everyone started to get tired.

'Puppybear, when are we going to be home? I thought you said we were close,' Dewy Ducky complained.

'We are close, Dewy, just keep going a little further,' Puppybear said.
Then, far along in the distance, Puppybear heard people laughing and talking and saw a house that looked familiar.

'Oh my golly jeepers! We are home! Look, everyone, it's our home!'

'Yippee! This is the happiest day of my life!' Daffy exclaimed.

Once they reached the house, they heard a little girl's voice, so they instantly stopped.

'Look, mommy, little dollies. Can I play with them, mommy? Can I?' the little girl asked.

'Well look, Max. It's your old stuffed animal toys. How did they get out here?' Mrs. Mac said.

'I have no idea,' Max said.

He couldn't believe that the toys he threw away in the garbage were back.

'Go ahead and play with them, Maggie. They can be your new toys now,' Mrs. Mac told the little girl who seemed to be Max's little sister, 'Oh and look, Maggie, it's a little kitty cat. Let's go ahead and keep him. He can be out new pet,' Mrs. Mac said and picked up the fluffy cat, 'I'm going to name you Albert' she said.

They all lived happily ever after.
(July 2008)


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The Suprise

By Kayla, 13

I sat waiting anxiously as the last minute of the school bell was slowly passing over. It seemed like forever. I was in math, my least favorite subject. In exactly one minute I will meet up with Savannah so we can plead with my parents about having a birthday bash for my 13th birthday.

As I was running breathless to the buses, I was rudely stopped by a group of 'wannabes.' The 411 on the 'wannabes' is that they think they are the coolest group in school. Their group leader's name is Audrey. Audrey dances at Kimberly Lewis, we are in all of the same classes. When it comes to competing, she is a total stuck up brat. She even tries to do better then me at stretching. Audrey and I just don't mix. Her dad invented Pop Tarts and her mom is the host of CTV News, because of this he thinks she is the most popular girl in school. In real life she is just snob one, and her best friend, Jessica, is snob two.

Audrey walked up to me and asked about my party. I told her that everyone was invited except her and her posse of friends. She looked at me as if I were kidding. She told me that I would be lucky to have her at my party. All I told her was that it was going to be better than her 13th birthday party. She gave me a snobby look and walked off. I yelled out to her that it was going to be the party of the year and everyone was going to worship me after my party.

I couldn't believe what I said. Savannah walked up to me and said,

'You haven't even asked your parents if you can have a birthday party yet.'

I just looked at her and I said, 'I know, that's what I'm afraid of.'

Savannah and I ran up to the bus, but our bus driver slammed the door shut and told us that we were a minute late! We couldn't believe it! We were two steps away from the bus and she shut the door! I quickly took off my vibrant multi-colored, tie-dyed, velvet JanSport backpack and placed it on the cold, dry concrete right outside of our school. I unzipped my front pocket and grabbed my Dooney and Bourke cell phone case and snapped it open. Inside laid my hot pink, rhinestone, Juicy Couture Sidekick. I flipped open my sidekick and it made a princess chime; I pressed number two on my speed dial. It then rang and was calling my mom.

My mom picked up but she seemed a tad bit cranky. She started yelling at me because I interrupted her during an extremely important meeting. Once she calmed down I started explaining my story about what happened at school today. I told her that I missed the bus and Savannah and I needed a ride. All my mom told me was that she was in the middle of a meeting, she couldn't leave work, and that I needed to find a new ride from someone else. Once I was done talking to my mom, I told Savannah to call her mom because my mom couldn't pick us up.

Savannah and I have the same backpack but she has the worst phone ever. She has had the same cell phone for four years and it is a piece of junk. She doesn't have speed dial, she doesn't have a camera, she doesn't have T9 texting, and she only has the bottom half of her phone because her phone was flung into a wall and it snapped in half. It still works perfectly; she just doesn't have a screen. She typed in her mom's phone number and it started to dial. Her mom picked up and she asked her if we could have a ride over to my house. She said yes and she would be right on her way.

As Savannah's mom slowly entered the school parking lot I got sidetracked by an enormous clump of crusty mascara on Savannah's eyelash. It was repulsive! She just started wearing mascara to try to look like me. She has done this ever since I started wearing makeup. With my flawless Chanel makeup and the latest set of clothes, no one can look better than me. With her dark brown hair, that I call a monster, she will never be close to looking like me. My hair is a rich golden blonde that glistens against my dark chocolate brown eyes. She can try to wear makeup, but I'll always look better. Okay, I'll admit she does have great blue eyes that look amazing with her golden-brown skin color and a trendy style, but she will never look like me even if she tried. HONK, HONK! I guess I got so distracted by her mascara clump that I forgot her mom was here. We got in to the black Mercedes SUV and sped off.

In no time we were home. As soon as I opened the front door my dad swooshed under my arms and picked me up giving me a massive birthday hug. I've gotten used to this 'celebration hug'. It happens every time something exciting happens. Savannah and I then ran up stairs to my bedroom, or as I call it, my 'suite'. I call my bedroom my suite because I have a section of the house to myself. I have a door that leads to my bedroom, but then there is a lengthy hallway that leads to my loft. My room is upstairs. I have a balcony that overlooks the green-blue glistening ocean. I can hear the salty waves crashing together. My room is a fairy tale to me. I have everything that I need up there.

'Let's start brainstorming what we can have at my party!' I said excitingly.

Savannah agreed. Before you could blink your eyes we had a list of at least a hundred things.

Savannah and I were waiting for my mom to get home from work. We had a whole plan worked out. My dad was already home and down in his office; we were waiting for my mom to get home so that we could spread the news to both of them. That way, if one parent says no, there is a higher chance that the second parent will say yes. My mom always lets me do what I want. It's just my dad that I have the problem with. My dad doesn't let me do anything! He won't let me go 10 feet near boys. We have to be an arms length apart so that boys can't put their arm around me, Dad doesn't let me go to parties that don't have a parent guardian watching us. Pretty much my dad sucks the fun out of everything.

I was upstairs in my room with Savannah when I heard a familiar noise of a car pulling into the garage. I knew my mom was home and I couldn't be any more excited! I was eager to spread my party ideas to my parents. Savannah and I made a PowerPoint so that we could show them how amazing it would be if they let me throw a birthday party. We ran down my chocolate brown, hard wood floors and stairs and yelled over to my parents to meet us in the home theatre. I dimmed down the lights when my parents were seated in our candy apple red, velvet seats. I turned on the projector and my PowerPoint appeared on the 84 inch LG plasma screen TV. I played my PowerPoint and I glanced over at my parents. Their mouths were dropped down practically to their ankles. I could tell that my PowerPoint was a success. Once it ended I was expecting an,

'Ok honey, how many people do you want to invite?'

But instead they started scolding me and telling me that not in a million years would I be able to throw a birthday bash.

My parents and I got into a huge fight about why I couldn't have my amazing birthday party.

'But mom! I want a birthday party for my 13th birthday!' I exclaimed.

'Well that stinks, because you aren't having one so you are just going to suck it up and get over yourself', my mom said.

'Dad, tell mom to let me have a birthday party!'

'No! Listen to your mother or you will be grounded on your birthday!'

'But dad! That's not fair! I already told all of my friends that I was having a birthday party! Now they are going to think of me as a liar! You have to let me have a birthday party!'

'No we don't! And now you are going to have to explain to your friends that you are not having a birthday party after all. You shouldn't tell your friends about having a birthday party without consulting us first! So I have decided that you are grounded!'

'Ahhh!!!! This is not fair! I'm telling you this is cruel and unusual punishment!'

My parents of course fought back yelling,

'Good, then you can go upstairs and think about how you have been acting towards us.'

'Fine, then I will call all of my friends and tell them how rude you are to me and how you grounded me a day before my birthday!' I said this, furiously.

'Fine, then I will take away your phone and you won't have that on your birthday either!'

'Great, now I'm grounded and you took away my most prized possession!'

I ran upstairs and grabbed my Juicy Couture sleeping bag, my Coach tote, some extra cute clothes, my UGG boots and I threw all of my make up and hygiene stuff into my coach tote bag. I walked downstairs and snuck out of my house and ran down to Savannah's house.

I crept silently into Savannah's backyard and ducked so that the security cameras woudn't catch me. I tiptoed over the flagstone steps and past their huge pebble tech, salt water pool and knocked silently on Savannah's back door. She looked through her shutters and unlocked her dark brown door. I could tell that she was tired because she had her hair up in a messy bun on the top of her head and she was wearing her ducky pyjama pants with a T-shirt. She invited me in and laid back down on her king sized bed. She fell asleep, but each time she started to doze off I would wake her up by telling her how rude and unfair my parents were. I was washing my face and Savannah kept on falling asleep. I woke her up by throwing the soaking wet wash cloth at her pale face.

I fell asleep at 12 o'clock and woke up at 6 A.M! I felt awfully bad for yelling at my parents. I knew that right when I walked through my gigantic rod iron doors, my parents were going to ground me even longer. On top of that, they were going to yell at me again. I said bye to Savannah and walked slowly back to my house. When I was up to my door, I hesitated wondering what my consequences were going to be. I finally had the guts to open the door and of course, my parents were sitting on our silk couch staring at me with their beating eyes. I knew they were going to blow up on me any second. But to my surprise they said,

'Honey, we are extremely sorry for yelling at you last night. To really show you that we are sorry, here is your phone back.'

'Thank you so much! I love you guys so much and will never yell at you again!'

'It's ok sweetie.'

I ran up stairs and called Savannah to tell her that I got my phone back

It was 9 o'clock in the morning and in ten minutes I was leaving to go to dance. I hopped into my mom's black Lincoln Navigator and she drove me to dance. I had worthless ballet, which is my least favorite dance class. After that I had Company Rehearsal. I perform in competitions and it is my biggest dream to win a dance scholarship. But I needed to get my head back into reality and out of my fantasy. I was all dressed out in my black leotard, baby pink tights, black Marcia shorts and ballet shoes. I walked into the dance room and we quickly started class right after attendance was taken. The first thing we did was a simple warm up. Then we started to stretch. Later, after I had ballet and company, my mom picked me up and took me home.

I got out of my car from dance and ran rapidly to my front door. I opened the door and all I heard was SURPRISE! I was extremely shocked! My parents had been planning a surprise party for me all along. I felt awfully bad for getting mad at them. I ran upstairs with Savannah so that I could get out of my ballet clothes and get into something cute and sassy. I put on a mini skirt, a white baby doll cami and sand colored UGG boots. I ran down my hard wood stairs and started to dance with Savannah and my friends.

Once my party was over, everyone went home except Savannah. My party lasted five hours and I was exhausted. I trotted upstairs and put on some velvet red Juicy sweat pants. I walked downstairs with Savannah and we searched for my mom and dad to thank them for the outstanding party.

'Thank you so much mom and dad for the awesome party! I love you so much!' I shouted with excitement.

'Your welcome sweetheart. We felt that you had deserved it.'

'Really? I was mean and stubborn towards to you and I am incredibly sorry for the way I acted,' I said thankfully.

'It's ok, honey', my mom spoke, softly.

I ran upstairs with Savannah and we put on our swimsuits so we could go to the beach with a couple of friends. My mom walked in all jumpy and said put on your clothes. We asked where we were going and she just said,

'Grab your wallet and meet me in our candy, apple red Lamborghini.'

Savannah and I looked at each other and we both knew exactly where we were going. The mall!

(July 208)

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Runaway Journey

By Mckay, 14

'Get outside, I don't want any more lip from you mister. Now rake those leaves. Don't come back in until you're finished. Don't forget to do a good job or you won't get your two dollars pay for the week,' yelled Mr. Whitaker.

'You can't treat him so rough,' said a medium height, dark haired woman named Mrs. Whitaker.

'I know, but I'm just trying to get him ready for the real world,' said a tall stout man.

It was Mr. Whitaker, who was yelling at the young boy who was still outside. That young boy was 12 year old Freddy Whitaker. Life's been tough for him since he turned 12 because he has been doing a lot more work around their little farm. Freddy's mother was out of work and the family was barely making do on Mr. Whitaker $600 a month salary. It was the early 60's, so finding a decent job was hard to do in rural Maine. Freddy's story doesn't start here, it starts when he finds a flyer for a very cruel carnival but he doesn't know it yet.

A couple of days later, while sweeping the porch, Freddy came across a flyer he had picked it up and started reading it as he sat on the porch.

'Bye son, don't forget to take the trash out and finish cleaning your room, oh, here's five bills, go get some bread and milk sometime today, alright?' said his parents driving away.

'Huh! Gosh I hate them! Why are they so mean? I wish I could find a new home.'

Freddy went back to reading the flyer. It read

'Magnificent Carnival NEED performers open to all comers adults and kids alike.'

'I wish I could go, but I will never get my shot. This stinks.'

Freddy grabbed his bike from the garage, put the money in his pocket, and rode off to the market. At the market, he got the bread and the milk then went to the clerk. He paid and realized he had two dollars left so he bought a cola and a couple of candy bars. When he got home he ate the candy bars, eating them so fast and drank the soda so quick that he got a stomach ache and became so sick he then fell asleep.

He woke up a few hours later, the blue sky had darkened to a deep orange red, the sun was setting. Freddy had forgotten to take the trash out, he quickly grabbed it from all the rooms and dumped it into a big bag. After that he ran out to the trash cans to throw it away. Then he ran faster than ever up to his room to put his clothes in the clothes bin, made his bed, and lastly picked up his toy car and set it nicely in his closet. Right then the front door opened and his parents walked in.

'Fred, come on down for dinner,' whistled his dad.

'Did you get your work done?' said his father.

'Sure did,' Freddy replied.

'Well, enough talk lets eat,' exclaimed his mom.

After dinner the whole family watched 'I Love Lucy', a new television show. Freddy didn't really care for the show, but he watched it anyway. When the program ended he went up to his room and played with his toy car. His parents stayed down stairs and watched another program. The time past and he fell asleep, so did his parents. When he woke up the next day he used his money he had been saving to go down and get a cheese burger at the soda shop. When he arrived there he saw Terry who was in line getting a cheese burger and fries also. He yelled and got his attention, he pointed to a table and right away he knew he wanted him to sit with him. He did after he got a cheese burger and fries as well. They talked for a while then said they will meet here tomorrow for a shake.

The next day they met again at the same place but this time they only ordered shakes and fries. They talked about the new television show that's coming and how they really wanted to see 'The Twilight Zone'.

'I hear it's going to real suspenseful,' said Terry.

'I know it going to be great,' said Fred.

They soon said there good byes and Fred said he would call tomorrow to set up a time to go to the carnival.

The next day he had to do his weekly chores again taking out the trash, his room, and yard work. When he finished all his chores he called Terry they set up the time to go to the carnival for Friday. Today Freddy got paid again he got a bonus today so he got five dollars to put towards the carnival, so he only needed two more bills and he would be set for the carnival. The next day he earned the money by sweeping the porch and doing the dishes also a little more by cleaning his parent's room. He earned little more then he needed so he could play games at the carnival.

He fell asleep that night thinking about the carnival the next day and even though he gets paid to do his chores, he still didn't like his parents because when he forgot to do them he would get slapped and punished with more chores. He did not want to think about that any more so he just rolled over and fell asleep. When he woke up the next day he couldn't wait to get out of his bed, he got up, then ran to the shower and hopped in. He only took a five minute shower because he wanted a head start on the day. He called Terry and they told each other to meet at the Soda Shack. The instant he hung up the phone he was out of the door and on his bike. When they met at the Soda Shack they ate a cheese burger and had a soda. They bought extra sodas to take with them on the 30 minute bike ride to the carnival.

As they reached the carnival it wasn't that full, they came to a stop on their bikes and then locked them up and walked in to buy their tickets. When they bought their tickets the first ride they went on was the roller coaster, that had a lot of big drop offs. They had so much fun on the coaster that they went two more times before they felt motion sickness. The next thing they did was go play a game, they both played the dart game where they had to pop the balloons with the darts. They both won at their games and got the ninja swords, after they had played they rode the Ferris Wheel. They got all the way to the top when it stopped for a minute or two then moved forwards again to they got to the bottom. They ate again then went on the Tilt a Whirl, then left and went back home to there boring lives.

He got home and went to bed. When he woke up his parents were yelling at each other. Then they soon started yelling at him and his dad started slapping and beating him. He went back to his room, packed up most of his things, took all the money he had saved, and ran away on his bike. He rode for a long time before he stopped at the market where he had seen Terry crying on a bench, so Freddy went over to talk to him and they talked for about 20 minutes, then went into the store. Terry had run away too. His parents got in another fight and he couldn't take it any more. Terry soon got the courage back in him and asked why Fred ran away.

'I ran away because my parents got in a fight about me forgetting to tell them where I was yesterday. My dad started hitting me so I packed up my things and went out the window.'

They each had 30 dollars, so they bought two big subs, some drinks, and a cooler. Terry had taken his parents quad so he used the straps to make the cooler stay on the quad. Before they were about to leave Freddy had both their money. Together they had $50 left. They also had some of there subs. They finished and set off on their journey. On their way they stopped and talk about where they were headed, right then he pulled out the flyer he found a couple of days ago and Terry was speechless, but he loved the idea, so they set off again. As they reached the carnival, the Carney's set an eye on the boys then swoop!

'What's going on?' said Freddy.

They were captured in a net and couldn't break through.

'What is this?' said Terry.

Then the Carney's came out and Joe Buck, the head of the Carney's. He started blabbing how the boy's should be more careful because they could get hurt out here. Then out of the blue Jerry was making his way up the hill. Jerry was his right hand man. Jerry had a sword and cut the rope, then the boys fell to the ground and passed out.

Back at each of the boy's house both of their parents were arguing where the boy's might have been.

'Wait,' said Miss. Whitaker, 'before I saw Freddy looking at a flyer and I glanced at the left. I bet he went to that carnival.'

'Well, let's call the police and get to that carnival,' Terry's mother said, suddenly.

When the boys woke up they forgot that they had been captured. They soon realized that they were in a cage, they tried to break through but it was to strong. Suddenly, they heard police pull up. Both their parents ran out of the police car, followed by the police. The boys saw them and started yelling; the Carney's ran out of their hut and said,

'What's the problem officer?'

Right then the boy's parents said,

'We found them!'

The police and the Carney's ran over, they turned to the Carney's and said,

'You're under arrest for kidnapping!'

The police put them in handcuffs, and then threw them into the car. While the police were doing their business the boys parents apologized, grabbed the keys to the cage unlocked them, and they all hugged and apologized again and left to go home.

(July 2008)


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The Missing Christmas Star

By Saeyoung, 14

Mary is a six-year-old girl who has a mom and a dad. During fall break, her parents have to go to Japan to work. Before they went to work, Mary's mom called her to see if her dad could watch her daughter for a week. Mary's grandpa came to pick her up.

'Now be good and do what he says, ok?' told mom.

'Ok,' said Mary.

Mary's parents left for the airport. Mary and Grandpa arrived at his house. Mary dragged her bag in the house.

'The second room to the right on the first floor is your room,' informed Grandpa.

'Ok, thanks.'

The house was warm and bright with light. It was clean, smelled like candles, and had snacks on the counter. Mary found the room next to the living room. The room was clean with a desk, a bed, and a closet like a guest room.

'Go unpack your things and I will get you some hot cocoa.'

'Ok,' replied Mary.

She went to the counter to get her hot cocoa. Mary drank her hot cocoa and said,

'Grandpa, since tomorrow is Tuesday can I go play with my friends?' asked Mary.

'Sure. Why not,' allowed Grandpa, 'but only if you finished all of your homework.'

'I'm almost done with my project,' shouted the now excited Mary. She brought the poster for her project downstairs and glued some papers down. A couple of minutes later, she was done with her project. They ate dinner and went to bed.

In the morning, Mary woke up at about ten o' clock to a delicious smell.

'Good morning Grandpa. What's for breakfast?' she asked with her mouth watering.

'Pancakes with syrup and butter,' replied Grandpa.

'Grandpa, I'm going to go to Suzan's house at eleven o' clock, is that ok with you?' asked Mary.

'Sure.'

It was 10:30 when they finished breakfast. Mary went to take a shower, got dressed, and combed her hair. She was finally ready to go.

'Bye Grandpa, I'll come before eight o' clock,' she told Grandpa.

She left the house to Suzan's house. And for three days, she did the same thing over and over again.

On the last day that Mary would be with Grandpa, he told his favorite story that was passed down for generations and generations.

'Mary, come here. I'll tell you a story,' said grandpa.

'Ok,' said Mary.

'It's a short story that I want to tell you.'

'Ok. What kind of story is it?' asked Mary.

'The story is about Christmas and Halloween', explained grandpa, 'I know it's neither Christmas nor Halloween yet, but it's about, the weeks before the holidays. Here, sit,' said Grandpa.

Mary sat on the chair with some tea that Grandpa gave her earlier.

'This is one of my favorite stories.'

Once upon a time there were nice children living in the North Pole where Santa and his elves lived. Elves are kind, hard working creatures. Hallows lived in the dark cold forest, partied all day, and scared passers when they pass through the forest. Forest is their city called the Halloween Town. Santa and his elves work hard to make it a happy Christmas. Elves are always happy even though they are working. On the center of North Pole there is the Christmas tree. The tree is the brightest and largest Christmas tree in the whole world. On the tree it is decorated with good children's wishes in the ornaments. On the very top of the tree is the Star, a special cat that is white, cute, and magical, but before Christmas Eve the cat stays up there. This cat is not a regular cat. It doesn't need food, shelter, or friends. It turns into a golden star on Christmas Eve and Christmas.

One night someone stole the Star and ran off. If the Star is missing from the North Pole Christmas tree, elves turn angry or sad. Then elves started to become violent and sad. When Santa found out about it he called help from the children, Tony, Mary, and Shella, who lived close by the North Pole. Santa said,

'Children please go look for Star. The elves are sad and angry. Hurry!'

The children rode on the reindeer and went to Halloween Town to find if they had stolen the Star. They tied the reindeer's reins on the trees and arrived at the Halloween Town.

It was freezing, scary, and huge. The creatures did not look at the children as if they were from a different city. The children wore dark colored cloaks with hoods. The houses were old and dirty with spider webs. Only a few were human in Halloween Town. They asked every house if they have seen a white cat named Star. But one witch told them that no one carries a cat in this town, but saw a child holding a black cat. Tony and Mary thought it was just a boy who loved cats, but Shella thought it was very strange. Shella asked where the boy went and she answered,

'That way by the Pumpkin house.'

Tony, Mary, and Shella entered the Pumpkin house next. The house was dusty, old, and eerie. The three children asked,

'Have you seen a boy with a black cat?'

Then the wizard said,

'Yes, I certainly have.'

The children asked where the boy was. The wizard said that he would only tell them if they cleaned one of the rooms. The room he asked us to clean was the dirtiest room in the house. They cleaned the room and the wizard showed the boy changing the black cat into a white one in a house with a pumpkin on top of the roof. Then they knew that the cat was Star, the only white cat in the world.

When the three children went into the dark forest to find the house, they met a ghost. Mary asked,

'Excuse me, Mr. Ghost, do you know where the house with a pumpkin on top of the roof?'

The ghost answered,

'No, but I know where the wise owl can tell you that.'

The three children then asked where, and the ghost said,

'I will tell you only if you call my puppy, Oreos. He can't come to me because he can't sense the sound of my voice since I am the ghost.'

Tony called Oreos and a dog came happily running to the ghost. Ghost told them to go on the path with pine cones on the ground until the owl comes to them.

The path was straight with pine cones until they met the yellow-eyed owl. Mary asked,

'Are you the wise owl?'

He echoed,

'Yes, and are you looking for a boy who has a cat and a house with the pumpkin on top?'

They answered yes to the owl with their eyes wide open.

The owl echoed,

'Pick berries from this bush into the basket until it is full. Then I will tell you where the house is.'

The three children's hands were blue from picking the blueberries for a while. The basket was full and the owl led the way to the house. The children ran to the house. The house was bright unlike the others. Shella said finally with a big relief and rang the bell.

A boy, about same ages as the three children, opened the door and welcomed them into his house.

'What can I do for you guys?' asked the boy.

'We are looking for a white cat named Star and we know she's here with you.'

Shella added, 'Why did you take her without permission?'

The boy answered, 'I'm sorry I didn't mean to. It was just that Star was the only white cat in any town and it looks just like my cat that ran away. Then I heard that there was another white cat named Star in North Pole so I took her. I will give her back only if I can stay with Star.'

Shella told the boy, 'Well... that's not really up to us. It's up to Santa, the cat's owner, but we could get you to meet him.'

'Oh,' the boy said, 'Ok, let's go.'

The boy rode the reindeer with Tony and the others. They hurried to the North Pole.

Just as an elf was going to break Santa's house, he stopped and was happy. Then, every elf was changing. They were all happy and went back to work. Santa thanked all of them and asked who this boy was. Before the three children could say anything the boy said,

'My name is Chris and I was the one who took Star. I didn't know what would happen to the elves if the Star was gone. I'm sorry. I wanted to ask if I can live in this town by Star.'

Santa smiled and said, 'Of course!'

After that day Chris moved to the North Pole and was one of the neighbors with Tony. Chris promised to not to steal anything again and North Pole was happy once again.

'Grandpa, there was a girl named Mary, my name!' exclaimed Mary.

'I told you that story because it had your name in it,' spoke Grandpa, 'how was the story?'

'It was really interesting.'

'Now go pack your things for tomorrow since you're going home. Your parents will come to pick you up in the morning,' said Grandpa.

'Yes sir,' she went to go pack her things.

She came back to the table for dinner. They ate dinner and went to bed. In the morning Mary's parents came to pick her up. Mary said before she went in the car,

'Grandpa, tell me more stories when I come to your house. It was fun.'

Grandpa replied, 'I will and I had fun too.'

Mary's mom said, 'Thanks for watching my daughter.'

'You're welcome.'

They said bye and left. Mary was excited to meet her grandpa next time.

(July 2008)

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Biily

By Taylor, 14

It was a chilly, stormy, December day in northern Arizona. Dylan was bored out of his mind while his mom got ready to go to the grocery store. Dylan was 10 years old and had brown hair. He was short for his age, but he stood out and had a curious personality. Dylan jumped off the couch as his mom came out of her bedroom,

'Make sure you let no one in this house while I'm gone sweetie.'

'Okay Mom,' Dylan yelled back.

There was nothing to do in the old fashioned home. The whole house was a boring plain white color. There were only three bedrooms and it was very small. Dylan wished he could have gone outside, but he couldn't. When his mom left he turned the loud T.V. on and watched some cartoons.

As Dylan was flipping through the channels he came across a golf tournament that was being held. That's how he got the brilliant idea of setting up his own miniature golf course in the house.

'This is going to be great,' Dylan said to himself.

Dylan started in the back hall and ended in the kitchen. He set up chairs, blankets and blockages to make the course more interesting. While he was getting his miniature clubs he was very ecstatic to play.

Dylan was doing great as he came to the seventh hole in the dining area. As Dylan lifted the club to his neck to swing, he was in trouble. When he swung the club around to hit the ball, the club went flying across the room and straight into the china set. Dylan stood there in shock. He walked over to the china set and saw all of his mom's favorite dishes broken in pieces.

'Oh, great. I am in so much trouble!' Dylan said aloud, 'what am I going to do?'

Dylan sat on the couch. He came up with many excuses. He looked over at the back door as his dog came through the little opening soaking wet from the rain. Dylan thought he could get away with blaming it on the dog. He would say that the dog ran right into the china set and knocked everything over. Dylan felt guilty about what he was going to do, but he still didn't want to get in trouble.

When Dylan heard the garage door open he got extremely nervous. He was hoping his mom would buy his excuse. His mom walked through the door and into the dinning area with shock and she dropped everything she had in her arms.

'What in the world happened in here?'

'Uhh..the dog ran into the china set?'

'Don't lie to me Dylan.'

'I'm not I swear!'

'Go to your room and when you can tell me the truth you can come out of your room.'

'But Mom.'

'Don't argue with me. Go!

'Man, this sucks!' Dylan said lying on his bed, 'what am I going to do? I can't leave my room or go outside,' Dylan thought to himself.

Dylan sat up off his bed and decided to get a board game from his closet. Right when Dylan put his hand on the closet door, he heard a noise from inside.

'Whoa?! What was that?' Dylan exclaimed.

He backed from the closet. Confused, Dylan reached for the door again. He slowly started to slide the closet door open.

Despite the fact that he heard a strange noise, he opened the closet all the way. To Dylan's surprise nothing was there. He reached up for his game and began to close the closet door. He turned around and screamed.

'Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!'

There was a boy about Dylan's age standing right before him. He was as tall as Dylan too and had blond hair.

'Who are you?'

'The name's Billy,' said the strange boy.

'Okay, well where did you come from?'

'That doesn't matter; I'm only here for one reason.'

'And why is that?'

'What are you doing in here and not outside with your friends?'

'I got in trouble,' murmured Dylan.

'What?'

'I got in trouble,' Dylan said clearly.

'Now, why did you get in trouble?' asked Billy.

'I broke my mom's favorite china and then blamed it on the dog,' said Dylan.

Dylan set down the board game and sat on his bed. Billy walked over to the door and began to turn the doorknob.

'Wait, where are you going?' exclaimed Dylan,' you can't go out there.'

'Well, why not?' asked Billy.

'Because my mom will see you and I can't have any friends' over,' said Dylan.

'Don't worry about it. She won't even see me,' Billy yelled as he ran through the door and into the kitchen.

Dylan ran after him and as soon as he got to the kitchen he heard a glass shatter and watched Billy stand there while Dylan's mom came running through the hallway.

Dylan's mom was speechless and didn't know what to say.

'Mom, I can explain.'

'Save it Dylan,' she said, 'first it's my favorite china set, and now it's one of our dinner dishes. What is going on with you?'

'It wasn't me, Mom, I promise!' explained Dylan.

'Here we go again. Then who was it Dylan a ghost?'

'No it was Billy,' pointed Dylan.

'Dylan, you are really scaring me,' his mom said, 'who is Billy and who are you pointing at?'

'I'm pointing at Billy; I mean he is standing right there.'

'Okay, this is normal, he has an imaginary friend,' she said to herself.

Dylan was sent back to his room and was grounded for another day. He couldn't understand why his mom couldn't see Billy and he could. When he walked into his bedroom he shut the door behind him. He looked up and saw Billy sitting on his bed.

'What's with the face?' wondered Billy.

'Why did you get me in trouble again? I didn't even do it this time!' exclaimed Dylan.

'It slipped out of my hand,' said Billy.

'Then why didn't you stand up for me and tell my mom it was you?'

'Why did you lie to your mom and blame what you did on your dog?

After Billy asked Dylan why he didn't tell the truth in the first place, there was complete silence. Then Billy decided that it was time to tell Dylan what he was all about.

'Dylan, there is something I need to tell you.'

'Okay?'

'The only reason why I am here is because when kids get in trouble and don't tell the truth, I am sent to get you to tell the truth.'

'Okay, but why can't anyone see you but me?'

'Don't you get it? I have to get you in trouble so you well fess up and tell her the truth and when you do, your mom will forget what happened with the dish as if I never existed, so basically, I am your 'imaginary friend.'

'Oh okay, got it.'

When Billy was done explaining everything Dylan was quit shocked. Then he walked out the door to tell his mother the truth about what happened.

'Mom?'

'Yeah honey?'

'The dog didn't break your china set it was me.'

'Thank you for letting me know this, I really appreciate it.'

'I am also sorry about the cup in the kitchen.'

'What cup?'

'Never mind.'

When Dylan was done confessing he ran into his room and yelled,

'Billy it worked she didn't remember about the cup and I'm not grounded because I told the truth about the china set!'

'Billy, you there?'

At that moment Dylan realized that Billy's job was done and he had left. Billy learned that if you lie constantly then when you are telling the truth no one will take you seriously.

(July 2008)

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Preston the Magical French Fry

By Jake, 14

Once upon a time there was a tall, brown haired kid named Benjamin walking through a deep forest. All of a sudden he tripped over a McDonald's box. When he kicked it, a French fry came flying out at mach speed. Benjamin went over to see what it was; he picked up a leaf and looked under it. He saw a golden, crispy French fry. All of a sudden the French fry started talking to Ben.

The French fry shouted,

'My name is Preston, and I'm a magical French fry.'

Ben ran home so quickly, he was home in no time. He ran upstairs in a heartbeat.

'Mom, Mom, Mom you will never believe what I found!'

Of course Benjamin was so excited; he took the French fry to his friend Jake's house, without finishing telling his mom about it.

'No way!' Jake exclaimed.

'I know, and it's our little secret,' Benjamin whispered.

The next day of school, Benjamin and Jake were acting like they had ants in their pants. The day ticked by very slowly for them. All they wanted to do was go play with Preston. But they didn't realize that Preston was magical, and he was going to turn their worlds upside down

Ben went home that day and played with Preston.

'Preston,' Benjamin said, 'do you have any special powers?'

'Well,' Preston said slowly, 'I can do something.'

Benjamin sat on the edge of his seat, waiting for Preston to tell him.

'I can grant you three wishes,' Preston said nervously, and with that said, Benjamin knew exactly what he was going to wish for.

Benjamin ran downstairs and ran right back up.

'Preston, for my first wish I would like a new skateboard,' shouted Benjamin.

Preston wiggled his whole body until magical dust started coming off of him. All of a sudden a brand new skateboard appeared.

Benjamin had a couple of wishes floating in his mind, but he could not figure out which one would be the best. But he had an idea.

'I wish I had a million dollars,' Benjamin said.

Preston made him one million dollars richer. The money started falling into his house, and Benjamin was running around trying to catch it.

Benjamin was thinking hard about his last wish, and he had an idea.

'I wish I had 20 more friends,' Benjamin yelled.
Preston started wiggling and worked his magic. Then, all of a sudden the phone started to ring a bunch of times. They all left messages asking Benjamin if he would come outside to play with them.

Benjamin went outside and there were 20 friends, all ready to do whatever Benjamin wanted to do. But then Benjamin realized they weren't really his friends. They were just basically clones, that all did the same thing. He wasn't making real friends, he was wishing for the wrong thing. He realized he had made a big mistake on his wishes and now he was alone.

'Mom,' said Benjamin, 'have you ever made friends for the wrong reasons?'

Benjamin's mom knew exactly what he was talking about and she talked to Ben about it and told him to go to school the next day and meet some new people. So the next day Benjamin went to school and made seven new friends. This time they were real friends.

Preston was still at Benjamin's house, and he was exhausted. He had been granting Benjamin wishes all day yesterday. Benjamin came home and apologized to Preston. Then, something happened to Preston. When Ben came home from school the next day, Preston was gone, and he left a note.

Dear Benjamin,

I have gone back home to my box. It was fun but I have to go.

From, Preston

Benjamin was sad for the next couple of days, and didn't know what to do for fun, now that Preston was gone. He had realized a couple of things since Preston had left. You should make friends, not by them, and also that rich people don't always have it all. Benjamin learned to be a good kid and grew up smart.

(July 2008)




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The Broken Banjo

By Darlene, 13

A long time ago in the mountains lived a small village of mountain men and women. The village was green had rolling hills, mountains and lots of large trees. Also, the mountain people were amazing musicians. Their best were three young children, Delaydis, Luke, and Lily Rose.

Delaydis is a beautiful mountain girl and she was the village's favorite singer in all the land. Delaydis had long, red, curly hair and always wore her favorite skirt. She was also really thin and had flawless light skin, and her singing voice was flawless as the most amazing sunset in summer.

'She sings like a bloomin' flower in the first mornin' of spring,' all the mountain people would cry.

You'd hear all the children say,

'Her voice is as pure as the water in the creek on the highest mountain.'

Delaydis was a singer, that was her favorite thing to do.

Now, Lily Rose wasn't the prettiest girl in all the land, not like Delaydis, that is. She had frizzy dark hair that she always wore in pigtails, and she was thin and pale, but her dancing, now that was a show to see! Lily-Rose could dance and stomp till your cattle came on home! Oh, and she sure did!

'Lily-Rose, that girl can dance!' you'd hear the whole small town say.

'That girl dances like the leaves blowin' in the wind,' the mountain people would exclaim.

Lily rose danced every day and every night! Lily-Rose was a dancer, which was her favorite thing to do.

Any girl in the village knew Luke. He had the prettiest face you ever could see. With his dark hair, greenest of green eyes and of course his freckles perfectly set like little polka-dots. Not only that, but that boy could play his banjo like you never did hear.

'Luke's banjo makes the angels sing in the heaven above,' all the children would say.

'Luke's playing is so beautiful; he could bring the sun in a rainy day with one strum of that thing!' That's what everyone said about his banjo playing.

Luke was a Banjo player, which was his favorite thing to do.

Now everyone in the village knows about the traditional harvest. The harvest had food and music and lots of beautiful colors. You could smell the harvest celebration from miles away with all the sweet pies, and dinners created from all the jolly families. It was a time for celebration and joy. Delaydis, Lily Rose, and Luke would perform of course, they were the towns favorite act.

One day the three were practicing for the celebration. Delaydis was singing along, Lily-Rose was dancing her heart out, and Luke was playing his troubles away. As Luke was playing, the beautiful, wooden banjo made a strange noise. PLING! The strings flew off and suddenly the banjo snapped right in half! What were the three going to do!

It was finally the day of the harvest celebration! The whole town had been preparing all day, cooking, sewing, cleaning, singing, and much more! The entire town was happy and excited. Except for Delaydis, Lily-Rose, and Luke, that is. They were still really worried about the performance.

'What are we going to do!?' asked lily-rose

'There's no way we're goin' on stage with out Luke's banjo!' said Delaydis, while looking at the destroyed banjo.

'Come on were not that bad with out me,' reassured Luke.

'Let's try practicin' without Luke, and see what we sound like,' said Lily-Rose, with a skeptical look on her face.

So they tried it. It sounded good but something was missing.

'It sounds so empty,' Delaydis said.

'We really do need you,' Lily Rose announced.

'Well you know that it takes too long to make a whole new banjo!' yelled Luke with an angry face.

'I know!' hollered Delaydis, 'Luke could borrow one.'

Luke suddenly face suddenly turned completely worried and scared. The two girls were so scared that he would suddenly burst into tears. So Delaydis and Lily Rose just waited for Luke's answer.

'Well how about it?' asked Lily-rose, ' my Grand-Daddy has a real nice one I'm sure he'll let you use it.'

'No!' Luke yelled, 'that was my favorite banjo, and it can't be replaced!'

Again, the three felt like the entire world was at an end! They weren't going to perform for their favorite party of the year and this was a tragedy to them.

The three sat around the small creek that ran through the center of the most gorgeous forest in all the land thinking all day, while everyone else was preparing for the big night.

'Well, let's go on stage and pretend you're playin' then maybe nobody will notice that you don't have a banjo!' said Lily Rose.

'Lily Rose, do you honestly think nobody will notice there is no banjo?'

'Well, you never know!'

'Okay girls just stop arguing'!' yelled Luke, 'maybe we could fix it.'

'But how could we fix a broken banjo?'

'Maybe we could tie the end to the front and it will be stuck together, then we could add some glue and it will be fixed!'

'Let me run back to my house we have real good yarn and some fancy glue there I'm sure that would work!' said Lily Rose.

As Lily Rose ran away Delaydis and Luke stayed in silence. They both doubted that this would work, but in order for them to get what the wanted they must think positive.

When Lily Rose came back the sun was already half way down! When the sun goes down that's when the celebration would be about to begin! So, when Lily-Rose came back she knelt down on the floor.

'Banjo please,' ordered Lily-Rose.

Lily-rose was hesitating to tie the yarn.

'Maybe you should do it Delaydis, I always mess things up and I don't want to break it anymore than it already is,' said Lily-rose.

'No Lily Rose, we must work together,' said Delaydis, 'how about I tie the yarn to the strings, Luke you hold the other side down and put the glue on the rim, and Lily Rose you make sure it doesn't slide down the hill and land in the water of the creek.'

So they did everything Delaydis said with precaution, and all of a sudden the banjo looked good as new!

The banjo was fixed and the three were ready to practice. The three played and played and it sounded better than ever!

'We have practiced enough let's go back and help get ready for the big night!' said Luke.

Nervously, the three split up taking their instruments with them.

When the celebration was ready to start, the three of the kids were waiting their turn to head up unto the big, wooden stage. They were all so nervous that maybe the banjo would break or something else might happen. When the lights came on the three entered the stage, the whole town was yelping, hollering, and cheering. Luke began to play, Delaydis began to sing, and of course, Lily-Rose began to dance. The three were awesome! After the three best songs they knew how to play, Luke's banjo started sounding kind of strange. PLING! The glue came undone and yarn flew off, making the metal strings fly off. The whole banjo came crashing to the wooden floor for the second time!

Luke stood there in embarrassment, Delaydis stopped singing, and Lily-rose looked really confused and stopped dancing. The three didn't know what to do. The whole crowd kept cheering them on and keeping the rhythm. Then Delaydis started to sing again this time, better than ever before and Lily-Rose started to dance again. Then Luke picked up the broken instrument off of the floor and began to pretend to strum the banjo strings that were now no longer there.

The three of the friends played all night long till the sun came up! Everyone noticed that the banjo was broken, but it didn't even matter with the smiles on Delaydis, Lily Rose, and Luke's faces. Everything worked out wonderfully, and the three learned that when you work together anything can be accomplished. It was their best harvest celebration ever!

(July 2008)

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Skippy the Hero Dog

By Sydney, 14

On the chilly winter morning of Christmas, in an old frosted town of Indiana, Leslie Summers woke up, and excitingly scrambled out of her bed. She couldn't wait for this morning all year, to open up her big red present with a Golden Retriever puppy inside. Once she got to the bottom of the stairs she immediately knew she got her puppy, because there were big air holes cut into the top of a wrapped present, which was under the Christmas tree. She ran to the box and opened it faster than she thought she could. Leslie was a short six year old brunette who had begged for a puppy all her life, and now she finally got one.

Her puppy was a little smaller than she was. It had big blue eyes, and a golden fur coat with floppy ears. Leslie held the puppy in her lap and tried to think of a name she would call him. She decided that Skippy would be the perfect name for her dog because he was the color of her favorite brand of peanut butter. He was everything she ever wanted. A couple of minutes later, Leslie's parents came downstairs. Her dad was holding her baby brother Ryan, and her mom holding her baby sister Sydney. Ryan and Sydney were her two year old twin siblings. When her whole family was under the tree, she thanked them, for the most amazing gift ever.

After two days of having Skippy, Leslie played with him and taught him all of the rules she wanted him to know. Her number one rule was staying out of the front yard because the Johnson's dog next door was recently kidnapped. Leslie trusted Skippy by the end of the week because he always listened to her. In three days she was leaving on a vacation to Hawaii and she was going to bring him. She was very excited to show her family her brand new puppy.

Leslie had soccer practice and she decided she would let Skippy stay in the back yard since there was a gate blocking the front yard. She kissed Skippy's head and told him she would see him in two hours when she got back. Skippy took a nap in the shade, under a tree. Twenty minutes went by and he woke up from hearing a cat's meow, and immediately ran to the gate and barked. The cat was teasing him a lot and moved away from Skippy slowly. Upset, Skippy dug a hole under the gate and chased the cat into the front yard. Skippy was right behind the cat when it ran up a tree. Skippy barked some more when he felt something pick him up, and then he was stuck into the back of a van.

Leslie came back with her family from soccer practice and went immediately into the backyard to get Skippy.

'MOM! DAD! SKIPPY ISN'T IN THE BACKYARD!' Leslie frantically screamed.

'Honey, are you sure Skippy isn't hiding in the house?' Mrs. Summers asked.

'NO! Mom I've looked everywhere!' Leslie screamed back.

When Leslie went into the back yard to look for Skippy again, she found a note that said:

Summers family:
Come over to my house when you read this note it's an emergency.
-Johnsons

Leslie and her family went over to their neighbors. Linda Johnson answered the door and said,

'I'm so sorry Leslie, but when I was watering my flowers I saw Skippy in the front yard, then a tall thin man grabbed him and put him into a white van. I called the police, they are inside.'

Leslie dropped to the ground in tears. Her dad picked her up and brought her inside.

The police were sitting down at the Johnson's dinner table when the Summers walked in. They told the Summers that they believed the people that took Skippy are the same people that took the Johnson's dog. The Summers described Skippy to the police, in hope they would find Skippy.

Skippy was terrified. He was all alone in a cold basement in the dark. There were two men that were smoking cigars and playing cards.

'That's a good one you got, Harry,' Chandler said, with joy.

'Thanks, this is way better than the mutt we got from their neighbors,' Harry replied, laughing.

Skippy laid down and cried. He didn't know what else to do. Harry and Chandler got really close to him, so he bit both of them and barked. He bit Chandler on his arm and Harry on his hand. Harry grabbed Skippy and threw him upstairs, then out of the house, into an alley. Skippy was badly hurt, so he limped up to a wall and laid against it.

'I'm not dealing with a dog that bites,' Chandler huffed.

'He will have to find his way home, or end up dead on the road,' Harry chuckled.

Leslie couldn't get to sleep without Skippy. She knew something bad happened to him, she could feel it in her heart.

'Leslie, what are you doing awake? It's three in the morning.'

'Mom I can't sleep without Skippy. I can't stop thinking about him.'

'Oh, honey. I know Skippy will be okay, but if he's not, you know it's not your fault.'

'Yes it is! I should have trained him better! If I would have been tougher on him then he wouldn't have done this in the first place! And now I can't bring him to Hawaii and show the family. It's my entire fault!'

'Leslie, I'm going to tell you this one more time. It is not your fault. Skippy wasn't being a good listener and he went into the front yard. He will find his way home honey, I know he will. Now go to sleep because we're leaving for Hawaii tomorrow. I'm sorry, there's nothing more we can do but sit and wait.'

Leslie's mom kissed her goodnight and shut the door behind her.

The next day, Linda Johnson was grocery shopping when she saw a golden dog sleeping against a wall. She knew it was Skippy and ran as fast as she could to retrieve him. When she walked over to him, he looked very sick, so she took him to the vet, and then home to her house. She knocked on the Summers front door, and remembered that they went to Hawaii for a week. Disappointed she didn't have their cell phone numbers, she took Skippy to her house. Skippy thought that she was kidnapping him, so he growled at Linda and almost bit her. She set him inside the laundry room with food and water and decided she wouldn't visit him until morning, because she didn't want to frighten him.

Chandler and Harry went back to the Summer's neighborhood late at night to see if there was another dog they could steal, when they noticed that there was a note left on the Summer's front door. The note read:

Summer's
If you find out any news on Skippy, please contact us!

They knew that the Summer's were out of town. Instead of stealing dogs, they thought they would steal valuables.

'Harry this front door won't open!' Chandler said angrily.

'Well it's locked! Let's try the backdoor,' Harry responded.

'I can't believe that stupid dog lived in such a nice house.'

'Yes, a nice house with valuables!'

When Harry and Chandler walked in the first thing they saw on the table was a picture of a little girl holding the dog that they kidnapped. It was Skippy.

'They defiantly miss that dog!' Chandler said.

'Yeah, I have no idea why!' Harry said, feeling his cut that Skippy gave him.

'Okay now I will go upstairs, Chandler, you should look for money in the dining room or for something that is valuable.'

Harry went upstairs and looked through Leslies room. There was nothing in there that he thought was expensive. Next he went into Leslie's parents room. He was in the middle of looking, then all of a sudden he heard the sound of glass breaking on the ground.

Skippy woke up from the noise that came from next door. He knew that something was wrong, so he jumped out of the laundry room window and headed to his house. He climbed through the hole he made under his gate and leaped into the back door that was left open by Chandler. Once he saw a man inside, he tackled him onto the ground. Harry came running downstairs and tried to grab Skippy off of Chandler. Skippy bit Harry, and continued to keep Chandler on the ground. All of a sudden another figure walked into the room.

Skippy could feel someone pick him up, and take him off of Chandler. The lights came on and Skippy could see that the figure was Linda Johnson's husband, Danny. Danny picked up Chandler by his arms and threw him into the backyard. When Chandler landed in the grass, two police men picked him up and he was instantly handcuffed.

Harry could hear the police cars in the front yard, so he ran upstairs into Leslie's room. He then hid into the closet, in hopes that the police would not find out that he was there. When he closed the closet door he could hear footsteps running up the stairs. All of a sudden, Harry could hear scratching on the door, and then the door opened. Harry screamed at the police while he was getting dragged down the stairs. He too was handcuffed now as well, and put into the back of a police car.

The Summers got a call from the Johnsons, and hopped on the next plane home from Hawaii. When they got home the police, the Johnsons, and Skippy were waiting for them at their house. When Leslie saw Skippy she ran as fast as she could to him and grabbed him off the ground.

'I will never let anything bad happen to you again, Skippy!' Leslie cried.

The police were sitting down at the kitchen table and began to explain what happened.

'I just don't understand how they got into the house,' Mr. Summers exclaimed.

'Sir, they broke the lock on the back door,' the police explained.

'But, they would have probably gotten away with this burglary if it wasn't for your dog, Skippy. He saved your whole house,' the police officer said, while motioning to the Johnsons to tell the Summer family the rest of the story.

'You see, I heard Skippy jump out of the laundry room window to come to your house. He must have heard something going on there. Then I woke up Danny, and told him to check it out. We could hear noise in your backyard, so we went into it, and called the police. The back door was open and Danny saw Skippy on top of one of the crooks, and pulled him off.'

'Wow, Skippy is a hero!' Leslie joyfully exclaimed.

'Now you need to be careful and take care of this dog, there are a lot of responsibilities to a dog,' the police man said with a smile on his face.

(July 2008)

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Not a Present You Can Open

By Tara & Brandea, 14

In Sunbury, Pennsylvania everything's the same, the perfectly cut lawns, freshly painted houses, over bubbly mothers driving their energy conserving minivans all around town! Well that is everything but my family. We drive a gas guzzling suburban, live in a house that's surrounded with over grown grass, and have I mentioned we are a bit eccentric. Compared to the other mothers in the area my mom was not the cashmere sweater type or one to have perfectly blown out hair after toting the kids all around. I was young but I could still pick up anything but slight differences. My father, well, he was always traveling so I never really got to compare him to the others.

When you are eight, nine months seems like an eternity, it is three fourths of a year, 270 days. This time can be doubled when you are waiting for your little brother to be born. I thought those nine months would never end. The baby showers and parties, the gifts, and the extremely overexcited relatives, it all lasted nine months way too long. In the end you would think I would receive some sort of prize for having survived this time, but no. I didn't. Instead I got a smelly, screaming, attention hog of a brother. The name of this problem is Liam. As you can probably tell I'm not too warmed up to the idea of having a new brother to share the household with.

Of course life goes on. I learned to accept the fact that no, my parents would not give Liam to the circus, and not many people are willing to buy your little brother when you put him on the corner of your street with a sign around his neck that says, 'Brother for Sale'. Therefore, by accepting this fate of being a big sister I learned to ignore Liam to the best of my ability. However, your patience can only be stretched so far before you snap. So it's no surprise that eventually I was stretched too thin and inevitably I broke. This happened in less than five minutes I had started to get ready for the first day of school. In this time Liam had managed to cover me in grape juice, put Cheerios in my hair, and cover my shoes in slobber. This in fact was my undoing, my breaking point.

'MOMMM!!!' I screamed at the top of my lungs,' he ruins everything!' I said, in a huff.

'Why did he ever have to be born?' I said without thinking.

'Honey, lets just settle down,' my mom said, attempting to calm me down, 'he is your little brother and like it or not he is here to stay, we will talk about this later, and if you don't hurry up you're going to be late for school.'

My mother then forced me to wear the horrid sweater my grandmother had made me for Christmas. My mother of course said it didn't matter what I wore, but I knew differently. All the other kids would have nice new school clothes, and I would be wearing something so old it smelt like cottage cheese. While I headed off to the bus stop I was all but excited for my first day of school.

RING!!! RING!!!

I tip toed into class moments after the tardy bell rang.

'Hello, welcome to the first day of third gr',' Mrs. Arnold's welcome speech was cut short by my entering, 'well hello, are you running late today?' she asked, with an almost undetectable twinge of annoyance.

'Yes Mrs. Arnold, I am sorry it's just my little brother was playing with my mom's keys and she couldn't find them and she was rushing and well, I'm sorry,' I replied, taking a deep breath after realizing I was clearly rambling.

I looked around the room and suddenly felt the spotlights, all eyes were on me. Wow, this is a great way to start the day. I thought to myself.
'It is okay I will let it slide for today, but please try to be on time tomorrow. For now though we need to get you a seat.'

She paused to look around the room scanning for possible seats.

'Hmm looks like we have a seat for you right here next to my desk,' Mrs. Arnold announced.

Great I thought to myself, it's only the first day and she already thinks I am a trouble maker. With the day off to the most amazing start I could not wait for recess. This was the time where I got to hangout with friends, play games, and best of all I get to run. Running is the best feeling in the world to me, the wind in my curly hair, the feeling of being untouchable. You are moving so fast closing the gap between you and an object in the distance. Coming closer and closer, and then your there. I love the feeling. However, this recess was different. This recess I would be doing more friend making than running.

'Hey! What's up girl,' I heard the yell form somewhere in the distance unable to make out the source.

That is until there was a right-out-of-the-salon-shiny brown haired, green eyed, sun kissed tanned girl appeared in front of me. Her name was Becky. Fashion was her main interest and man did she known a ton about it! I was in such awe over Becky that I hardly noticed the girl standing slightly behind her. With Becky's fashion sense she could have been the cutest girl in school, even compared to Becky herself. Unfortunately Dee Dee didn't have the personality for that.

Dee Dee was the girl that would rather spend a rainy day inside reading a book than running around being spontaneous and getting soaking wet. She was the only kid in the class with a 100%. It was the first day of school and she was wearing an outfit a blind person picked out. Her blonder than blonde hair was tied back in a bun, and her perfectly muscular body hidden behind a long knee length black corduroy skirt with a white button down shirt with a plaid vest draped over. She of course could have cared less, but Becky couldn't stand the horrible fashion sense.

'Hey Annabelle, how do like the class this year so far?' said Becky, 'the teacher is such a meany; I mean you were just a few minutes late. And what are you wearing? Didn't you try to burn that last year?' she said, finally realizing she was rambling.

'Um, ya sure I guess she's ok but she didn't let me explain why I was late,' I replied, trying to be as nice as possible, 'my little brother spilled his whole breakfast on me this morning so I had to change into this stupid thing,' I replied, feeling a little hurt by her last comment.

I knew I looked bad but when your best friend thinks so, you have hit an all-time low.

'Math was so stupid today, I mean, I've already gone over multiplication three times this year,' exclaimed Dee Dee, ' I mean does she think we are stupid or something?'

Dee Dee has never understood that many people aren't as smart as her. She would be the girl asking why she was the only one able to get into Harvard.

After recess we all went back to cram whatever else the teachers wanted us to know. Mrs. Arnold was especially sour and would not call on me or answer any of my questions. I was able to leave school with only a smidge of dignity left. When I got home things were not any better. Mom was too busy tending to Liam that she didn't even ask how the first day was. In fact she didn't say a word to me till my dad came home and we ate dinner.

'Mom I can't believe you didn't even care how my first day was!' I cried, 'you don't even care!'


'I care, you just know that I have been busy lately,' said my mother, 'Liam is just such a handful. You know I care,' she said.

Then Liam did something no one ever expected, he said his first word and I bet you would never guess what it was.

'Annubwell,' mumbled Liam. Then as if, to irk me more, he smiled the biggest smile I had ever seen. He was practically laughing at me.

'My goodness did you hear that he said his first word?!' screamed my mom, 'where is the camera? I need to capture this moment. You know I'm going to start a scrapbook,' she explained.

Then something hit me, my brother had just said his first word and I mattered enough for my name to be his first. At that moment in time my brother was the most important thing to me. I had come full circle. A month ago I would have been trying to sell him on a street corner but now all I wanted to do is hold him, cuddle him, and tell him how much I loved him. Then I did just that. The shock that registered on my parents face was a once in a lifetime sight. I was truly happy.
(July 2008)

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The Big Challenge

By Josh, 14

There I was, heading to camp Pali. I know the camp is fun because I have been there 2 other times. The camp has around 30 different specialties including Secret Agent camp, Hollywood stunts, water sports and a whole lot more. My name is Josh and I am going with my friend Aidan.

When we finally arrive at camp everyone is extremely happy to see so many familiar faces. All of us were so happy; we were all talking at the same time and I did not hear a word anyone was saying.

The camp is surrounded by trees and cities that are not visible and are miles away. The camp was on Pali Mountain next to Running Springs, California and it was June 27, 2007.

After we got our cabin numbers we went and put our bags next to our bunk beds. Once we got settled in we met our cabin counselors. Every counselor has a fake name and ours counselors names were Yogi Bear and Bomber.

We went to the lake to hang out and see if there were any fish. The lake was huge. We were there for about an hour or two. About the whole time we were there we skipped rocks. Aidan got the rock to skip the most.

The next morning we set out on a hike into the wilderness. This was a part of the special ops camp. The part of this hike that we had to succeed in was getting a counselor back to camp.

The counselor pretended to be hurt and we had to put him on a stretcher and carry him back to camp. The hard part was that we had to defend ourselves from people who would attack us with paintball guns. The next morning someone in our group got attacked by the people trying to stop us.

Counselor said, 'Look, ducks!'

The group was getting very angry and people were starting to argue. It was getting dark and the group started turning on their lanterns.

Half the group stayed with the counselor and other person, the other half kept watch in case the people with paintball guns came back to attack us again.

About twenty minutes later. Aidan and I came running into camp yelling,

'They're right behind us!' and, 'they're after us!'

The group was in red alert! Aidan and I grabbed our paintball guns, turned on headlamps.

We could see our opponents because they had their flashlights waving from tree to tree. Suddenly I realized they didn't want the element of surprise at all. Then I knew why, if they were weak their lights would be off.

All these lights meant only one thing and Aidan was scared stiff because I knew what it was. The lights weren't looking for us, the lights were guiding the way for something big, and that something big was headed straight for us!

Suddenly I saw what at first would be mistaken for a sunset but the light was coming from the east. I knew all to well what that meant. It was a giant fire heading for us!

I yelled, 'Fire!'

Instantly the Counselor was yelling,

'Run to the fire shelter house!'

10 minutes later every single kid was in the shelter. It was kind of loud because people were panting, talking, and crying.

Later that evening there was sirens outside.

People were yelling,

'Get the base part of the fire'.

The next morning the fire was all put out and barely anyone had gotten any sleep. A few fire fighters came in and told us to call our parents.

When it was my turn I dialed my dad's phone. When he answered I said,

'Dad, there was a small fire and you need to come pick us up.'

He said, 'Alright when do we have to be their?'

Then I replied, 'I think by the end of tomorrow.'

He said, 'Ok, see you tomorrow.'

We both said bye and I hung up. Later that night when we needed to go to bed neither Aidan nor I could sleep, so we started to talk. About thirty minutes later Aidan actually passed out right there on the floor, I started to laugh. I just left him there and I went to my bunk and went to sleep. That morning we had woken up and started to pack. When my dad came he said,

'Are you guys ok?'

We all replied, 'Yes we're fine.'

He said, 'Good, are you guys ready to go?'

Aidan said, 'Yes, we're ready.'

On the way home we talked about what had happened. Even though some unfortunate events went on at this camp, we never stopped going to that strange camp called camp Pali.
(July 2008)

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Bell The Flying Penguin

By Jacob, 13

There once was a penguin named Bell Flop, but all her friends called her Belly Flop. Bell lived in the cold continent of Antarctica, she was 3'7 and was a little taller than most of her friends, she had a blue bow that she always wore on top of her hairless head and had the biggest sea blue eyes and dark black, oily fur. But back to the story, Bell got her nickname because she was the best diver around, and could do any flip tricks before belly flopping without a problem. She lived in a house completely made out of ice. The windows, the door, even the bushes. She lived in the house with her grandma, her mom, her dad, her grandpa and a pet seal named Joe.

One day her dad came back from work, and there was a tiny brown box on the floor of the house. The box kept making a little tweet sound from inside the box. Then little Bell walked into her ice kitchen to find her dad licking a frozen ice coffee popsicle and she asked him,

'Daddy dearest, could you please tell me what's inside the little box in the living room?' and he replied back to her with the sweetest smile on his face,

'Well, little Bell you do know that tomorrow is your birthday, and I wanted to give you an early gift, because tomorrow I have lots of work and I don't know if I can make it back before eight'o clock.'

Little Bell answered back with a curious expression,
'May I go open it Pa, oh pretty please Daddy?'

'Of course my dear go open it.'

Bell waddled excitedly to the little brown box. She picked it up and put it on the table. As the box was still tweeting she opened the box and had the prettiest smile on her face. It was a little whittle baby robin. Bell expressed it with a,

'OH-MY-GOSH!' Bell was so happy, 'oh, what should I name it Papa?'

'It's up to you Bell,' said her dad.

Bell thought long and hard about what to name her new baby bird. Then she got it.

'I'll call you Wingy!'

Wingy and Bell spent so much time together, and Bell loved Wingy a lot.

'Wingy,' she said, 'you're a great pet and I love you.'

Wingy replied back with a 'Squee Squeek!' and jumped into the air, he spread his wings for joy, but just then a gust of artic wind blew by and took Wingy into the air, and Wingy started flying! He soared through the sky doing loop de loops and barrel rolls and thought,

'This is just wonderful.'

Finally he got tired and landed.

Bell had a depressed expression on her face,

'Sqee?' Wingy said.

Bell saw that he was curious and said,

'I'm sorry I'm sad Wingy, its just I'm a penguin you see and I cannot fly. No matter how hard I try I can't fly, we don't have feathers and we can't do loop de loops. All we can do is slide on our belly's and maybe glide.'

Bell was more distraught than ever now, she had just verbalized her sad tale and was feeling worse, and a little ice tear fell from Bell's eye.

Wingy couldn't stand to see his owner cry, it was horrible and he just couldn't do it, he tried to talk to her no matter how hard it was,

'Sqmaybesqomeoneteachsqeyousqueeeto fly!'

Then Bell asked,

'Who can teach a penguin how to fly?'

Then she thought about all the different birds in the world.

'I bet one could teach me how to fly, then we can fly together!'

Bell was so excited to start her journey. She packed her bags and said good bye to everybody and told all her little penguin friends that when she is back she will be able to fly like Wingy. They we all excited for her, but nobody really believed that she would fly; only Wingy did.

She was looking around the globe trying to find her first destination.

'Ah, South America!' shouted Bell.

The next morning she was on her way. She said good bye to her family and friends, but especially Wingy. All Bell had with her was a 20 dollar bill and one frozen popsicle. While she was walking she noticed that it was getting hotter. But she wasn't going to eat her popsicle yet. She saw a market store on the side of her and ran to the bathroom. As she left she saw two beautiful birds gliding in the air.

'Coool, one of those birds must be nice enough to teach me!' yelled Bell.

Bell then realized that she was hot, so she decided to eat her popsicle, she took it out and was about to take a lick when it turned into liquid and fell onto the ground.

'Is it really that hot here?' Bell wondered.

She decided to buy a water bottle at the store just in case so that she wouldn't go thirsty, so she did and then took a drink, and kept walking, and eventually she got to a forest and found a bunch of nests in the trees,

'I'll just wait till their moms come back and then ask them,' Bell said, aloud and then laid down and went to sleep.

She woke up then wanted to walk around. She took one step, she was falling. She screamed and screamed and screamed! Then Wingy flew next to her and said,

'Fly bell, fly! I believe in you!'
Then bell argued, 'I can't fly, not yet.'

'Just try!' screamed Wingy.

Bell closed her eyes and tried, then she opened her eyes and she was doing it, she was flying! Then Wingy screamed,

'Wall!'

And Bell hit the wall. She then woke up.

'Oh gosh,' she moaned, 'how long have I been sleeping?' and then she looked up and she saw something wonderful, every single bird nest had a bird in it now.

Bell looked at all the trees and saw the nicest and biggest bird in the farthest tree back to the right. She went to that tree and yelled up and said,

'HELLO? May I speak to you down here for a moment please?'

The bird yelled back, 'sure!' and flew down to her.

'Hello there,' Bell said, 'what's your name?'

'I am Farn,' and asked, 'and what is your name?'

Bell replied, 'My name is Bell, Bell Flop.'

While Bell and Farn were talking the toughest and meanest king bird came out.

'Farn!' the king bird screamed, 'who are you speaking with?!'

'Uh-oh,' said Farn, 'it's the king bird. I'm talking to a friend name Bell, she wants to learn how to fly.'

'Hahahahahahaha!' laughed the king bird, 'Bell is a penguin, she can not fly, tell her to leave at once, before I make her leave myself,' said the king bird as he walked back into his cave.

'Sorry Bell, you need to go before he hurts you,' said Farn in a sad low voice.

'I understand, ' said Bell.

'But hey,' said Farn, 'if you still want to learn how to fly, I have a friend name Cuckoo just east from here. Tell him Farn sent you, he will teach you.'

'Thanks Farn,' said Bell.

So Bell went to Australia and got off the plane and was surprised to see that everyone that worked at the airport was a kangaroo. But of course all the people that were getting ready to go were zebra's, lions, and even elephants! Bell thought it was an amazing place to be, but she knew she had to leave the airport so she went back through security and left. And once she got out she was surprised to see it was a little colder here than in South America. So Bell decided to go look for her next teacher and went to the closest payphone and looked in the phonebook and said aloud,

'Cucca, Cucka, Cuckle, Cuckoo there he is,' and called him.

'Hello,' said Cuckoo.

'Hello, my name is Bell. My friend Farn said that you could teach me how to fly. Can you?' said Bell.

'Why not,' Cuckoo said.

Bell was so happy. She couldn't wait. So Cuckoo gave her directions to his bird house, and Bell was on her way. But it was sort of hard to find his bird house because there were so many and they all looked the same to Bell but she finally found it. Cuckoo had a surprised look when he found out she was a penguin but still gladly opened the door and said,

'Come on in!'

So Bell went into his house and it was a nice cozy home. It had pictures of all what she guessed were his students hung on every wall. He had a beautiful bright brown paint on the house and had dark blue furniture and a cozy little TV. She was surprised he could fit all he did inside a bird house. But bell decided to get down to the point,

'Will you teach me to fly?' she said.

Cuckoo replied by saying with a warm smile, 'I can try, here let's go out back and start our lesson.'

Bell said, 'Sure,' and followed him and that's when things got tough.

He made her climb to the top of the tallest tree and told her to jump off and try to fly. Bell replied,

'I can't do it.'

Cuckoo comforted her by saying, 'I believe in you.'

So she tried but failed and hit the ground hard and became unconscious and her dream played over again in slow motion.

But when she woke up, s he was back in the south pole! Her friend had flown her back himself because he was so worried. And she woke up in her home with Wingy pecking her face. And she smiled, but then remembered her journey was a waste of time, and started to cry. But just then her friends rang the doorbell and when she answered it they asked if she wanted to go ice sliding with them. Bell remembered how good she was at ice sliding and did the best of her tricks, and guess what. Wing was jealous.

That day bell learned something. Not everyone is good at everything, but everybody is good at something.

(July 2008)

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The Metallic Guitar

By Carmine,

One day Tony and I were sitting in his room playing on his guitar. He had a red explorer with a diamond steel cover. Tony was 21 years old. His guitar was about 13 years old. There were 2 other guitars in his room, if you included his air guitar. His amp was a Fender 95 Watt Frontman.

Tony lived in New York his entire life. He lived to the east of New York City. He had a small, one storey house because that was all he could afford. Tony's friend's house was about two and a half miles away, so he had to drive to get there. Tony would always try to find gigs to play. He always tried to find inside concerts during the winter and usually got outside shows in summertime.

When he stopped playing his phone rang. He picked it up and it was his manager telling him that his show was canceled.

'You gotta be kidding me!' Tony screamed, 'that was our only chance to perform for a record producer!'

'I'm sorry, Tony, but the owner of the stage found someone he liked better,' his manager pleaded.

After the call, he played for so long that two of his guitar strings broke, one cutting his hand. He drove down to a local guitar shop to buy strings when the store intercom came on.

'We have a new, one of a kind, electric guitar coming in within the next week.'

Tony started thinking. His guitar was getting old, so he thought about buying this new guitar.

When Tony got home, about an hour later, he counted up his money and had the perfect amount to buy it. He excitedly called his band to tell them about his soon to be new guitar.

The next week his door bell rang and it was a delivery guy with his guitar. Tony stood there and said,

'Thank you,' at least a thousand times.

The delivery guy was creeped out so he got his signature for the guitar and left. Tony brought it inside to open it.

Tony was amazingly excited. He looked like a little kid on Christmas morning. When he opened it, the guitar was amazing. It was shaped like the profile of a beautifully dreadful skull and crossbones. The only disappointing thing was that it sounded like a regular plain guitar instead of a super, one of a kind guitar.

He called the rest of his band to tell them about it, but no one answered. All four people in his band weren't answering their phones. Tony drove down to their houses. Just as he got ready to leave, his bassist drove up his driveway.

'Hey, Tony,' he said, calmly.

'Where've you been?' Tony asked.

'I was at a band practice,' he said, 'we thought about calling you but we heard about your new guitar, so we wanted to give you some time alone to practice.'

'Well,' Tony asked, 'whose house were you at?'
He said they were at their singer's house and the whole practice went pretty well.

His band had been together for about five years. They were all strangely the same age. Most of them had been playing their instruments since they were young, so they could play things way ahead of their time. Their music set had fifteen songs but they usually only played four or five of them.

The next day Tony and the rest of his band got a call from their manager.

'Tony!' he said excitedly, 'I got you a show!'

Both of them were very excited.

'Where is it?!' Tony asked ecstatically.

'Halftime at the Super Bowl!' his manager screamed.

Tony almost fainted on the spot.

'How?' Tony asked frantically.

'It's a long story,' his manager said reluctantly.

Tony pranced around his house screaming.

'Finally we have our chance!' he screamed, 'it's all gonna change here.'

When Tony calmed down he realized that it was going to be the biggest, hardest show ever.

Tony and his band practiced day after day for about two and a half months. One day a conversation came up on the instruments they were going to use at the show. Tony agreed to use his newer guitar and two of his full stack amps. Their bassist wanted to get a new Razorback bass guitar before the show.

Their singer was going to use his sleek platinum microphone and stand. And finally their drummer had an eight piece drum set with about five cymbals and a high hat.

The day had finally come. Super Bowl. Tony's largest show was only minutes away. The band was getting ready to perform when Tony got a very strange tingling sensation in his arms. Almost as if they were falling asleep. But when he got on stage the feeling went away and Tony was playing as if he were a guitar god. The guitar must have given him a strange power. The weird thing was that it only kicked in on stage.

After the concert, Tony's guitars' strange power never came back. Tony went on to play hundreds of stages and sell millions of albums worldwide. Even through all the fame and glory, Tony never forgot his experience at the Super Bowl years earlier. He learned an important lesson that day.

'You always need hard work.'

(July 2008)

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To My Dearest Friend

By Tatum, 13

To My Dearest Friend

You may not hear me where you are, but I pray for you upon a star,

A sparkling sensation of light, where heaven can bring delight,

Cannot stop the feeling of depression, but I can see your smile, and how thee expression,

Please, if you can give me a sign, I'll know that everything is fine,

I know I will never see you ever again,

But I think of the great times we spent,

Your beautiful smile lit up my day, but now you're gone and that's taken all away.

I love you Sam,

You are now an angel.

(July 2008)

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For the Love of the Game

By David, 13

One day in the spring, many players were preparing for the new baseball season, but none like Bobby. Bobby was a shy kid with good grades, but when baseball time rolled around, he got very excited. Even in the winter he had dreams of being a star player, leading championship teams, and making incredible plays and now he worked to make those dreams true. Bobby wanted to make the team so badly in the days before the tryouts he would wear his baseball uniform all day. He also invited his best friend Seth to help prepare for the tryouts. They practiced and practiced and practiced until they were called in for dinner each day from dawn to dusk, and living in Phoenix, the heat made it harder. But it didn't stop at that, they talked about strategies until finally Bobby's parents made Seth go home.

On the day of the tryouts it was an unseasonably hot 100 degrees in the shade but the shade was nowhere to be found. The coach understood the limits of the human body but it seemed none if the boys enjoyed his style.

'Come on guys, hustle,' seemed to be his favorite catch phrase.

Bobby started to lose it and just wanted to leave, but he knew he had to keep going, and as if his chances weren't small enough, the best player on the team, Joe, played the same position as him.

'I will post the guys who made it tomorrow in the dugout,' stated Coach.

'Finally, we can go home,' gasped Bobby.

In the morning Bobby just wanted to sleep but dragged himself to the ballpark only to find he didn't make the team. He was crushed.

'Why didn't I make it? I caught, I threw, and I hit? Isn't that what you do in baseball?'

'Maybe there was someone that the coach wanted and didn't see it in you', his mom suggested.

Bobby didn't like the fact that after all that work there was someone that played better than him.

'You should just work harder the next time and try your best,' said his mom.

Throughout the year all Bobby could hear was how good the team was doing and that he needed to try harder the next time, he was ready to puke. He didn't want to talk about baseball until he was 26 years old but before he was ready it was time for the tryouts again.

'Let's go to the park to sign up,' said his mom.

'Why? All that is going to happen is I will be rejected again,' moped Bobby.

'You never know that you will fail if you don't try,' encouraged his mom.

'Alright, I'll go.'

They signed up and something inspired Bobby. First thing the next day Bobby had his spring back and invited Seth over again. They practiced and practiced and practiced until they were called in for dinner. But once again it didn't stop there, they talked about strategies until finally it drove Bobby's parents mad and they made Seth go home. That night Bobby visualized being on the field, making great plays, winning games, and Joe sitting on the bench. He loved it.

On the day of the tryouts it was an unseasonably hot 100 degrees in the shade, but the shade was nowhere to be found. Once again the drills were fast, but this time they seemed easier for Bobby and he realized he would actually have a chance. The coach examined their play closely and finally read off the kids that made it.

'Paul, Mark, Joe' (Bobby gave up because he thought Joe still played his position) 'Seth, Jason, Andrew, Tyler, Colin, Kyle, and Bobby.'

He didn't believe it he even asked to see the list for himself to make sure and it was there.

'See all that hard work paid off after all,' said his mom.

'Just wait till the season starts, then you'll see why I worked that hard,' said Bobby excitedly.

Bobby was so ecstatic for the first game, that he got no sleep the night before the game. In the morning he had his glove on and was ready to go, but the game was at night. He almost forgot to have breakfast because he was so focused on the game. When game time finally rolled around Bobby knew that he would need to play his best to beat the Mean Green, their opponent in the next game.

'Play Ball!' the umpire yelled to start the game.

The speed of the game surprised Bobby and he seemed to get over excited early in the game and the Mean Green jumped out to a 3-0 lead. In the third inning Bobby got his first at-bat as a Dino and he struck-out embarrassingly but he was determined to lead the team back. In the fifth inning Bobby came up with the bases loaded down 4-0 and he tied the game with a grand slam! He was so excited and he knew he had just given the team the spark they needed. It came down to the bottom of the ninth and Joe was at the plate with a runner on second with a full count and won the game for the Dino's with a double down the line! Even though Joe got the winning run Bobby was the player of the game with three hits and that one strike-out.

In the next few games Bobby continued to play well and gain the respect of his team mates and coaches. The games where dominated by the Dino's and the opponents didn't mind the beatings and always kept their spirits high. Bobby was moved up to the sixth spot in the lineup because of his great hitting. After every game Bobby wanted to make sure the team kept their composure and were prepared for the next week. The Dino's were ranked #1 in the town, #5 in the state, and #20 in the country. When they were one game away from the playoffs, Bobby really wanted to help the team focus on their next game. With a tremendous performance by Seth, the pitcher, they won the game 3-0 and Bobby had two of the three runs batted in. Finally, Bobby was going to have a chance to play for a championship team.

They were ranked ninth in the tournament, and they played the #12 team the Red Rebel's in a much bigger stadium than Bobby's old park. In the game the team was struggling early and it took an inning for them to get their spring back, falling down 1-0. The next inning the Dino's struck back with a two-run home run by Seth and then he struck out the side in the bottom of the inning. The momentum was all in favor of the Dino's and they never relinquished the 2-1 lead and won the game.

It seemed that the momentum they got from winning that game carried them through the playoffs and all the way to the championship. Bobby never thought his team would be playing for all the marbles on T.V. across the nation at the beginning of the year, but he didn't think he would be on the team either. For the week before the game they watched film on how the other team played. Bobby noticed that there was one player that seemed to carry the team along, he wanted to make sure that it was a team effort and not just one person doing all the work.

The day of the game had finally come! The fans came there early to support the Dino's and their championship dreams. The game was evenly matched and in the eighth it was 6-6. The Dino's got the final chance to win it in the ninth with the bases loaded and Bobby was at the plate. The pitcher was one of the best in the country and the first pitch was a strike. Bobby stepped out and got the sign from the third base coach and dug in for the pitch. Nobody believed what they saw! He bunted down the third base line! Nobody expected that and the Dino's had just won the game on a five-foot hit that seemed to go 500 feet. Bobby's dream had come true and he was the player who won the game! The opponents congratulated the Dino's and stayed to see the trophy presentation, Bobby even let them touch the trophy and pose in the champion's picture. It was a great scene and they almost forgot who won and who lost.

'That is how the game should be played, when even the losers feel good that they show up and played their best, now I know what 'for the love of the game' means,' Bobby stated.

(July 2008)


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The Magical Mountain

By Kate, 13

In a faraway palace where no one would ever know is a boy and girl named Ricky and Sophia. They both are brother and sister and each other's best friend. Everyday they would both travel around there enormous size kingdom. Their parents Maya and Bill both work during the day and the children only go to school early in the morning so they usually have the house to themselves. They have 1 dog and sometimes a nanny/ maid but she never is around because she has her own room in the house which she spends most of her time in.

It was 8 in the morning when Sophia heard their dog Mouse under her bed fighting with a noisy 'headache will it ever stop type of toy.' Rick came into the room shouting BOO! to his alarmed sister. In a second she fell out of her bed rolling all over her cold wood floor. Sophia said,

'That wasn't polite of you.'

Knocking on the door the children ran down the lengthy wooden staircase wondering who would be up knocking on their door so early. They peeked through the tiny hole on the metal door and saw the newspaper boy standing in a t-shirt with a dorky saying on it ' my dog ate my homework leave me alone' , a pair of dark shaded blue jeans that looked expensive, new sketcher shoes that had red and black stripes and a baseball team hat facing sideways. His total of his look was expensive and pricy.

Still, banging on the door like an extremely impatient person Rick whispered to his little sister,

'1 2 3 OPEN.'

Standing there like the impatient person he is walking into there house saying,

'Hey Sophia how you doing? Want to catch a movie this afternoon?'

The not so surprised look on Sophia's face was pleasing to Rick. The joyful boy went striding into the kitchen finding a couple of dollars to pay the rich, impatient kid. Sophia started to say,

'I'm too young to go on a date especially with you.'

The kid stared at her with a nasty look on his perfect face.

'Here's the money, Franklin,' Rick uttered.

'It's Frank, not Franklin,' he ordered.

As they all paced toward the front door Frank winked at Sophia giving her a disgusting feeling.

The same night their parents told them they all could go on a hike on Mountain Flea. Sophia did not like the idea of heights because she almost fell off the edge of a different mountain when she was only 5 years old. They all had hiking equipment from previous hiking adventures. Their parents were perfectionists on hiking, even on their honeymoon they stayed at a resort by a mountain which they hiked on everyday. Tomorrow would be the longest day of Sophia's life and the scariest day of her life from hiking.

The next morning Mouse jumped on my bed and licked my soft face with his icky mouth. When I was searching on the Internet for a dog, I discovered many facts about dogs. Two of those facts were; dogs have cleaner mouths than humans and most dogs do well with other dogs. I told my mom both fine facts but she stated I could only have 1 dog or none so I decided 1 is better than nothing at all. My brother came into my room like a screaming maniac that almost got eaten alive by a starving pack of wolves.

The morning breeze was soft that it just passed my face while I walked into the entrance of Flea Mountain. Around the filthy trail were dozens of colorful gorgeous silent flamingos that ate birds with fish in their mouths. The tour guide led us to a dark suspicious cave that had bats on the top of it. Sophia lunged to her mom because of the terrifying ugly black bats. All of a sudden a fat, grey bat swooped out of the cave and landed on dumb Rick's head. He screamed with fright and fear as the bat started to chew on his dirty brown, dandruff hair.

My dad ran after Rick until BOOM! they both landed face first into the monkey's mud. The monkey's love to bath and get dirty in this large pile of goop. Everybody that visited that destination always took pictures with their cameras and throw rotten bananas at the poor little fat spider monkeys.

The tour guide Amy took us on the last stop; elephant land, where all you see for miles is herds of big funny elephants. The exhibit was full of mean nasty people that just wanted to throw paper at the large mammals. When the paper hit the animal they all ran to the edge and made tons of horrible noises and everybody ran for their lives. Bill and Maya ran one way and their children ran another way. The park closed in 2 hours and their parents left figuring that the children were right behind them.

The children opened their eyes in fright and yelled for their lovable parents. No one replied and they went to sat on the cold dry bench in terror. A park official came to them but in one second she disappeared into the cave and never appeared out. The clock right ahead of them started to turn to 7:00pm and the doors closed in one nervous hour. They started to get up a head to the front entrance and talk to an official about the disappearance of one of the park workers.

As soon as they started to leave they quickly realized that they had absolutely no idea where they were going. They looked around the dark mysterious park but could not find anyone in sight. It was now getting dark and they could hear scary noises all around them! In the distance they saw an old man with grey hair and a blue shirt feeding the elephants. The children ran over and quickly yelled to the official,

'Help! Help! One of the workers has disappeared into the cave.'

It took a few seconds, but he got it in his head, he had a very worried and frighted look on his face.

He pulled out his walkie-talkie and pressed the red emergency button. When a voice appeared he said in a low bored voice,

'Susan got stuck in the cave again, I'll go get her.'

Finally, the man left and when the kids realized they were lost he had already vanished. Sophia suddenly stopped. Ricky stopped too and said,

'Sophia, lets go, we have to get out of here it is already dark!'

'Rick! Rick!' Sophia said in a shaky voice, 'there is something following us!'

At the same time the kids peered behind them and screamed.

Once they looked back they saw a big, blackish-brown, fuzzy grizzly bear! Right before the bear attacked them out ran a lion and pounced on the bear. The children shrieked and ran until they could run no more. They found themselves hiding behind a thick branch of vines near the swampy lake.

The lion came up and beckoned the kids to climb on his back. They climbed on the lion's huge back and held on while he ran full speed straight ahead. The lion suddenly stopped and shook the kids off and ran to join the other lions by the water fountain. By now it was pitch dark and the wind was cold and felt harsh when it swept by their face.

Suddenly, the ground started to shake and Rick and Sophia started to get scared. The herd of elephants came charging out and the children ran out of the way to avoid the mess. Once the larger elephants were gone, out stumbled a little baby elephant carrying a large tree trunk, swinging its head side to side trying to find someone to play with. Rick came and picked up the cute, cuddly baby elephant. They all took off to the plaza but they couldn't see their way through so Sophia got out a portable flash light, but it still didn't work because it as tiny.

CRACK! Another CRACK! The little elephant was stepping on rocks and with his huge feet it felt like a very shaky earthquake.

'I think we should keep walking and see if we end up somewhere,' said Rick.

Next, they saw an old magical wizard that was on the phone with a sales woman.

'I think their talk is actually an argument,' said Sophia laughing historically.

The wizard said, 'Want a ride to home?'

'But how do you know we were lost?' asked Sophia.

'I know lots of things. I am a genuine wizard and study different things about human life every week to know how to communicate with humans,' said the wizard.

We all, even the baby elephant, hopped into a flying car. The ride was about 30 minutes and was awesome. They could see everything kind of like in an airplane but even better.

'5,4,3,2,1 we're here,' said the wizard.

They got out of the awesome flying vehicle and rang the door bell 3 times which felt like 100. Their mom Maya opened the front door and said,

'O my word!'

She ran toward her two kids.

'Where were you? 'We thought you were with us,' said her mother.

Bill came running down the long flights of wooden stairs and hugged their children for a very long time. As they were about to say, how did you appear, they turned around and the vehicle was gone.

'But I thought...oh well then,' yawned Sophia.

The rest of the time they were 8 and 10 years old. They stayed in their house with their family like Maya, Bill, Mouse, Nanny, and their brand new pet elephant Hippo. They had a great time with their family and even their nanny came out more often. Now they spend more family time together and make sure everyone is there when leaving a place.

(July 2008)

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Auduron

By Sean, 13

It was a fine day, Klieg was running through the streets to his favorite, maybe only friend, Mr. Jeefas and his store where he would spend his money he got from helping with his dad. On his way he ran into a scroll hung on the store wall. He wasn't one of the rich boys who can afford school, so he couldn't read. He asked one of the rich boys, which he didn't really get along with.

'I don't think poor farm boys should be able to know what this says. This is for the people of my class only and for the finest future wizards, who will be attending this camp and from then I will take my father's place and become the wizard of Auduron.'

I pretty much found out all I needed so I continued my journey to Mr. Jeefas's store.

'Top of the mornin' to ya, Klieg.'

'Hello Mr. Jeefas.'

'I've saved the best for you partna. Here you go the largest box of licorice for the future wizard of Auduron eh?'

'Thank you Jeefas, by the way, about the scroll outside, when will all this take place?'

'Well, the wizard camp always starts at the beginning of October in the middle of the Slonar forest. I really don't recommend going unless you think you're up for long, cold nights in the middle of the forest and besides, if you do go you'll be gone for two years, who will I be saving my largest box of licorice for?'

'Oh Mr. Jeefas don't be sad, I will be back before you know it.'

'You're right son, on you go.'

With that he went back in his shop as though nothing happened.

Later, at camp.

'You're only here because you have the skills of the finest wizards. At camp we do not tolerate low self esteem and we absolutely do not tolerate run-aways, which means there is no sneaking off at night, or in the day time for that matter. I'm sure everyone here has been to school and very much like school, we also have rules.'

What if we didn't go to school, huh, what then?' Kleigg whispered quietly.

'Our rules include, no use of magic outside of school until you reach 23 years of age. We will have you pledge that you will never use magic for any use other than defense or in a war.'

'What if we don't want to?' Klieg asked, 'what will happen?'

'You will be exiled from the camp and not allowed to ever come back.'

Later that year.

'So far this year you have learned to use Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. But at a certain level. Now comes that part of the year I've been warning you about. This is when we call out to the people who couldn't handle all the work and who weren't successful enough to move on. Those people will be sent home tomorrow morning.'

I know I'm going, but it's only because the instructor has been picking on me and me alone. Well that's how it seemed. I probably didn't have the brain capacity to deal with all this, but me, why me? I am the one who will do anything, anything to help the innocent and I thought this would be an awesome way. No, it can't end like this it can't! It won't.'

'I think this is all I need,' Klieg whispered to himself, 'this box of licorice, canteen, and oh! No duh, I need food.'

Klieg snuck into the storage hut and grabbed as much food as he could possibly fit in his bag without it ripping.

It was time; he was leaving and was going to show that he would be the future wizard.

20 Years Later.

Klieg began to hyperventilate, in his sleep,

'Who was I? A joker? To believe I could be taught by, by some fools!? Not now, no, not anymore. I am not that, that fool, no...I'm not, I am the Wizard of Auduron, I am Klieg.'

'I must be on my way, now,' sighed Klieg, 'I'd best be off to the city.'

Suddenly, there was the sound of metal being pulled from a sheath. Klieg looked around, coming up the hill was a group of knights, the Kings Guard; they had seen Klieg and was charging him. The feel of the magic filled him like a pool of water. He shot a ball of fire; it burnt the guard's armor. The soldiers turned and ran away from Klieg.

'Fools,' he thought, 'nothing but a bunch of fools.'

Klieg started walking again. The rest of his journey was in peace. Soon he was in Bariomn.

Bariomn, the city of the dead. Also know as The Evil City. This is where Klieg would recruit his army of evil creatures. To summon these monsters he, Klieg, would have to chant the magic words,

'Cota a'maj ma ka ekh ju baiamanju zee kuru hasd jaka mahas kooloo be masa ekhma ju man do.'

Suddenly a Gazillion Rohithas popped out, then a giant beast of evil, the Makdoobie, the feared creature that was exiled from the world due to killing too many people. With this army Klieg would take over the world.

'It's almost time the war is about to begin!' yelled Thriver, commander of the army of the citizens of Auduron, which were being lead to attack and hopefully destroy their evil wizard, king, Klieg.

'Ready your bows!' there was a long silence in which time seemed to stand still.

As the defending army launched huge fire rocks into the air towards them. One hit the ground. Two hit the ground and the third one whizzed past Thriver and onto one of the archers. Many people gathered around the fallen man.

'No time for mourning now, he died a man's death he should be praised.'

'If we die your children and your spouse will know you died the death of a man . Give the person next to you a prayer for it might be your last.'

'CHARGE!'

What happened next went down in two words, Total Destruction. Men fell everywhere, bursting from the Rohithas bites, but many Rohithas fell too. The battle lasted for 20 hours and at the end all that stood was the Makdoobie, Klieg, 20 men and the badly injured Thriver.

'Give it up Klieg, you can't win!'

Whoosh a giant fireball screamed down and engulfed Thriver.

'Charge,' the 20 survivors yelled, 'for Thriver!'

The even more badly injured Thriver, half limped half dragged his body to the Makdoobie. The Makdoobie saw Thriver, picked him up and swallowed him, but Thriver was still alive in the Makdoobie's stomach.

'Take this monster.'

Thriver climbed the Makdoobie's throat. He stuck his sword in the beast's head. The Makdoobie was dead. Meanwhile, the soldiers were doing a poor job of taking out Klieg. Klieg was fending them off with all his spells. When Thriver got out of the monster's corpse his soldier's numbers were down to two.

The soldiers were circling Klieg as if they knew what they were doing. But it was a bit too obvious for Thriver to know that they were clueless, had no plan, scared, and were waiting for him to save them.

Without any further ado, Thriver crawled in the direction of Klieg, but no, it was too far. Thriver knew he couldn't make it. His legs where doing nothing but holding him back. There was no choice but to drag himself in time. He had to!

While Thriver was crawling over to where Klieg was, the battle hadn't stopped.

Klieg shot another fire ball, missed. Another fire ball, missed. Klieg got mad. Klieg shot multiple fire balls, all missed but one. It had hit one of the soldiers, down he fell. With only Aiden, the last living soldier, and the helpless Thriver left they had no hope.

Thriver got up on his legs. His badly burned legs couldn't stand his weight, he fell. He got up again, and fell. Thriver hoisted himself up one more time and knew if he didn't do anything now they were all doomed. The warrior ran as fast as possible, but he tripped over a vine and a huge fall face first into a ditch was awaiting him. He knew he had no other choice. In one last attempt to stop Klieg, Thriver threw his sword and he had hit Klieg's leg, which was all he saw before he hit the ground, Thriver was dead. Aiden took his chance and swung his sword while Klieg was distracted. All of a sudden Klieg fell to the ground, dead.

Aiden was praised as a hero for stopping the evil reign of Klieg and a memorial was built for Thriver, the dead god. With a little plaque that stated,

'Good has triumphed over evil again.'

(July 2008)

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A Forest Full of Friends

By Allison,

Deep in lush green mountains, a small lake was nestled in the Maple Forest. The lake reflected the rays of the setting sun, causing brilliant, white lights to dance across the surface. Sapphire and ruby colored tulips were scattered around the edge of the lake in patches of baby's breath. Great, monstrous oaks shaded the forest floor leaving the sunlight to find the small cracks to the ground. The trees bulky roots broke up through the forest floor, and tunneled back into the earth.

Next to the lake, a cluster of boulders formed a cool, spacious cave. Moss crept up the sides of the cavern, covering it in a blanket of green. Sitting in the entrance of the cave, there was a small, gray-black cat. Her mischievous green eyes scanned the surrounding forest, looking for something that was not there. Misty, the young cat, was lonely, for there were no other cats that she could play with. Everyday, she dreamed about what it would be like if she had a friend.

One morning she had had enough! She decided to go into the forest, a land she had never ventured into. Misty gathered the few belongings that were necessary for her everyday life and set out on a journey. She knew she would soon return, except next time when she saw her cavern, she would see it with a new friend. When the sun was high in the sky, she headed up the stream and into the dense undergrowth of the forest.

After what seemed like hours on end, she stopped. A rustling in the leaves above woke her from her imagination. A yellow tail dropped from a branch. The tail sank lower and lower until it dropped with a thud on the forest floor. What Misty had thought was a tail was actually a long, yellow snake with black stripes running down the side.

'Hello, who are you? My name is Slinky,' the snake hissed, 'what brings you to my part of the forest?'

Slinky seemed friendly enough, even though his cold, unblinking eyes stared up at her- chilling her bones.

'My name is Misty,' she replied warily, 'I'm looking for other cats to be friends with.'

She was hesitant to make conversation with him for his eyes were unsettling. They stared at each other for a moment before she broke the silence.

'Why aren't you blinking?'

'I have no eyelids,' came the cool reply, 'my eyes are tough and they do not dry out like yours. They don't need any extra protection.'

Now that Misty understood why he did not blink, his eyes did not seem as threatening as before.

'I am afraid I can't stay and chat with you for very long. I have other things to do and not much time.'

Misty was sad. She knew that if Slinky was not a snake, but rather a fellow feline, they could have been friends. Misty continued padding through the forest. Her legs were getting tired and they were protesting against every step she took. As she was about to stop for a rest, she stumbled across a wide, shallow pond connected to the river she was following. As she was about to lay down on a flat rock, a small furry head popped up. Misty jumped, startled, but stayed where she was.

'Hello! Hello! Who are you?' It was an otter. Her voice was cheerful and friendship radiated from her every word, 'My name is Spree.'

Misty smiled, 'I am Misty.'

'Would you like to come swim with me? The water is cool and refreshing.'

Misty's paws did hurt, so she accepted Spree's invitation gratefully. From her days living next to the lake, she knew how to swim. She wasn't very fast in the water, but she could manage. Once she was in, her pads were immediately relieved of pain. Spree circled around her gracefully in the water, barely making a ripple as she glided. How did she do that? Misty kicked up so much water when she swam that it looked like it was raining. By contrast, Spree's jumps and dives barely fazed the water.

'How do you do that?' Misty wondered aloud.

'Do what?'

'Swim so effortlessly without unsettling the water around you?'

Spree jumped up from under water and smiled.

'This is second nature to me. I don't have to think about swimming, I just do it.'

After a few minutes of splashing, Spree said,

'I'm sorry Misty, but I have to go now.'

'That's all right, Spree. I have other plans for the day. But thank you for playing with me!'

Misty walked on and soon the scenery changed. A large field of flowers dominated the ground. These weren't the familiar flowers Misty grew up with around her lake. Instead, they were bright and every color imaginable. The flowers were bright, sunny yellow, and deep, mystifying purple. There were passionate pink and cool, neon green flowers. Misty stared in wonder at the stunning array of flora before her. Suddenly, a small, rapid, fluttering distracted her attention from the plant life. Misty struggled to keep her eyes on the bird that quickly flew from plant to plant. The bird visited a few more flowers, than slowed to a stop in front of her.

'Good day,' chirped the bird.

'Hello. Who are you?'

'I am a humming bird. You, are obviously a cat.'

The hummingbird was still flapping its small wings, but did not move from place to place.

'I've never seen anything fly so swiftly. Please, tell me how you do it.'

'I'm a hummingbird- flying is what I'm made for. I can fly backwards, forwards, and to the side. My wings move so quickly that I am able to hover in mid-air.'

Misty was impressed!

'Wow!' she exclaimed.

The hummingbird nodded her head.

'It is nice, but our metabolism is very fast. In order to sustain the rapid beating of our wings, we have to eat more than our weight each day.'

'Oh. I'm sorry.'

She could not imagine her stomach holding that much food.

'It's not a big trouble for us. We eat while we fly.'

At that, the hummingbird swooped down and stuck her beak into a large flower, sucking out some juicy nectar. Once she came up, she said,

'I'm afraid I have to go now. But I'll see you again someday.'

Misty realized that they had never exchanged names.

'By the way, I'm Misty.'

'And I'm Orchid,' she replied as she flew away, once again disappearing into the field of flowers.

Misty took one step forward, and as she did, she heard a squeak from down below. Underneath her paw, an indignant mouse was trapped.

'Hey! Watch where you're going you big klutz!' The mouse's small eyebrows were turned down in pain and disgust, 'and while you're at it, GET OFF MY TAIL!'

Misty took a step back automatically, surprised by the large outburst that came from such a small creature. She was at a loss for words. What do you say when a mouse becomes assertive?

'O-oh, I'm sorry? I didn't mean to step on you.'

'Whether or not you meant to step on me, you did. So now, you get to pick up the seeds I dropped.'

'Okay,' Misty started to pick up the fallen seeds that were scattered around the mouse.

'Well, I guess this fur-ball isn't as useless as it appeared. The name's Finnegan.'

'I'm Misty.'

'Whatever, your name's not important. What is important is the fact that I've got many little children-'

Before Finnegan could continue, wild shouts from the bushes filled their ears.

'DADDY!' ten little mice scurried across the flowery field.

'Look what we found!' exclaimed one excitedly.

'We followed a squirrel and dug up all of its acorns,' another mouse cried happily.

'Mother is going to be so happy,' the smallest one stated proudly.

Finnegan stared in horror as his children brought him all of the squirrel's acorns.

'Children! Did you take those from the squirrel?' he said, barely suppressing his rage.

'Put those back where you found them and go tell the squirrel how sorry you are for stealing his acorns.'

Finnegan herded his children towards the squirrel's house, scolding them all the way.

Misty started off again, heading towards the trees. After walking awhile she met up with the same river she was following. As she came around a bend, the river she had been following dropped into a grand waterfall. She stood there a moment, realizing that the waterfall was too dangerous to cross, therefore, she was lost. Turning around Misty started heading towards home, but before she could take another step she heard a noise.

From underneath the edge of the waterfall, there was a ledge. On the ledge, a ginger tabby was staring up at her with gray stormy eyes.

'Hello,' the tabby meowed, 'my name is Randolph. There aren't many other cats that live in this area. Tell me, why are you here?'

So that explained why Misty hadn't seen other cats, none lived in the forest.

'I'm Misty!' she was overjoyed with finding a friend who was like her, 'I'm so glad to have found someone like you! Will you be my friend?'

'Of course, I will be your friend,' he smiled, 'would you like to stay for a picnic?'

'Sure!'

'I've invited some other friends. I hope you don't mind.'

Misty shook her head, 'No, I don't mind.'

Randolph gazed past her shoulder and grinned.

'Look! Here's one now!'

Misty looked and couldn't believe her eyes. It was Spree!

'Oh! Hello Spree!' Misty sang.

Randolph beamed, 'I see you have met each other.'

'Yes, we have.'

'Good! Now we have to wait for all of the others.'

Misty was curious. If Spree was here, who else was coming?

'Randolph, who are the other guests?'

'Let's see. There's Finnegan, a grumpy mouse who loves his family. Then there's Orchid, she lives in the flower fields. Slinky, he has to cross the whole forest to get here. He lives far away, but it's great that he's joining us. Slinky's tons of fun,' he paused, thinking, 'I think that's all of them. You can be our special guest.'

'Aww, thank you!' said Misty, touched.

It was strange; she had met all of those animals that Randolph had invited. They all did seem like they were in a hurry, especially Slinky.

Eventually, all of the animals came. They feasted over berries, small insects, and other fruitful plants. Misty's stomach was full and she couldn't hold one more bite.

By sundown, Misty had gotten to know all of the animals individually and found she had a lot in common with them. She had started out the day without a single friend and now, looking around; she had a whole forest full of them. She realized that you can be different and still be friends. Misty was glad that she now knew that.

(July 2008)

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Sam the Polar Bear

By Sean , 13

In a vast, cold world there lived a small curious polar bear named Sam. He had a hard-working father who was very rich and powerful. Sam had two friends, Derek and Matt. Sam and his dad lived in the bustling Snow York City. There were many tall and prominent skyscrapers amongst them and at night no one seemed to sleep.

One day, Sam's dad took him to work with him because it was Bring Your Cub to Work Day. Sam was fascinated by how fun it seemed to drive. When they got to his dad's huge office, Sam admired every bit. Inside, there was a TV, a computer, a desk and a couch. They spent the entire day watching TV, lounging on the couch, and playing on the computer.

Then when their day was over, Sam's dad said,

'Son, if you work hard to own an immense and wealthy business, you will be able to choose what you want to do and will earn lots of money.'

Sam kept that in his mind all day thinking about how great it would be to grow up.

The next day his dad gave him money to go buy something at the toy store. When he reached Snowmart, he entered and scanned all of the aisles. Just when Sam was about to leave, the shopkeeper, George, stopped him.

'We just received something today that may be to your liking,' he said.

'What is it?' Sam asked.

'Just wait here,' he replied.

So he went into the back warehouse to retrieve the special item. When he came back he had a box that said Time Machine: Special Edition! Sam was very excited about what this box contained and bought it immediately with the $500 his dad had given him. Then he dashed home to open it.

When he got home he ripped open the box and all of the items fell to the ground. He rushed to build the fantastic device without even reading the instructions. In just a few hours the contraption was built. When he turned it on, all sorts of noises and colors exploded into the room. Without thinking he entered and set the machine to 30 years in the future. The machine disappeared with a 'pop' and there was no sign that he was gone.

Later that day, his friends and dad realized that he was gone. They began to search all over town to find the lost polar bear. Unfortunately, they were unsuccessful. They went back to Sam's house and sat there thinking where he could have gone.

Meanwhile, in the future, Sam had a hard-working job as a small business owner. He worked night and day driving back and forth from home to work. He had a mediocre profit and a medium-sized house. Eventually he got sick of driving.

'I don't know how my dad does this everyday!' he said to himself.

He went on living a life of hard work and no fun. As the days went on, he missed his old life more and more.

Back in the present, Sam's dad finally thought of where they could look.

'The toy store!' he exclaimed, 'I gave Sam money to go buy a toy earlier today.'

So they took off down the road to Snowmart. When they arrived, they threw open the doors and searched for the shopkeeper.

'Yes, may I help you three?' he asked calmly.

'Have you seen a polar bear about this tall?' he asked, quickly.

He used his hand to show the height.

'Yes, as a matter of fact,' he replied, 'he came in here about three days ago and bought a time machine from me.'

Both the dad and friends stood in shock.

'Well, do you know what he planned to do with it?' he questioned.

'No, I'm sorry but I don't,' he replied sadly.

'Oh, okay thanks anyway,' he said panting.

So they left the store to go home and wait for Sam to return.

In the future, Sam tried to teleport back, but was experiencing difficulties.

'Why won't this work!' he screamed.

He tried all day, but did not prevail. The machine just wouldn't work.

'I guess I'm going to have to fix it,' he decided.

From then on he kept working to try and improve the machine. He worked days and days skipping work all the time just to build this contraption. Many months later, it was finished. He had lost his job and his home. He had to finish it on the street. But when the time came, he finally unleashed it.

He stepped into the machine and turned it on. He went through the same process again warping back into the past. There was one flaw that he had overlooked. Instead of going back to his home time, it went farther back to when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. He exited the machine in shock. He stepped into the wilderness, unaware of what could happen.

Sam was examining the wilderness, thinking of where he could spend the night. After searching for many hours, he finally found a place to stay. As soon as he sat down, he broke into tears. He wished that he could just go back to his normal life.

'I swear I'll never rush my life again!' he shouted.

He started banging on the machine, and just then the time machine whirred back to life. Sam selected the time of his childhood and jumped inside the swirling vortex.

As Sam stepped out of the purple whirlpool and into Snow York City it was clearly evident that the course of history had changed when Sam had traveled into the future. The small business he had owned in the future was flourishing in a time it shouldn't. There were also dinosaurs wandering through the city. During Sam's time travels he had changed the time-space continuum. Things from the past and future ended up in the present. If only there was a way to reset everything back to normal.

When Sam was examining the machine for anything that could help him, a sickening feeling emerged in his stomach.

'What if there is nothing that can help and I'm stuck in this place forever?' Sam thought to himself.

Just as his hopes of escaping were weakened, his eyes fell upon a small button labeled 'reset'. He pressed it, and instantaneously everything morphed back to the normal Snow York City that Sam knew. He was dumped in his room along with the time machine. Just then his dad called him from downstairs,

'Hey Sam, Derek and Matt are outside wondering if you want to play with them!'

Sam couldn't believe it; when he morphed back, everyone forgot everything about what happened.

'Um, I'll be down in a second!' he shouted back.

Before he left, he threw the time machine out the window, destroying it completely. Then he ran downstairs, ready to accept life as it came, and play with his friends.

(July 2008)


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A See Friend Story

By Tiana, 14

Puss was a young octopus who called the big blue Pacific Ocean her home. She had grown up on a small yet successful shellfish farm. Never leaving the protection of her home and father, she was nervous for the start of fall. Puss was getting ready for her first day of school. She had gone to the corner store and picked out a frilly pink backpack that would carry all of her supplies. Packing her things, she changed her color to a seafoam green with a tinge of blue on the side. Puss was super-duper nervous and went to her 'wise' father for words of advice. Papa Octopus smiled and said,

'If you never experience the first day of school, you will never have the joy of being their meeting your teacher and friends.'

Puss sighed and put shoes on six of her eight tentacles. She grabbed a crab cake for breakfast before she scurried to the door and closed it gently behind her. On the way to the submarine that served as a bus, Puss felt scared that she would not be accepted, and she knew she would miss Papa terribly.

Puss took a deep breath and screamed to the barren coral covered street,

'I wanna go HOME!!'

Sadly, Puss knew no one could hear her, because the road she was on was deserted. She broke down and started to cry. Moments later, a big yellow submarine showed up at the stop and halted right in front of her. Puss boarded with a grim expression on her face. Anyway, she knew her father was right; Puss had to go to school and brave through the day.

The next challenge was to find a seat on the bus.

'Ugh,' Puss thought smugly, as she sat next to a weird green lizard thing.

It had a weird helmet on it's head and had quite a group of choppers. The animal replied,

'Hi, I'm Nigel,' in a nasally voice, 'what's your name, friend?'

Puss tried not to laugh at the squeaky voice of this ferocious, beastly looking creature.

'Have we met?' said a cruel voice behind them, 'because I thought I saw you all in the circus act last month!!'

The submarine exploded with laughter, and Puss felt sorry for the poor Nigel fellow. Seconds later she realized they were making fun of both of them. Puss felt herself turning red from embarrassment and saw Nigel lower his head in shame. On the verge of tears, Puss camouflaged into her surroundings and exited the submarine. Nigel and Puss agreed to stick together throughout the day, because both of them had the same teacher, Miss Calamari. Unfortunately, so did the clownfish that humiliated them on the submarine.

The shell embedded ground started shaking as a gigantic grey whale approached them. He exclaimed,

'Hey Nigel, who's your new friend?!'

'This is Puss,' the crocodile said, 'I met her on the submarine this morning.'

'Oh, hello Puss, is this your first year here?'

'Uhhhh,' Puss stuttered, 'I guess, what about you?'

'I went here last year,' the whale replied, 'by the way, my name is Wally.'

'Nice meeting you Wally,' Puss answered.

The classes were about to start, but Puss was still curious about why Nigel was wearing a helmet on his head. Puss knew it could be rude to ask. Then again, Nigel was her friend and he would tell her. Now, Puss started to think,

'Why would Nigel need a helmet?'

Finally Puss' curiosity got the best of her so she asked,

'Nigel, why do you wear a tank on your head?'

Nigel's face turned tomato red, while twiddling his fingers he responded,

'I'm actually a crocodile, and animals like me usually like to live on land and in murky fresh water where bugs and small fish are plentiful.'

Nigel said,

'My father's company moved to the ocean where there was more business.'

'Wow,' Puss said, amazed, 'what does this have to do with your helmet though?'

'Like I said, I am supposed to live on land and in fresh water, so this helmet is the reason why I am able to live down here. Sometimes I miss the land beneath my webbed feet though,' Nigel said glumly.

Moments later Puss realized that they were late to class. Both of them ran down the hall to Mrs. Calamari's room, where they were scolded for there ignorance to the school policy. They had the last choice of seats, so they were at opposite corners of the room and the farthest away form all of the windows.

Puss and Nigel felt bad for Wally though, because he had to sit outside due to his enormous size. The other fish giggled at him all day even though Mrs. Calamari told them to be quiet. Ruthless Max was the worst of all the students. He howled with laughter making Wally feel even worse. Mrs. Calamari made him sit in the hall, but not before he yelled 'LOSER!' with a big L on his forehead. Puss and Nigel felt terrible, not to mention Wally. This first day of school was turning out to be one of the worst days of their short lives.

Lunch was soon and Puss and Nigel wanted to be with Wally. They felt bad for him and wanted to cheer him up with some grub. Wally was already there when they arrived and was sobbing quietly, not knowing a hoard of students were coming up behind him. Wally had to eat about 2,000 pounds of food a day so he had extended lunch hours. He was sucking at the water for tiny organisms he could swallow without choking. He looked so sad!

Puss had no idea what Wally was doing! She didn't understand how he could eat things that couldn't be seen. She thought he looked like he was drinking a Pepsi, but nothing was there. Oh how Puss would have loved a Pepsi. She was parched. Luckily, Nigel saw the awed expression on her face and explained how Wally ate his lunch. Nigel explained,

'Wally has something in his mouth called baleen, and it doesn't allow some large mammals like Wally, to eat large pieces of food. Baleen works like a filter!'

'Oh,' Puss uttered in a hushed tone, 'that explains the bristles in his mouth. Poor Wally.'

Puss and Nigel finished their lunch. Too bad they had to go back to the classroom now. School would be over soon enough.

That night, Papa octopus asked,

'How was school today?'

Puss looked down sadly and muttered,

'Terrible, this one fish kept picking on one of my new friends.'

'Oh my,' Papa voiced, 'school is a safe haven for learning and not for bullying.'

'I never ever want to go back, school is a place for monsters and beastly sea creatures, I want to stay with you!'

The next morning Papa drove Puss to school; he had something to say to the teacher.

'Hello Mrs. Calamari, I was wondering if I could talk to you about one of your students,' Papa stated.

'Heavens, what could ever be wrong!' Mrs. Calamari exclaimed, 'It's only the second day of school!'
'I heard about the whale Wally, and I believe that you have no right to make him sit outside the classroom.'

'Well, I have some fantastic news for you then,' the teacher replied, 'the school district is letting me teach outside in the big blue ocean and not in this stuffy classroom. This method is of course experimental, but I want my students to get the best education possible.'

'I see,' Papa octopus agreed, 'that is a wonderful idea. My, I wish I had that when I was a young octopus.'

'As do I,' Mrs. Calamari said, 'this will change the way school is looked at all across the sea.'

'Well thank you for your time,' answered Papa politely, 'I must get to work, see you later!'

Now Puss felt better. Not only was he going to be taught outside in the sunny sea, but Wally won't be made fun of ever again. This new method of teaching was going to work wonders! Puss was now finally able to relax. Maybe school wasn't so bad after all.

Max now fully understood that his words could sting like a bee. He now treats his fish peers with respect, and is kind to everyone. To say the least, Max is like a different fish. The main lesson learned from this whole ordeal is to treat others the way you want to be treated. The students of Mrs. Calamari's class lived happily ever after as best buddies under the sea.

(July 2008)

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Leo, The Biggest One Of All

By Carolyn, 14

The wind weaved softly through the Serengeti in Eastern Africa. Clouds covered the moon. The stars, aware of the special occasion, sparkled and celebrated above and in a cave on a cliff overlooking the whole of the Serengeti, a prince was born. The prince's name was Leo and Leo just happened to be a lion cub.

Leo grew to be a child, raised by his parents, the king and queen of all of the animals of the Serengeti. His bright blue eyes were always curious and observant of the world around him. But although Leo was smart and clever, he was the tiniest one of all the lions. Ever since birth, Leo was made fun of for being small and he was tired of it.

Then there was Dustin. Dustin was the child of the most ferocious lions in the Serengeti, Jardo and Meetra. Dustin was the leader of a gang of other vicious lion cubs. Dustin and his posse bullied Leo, teasing him about his size at every chance they got. Leo was too timid to stand up to Dustin, so he ran home every time the group approached him. His father, the king of the Serengeti, was no help.

'You must be brave Leo,' Leo's father boomed, 'a prince must be brave.'

'But, Papa,' whined Leo, 'I am too shy!'

'You must prepare to be king, Leo. If you do not want to rule the animals of the Serengeti, I'm sure one of your cousins would love to take over your position. You must be brave! Do you understand me Leo?'

'Yes, Papa,' Leo murmured.

It was hopeless. He would never convince his father that he was too shy, even to fight back with powerful words and with that, Leo set off to seek advice from his one and only friend, Boris the Boar.

Boris the Boar was a very old, very wise wild boar. He, like all other animals in the Serengeti, was under the rule of the king and queen. He lived in a hollow tree, protected from the scorching sun. Boris was a chocolate brown color speckled with gray, had a dangling tail and many wrinkles covering his broad face. He enjoyed Leo's company very much, and took pleasure in passing on advice and stories to the young cub. So when he heard a knock on his tree trunk late that afternoon, his heart filled with the anticipation of seeing his young friend.

'Ah, welcome Leo and what can I do for you today?' Boris rumbled in his great, deep voice, the wrinkles upon his face crinkling as he smiled.

Leo, looking disturbed and said,

'I need some help.'

'Well,' said Boris, 'then you have come to the right place. Do come in. Would you like to join me in having a cup of tea?'

'Yes, thank you,' Leo replied, softly.

While Boris prepared a pot of boiling water, Leo gazed around the quaint house. Leo always enjoyed seeing Boris' possessions and riffling through the pages of his thick, leather-bound books. The afternoon sun shone rays of peach-colored light through the oval-shaped windows. Leo stared off into the distance, waiting for Boris to serve the tea and ladyfinger cookies.

'Here, Leo,' Boris placed the tray of tea and cookies on the small side table and fell back into his cozy, cream-colored, comfy couch, 'take a seat.'

Leo sat. Boris gazed at Leo with concern in his electric green eyes. Leo, uncomfortable under the stare, looked away, trying to decide how to start the conversation. But he needn't have worried, for Boris was a step ahead of him.

'Is it Dustin again?'

'Yes. I wish I could be friends with all of the other lion boys. They are so mean to me because I am small. What can I do? I wish I could grow!' Leo exclaimed.

'Leo, dear,' Boris said in a gentle voice,'it is not the size of the lion cub that matters. It is the size of their heart.'

'That's what you always say. But I am sick of being made fun of! I need to find a solution.'

'If you are really determined this time, Leo, you must try to get on Dustin's good side,' Boris suggested.

'But how?' Leo questioned.

'Try making young Dustin a gift,' Boris said.

'I know just what to make him!' With that, Leo bolted out of the tree cottage.

As soon as he arrived home to his family's cozy cave, he started working. To his mother's dismay, Leo picked almost all of the flowers in their beautiful, blooming flower garden. Then, with his mother's sewing kit, he bound all of the colorful flowers together, creating a wonderfully warm blanket for Dustin. Leo went to bed that night, dreaming of the happy look on Dustin's face when he was presented with the intricate blanket.

The next day, when all the other cubs were playing outside near the freshwater pond, Leo brought the blanket to Dustin. Dustin stared blankly at the blanket for what felt like an eternity.

'What is that?' Dustin said, with an awful amount of sarcasm in his voice.

The other lion cubs gathered around their leader, letting out great shouts of hysterical laughter.

'I made this blanket especially for you, Dustin,' Leo said in the utmost sincere tone.

Dustin looked disgusted. Leo watched as the other lions got a hold on the blanket and began ripping it apart with their claws. Ashamed of his own foolishness in thinking Dustin would accept him as a friend, Leo ran home with hot tears of hurt and pain cascading down his face.

As he hurried home, bitter thoughts raged through Leo's head.

'I'll never listen to Boris' advice again. It's time to follow my own instincts,' Leo said to himself.

With that, Leo entered his family's cave with new hope. Before the family went to bed that evening, Leo secretly and silently collected all of the fur his family members had shed over the last few days. He glued the hairs together to create a moustache and a wild, dark-colored mane. He used his mother's furry winter coat to make himself appear larger, and he attached platforms to the bottom of his paws. He was ready.

After a good night's rest, Leo set off for the log pile where he knew Dustin and his friends would be playing hide-and-go-seek. His costume was heavy and slowed him down. At last, Leo arrived at the log pile. As he had predicted, the other cubs were hiding from each other and Dustin was trying to find them. Leo sauntered over to the lions, waiting for them to finish their game.

Finally, the game was over. Dustin eventually spotted Leo and Leo could see the hysterical laughter building inside him. Leo's heart pounded. He shivered in fear. His stomach, instead of flooding with butterflies, was infested with stampeding elephants. Leo collected himself, breathing deeply. Dustin, still ready to laugh at this ridiculous-looking lion in front of him, called out,

'Hey, you! Where did you come from?'

'My name is Morty, and I am a mountain lion,' Leo lied.

'Okay, so where did you come from?'

'Umm.. I am from the land of the San Diego Zoo,' Leo offered.

All the other lions exchanged looks of awe and amazement.

'You mean the San Diego Zoo that Boris tells us about in his stories?' one cub blurted out.

'I don't know who this 'Boris' is, but, yes, I do come from the San Diego Zoo,' Leo said, pleased at his ability to make up a lie so quickly.

The other cubs invited Leo to join them in another game of hide-and-seek. Leo was very excited. He was finally going to play with Dustin and his friends!

The game continued smoothly, with Leo chasing the other cubs. He was laughing and thoroughly enjoying himself, until he heard a rrrrriiiipp! His disguise had caught on a branch in the log pile, and was no longer attached to his body. The other lions stared.

'You liar! You're not Morty! You're Leo! You will never fit in with us, you shrimp!'

The words stung, as did the tears in Leo's eyes. Again Leo trudged home, disappointed and feeling rejected. It was time to ask his father for something he never thought he would want.

With that, Leo found his father, coming out of a meeting with the Elmer the Elephant, personal assistant to the king. Leo, embarrassed and ashamed of himself, asked his father for a favor.

'Father, I want to fit in with the other lions,' Leo mumbled, 'can you help me to be ferocious?'

'If that is want you want, Leo, I will help you.'

Leo's father worked with Leo, teaching him how to roar, pounce, and growl. Leo practiced for days, perfecting his skills. When the time was right, Leo went to find Dustin and the other lions by the gigantic, gnarled tree where the cubs liked to sit and talk. Leo approached the tree, his last hope burning in his heart.

Leo demonstrated to Dustin his ferocious roar, startling the bully. He pounced at the other lions, who recoiled. He roared again, but it came out as a squeak. Leo's cheeks turned bright red and the other lions doubled over with laughter. But this time, Leo was not about to run away.

'Just because I am small, does not mean you can make fun of me!' Leo exclaimed, 'I know that even though you are all bigger than me, I have the bigger heart. I am kind, caring, and could be a great friend someday. Soon I will be king, and I will rule the Serengeti fairly and with pride. You should be ashamed of yourselves.'

With that, Leo turned to leave. But a paw brushed his shoulder gently. He turned, and was surprised to see shame clouding Dustin's face. The other lions looked down at the ground, scuffing the rust-colored dirt with their paws.

'Wait,' Dustin said, 'I know that I have been mean, but that is because I am jealous that you will be King someday. I've always admired your kindness and sincerity. I'm sorry.'

Leo searched for truth in the sad face, and he found it there.

'I forgive you,' Leo said, 'because that is what a friend would do,' and with that, the cubs exchanged a hug.

After that, Leo and Dustin were the best of friends. Leo's life was dramatically different, as he had friends to play with and talk to every day. Leo felt bad about not trusting Boris' advice and went to see him. Leo and Boris still stayed friends, and Boris continued to give the young Leo great advice, even through his kingship many years later.

Leo grew to be a great king and leader, and he ruled the Serengeti with pride, as he had predicted he would many years before. Leo had a wonderful family and when he grew old he passed on his wisdom to his oldest daughter, who would soon become the queen. Leo would never forget the lesson he learned as a child; that no matter what size you are, you can still make an impact upon the world.

(July 2008)

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Runaway Journey

By Hershey, 14

'Get outside, I don't want anymore lip from you mister. Now rake those leaves. Don't come back in until you're finished. Don't forget to do a good job or you won't get your two dollars pay for the week,' yelled Mr. Whitaker.

'You can't treat him so rough,' said a medium height dark haired woman named Mrs. Whitaker.

'I know, but I'm just trying to get him ready for the real world,' said a tall stout man.

It was Mr. Whitaker, who was yelling at the young boy who was still outside. That young boy was 12 year old Freddy Whitaker. Life's been tough for him since he turned 12 because he has been doing a lot more work around their little farm. Freddy's mother was out of work and the family was barely making do on Mr. Whitaker $600 a month salary. It was the early 60's, so finding a decent job was hard to do in rural Maine. Freddy's story doesn't start here, it starts when he finds a flyer to for a very cruel carnival but he doesn't know it yet.

A couple of days later, while sweeping the porch, Freddy came across a flyer. He picked it up and started reading it as he sat on the porch.

'Bye son, don't forget to take the trash out and finish cleaning your room, oh here's five bills go get some bread and milk sometime today, alright?' said his parents driving away.

'Huh! Gosh I hate them! Why are they so mean? I wish I could find a new home.'

Freddy went back to reading the flyer. It read,

'Magnificent Carnival NEED performers open to all comers, adults and kids alike.'

'I wish I could go, but I will never get my shot. This stinks.'

Freddy grabbed his bike from the garage, put the money in his pocket, and rode off to the market. At the market, he got the bread and the milk then went to the clerk. He paid and realized he had two dollars left so he bought a cola and a couple of candy bars. When he got home he ate the candy bars, eating them so fast and drank the soda so quick that he got a stomach ache and became so sick that he fell asleep.

He woke up a few hours later. The blue sky had darkened to a deep orange red and the sun was setting. Freddy had forgotten to take the trash out, he quickly grabbed it from all the rooms and dumped into a big bag. After that he ran out to the trash cans to throw it away. Then he ran faster than ever up to his room to put his clothes in the clothes bin, make his bed, and lastly pick up his toy car and setting it nicely in his closet. Right then the front door opened and his parents walked in.

'Fred come on down for dinner,' whistled his dad.

'Did you get your work done?' said his father.

'Sure did,' Freddy replied.

'Well enough talk lets eat,' exclaimed his mom.

After dinner the whole family watched 'I Love Lucy', a new television show. Freddy didn't really care for the show, but he watched it anyway. When the program ended he went up to his room and played with his toy car. His parents stayed downstairs and watched another program. The time past and he fell asleep, so did his parents. When he woke up the next day he used his money he had been saving to go down and get a cheeseburger at the soda shop. When he arrived there he saw Terry who was in line getting a cheeseburger and fries also. He yelled and got his attention, he pointed to a table and right away he knew he wanted him to sit with him. He did after he got a cheeseburger and fries as well. They talked for a while then said they will meet here tomorrow for a shake.

The next day they met again at the same place but this time they only ordered shakes and fries. They talked about the new television show that's coming and how they really wanted to see 'The Twilight Zone'.

'I hear it's going to real suspenseful,' said Terry.

'I know, it's going to be great,' said Fred.

They soon said there goodbyes and Fred said he would call tomorrow to set up a time to go to the carnival.

The next day he had to do his weekly chores again, taking out the trash, his room, and yard work. When he finished all his chores he called Terry, they set up the time to go to the carnival for Friday. Today Freddy got paid again, he got a bonus today so he got five dollars to put towards the carnival so he only needed two more bills and he would be set for the carnival. The next day he earned the money by sweeping the porch and doing the dishes and also a little more by cleaning his parents room. He earned little more then he needed so he could play games at the carnival.

He fell asleep that night thinking about the carnival the next day and even though he got paid to do his chores he still didn't like his parents because when he forgot to do them he would get slapped and punished with more chores. He did not want to think about that anymore so he just rolled over and fell asleep. When he woke up the next day he couldn't wait to get out of his bed. He got up then ran to the shower and hopped in. He only took a five minute shower because he wanted a head start on the day. He called Terry and told each other to meet at the Soda Shack. The instant he hung up the phone he was out the of the door and on his bike. When they met at the Soda Shack they ate a cheeseburger and had a soda. They bought extra sodas to take with them on the 30 minute bike ride to the carnival.

As they reached the carnival it wasn't that full. They came to a stop on their bikes and then locked them up and walked in to buy their tickets. When they bought their tickets the first ride they went on was the roller coaster, that had a lot of big drop offs. They had so much fun on the coaster that they went two more times before they felt motion sickness. The next thing they did was go play game they both played the dart game where they had to pop the balloons with the darts. They both won at their games and got the ninja swords. After they had played they rode the Ferris Wheel, they got all the way to the top when it stopped for a minute or two then moved forwards again until they got to the bottom. They ate again, then went on the Tilt a Whirl then left and went back home to there boring lives.

He got home and went to bed. When he woke up his parents were yelling at each other. Then they soon started yelling at him and his dad started slapping and beating him. He went back to his room, packed up most of his things, took all the money he had saved, and ran away on his bike. He rode for a long time before he stopped at the market, he had seen Terry crying on a bench so Freddy went over to talk to him. They talked for about 20 minutes then went into the store. Terry had run away too, his parents got in another fight and he couldn't take it any more. Terry soon got the courage back in him and asked why Fred ran away.

'I ran away because my parents got in a fight about me forgetting to tell them where I was yesterday. My dad started hitting me so I packed up my things and went out of the window.'

They each had 30 dollars, so they bought two big subs, some drinks, and a cooler. Terry had taken his parents quad so he used the straps to make the cooler stay on the quad. Before they were about to leave Freddy had both their money. Together they had $50 left. They also had some of their subs. They finished and set off on their journey. On their way they stopped and talked about where they were headed, right then he pulled out the flyer he found a couple of days ago and Terry was speechless, but he loved the idea so they set off again. As they reached the carnival the Carney's set an eye on the boy's then swoop!

'What's going on,' said Freddy.

They were captured in a net and couldn't break through.

'What is this?' said Terry.

Then the Carney's came out and Joe Buck, the head of the Carney's. He started blabbing how the boys should be more careful because they could get hurt out here. Then out of the blue Jerry was making his way up the hill. Jerry was his right hand man. Jerry had a sword and cut the rope, then the boys fell to the ground and passed out.

Back at each of the boys' houses, both of their parents were arguing where the boys might have been.

'Wait,' said Miss Whitaker, 'before, I saw Freddy looking at the flyer and I bet he went to that carnival.'

'Well, let's call the police and get to that carnival,' Terry's mother said, suddenly.

When the boys woke up they forgot that they had been captured. They soon realized that they were in a cage. They tried to break through but it was too strong, then suddenly, they heard police pull up. Both their parents ran out of the police car, followed by the police. The boys saw them and started yelling. The Carney's ran out of their hut and said,

'What's the problem officer?'

Right then, the boys parents said,

'We found them!'

The police and the Carney's ran over, they turned to the Carney's and said,

'You're under arrest for kidnapping!'

The police put them in handcuffs and then threw them into the car. While the police were doing their business the boys parent apologized, grabbed the keys to the cage, unlocked them and they all hugged and apologized again and left to go home.

(July 2008)

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The King's Loss

By Sean, 13

Once, a long time ago there was a king who was the most magnificent king of the land, Grimles. He had the most vibrant red cape embodied with small white diamonds. His crown was pure gold with a giant red ruby implanted to the crown. He had the most beloved wife Isabel, and his courageous son Leo. As powerful and intimidating as he was, he still had enemies. As numerous as his enemies were though, they still failed to defeat him.

'So, we are having a family dinner tonight. Finally away from all the others,' said Isabel.

'Yes', said Grimles.

Grimles set off to prepare his army after hours of training his new archer team,

'We are ready to fight,' said Grimles.

'Thank you King', said Onue, the head archer, as he bowed.

His melee team was ready for they had been experienced for three years now. Suddenly a messenger came.

'I carry a message from the new dark emperor, Enu, he says he challenges your power with a war starting tomorrow, be ready!'

As the archer rode away Grimles shouted,

'Kill him, kill him now!'

Onue shot a piercing arrow straight into the messenger. He fell over dead as his horse ran away. Grimles smiled as he walked off, his army was ready.

Grimles got home late and found his wife sitting on the chair.

'You forgot again. You are so caught up with this war,' said Isabel.

'I am sorry it will not happen again. It is just that we had to train for hours because a new emperor, Enu, proposed a threat against us,' said Grimles.

'Do not let it happen again!' said Isabel.

They went away to bed. When Grimles woke he found Roku, melee battle master, standing over him.

'Enu's army is approaching,' said Roku.

Grimles got up and prepared as fast as he could. He ran out to the towers and looked over the edge.

'No, this is horrible!' yelled Grimles.

'Prepare for battle!' shouted Grimles.

Their army quickly prepared and got into stance.

'Wait, wait, FIRE!'

The archers shot. Lots went down but they still came.

'Keep going, they are still coming.'

They were now around twenty yards away.

'Melee, attack.'

They rushed them. It was a long hard battle with lots of clashing of blades.

'Grimles behind you.'

Grimles slashed behind him and a man fell.

'Oh no, they have archers,' yelled Roku.

'Shield position,' shouted Grimles.

They all gathered into a position where their shields completely covered all of them. The arrows just clanged and bounced off their shields. But they had no way of killing the archers. Then Grimles archers shot down most of their archers so they retreated as did their melee army. So Grimles and his army went back to their kingdom with a smile of defeat across their faces.

'This is a proud day, you should all be proud,' said Grimles.

'But it is not over,' said Grimles.

When Grimles walked into his house he found a note. It read, I am sorry Grimles but we just can not stay here you pay no attention to us and it is not goods for your son. I am leaving you.

'What, this cannot be!' shouted Grimles.

Grimles stomped out of his house in a rage. He gathered his army in the mid of night and went to attack Enu's village.

'Excuse me sir, but what is the meaning of this?' questioned a soldier.

Grimles did not answer him but just kept on walking. They soon got to the front of Enu's village.

'Get out here!' shouted Grimles.

Enu walked out with his army ready to fight. But a shocking sight over came Grimles. He saw Isabel with Enu.

'What is this!' shouted Grimles.

Grimles, in a rage, thrust his weapon through the air right into Enu. He fell, dead.

'What will you do now, your king has fallen and your husband, Isabel, has died?' shouted Grimles.

Grimles' army and archers attacked. Grimles, a tear running down his face, was watching. Nobody was left alive. Grimles' army went back to their kingdom. The next night Grimles went back to the front of Enu's kingdom. He shouted in to the air,

'Why, why, what have I become?'

Then Isabel and Leo walked out, covered in ashes. With tears running down his dirty face he ran to Isabel and picked her up in his arms.

'I am sorry I got so caught up, will you forgive me?' questioned Grimles.

'Yes,' said Isabel, happily.

They ran back to the kingdom. They got onto the castle and Grimles shouted,

'My kingdom is complete!'

Everyone cheered. And they were never defeated again. They died a noble death and everyone remembered them.

(July 2008)

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Everyone Can Skateboard

By Colin, 13

Jerry, the lizard, and his five other friends, have been noticing the kids in the neighborhood skateboard. They always wanted to try and skateboard, although the kids would never let them. Everyone was tired of sitting around in the desert, they just wanted to get out and play. But, they couldn't do anything, because the kids would chase them away.

You could say this was to be Jerry's lucky day. Tom the mouse, Jerry the lizard, Henry the rat, Sunny the snake, Chuck the chuckwalla, and Luke the chipmunk would have a day to try and skateboard. Tom and Jerry would have the middle, Luke and Henry would be at the tail and Sunny and Chuck would be at the nose of the board. This will be the day they try and skateboard. They walked into the street and began having a nervous breakdown.

'What happens if a car runs us over? What happens if someone HITS US!' exclaimed Jerry.

When they tried skateboarding, all the kids in the neighborhood were making fun of them. Jerry and all of his friends were getting frustrated because none of their feet could touch the ground so they couldn't push. No one ever gave up. The group tried and tried to find a way to start skateboarding, but they just couldn't. Everyone decided to go home and try again tomorrow.

'Come on guys, it was our first time, well get it sooner or later', murmured Henry.

The next morning everyone woke up early to continue trying to skateboard.

'Rise and shine', silently yelled Tom.

Once they got outside they looked for something to push. Jerry picked up a stick and tried to push with that. It worked, now they could finally move. Jerry and Henry pushed with a stick on one side, Tom and Chuck pushed on the other side, Luke was on the tail.and Sunny is on the nose.

All of them were excited because they could finally push. They were going fast down a hill and they forgot that they had no way to stop. Jerry put the stick against the ground to try to slow the board down and SNAP, the stick broke.

'OH MY GOSH!', exclaimed Luke.

'I don't want to die!' shouted Henry.

Now the stick was broken and they had no way to slow down. They started to panic. The skateboard hit a rock and they all flew forward. Sunny got up and said,

'I give up with skateboarding, We can't do it, we're just animals.'

'Guys, we can't give up!' said Jerry.

'No! I'm going home,' Luke cried.

The next morning Jerry still wanted to skateboard, but all of his friends gave up. Finally Jerry and his friends got together and decided they would try skateboarding one more time. In time Sunny said he would push with his tail, so they went outside to try it again. It worked! They screamed and cheered. Although, after awhile it started to hurt, and it hurt more and more. Sunny couldn't push anymore.

All the animals were tired and worn out. They were done and they completely gave up until they thought of an idea that didn't involve pushing. They said, '

'Let's roll down the hill.'

They got the skateboard and went to the point of the hill. It started rolling. They didn't think of the speed they would be going. They were bursting down that hill, and all of a sudden, the board shot back up the hill and fell on the ground. They hit a curb, which made them fly out of place. They were sure they would never be able to ride a skateboard.

But they didn't give up. They were determined to become skateboarders. They found a strong stick that wouldn't break and used it to push. They practiced for hours everyday, and were getting a lot better.

Joe, the best skater in the neighborhood challenged Jerry and his friends to a game of skate. Jerry didn't think they would do well, but they won. Joe got mad and threw their skateboard into a ditch. Joe never came back to skate with them again.

Jerry and all his pals started making a sponsor tape to send to the skate shop to see if they could get sponsored. They sent it to every skate shop they could think of. The days past by and no letters were coming back. This was the last day that they would be able to receive mail. They crossed their paws, tails and opened the mailbox, there it was, a letter from Ever Skate Shop. They were cheering and cheering, just too scared to open the letter.

They finally opened the 'Sponsor Me'letter. They said,

'Yes.'

All the animals yelled and screamed for the rest of the day. Well, until there voices ran out. They just weren't quite sure how they were going to get to their next competition. One of the guys from the skate team came and visited them, he said that he would give them a ride.

Mike, from the skate team, came to pick them up that day. He picked them all up, and tossed them in the back seat. The group was nervous; they had never been in a crowd of over 100 people in the same place. Everyone grabbed the board and started practicing. They got together in a huddle and started chanting,

'Alright guys, we can do this. We can get through this, just ignore everyone in the crowd,' said Jerry.

The last tricks of the tournament were a three-flip and a K-grind. They won, just waiting for what happens to them next.

Neither of them noticed that there were three different pro teams watching the skate competition. For the first time in American history, not only could animals skateboard, but they became pro. They stayed with the Ever Skate Team, but also joined the Krooked pro team. They were the most popular guys around, they were on the news, the Ripley's Believe It Or Not, and even the World Records. They are traveling across the country every weekend now, they're amazing, they're great.

(July)

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Rufus's Wild Adventure

By Sarah, 13

In a suburban neighborhood in western Phoenix there was a dog named Rufus. Rufus lived with a family that didn't pay much attention to him at all but Rufus loved them anyway. There was Sally the youngest she was eight years old and very spoiled. Then there was David he was a fourteen year old that was very independent and was very rude to Rufus, always blaming him for things that Rufus didn't do. Mom and dad bought Rufus about a year ago for Sally's eighth birthday but she did not approve of Rufus because he was not the dog that she wanted, so she neglected him. Rufus didn't really mind that much that his family didn't pay that much attention to him, so instead he paid attention to them.

Rufus was a brown spotted dog with black fur. Rufus woke up to a beautiful sunny morning, and went downstairs to greet the empty kitchen. Rufus then made his way down to his doggy door. He would go and check on a small bird's nest that laid safely on a tree branch. But instead of seeing three little eggs he saw three little blue birdies chirping for their mother. Rufus looked up into the blue morning sky and saw no sign of the three bird's mother After Rufus waited, keeping watch on the birds the mother came back with food. Rufus then realized he hadn't eaten this morning so he started toward the house. When he reached the house he expected to see his family at the breakfast table, but instead he saw an empty kitchen. Rufus saw that no one had filled his dish.

Rufus started outside after to see if they had gone out in the front yard, but they were not there either. Rufus then picked up a scent in the light breeze, it made his mouth drool. He stuck his nose in the air as far as he could reach it and followed the sent. When he thought he was close, the scent would drift farther. It seemed like forever when suddenly Rufus saw a cat that he had meet before. The cat's name was Sammy, and earlier in that year Sammy dug through the neighbor's garbage can, and made a huge mess. Later, some of the garbage's trash ended up on the front yard of Rufus's house. Rufus had to sleep outside that night for his punishment.

'Hey fat dog!' Sammy scowled.

'EW! IT'S SAMMY!' Rufus chuckled.

'Where are you going?' Sammy asked.

'None of your business!' Rufus said, as he walked away.

Rufus continued on his way, and Sammy followed him. Rufus just ignored him. Once Rufus got around the corner of the street he looked behind him and saw that Sammy was no longer behind him. Rufus stuck his nose up into the air once more and he knew he was getting closer. Rufus kept walking for what seemed like forever. Rufus was so focused on finding the source of the mouth watering smell that lingered in the air that he hadn't notice that he was on a street he had never been on before.

When Rufus looked up he saw an enormous sign that read 'FRANK'S BURGER BARN NOW OPEN'. Rufus now felt like he was inside the restaurant, he could smell it so clearly. Rufus completely forgot about the fact that he had no idea where he was, and he went up to the restaurant doors but there was no way for him to get inside. Rufus went around the back of the restaurant to find a way in and he saw that at the top of a very tall wall was an open window. There was a lot of empty boxes and crates around and suddenly Rufus got an idea. He put one crate directly under the open window and picked boxes and crates up with his mouth and stacked them one by one on top of each other.

Rufus stacked them almost like steps leading up to the window. But by the third step Rufus felt the box shirt, and Rufus fell flat on his back. He got the wind knocked out of him but he got right back up. Rufus heard people on the other side of the window yelling,

'What was that?'

Rufus knew that his crash didn't go unheard so he hid inside one of the boxes. Rufus could see through a small hole in the box a man with a greasy apron and a paper hat come out looking around and then walked back inside the kitchen telling someone that he didn't see anything. Rufus breathed a sigh of relief and went back around to the street that he came from.

He didn't know where to go from there, so he went back to the ally and laid down into the box he had hid in. Rufus fell asleep and woke up when it was dark out. The cars passing by lit up the alley. Rufus saw that the street that he had come from was barely lit up. He knew that he couldn't stay in the alley forever, so he started on his way, and once he was half way down the street he saw a familiar fountain in someone's front yard and he headed towards it. Then Rufus heard a loud noise coming from a trash can on a driveway. Once Rufus got closer he saw a cat with the front end of it inside the trashcan making all kinds of noise and throwing all of the stuff it didn't want outside of the cans onto the street.

'Excuse me?' Rufus asked.

The cat climbed out of the trash can and asked,

'Are you talking to me?'

'Yes I am,' Rufus said, innocently.

'Well, what is it that you want?' the cat asked.

'I was wondering if you knew where White Oak Street was?'

'I'm sorry, I'm the wrong person to ask,' the cat said.

'Why is that?' Rufus said.

'I don't know this area nearly as good as my brother,' the cat said.

'Well is your brother around?' Rufus asked.

'He sure is, he is about four houses down from this one, he should be in the trash can too,' the cat said.

'Thanks,' Rufus said.

'No problem.' the cat replied, and continued digging and sure enough he saw a cat in the trash can throwing things onto the street.

'Hello?' Rufus asked.

Instead of this cat coming out of the trashcan it just took its head out of the can and stared at Rufus. It suddenly started to laugh. Rufus looked at it through the dark and saw who the cat really was.

'Why hello Rufus, what brings you here?' Sammy said.

'I was wondering if you could tell me where my street is, I'm a little lost.'

'And why would I help you?' Sammy asked.

'Look, I don't want to start anything, I just want you to point in the direction of my street.'

Rufus looked up at the sky and saw bolts of lightning and he heard loud roars of thunder. Sammy quickly said,

'Better get going before the heavy rain starts.'

In a blink of an eye Sammy was gone.

It seemed even darker now that a storm was here and a cold chill sent a shiver down Rufus's back. Rufus laid as far back against the rock so the rain would not get him. Once the rain started it didn't stop all night. Rufus didn't get any sleep at all. He ended up dozing off when the rain started to ease up. When he woke it was still dark and still raining. A figure was staring at him through the rain.

'Who's there?' Rufus asked.

'Follow me!' the figure yelled over the storm.

Once Rufus got up he saw that the figure was Sammy.

'Where are we going?!' Rufus asked.

'Home!' Sammy replied.

The rain started to calm and eventually it stopped. Rufus was cold and hungry and just wanted to be home. Rufus didn't say a word to Sammy for the rest of the way he just quietly followed Sammy. They turned a corner and Rufus recognized where they were. Rufus took off running down the sidewalk until he saw what he was looking for.

Rufus saw his house. Rufus slowed down and saw that Sammy had caught up,

'Uh.. Thanks,' Rufus mumbled.

'Sure,' Sammy mumbled back.

'I owe you,' Rufus said.

'Let's just call it even,' Sammy said.

Rufus looked back at his house.

'I better go inside,' Rufus said

'Oh... Okay see you around,' Sammy replied.

'See ya,' Rufus said.

Rufus went round the back of his house and went through his doggy door and he saw his family at the table on the phone, drinking coffee and hot chocolate.

'RUFUS' David shouted.

Everyone turned to see Rufus by the front door soaked and tired. Sally ran over to Rufus, picked him up in her arms, and hugged him tightly. Mom and Dad told the other person on the phone never mind and hung up the phone. Rufus didn't know that his family cared very much for him and that made him feel loved.

David came into the kitchen with a towel and Rufus's favorite blue blanket. David dried off Rufus with the towel and put the warm blanket around him. Rufus hadn't eaten in forever so he quickly ate the food from his bowl and Sally called for him. Sally was at the bottom of the staircase with a blanket. Sally scooped down and brought him to her room and put him in her bed. She got in the bed and fell asleep lying next to him.

The next morning Rufus got up and quickly went outside to see Sammy. He saw Sammy waiting for his on the sidewalk.

'Hey!' Rufus said.

'Hey, do you want to go down to the park?' Sammy asked.

'Sure!' Rufus answered.

Rufus and Sammy raced to the park and had a great time. Sally realized that Rufus is a great dog and so she gave Rufus a lot more attention. Sammy and Rufus became friends and were friends for a long time after that.

(July 2008)

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Magical Fairy Llama Land

By Sara , 13

One dark and gloomy day in Magical Fairy Llama Land, I, just a simple civilian blue bird, was flying around minding my own...WHACK!

'Get out of my way,' Pencris yelled at me, obviously Pencris was in a VERY bad mood!

Beebir is his name, flapping my wing is his game. Beebir is a high ranked bird of Crispen's royal court. Crispen, is the prince of Magical Fairy Llama Land. This place is called Magical Fairy Llama Land because the rulers are llamas. Pencris is Crispen's evil twin brother.

Beebir flew up to the window of Crispen's court room, where he sat on his throne.

'What are we going to do, Crispen? Your brother is picking on all our little Magical Fairy Llama Land civilians, this cannot continue!' A dark green fairy llama known as Mammoo said out loud.

Mammoo was a royal hoof shine llama boy.

'Just let him do as he pleases, he will get bored after a little while,' Crispen sighed, with anger.

'Mammoo, fetch me my slippers, I'm getting cozy!' Crispen yelled. Crispen is in a very bad mood.

It all started in second grade; Pencris wasn't a really popular llama. He would always get teased, and each day when he would come home he would cry. Beebir was his only friend and after the second grade Halloween party he HATED him. What happened was that we were all playing a game when the teacher told us to pick a partner; Beebir didn't pick him and he got furious!

Ever since that day he became the bully; the one person everyone was afraid of. One time he purposely spilled his milk carton on Jill Simone just for the fun of it!

Well anyway to sum it all up, Pencris is always angry and is always looking for reasons to yell at someone. Unfortunately, the only one who he is ever with is Tortellini. Even though she is dark and mean just like him, she likes to be funny and random, which is the reason why he is always yelling at her. Tortellini is a dark blue fairy with a black dress and shoes. Though she looks nice she is truly a mean little fairy!

Tortellini was the one that gave Pencris all of his evil ideas, though she had a crush on him, She loved seeing him get in trouble. Pencris suggested a few ideas, like to pull an evil prank on Crispen, not just any prank but one that will beat all of his other evil pranks, one that will be noticed forever and change Magical Fairy Llama Land FOREVER!

Three days passed and Pencris was almost sure of what to do. He conducted a meeting with all of his evil friends to see how the prank shall go down; he gathered them into a small circle.

'I'm going to take the crown from Crispen and find a way to banish him for ever!'

'SHHHHH!' all of the animals shrieked.

'He got all his ideas from me!' Tortellini whispered, to some random fairy.

The next day Pencris galloped to Crispen's house. He pounded on the door to get his attention.

'Coming,' Crispen said angrily.

'Hello Crispen,' Pencris said with an evil grin on his face.

'Hi Pencris,' Crispen said, unsure.

'Do you mind if I come in or are you going to make me stand here forever?' Pencris said, while letting himself in. Crispen knew that something was going to happen, he just didn't know what. Pencris knew much about his twin, he know ever so well that Crispen was on to him. Pencris smiled as he put his hand on his package of Yellow Llama Fur Dye.

'So, what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?' Crispen said nervously.

'Can't a Llama visit his own twin brother?' Pencris dangerously smiled.

'A normal llama yes, a normal llama can visit a twin, but not you Pencris, you aren't like that,' Crispen said angrily. Pencris just smiled and walked away.

Pencris walked up to his brother's bathroom and smiled. He took out the fur dye and set it on the counter. Pencris suddenly stopped and frowned. His heart was talking to him. His heart told him not to do it. He knew why. He put his hand on his head covering his eyes, as he started to cry.

'Why would I do this to my brother? He never done anything to me.'

Suddenly Crispen walked in and put his hand on his brother's shoulders.

'You have grown up finally brother,' Crispen smiled.

Pencris with tearful eyes smiled a real heart filled smile.

A loud cheer rang from the crowd as Crispen and Pencris walked out next to each other smiling.

'Folks of Magical Fairy Llama Land, I would like to tell you that the lands are safe from bullies!' Pencris himself, the ex best bully, yelled to the crowd as they cheered.

That was a happy ever after for Magical Fairy Llama Land.

(July 2008)

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The Crash

By Chase, 14

As I lay there in what felt like eternity in a dreamless sleep, having no idea which way is up, having no idea where I was or why I could not move or what was going on, I thought to myself,

'Was I dead? Is that why I would not move, not even open my eyes? Yes I guess this is it, I am dead. So this is what death is like? No, I can't be dead. I need to get back to Mary and the baby. I will never get to see my baby son or my wife again.'

Then I wondered what happened to the rest of the crew, are they still alive? They would take me back to my family and the thought of them being dead drove me crazy. I don't think like that, maybe I am not dead, maybe everything is ok, maybe I am fine, and maybe it's all just a dream.

But I knew that I was indeed dead and most likely so were the rest of the crew. So then I started thinking about the crash. It all happened so fast, it just felt like a blur. Something must have gone wrong, but what? This planet was different and it had a very strong gravitational pull and when we got caught up in the planet's orbit, it sucked us in and we couldn't stop it, we were doomed and now we're all dead.

So all I could do was think, think about everything, everything I have ever done, all the things that I didn't do in life, all the things I did wrong. There was so much, I didn't want to think about it, but what else could I do? This was a really stupid way to die from a crash on an unknown planet. My family will never get to see me again.

At that point I just wanted it all to stop; I wanted to be dead, I wanted it all to be over. And as time passed I fell into a dreamless sleep. I laid there in the blankness and then I heard something! But how can I hear anything? I was dead, and so was everyone else. There was nothing to be heard.

What is that noise? I thought it sounded like a space shuttle, maybe a spaceship was coming to save us and then it sounded like it was landing, was I crazy? Were people coming to save us? Maybe I wasn't dead, maybe I have a chance to live and see my family!

All my hope went away when the noise slowly went away. They were leaving in the other direction. Why could they not find us? I tried with every ounce of energy in my body to scream out but nothing came out, so I just laid there absorbing the nothingness, in what felt like forever and probably was, and in that time period I fell into a deep deep sleep like nothingness.

Then out of nowhere I woke up from the sleep, it was like nothing ever before. I was stiff, but there was no pain. What happened to me? Then I realized that my eyes were open! I wasn't dead! Then all kinds of thoughts rushed through my head. Where am I ? How am I alive? Is this a dream? Then I tried to talk but couldn't really remember how. All that came out was,

'Ugggg,' and then there was a number of rushed voices.

'He's awake, he's alive.'

'What.. what's going on?' I said, and then I noticed the study beeping and the whiteness of the room and the small group of people huddled around me, so I said again,

'What is going on, where am I?' Please tell me what is going on, who are you people?'

'We are doctors, what is your name?'

'My name is Matt, what is this place, and why am I here.. where?'

'This is the newly discovered planet Zar 5, and you tell us we found you in a coma in the middle of some space shuttle wreckage.'

'What is the date? Where is the rest of the crew?'

'You are the only one left you are very lucky, you survived a terrible crash we have been holding you for over a year now, it is November 11, 2008 here.'

'Dead, all of them, I am the only one left? How did I survive but not them?'

'As I said, you are very lucky that when you crashed you were not killed, you were however knocked into a coma and you broke many, many bones but at least you are alive.'

And then I thought about it, I was alive I could get to see my family again! So I said,

'I want to see my family, where is my family?'

And then their expressions darkened and they looked at me and said,

' Listen, there is something different from this planet, it is very different, you see the time on this planet goes by faster much faster.'

'Like how much?'

'Well, let's put it this way, every year here is 100 years on earth.'

'Wait that means that....'

And then I realized something was wrong very, very wrong, my family was dead if what they said was true. It is 100 years in the future there and they're all dead.

They said sorry, but nothing could help me. First I thought I was dead and now I figured out I'm not and my family everyone I have ever known is now dead, everyone. Then I said,

'I want to go back to earth right now I have to.'

They looked t me and said,

'Sorry but that is impossible, you can't, it is totally 100% against the rules we're very sorry.'

'But I have to! I need to! This isn't fair!'

'It just can't happen we're sorry. We do have a house here for you to live at, we have several small communities all over this new planet, we will show you where your new home is shortly.'

'No I refuse to live on this stupid planet and I want to go home!!!'

'Yelling is not going to help anything sir, you will live here and there is nothing you can do about it we're sorry.'


'Here sir this way to your new home it's not far,' one of the men said to me.

So they took me to my new home it was stocked with food and clothes so I would never need to leave.

I was so depressed. I started to think this was worse than when I thought I was dead, I would rather be dead right now. Then there was a knock at my door, who could it be? So I opened the door, it was one of the scientists from earlier, what could he want? I don't want to be bothered by them any more they have made my life bad enough. I said,

'What do you want?'

'Well I heard the others talking about you and what has happened and all, and well I wanted to help, I know how you feel having all your family dead and never getting to say goodbye.'

'So what is your point? What are you trying to say? Can you get me back to earth?'

'Well yes, maybe... you see there is a flight planned to go to earth later today and I think I can sneak you on.'

'That sounds good thank you so much!'

So later on that night I sneaked into the cargo hold in a bag with an oxygen tank, water and food. I was so happy I was going home! Soon enough it took off and then all I had to do was wait. I waited and waited and it seemed like forever, but right when I was about to give up we landed, I was home!

I jumped out and made sure no one saw me, we were in the middle of the desert, probably Texas, but it looked the same. But it didn't look like it was the future.

I looked around and saw the city not too far away so I started walking, the closer I got the more confused I became. This really did not look like it was 100 years into the future. I grabbed the newspaper and it said November 12, 2008.

I nearly fainted, they lied! It was all a lie, but why would they lie? I was so confused, it was not the future but they said it was they tried to trick me! And then I thought a whole new planet, all to themselves, if they let anyone leave it would become crowded that's why they tried to keep it a secret.

That's just wrong. I was going to expose them! I will tell everyone the press and the news! And then I thought wait, my family there will be alive, so I rushed to the nearest cab and to the airport and got one ticket to California. I was going home it was all over, just like a bad dream.

I told that story for years and years to my children and my grandchildren. The story of how I almost died and how I escaped the evil planet and exposed it for what it really was and now it is a planet like earth where millions live, thanks to me.
(July 2008)

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Billy

By Katie , 13

It was a chilly, stormy, December day in northern Arizona. Dylan was bored out of his mind while his mom got ready to go to the grocery store. Dylan was 10 years old and had brown hair. He was short for his age, but he stood out and had a curious personality. Dylan jumped off the couch as his mom came out of her bedroom,

'Make sure you let no one in this house while I'm gone sweetie.'

'Ok Mom,' Dylan yelled back.

There was nothing to do in the old fashioned home. The whole house was a boring plain white color. There were only three bedrooms and it was very small. Dylan wished he could have gone outside, but he couldn't. When his mom left he turned the T.V. on loud and watched some cartoons.

As Dylan was flipping through the channels he came across a golf tournament that was being held. That's how he got the brilliant idea of setting up his own miniature golf course in the house.

'This is going to be great,' Dylan said to himself.

Dylan started in the back hall and ended in the kitchen. He set up chairs, blankets and blockages to make the course more interesting. While he was getting his miniature clubs he was very ecstatic to play.

Dylan was doing great as he came to the seventh hole in the dining area. As Dylan lifted the club to his neck to swing, he was in trouble. When he swung the club around to hit the ball, the club went flying across the room and straight into the china set. Dylan stood there in shock. He walked over to the china set and saw all of his mom's favorite dishes broken in pieces.

'Oh, great. I am in so much trouble!' Dylan said aloud, 'what am I going to do?'

Dylan sat on the couch. He came up with many excuses. He looked over at the back door as his dog came through the little opening soaking wet from the rain. Dylan thought he could get away with blaming it on the dog. He would say that the dog ran right into the china set and knocked everything over. Dylan felt guilty about what he was going to do, but he still didn't want to get in trouble.

When Dylan heard the garage door open he got extremely nervous. He was hoping his mom would buy his excuse. His mom walked through the door and into the dinning area with shock and she dropped everything she had in her arms.

'What in the world happened in here?'

'Uhh..the dog ran into the china set?'

'Don't lie to me Dylan.'

'I'm not I swear!'

'Go to your room and when you can tell me the truth you can come out of your room.'

'But Mom.'

'Don't argue with me. Go!'


'Man, this sucks!' Dylan said lying on his bed, 'what am I going to do? I can't leave my room or go outside,' Dylan thought to himself.

Dylan sat up off his bed and decided to get a board game from his closet. Right when Dylan put his hand on the closet door, he heard a noise from inside.

'Whoa?! What was that?' Dylan exclaimed.

He backed from the closet. Confused, Dylan reached for the door again. He slowly started to slide the closet door open.

Despite the fact that he heard a strange noise, he opened the closet all the way. To Dylan's surprise nothing was there. He reached up for his game and began to close the closet door. He turned around and screamed.

'Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!'

There was a boy about Dylan's age standing right before him. He was as tall as Dylan too and had blond hair.

'Who are you?'

'The name's Billy,' said the strange boy.

'Ok, well where did you come from?'

'That doesn't matter; I'm only here for one reason.'

'And why is that?'

'What are you doing in here and not outside with your friends?'

'I got in trouble,' murmured Dylan.

'What?'

'I got in trouble,' Dylan said clearly.

'Now why did you get in trouble?' asked Billy.

'I broke my mom's favorite china and then blamed it on the dog,' said Dylan.

Dylan set down the board game and sat on his bed. Billy walked over to the door and began to turn the doorknob.

'Wait, where are you going?' exclaimed Dylan,' you can't go out there.'

'Well, why not?' asked Billy.

'Because my mom will see you and I can't have any friends over,' said Dylan.

'Don't worry about it. She won't even see me,' Billy yelled as he ran through the door and into the kitchen.

Dylan ran after him and as soon as he got to the kitchen he heard a glass shatter and watched Billy stand there while Dylan's mom came running through the hallway.

Dylan's mom was speechless and didn't know what to say.

'Mom, I can explain.'

'Save it Dylan,' she said, 'first it's my favorite china set and now it's one of our dinner dishes? What is going on with you?'

'It wasn't me, Mom, I promise!' explained Dylan.

'Here we go again. Then who was it Dylan, a ghost?'

'No it was Billy,' pointed Dylan.

'Dylan, you are really scaring me,' his mom said, 'who is Billy and who are you pointing at?'

'I'm pointing at Billy; I mean he is standing right there.'

'Ok, this is normal, he has an imaginary friend,' she said to herself.

Dylan was sent back to his room and was grounded for another day. He couldn't understand why his mom couldn't see Billy and he could. When he walked into his bedroom he shut the door behind him. He looked up and saw Billy sitting on his bed.

'What's with the face?' wondered Billy.

'Why did you get me in trouble again? I didn't even do it this time!' exclaimed Dylan.

'It slipped out of my hand,' said Billy.

'Then why didn't you stand up for me and tell my mom it was you?'

'Why did you lie to your mom and blame what you did on your dog?'

After Billy asked Dylan why he didn't tell the truth in the first place, there was complete silence. Then Billy decided that it was time to tell Dylan what he was all about.

'Dylan there is something I need to tell you.'

'Ok.'

'The only reason why I am here is because when kids get in trouble and don't tell the truth, I am sent to get you to tell the truth.'

'Ok, but why can't anyone see you but me?'

'Don't you get it? I have to get you in trouble so you will mess up and tell her the truth and when you do, your mom will forget what happened with the dish as if I never existed so basically I am your imaginary friend.'

'Oh ok, got it.'

When Billy was done explaining everything Dylan was quit shocked. Then he walked out the door to tell his mother the truth about what happened.

'Mom?'

'Yeah honey?'

'The dog didn't break your china set it was me.'

'Thank you for letting me know this I really appreciate it.'

'I am also sorry about the cup in the kitchen.'

'What cup?'

'Never mind.'

When Dylan was done confessing he ran into his room and yelled,

'Billy it worked she didn't remember about the cup and I'm not grounded because I told the truth about the china set! Billy, you there?'

At that moment Dylan realized that Billy's job was done and he had left. Billy learned that if you lie constantly then when you are telling the truth no one will take you seriously.

(July 2008)

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Silly Goose, You Moose

By Cheyenne & Grace, 13

Once upon a time there was an island off the coast of Looseland, called Gooseland. The land of Gooseland was a beautiful island. There were forests with trees as green as moss, sandy beaches with sand as fine as flour, and mountains as tall as sky scrapers. Gooseland contained over one hundred geese and only one moose, Floose.

This moose was different than all of the geese. He wasn't white, feathery, or small. He was brown, furry, and tall! Being a brown moose named Floose, made him stand out from the rest of the geese. None of the other geese accepted Floose, except for a goose named Sloose. Sloose was teensy-weensy, feathery and white, and looked quite different from the moose named Floose.

'Sloose,' announced Floose, 'I want to be like all of the other geese on the island!'

'Silly goose, you moose,' exclaimed Sloose, 'it's a good thing to be different.'

'But..but I don't want to be different; I want to be a goose!' whined Floose.

'Floose you can't be a goose, your brown and we're white,' Sloose explained.

'Well, how do I become white like you, Sloose?' begged Floose.

'Follow me, I have an idea!'

They strolled down Gooseberry Lane to Sloose's house. As they reached the front door, Floose noticed the brilliant architecture. The house was shaped like a goose, and had every little detail possible. The door swung open, Sloose led Floose towards the kitchen. Sloose reached into his cabinet, and pulled out a gallon of white paint, that was placed next to a box of feathers and Halloween costumes. Floose had no idea what Sloose was going to do, until he pulled out a paint brush.

Sloose dipped the paintbrush into the pale white paint, and started painting Floose. The paint was so cold, Floose jumped high into the sky. When Sloose was finished, the moose wanted to see if he actually looked like a goose, so he trotted outside. Once the geese saw Floose their jaws dropped as if they had seen a monster. Floose the moose looked nothing like a goose or a moose. He ran into the house, not knowing what the geese were staring at. When he looked into the mirror, he could not believe what he'd seen.

'Sloose, I look nothing like a goose,' admitted Floose.

'Floose, you can't be a goose, geese have feathers, and you don't!' declared Sloose.

'Well, how do I become like you, Sloose?' groaned Floose.

'Follow me, I have an idea!' repeated Sloose.

Once again Sloose reached into his cabinet, and pulled down the box of feathers that were sitting next to the Halloween costumes. Floose had no idea what Sloose was going to do until he pulled out the glue. It took Sloose hours to glue every single feather on to Floose the Moose.

Floose wanted to know very badly what he looked like, so Sloose decided to take a picture. Things took a turn for the worse, when Sloose showed Floose the picture. Floose got so aggravated, he ran all over the house. Floose did not look like a goose at all.

'Sloose, I look nothing like a goose!' cried Floose.

'Floose, you can't be a goose, geese have wings, and you don't.'

'Well, how do I become like you, Sloose?' pleaded Floose.

'Follow me, I have an idea!' Sloose rejoiced.

For the third time, Sloose waddled over to his cabinet, and pulled down the box labeled Halloween Costumes. Finally, Sloose had found the exact item he was looking for. He turned around, and showed Floose a pair of fairy wings.

'Are you sure about this?' questioned Floose.

'You want to be a goose don't you?' Sloose replied.

'Well, yes bu..'

'Then yes, I'm sure,' interrupted Sloose.

Floose took the wings, hoping he wouldn't regret it later on. He threw the wings onto his back, eager to look like a goose. Floose's dreams were crushed, when he jumped off his bed, and landed flat on his face. He knew he would never be a goose. He tried to accept the fact, but it never really happened.

Sloose had a brilliant, beyond brilliant idea! His plan was to create a potion, which would turn Floose into a goose. Floose got so impatient; he had a sneak peak at the concoction. Sloose was reaching for his Big Fat Book of Magical Potions. He rummaged through the pages, to find the perfect potion. There it was labeled Goose Juice: Turns Any Animal into a Goose. Sloose then gathered the following ingredients: one pint of apple juice, two cups of chocolate mousse, a branch of white spruce, half a pound of feathers, a pair of wings, and ten rings. Next, he dumped the components into a bowl and mixed it with a ski pole. After he mixed it all up, he poured it into a cup. Once Sloose saw the mixture was done, he took it to Floose. Floose took the cup, unfortunately knowing what was in it. The funky, lumpy liquid flowed roughly down his throat, like a plump pig trying to fit though a mouse hole.

BOOM!

A puff of smoke rose into the air, revealing a feathery white goose named Floose.

Anxious, Floose the goose waddled into town. He was hoping to be treated like a goose, but no one even noticed he was there. He wanted to fit in, and he did. Floose got what he wanted, but it wasn't what he expected. With Sloose by his side, they waddled back home. Floose didn't want to be a goose any longer. He felt much happier when he was a moose. At least Floose was noticed when he was a moose, rather than not noticed at all. Every one loved the old Floose, more than when he was a goose. When Floose said the magic words,

'I don't want to be a goose, I want to be a moose again!' there was a big BOOM and he turned back into a brown, furry, tall moose.

'I told you it is a good thing to be different,' remarked Sloose.

'I know, I should have accepted myself, for who I was. Not what everybody else is. Thank you, Sloose, for showing me what is really important,' acknowledged Floose.

'Always remember to be truthful to yourself and don't feel like you have to change based on others opinions.'

(June 2008)

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Dylan and The Bullies

By Tasha, 14

Dylan is 14 years old and has brown hair, blue eyes, with geeky glasses and he wasn't the best looking kid, but he was very intelligent. He told his mom in the car,

'I don't want to go to school.'

Freshmen year was about to start and poor Dylan didn't have any friends.

Dylan got to class early, to get a seat in the back where the popular kids would usually sit. He said to himself,

'I know I shouldn't sit back here, but oh well.'

As the bell rang everyone started to come in. The popular kids, who are mean and rude to all students classified as anything but popular, demanded Dylan to move. Dylan did what they said instantly.

Dylan went home and ran straight to his bedroom His mom walked in and saw that Dylan was crying. She asked what was wrong and sat on the bed next to him.

He exclaimed,

'The popular kids yelled at me today.'

His mom sighed and said,

'None of this is your fault.'

Dylan replied,

'Yes it is, I knew not to sit in the back and I knew that since I'm so ugly and so much smarter than they are that they would do this to me.'

'No, none of this your fault,' replied his mom.

Dylan finally stopped crying and went down for dinner. When he arrived at the table, he was pleasantly surprised by the aroma of the meatloaf.

'Yum, meatloaf!' he exclaimed.

'Yes, I hope you're hungry because your dad won't be coming home tonight,' his mom said.

Dylan got up and went to the bathroom to wash up. As he did he looked in the mirror, and thought,

'Why can't I be handsome and popular?'

Dylan then decided to go to the barber shop. His mom asked him,

'Is this really what you want?'

He told her, 'Yes, this is what I really want.'

She said, 'Okay.'

When he got there the man asked

'What would you like to do with your hair?'

He replied, 'I have no idea. I just don't want this hair anymore.'

The man said, 'Okay.'

'Would you like to dye your hair today?' the man questioned.

Dylan took a deep breath and thought about it.

'No, I think I will be fine,' he answered.

When the man was done Dylan went immediately to the eye doctor to get contacts. After that they went shopping for 'better' clothes that he liked. The next day at school everyone looked at him and whispered to each other. Two weeks later he got his first girlfriend.

When he went to school the next day all the popular kids asked him to sit next to them so that they could look cool. He told them,

'All you are doing and have been doing is being bullies and you won't have a lot of friends when you get older.'

All their mouths doped and were astonished with his speech. He said to his girlfriend,

'See what you have been missing with hanging out with them.'

Dylan and his girlfriend stayed together for almost a year. But, they did get in little bicker fights and arguments. They thought they loved each other, but they found out that they really didn't like each other like that and broke up. They stayed friends forever and did everything together. They were so happy.

Later on Dylan and everyone else heard about a fire that was in the area and was headed north. They all said,

'Great thing that we are south of the fire.The teachers shut off the TVs'.

Yet, they didn't know the wind started blowing south. The fire spread through the school and most of the bullies got hurt but not horribly. Dylan and his friends were the ones that helped the bullies get out of the school. The bullies felt guilty and learned what goes around comes around.

(June 2008)




















































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Buddy the Beagle

By Aaron, 14

It was the middle of winter in Loveland, Colorado. Children were playing, parents were having fun, and dogs were barking with glee. Everyone seemed to be happy, but a lonely beagle named Buddy. He was lying at home atop their living room couch, watching the local nine o'clock news. He almost always felt sorrow for the people who had been hurt, but today he couldn't focus on it. He couldn't get his mind off a certain joy that he longed for, a joy he wished he could have. He lumbered off the couch to take a leisurely walk. He noticed a peculiar joy in the air, a joy that he longed to feel.

He set off into town, walking down the mountainous, winding road passing the market. He took a left as he usually does but came to a stop at his owner's butcher's shop. He peered in the door and saw his owner, Mr. Blueham. Mr. Blueham was a plump old man, with a beard that needed trimming.

Buddy stood there for only a couple seconds, but that was long enough. He wished he could find a family that cared about him, or at least an owner that did.

He kept on walking, passing happy families with their dogs. He tried to picture himself with them, but couldn't. How he longed for a happy family.

Buddy passed the mailman, who he normally chased, he passed the policeman and gave his usual bark, and he passed the mayor, who gave him a pat on the back. He strolled into the town's park and laid down on the grass. Buddy rolled onto his back so he could feel the warmth of the sun on his belly.

It was starting to get dark before Buddy finally made his way home. Not wanting to be there, he took the long route back. He paused at the screen door before scratching.

'What do you want?!' asked Mr. Blueham.

Buddy replied by giving a light howl.

'Oh, keep quiet,' snarled Mr. Blueham, 'I'll be there in a minute.'

After a few minutes Mr. Blueham waddled to the door. He gave Buddy a stern look, but kept quiet.
Buddy, not feeling like eating, walked into his bed and laid down for a night's rest. He woke up to the unpleasant sound of a truck's horn. Lethargically, he got up and walked to the screen door. He peered outside to see a bright orange, moving truck pull up to the front of a house just down the block. Buddy wondered who would be moving in.

'Move it!' hollered Mr. Blueham as he opened the door to go to his shop.

'Jeez,' thought buddy, 'he doesn't seem to care about me at all.'

With tears in his eyes he strolled out the door to check out the new neighbors. It was a family of four. There was a young boy about 11, a young girl probably 8 and then the two middle-aged parents. To Buddy, they seemed happy, but he knew he would never have a family like that.

He kept on walking down the street to see the other 'happenings' in town. To his dismay, there was nothing interesting, but he kept walking hoping something interesting would happen.

As he strolled down the block he noticed a sign on a near light pole. There was a lost dog and some family had found him. This sparked an idea in Buddie's head. What if he never went back to Mr. Blueham's house and ran away? He could be found by a loving family and live with them forever in peace and harmony. This reality was so close he could almost reach out and grasp it. At that instant he started sprinting as fast as he could. He ran and ran until he saw the family that had just moved in. He knew that this is the house. He walked into their yard where they were playing and enjoying there time. He whimpered and whined hoping they would notice him.

His plan was successful. The family started to play with him. After an hour or so the father hesitantly said,

'Ok you guys, I think we need to find the owner of this cute little beagle.'

'But Daddy, why can't we keep him?' cried the girl.

'No honey, someone is probably looking for him as we speak,' the dad replied.

The mom butted in,

'Sugar, he doesn't have a name tag, I think it would be alright if we 'watch' him for a little while.'

The dad gave in,

'Okay, but he can not sleep on the beds and after a day we are putting up found signs.'

'Thank you daddy!' the kids screamed.

By the time the family had had ended their conversation it was late. They showed Buddy into a small room where they tucked him in and said goodnight.

Buddy thought to himself, 'This is the good life, the life I have always dreamed about.'

Buddy fell into a deep, sleep.

When he woke up he was very excited. He knew he had a family that loved him for him, and he wanted to play. Buddy was so excited that he had an 'accident.' The family scolded him, but they forgave him. Buddy hobbled out into their backyard and ran in circles, trying to get their attention. The little boy came outside to play, but his mother made him eat his waffles first.

After breakfast, the little boy went out to play with him. Buddy was so excited that he finally had someone to play with.

The joy soon wore off when everyone left for school or work. Buddy walked up the stairs and laid down to snooze. It wasn't until six o'clock that they finally came home. He was excited for them to be home because he could play, but to his dismay they paid little attention to him. They either had homework or other things to do. Buddy was very disappointed, but he hoped tomorrow would be better. He went off to bed to sleep off his sadness.

The next morning, bright and early, the door bell rang. It was his plump, old owner that Buddy thought hated him. Mr. Blueham was asking whether they had seen his lost dog. Mr. Blueham was obviously upset and started crying. As he was leaving, the father remembered Buddy, he stopped Mr. Blueham and asked if Buddy happened to be his.

Mr. Blueham, with tears in his eyes, yelled with joy at the sight of Buddy. He ran over and picked him up.

'Buddy! I thought I had lost you forever! I am so glad you're alright! Will you please come back with me? I love you!' Mr. Blueham said with a shaky voice.

After hearing those words Buddy realized that his owner did love him, he did care about Buddy. Mr. Blueham and Buddy walked back to their respected home and lived there with joy, love, and happiness towards each other, and never doubt each others love for one another again.

(June 2008)

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Ping the Friendly Dragon

By Matt, 14

Long ago in China during the Shang Dynasty, there lived a dragon. This dragon's name was Ping and Ping had beautiful scales of green with long whiskers as shiny as gold. He flew gracefully in the sky as if he could walk on clouds. Ping lived in a mountain top cave overlooking a vast forest of shrubs, grass, and bamboo.

The cave he lived in had an enormous pile of sparkling jewels that he inherited from his grandpa when he past away over 50 years ago. Every morning from that day, he would fly to a plain and indulge himself in a delicious tasting panda. Ping was starting to get bored with his same old life, although he had lots of gold and lots of food. He needed something else!

One day, as he flew over his forest in search of panda meat, he saw two pandas eating together. These pandas had black and white spots that looked as if they had been splattered with paint. Ping stealthily crept up behind them, and was about to eat them when he saw something he had never seen before. The two pandas were talking to each other and sharing food and being friendly to each other. As Ping watched them, he began to feel sad. Without eating the Pandas, he returned to his cave to ponder.

Sitting on his enormous pile of gold, silver, and jewels, Ping realized something. He had lots of money and lots of food, but no one to share it with. Ping needed a friend. This friend could not be a dragon because dragons hate each other, and could not be an animal, because he might get hungry. Therefore, his new friend would have to be a human. Ping set off on a journey to find a friend. He flew away from his cave immediately.

On his way he saw a farm full of rice and barley. His stomach rumbled with hunger from flying for over three hours, and he wanted to go down there and gobble the whole field up.

'No, I can't do that,' thought Ping, 'it would be wrong. These people work hard for their food. If I eat their food then they will hate me and I will never have any friends.'

About half an hour later he spotted some lunch. It was a run away horse that was almost dead from thirst. He went down to end its misery.

Ping saw a beautiful village along the Yellow River and landed in a nearby forest and walked in. The first person he saw was a wise, old man eating stir fried vegetables.

'Hello there human, I am kind Ping will you be my friend?' asked Ping.

'AAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH, a dragon, he has come to terrorize our village! Run!' yelled the wise, old man.

He screamed like a little girl and ran far away, dropping his vegetables. Everyone else in the village evacuated. Ping was saddened by the discrimination, but was still determined to find a friend. He ate the vegetables, and flew away just as the National Guard arrived.

Ping flew to a new village that was South of his mountain. He approached a woman selling noodles and rice and said,

'Hello human, I am kind Ping, will you be my friend?'

'Oh my!' she yelled, 'a dragon! Die evil monster!'

The woman started to panic and threw chop sticks and scalding hot food at Ping. Ping hurriedly flew away. So far his attempts to make friends had failed. He decided to try once more to find a friend.

Ping flew to a new village, desperate to find a friend. He flew many miles, and did not rest. Finally, after many days of travel, he arrived at a third village which he was determined to make a friend this time. He landed in a nearby forest and then walked into the small village.

Ping saw a young boy shopping with his mother. He was about to ask the boy to be his friend, when everybody started screaming and running away.

'Stop! Don't scream I'm a nice dragon!' said Ping.

Upon hearing this, the little boy tried to pet Ping, but his mother pulled him back.

'You can't pet evil dragons!' scolded his mother.

Ping was very sad. He left just as the Chinese Army arrived. He flew to a clearing in the forest and started to cry.

An hour later, Ping heard someone screaming. He realized that it was the little boy from the market, who tried to pet him. He immediately flew to the place the screaming came from. When he arrived, he saw the boy stuck in a tree with a lion pacing below. The lion began climbing the tree.

'Help!' the boy cried, 'my name is Ling and I am being attacked by a lion!'

Ping rushed to the rescue. He arrived just as the lion began climbing the tree to get to Ling. Ping knocked the wicked lion off the tree and he cooked it with his fiery breath. Ling climbed down, and thanked Ping. The two immediately became best friends. They ate the lion then flew home.

Once they arrived, the village welcomed Ping as their hero. They threw a party for him and ate noodles until he couldn't eat any more. He made friends with the entire village and Ping made Ling his best friend. Ping ate Mongolian invaders and solved China's invasion problem. And so, Ping went from being a lonely dragon to the most loved dragon in China.

(June 2008)

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The Red Balloon

By Anna, 13

When we were young, we often wondered about the simple things in life. We feared the spaghetti we ate was really a plate of worms. We pondered how the characters on TV got by living in such a small, confined box. We dreamed of what happened to the balloons people let go of at the state fair. Did they drift up into space and linger in the nothingness for all eternity? Were they all caught up in high trees being pecked at by sparrows? No one really knew, but oh, how this fascinated us.

'Mommy look, a Ferris Wheel! Can we go ride mommy? Please?' A four year old boy shrieked to his mom.

'Maybe later, right now we should get something to eat,' replied his mother.

Walking through the carnival grounds, the boy had one hand wrapped around his mother's finger and the other clasping a thin white string. Tied to the end of the string was a brilliant red balloon, blown to maximum capacity, latex shining in the midday sun.

Something caught the boy's eye; a friendly cotton candy vendor smiling in his direction. With a sudden hunger for sugar and sweetness, he slipped away from his mother and ran as fast as his little legs could carry him over to the stand. In all the excitement, he disregarded the empty popcorn box on the ground and stumbled over it, letting go of his precious balloon and falling face first into the dust.

Frantic, he helped himself up and began to yell.

'Mommy! Mommy my balloon! Catch it, catch it!'

It was too late. The balloon had floated out of sight and not even the man on stilts could catch it. Winds blew westward, and after a long, dreary day, the balloon saw lights up ahead. Flickering signs topped glamorous buildings and replicas of world wonders lit up the evening sky. Traffic bustled in the streets below and the honking horns drowned out all music. Narrowly avoiding countless casino spotlights, the balloon left the sparkling city and continued on its journey.

Darkness burst into daylight and the sun arose sleepily, awakening the rooster sitting on its perch. The balloon looked downward as fingers of golden light stretched across the pastures. Cows groaned and pigs squealed as a weary farmer filled their troughs with the same old breakfast, the same old dirty water. Same old ordinary day, they thought. Not far from the animals lay rows and rows of cotton, corn, and groves of trees and berries. Leaving this peaceful place, the balloon once again moved on.

A cold night left the balloon shivering on its string while it awoke to the sound of a banjo strumming. Even from its highway up in the sky, the balloon could hear country music being played live, could see the large stage and the roaring crowds below. Cowboy hats spotted the site and the smells of smoked bacon and potato salad swam in the wind. As the balloon drifted closer, he could see happy couples dancing to the cheerful melodies. After a few songs, the volume waned and the stage began to shrink as the balloon flew further and further away.


The strong northern winds carried the balloon for days and days, until a silvery beacon flashed past it. Spotlights did a waltz across the night sky, bringing the stars to life once again. An obnoxious announcer with a voice like a grizzly bear belted out the score of two to zero, with the Cubs in the lead. The painted faces and foam fingers both cheered and protested when the umpire made the game winning call:

'Safe!'

With fans flooding out of the miniscule doors, the balloon passed over the stadium, drifting away from all the commotion.

In the next couple of days, the balloon noticed the ground becoming closer as its red, vibrant body became smaller and began to lose its luster. However, a promising scene lay just ahead.

A young girl, no more than 10 years old, was lying with her younger brother atop their apartment building. Skyscrapers and noisy streets filled with taxis surrounded them at every angle, providing them with only a glimpse of the harbor and the tall, turquoise woman wading in the water. The children stared up at the sky, creating the most fantastic creatures out of the clouds above.

'Well, I can't see that shoe you mentioned, but I see a flower,' the sister said.

'I see a balloon!' cried the boy.

'Where?' his sister inquired, 'I don't see it!'

'Right there! Look, its red! You can't miss it!'

Confused at her brother's suggestion of a red cloud, she looked around and saw the balloon floating gently down and within her reach. Standing on her tiptoes, she caught the balloon by the frayed end of its string and handed it to her beaming little brother.

'I wonder where it came from?' he said.

(June 2008)

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The Pumpkin Who Cried Pookie

By Priyanka , 13

Once in a land over the river and through the woods, the pudgy prosperous people of Pumpkinopolis lived. They lived regular lives going to work and spending time with families. What was so special about these people? Well, first they were not regular humans like you and me. They had a head, legs and arms but instead of a regular middle they had a pumpkin that was personalized with their names. This is how everyone knew each other and lived in harmony. The people lived in a small, quaint village nestled in the woods beneath a giant hill. On top of the hill was a magnificent castle with turrets and banners and carvings and more. Can you guess who lives there?

The Pumpkin People lived under the kind rule of the Royal Pumpkin Family. There was Peter Pumpkin, the wise and thoughtful king; Petunia Pumpkin the sweet and motherly queen, who saw the citizens of Pumpkinopolis as her children; Polly Pumpkin the wonderful and beautiful princess, who caused many male pumpkin's hearts to beat faster when she walked by. Finally, there was Paul Pumpkin, the prince. Paul... he was the one thing that everyone could not stand. Paul was bossy, mean and cruel. But the worst thing about Paul was his tricks. Paul would lie and trick people constantly and that was what made him unbearable.

Now, like every royal family there is always a royal pet. In this case, it was Pookie Pumpkin the royal bear. Pookie had been living in the castle since he was a cub. When he was rescued from the wrath of a squash bolf (wolf-bear) he came to the castle and was there ever since. Pookie was kind, cute, playful, and protective. But, Pookie never got over his childhood incident and was deathly afraid of squash bolfs.

Now, the last thing about Pumpkinopolis was that they loved Halloween. It was the one time of the year when the people of Pumpkinopolis celebrated their lives and existence. Halloween was so important it was almost religious. The people cooked, decorated and on the night of Halloween, everyone would come to the castle for a grand feast where they ate until there pumpkin tummies looked like giant orange balloons.

'I just love Halloween!' cried the women pumpkins, 'we just love to decorate the house.'

However the kids would insist that the best part was the cake 'WE WANT CAKE!'

On Halloween, Paul was taking Pookie for a walk while his family and the citizens of Pumpkinopolis were busy preparing for the feast. Paul, thinking he was too important for matters like that, decided to take Pookie for a walk and get some dirt on him after Polly had given him a bath. Now, as they were walking through the woods a terrible snarl erupted throughout the forest shaking the trees. A squash bolf suddenly appeared in the trees and before Paul could even blink Pookie was gone running like he had never run before.

As soon as Pookie had departed, the squash bolf lost interest and walked away. Paul was left in a puddle of self pity.

'Will dad let me have cake after I lost Pookie?' thought Paul miserably as he trudged back to the castle.

He then hastened to tell his parents and Polly about Pookie and to send out a search party. As soon as his parents found out, they called all the villagers to help them look for their beloved bear. The villagers, though irritated by Paul's behavior which would cause them to miss the feast, quickly got into search groups to find Pookie with the royal family. All except for one.

Paul decided that he would stay home and eat cake, while everyone else looked for Pookie.

'They don't need me,' thought Paul, 'what's one more person going to do? Besides by staying here I can 'let them know' if Pookie comes back to the castle.'

Paul was forming one of his brilliant ideas which usually were not that brilliant. Before going into search groups the royal family had said that if they found Pookie, they should call the village cry of 'Polly Polly Poxin Free!' after the beautiful princess Polly. Paul thought that he would cry, 'Polly Polly Poxin Free' and see if anyone would come back.

Paul stepped out of the castle to the courtyard, went to the royal bell and started ringing it.

'POLLY POLLY POXIN FREE! POLLY POLLY POXIN FREE! *BING* *BING* *BING*,' Paul screamed at the top of his lungs over the clanging bell.

Like a horde of angry bees the villagers and the royal family began poring out of the forest to answer Paul's cries.

'Where is HE?' screamed the villagers.

'Paul did you find him?' asked Polly, near tears.

'Paul, son, tell me where he is!' asked King Peter Pumpkin

Paul grinned and replied, 'he is not here. I was just kidding. You might want to head back to the forest.'

The villagers, grumbling and snarling made their way back to the forest while talking about how nice it was before Paul was born. The royal family left without a word and Polly flashed one look of annoyance back at her younger brother who was still grinning.

Half an hour later the bells started again.

'POLLY POLLY POXIN FREE! POLLY POLLY POXIN FREE! *BING* *BING* *BING*. I FOUND HIM THIS TIME!' rang out Paul trying to hide his laughter.

Once again this time like an angry bull charging towards a red flag, the villagers and the royal family came once more back to the castle.

'Oops sorry. I thought he was here. I guess you better get back to looking,' said Paul, flashing his smile all around while holding his tubby pumpkin middle, 'look harder will you? The cake is getting stale and I am starving.'

The villagers all glared at Paul and somewhat reluctantly headed back to the depths of the now dark forest.

Paul stood there for a moment contemplating what trick to play next.

'I am bored,' he thought aloud, 'I think I will go help them find Pookie. After all, with my expertise we should find Pookie in no time.'

And with that Paul trudged off into the forest, waddling against his body, the bell in his hands.

After five minutes of searching Paul was about to give up when he saw a figure in the distance.
'It must be Pookie,' thought Paul.

'POOKIE! YOU COME HERE RIGHT NOW!' screeched the pudgy prince.

Pookie did not move but Paul did not think too much about it. He started to ring the bell yelling,

'POLLY POLLY POXIN FREE! POLLY POLLY POXIN FREE!'

The creature in the shadows had turned around as Paul was yelling. Now he was growling menacingly. It was then that Paul realized that this was not Pookie. As the thing moved into the light of the moon, growing and snarling, Paul realized with horror that it was a squash bolf.

He began ringing the bell frantically, while thinking why no one had come.

'HELP ME HELP ME! I AM BEING ATTACKED BY A SQUASH BOLF!' shouted Paul ringing the bell and crying softly.

No one came. The villagers thought that this was one of Paul's stupid tricks and they did not believe him when for the first time he was telling the truth. The squash bolf moved closer. Paul tried to run but he tripped over a tree root and landed on his pumpkin belly. He was trapped.

Suddenly out of nowhere, as the squash bolf was inches from Paul's face, slobber dripping down it's mouth in anticipation of the meal it was about to have, Pookie burst from the trees to save Paul from the squash bolf. Pookie jumped, tackled, hit, scratched and tore at the squash bolf with an expression on his face that could only be described as fury. Paul watched all this with a sad heart. He had just narrowly escaped death. But why did he deserve to live? From then on Paul decided he was going to tell the truth and only the truth. Paul was going to be a better person treating the people that he loved and cared for with respect. Did that mean no more tricks? Of course not! But they would not be mean or put the life of another being in danger. All of these thoughts hit Paul like a speeding pumpkin. Swiftly, he was pushed to the ground.

Pookie was on top of him licking his face and the squash bolf was nowhere to be seen. Pookie had not only saved Paul, but had overcome his fear of squash bolfs.

'Nice to see you buddy!' said Paul affectionately rubbing Pookie's head. 'We were worried. Let's go get you cleaned up,' and with that the boy and his bear left the forest to head back to the castle.

As soon as they got back, Paul rushed inside to find the villagers and his family sitting with their heads down. Most were crying, but at the sound of the door everyone looked up and Polly screamed,

'THEY ARE ALIVE. POOKIE! PAUL!' she ran from the throne and gave both of them hugs.

Before anyone could say anything else Paul spoke,

'I am sorry I tricked everyone and I am sorry I ruined your Halloween. But I am a changed person and I will try to do better. From now on it will only be the truth. And I wanted to say that the reason I wasn't here was because I got attacked by a squash bolf. I would not be here if Pookie had not saved me. This is all my fault and I am truly sorry.'

Everyone was silent for a moment and then Petunia stood up.

'Of course we forgive you honey. Now who wants cake?'

For the rest of the night, everyone feasted and celebrated the happy holiday of Halloween. Paul did change and Pookie was no longer afraid. King Peter built a statue of the courageous bear in his honor. Polly went on later to marry a handsome prince from a far away land. You might know it, it's called Turkey. The people of Pumpkinopolis thrived and lived in bliss.
(July 2008)

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The Big Challenge

By Aidan, 13

There I was, heading to camp Pali. I know the camp is fun because I have been there 2 other times. At this camp they have around 30 different specialities including Secret Agent camp, Hollywood stunts, water sports and a whole lot more. My name is Josh and I am going with my friend Aidan.

When we finally arrive at camp everyone is extremely happy to see many familiar faces. Everyone was so happy that we were saying stuff at the same time that I did not hear a word anyone was saying. The camp is surrounded by trees and the cities that we came from re not visible and are miles away.

The camp was on Pali Mountain next to Running Springs, California and it was June 27, 2007. After we got our cabin numbers we went and put our bags next to our bunk beds. Once we got settled in we met our cabin counsellors. Every counsellor has a fake name and our counsellors names were Yogi Bear and Bomber.

We went to the lake to hang out and see if there were any fish. The lake was huge. We were there for a couple of hours. The whole time we were there we skipped rocks. Aidan got the rock to skip the most.

The next morning we set out on a hike into the wilderness. This was a part of the special ops camp. The part of this hike that we had to succeed in was getting a counsellor back to camp.

The counsellor pretended to be hurt and we had to put him on a stretcher and carry him back to camp. The hard part was that we had to defend ourselves from people who would attack us with paintball guns. The next morning someone in our group was attacked by the people trying to stop us.

The group was getting very angry and people were starting to argue. It was getting dark and the group started turning on their lanterns. Half the group stayed with the counsellor. The other half kept watch in case the people with paintball guns came back to attack us again. About twenty minutes later Aidan and I came running into camp yelling,

'They're right behind us!' and 'They're after us!'

The group was in red alert! Aidan and I grabbed our paintball guns and turned on our headlamps. We could see our opponents because they had their flashlights waving from tree to tree. Suddenly I realized they didn't want the element of surprise at all. Then I knew why; if they were weak they're lights would be off.

All these lights meant only one thing. Aidan and I were scared stiff because we knew what it was. The lights weren't looking for us, the lights were guiding the way for something big, and that something big was headed straight for us! Suddenly I saw what at first could be mistaken for a sunset but the light was coming from the east. I knew all to well what that meant. It was a giant fire heading for us! I yelled,

'Fire!'

Instantly the Counsellor was yelling,

'Run to the fire shelter house!'

10 minutes later every single kid was in the shelter. It was kind of loud because people were panting, talking, and crying.

Later that evening there were sirens outside. People were yelling,

'Get the base part of the fire'.

The next morning the fire was all put out and barely anyone had gotten any sleep. A few fire fighters came in and told us to call our parents. When it was my turn I dialled my dad's phone. When he answered, I said,

'Dad, there was a small fire and you need to come pick us up.'

He said, 'Alright, when do we have to be there?'

I replied, 'I think by the end of tomorrow.'

He said, 'OK, see you tomorrow.'

We both said bye and I hung up. Later that night when we needed to go to bed neither Aidan or I could sleep, so we started to talk. About thirty minutes later Aidan passed out right there on the floor. I started to laugh. I just left him there and I went to my bunk and went to sleep. That very next morning we woke up and started to pack. When my dad came he said,

'Are you guys OK?'

We all replied, 'Yes we're fine.'

He said, 'Good, are you guys ready to go?'

Aidan said, 'Yes, we're ready.'

On the way home we talked about what had happened. Even though some unfortunate events went happened at this camp, we never stopped going to that strange camp called camp Pali.

(June 2008)

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The Trip

By K.J., 14

Once upon a time there were three little boys and their odd little selves. First, there was K.J. the strong, sweet, and handsome type. He had blue eyes, blonde hair, and a smile that could light up a room. Next, there was Chandler, the sensitive, caring, great one. He had brown hair, green eyes, and a great personality. Last, the trustworthy, nice, shy, giggly one, Augie. He had brown hair, blue eyes, and a small slender body. These three best friends lived in beautiful, sunny Phoenix, Arizona.

On this particular day they were all at K.J.'s house hanging out playing 'Simpson's Road Rage.' Augie's thirst was great and he needed a soda to quench it. He power walked downstairs to the basement before it was his next turn to play. He was just about to grab a Diet Dr. Pepper, (he's trying to keep his slender body) when he caught a glimpse of something peculiar. He went to it and couldn't believe his eyes; it was a time machine.

Chandler and K.J. were wondering what took Augie so long to get a simple soda. They crept down the stairs as they were going to give him a fright. They stepped up behind him and scared him so bad that he nearly jumped out of his pants. Shook and out of breath, Augie took a big swig of his soda and excitedly whispered,

'You'll never guess what I found down here.'

He showed the boys the time machine and they went wild. After minutes of fighting, they finally arrived at when and what they would like to go back in time to see. K.J. thought of the idea. It was to go back to 1996 on the Las Vegas strip to save Tupac from his untimely death.

They all rushed home, except K.J. of course, to pack for one of the best trips of their lives. Augie ran home and got two fresh pairs of underwear, some other clothes, his blankie, and some food. His mom asked what he was packing for. He lied to her saying he was sleeping over at K.J.'s house and he would be back in 2 days. Chandler packed mostly everything Augie did except for the blankie. Chandler brought his trustful Binky the Bear. He told his mom he was sleeping over at K.J.'s house also. Meanwhile K.J. got all his things together. The boys were back over at K.J.'s house in a snap.

The boys packed all of their things into the time machine. They were really hungry so before taking off K.J.'s mom made them all ham sandwiches on wheat bread with everything on them. The boys were stuffed after 2 sandwiches K.J. told his mom he was going to Augie's house to sleep over and would be back in 2 days or so. The boys crept down to the basement without K.J.'s mom noticing. They hurried inside the time machine and set the time to September 6th, 1996, the day before Tupac was shot leaving a Mike Tyson fight.

Boom!

The time machine hit the ground and the boys were on the Las Vegas strip. They were so excited to be there. They needed to find a hotel to stay in for a while. The Grand Victorian would be perfect for them. Somehow they would need to think of a plan on how to get a room card. Chandler thought of a great idea. First, he would create a distraction. Then Augie would get all the front desk workers attention by yelling that he needs help. Finally, K.J. would sneak behind the front desk, find an open room, and print off the room key.

So it was final, the plan was going down. They all walked in and saw a wet floor sign. Chandler ran right through it, pretended to slip hard and started to cry. Augie yelled,

'Help! I think he broke his leg, get someone fast.'

The front desk people and all the guests ran over to help. Meanwhile, K.J. slipped behind the desk and printed off a room key. Once the boys saw him do that, Chandler pretended to walk it off and Augie helped. In no time at all the boys got into the room, settled in, and put all their stuff away.

Since they still had a day until Tupac's death, they decided to hang out by the pool and check out the babes. Of course they didn't know if any babes were going to stay at such a nice hotel. It's not much of a kids place. Although there were some girls there, their age named Heather, Julia, and Christa. They walked up and introduced themselves to the beautiful young ladies. They seemed to like them and Heather and K.J. hit it off, Chandler and Julia enjoyed each other, but Augie and Christa were complete opposites yet still had interest. The boys didn't dare to reveal there story so they kept it sweet and short. They were here on vacation from Canada. They were so excited to meet the girls Chandler quickly invited them to possibly go to lunch tomorrow and talk some more before they had to go to the fight. So it was a date they would meet the girls down at the pool at exactly 2:00 o'clock.

The boys raced back to the room to declare who slept where. K.J. received one of the two beds and Augie received the other. Chandler had the option to either sleep on the floor or on a small uncomfortable chair. He chose the floor. They woke up late at half past noon. Augie pulled out some fruit he brought along and passed it out to everyone. Once they had a little snack before the lunch-in with the girls they showered and got ready for the day. It was two and the boys rushed down to the pool the girls weren't there yet.

'Typical girls for you always running late,' Chandler squealed.

Right when he said that the girls were behind him, they didn't mind though and neither did we because they looked hot.

'Ready to go?' Julia asked.

'Yes where would you like to eat?' K.J. Replied.

All agreed on McDonald's since they all didn't have much money. Everyone got a hamburger and fries, except the two opposites. Augie got a chicken sandwich and fries, and Heather got chicken nuggets and fries. Everyone laughed when they discovered it. They sat in the McDonald's for a long time and when K.J. looked at his phone he couldn't believe what time it was. The time flew by it was already 6:00. They hugged the girls and gave them a good by kiss if they never saw them again.

The boys rushed to the hotel and it took 30 minutes to get back, so it was almost 6:40. The fight started at 8:00 and they had to find some very cheap tickets so they can keep and eye on Tupac at all times. They put their best clothes on and hopped on a bus because Mandalay Bay was on the whole other side of the strip of where they were. The boys arrived in front at 7:20 and found a scalper that was selling some pretty cheap tickets. They used all the money they had to bargain for three tickets, the guy finally budged. They acted like they were with this one family and got inside; the seats were terrible though right up in the nose bleed section.

They spotted Tupac and wanted to keep an eye on him. It was in the last round of fighting and Mike Tyson was declared the unanimous winner at the end. They saw Tupac stay after and go back stage to give Mike a hug and congratulate him for the win. They walked back to the back stage exit so they could find Tupac walk out, but they stayed out of clear sight. K.J. whispered,

'Hey did you know I read that Tupac died because one of his bodyguards forgot his gun in the car, to defend him.'

'SHHHHH!' Augie exclaimed.

They saw a dark, black truck coming up the street this was it Chandler was the key player at this moment. If he didn't come through by pushing Tupac out of the way this trip would be pointless. Chandler started sprinting toward Tupac and just as some shots were fired Chandler jumped and put Tupac out of harm's way. The trip was accomplished and now we could safely go home. They headed back to the hotel packed up all there stuff and set the time back.

Boom!

They landed back in K.J.'s basement safely. They walked up stairs and everything was different, the house was much nicer and everything was gold and platinum records. K.J. saw his dad and didn't recognize him. K.J. asked,

'Dad is that you?'

'What are you talking about homie? DK doesn't have any kids,' replied K.J.'s dad.

'Who is DK?' asked K.J.

'I am DK the most famous rapper, ever since Tupac inspirited me,' replied K.J.'s dad.

K.J. went outside with his friends and he couldn't believe his dad didn't know who he was. This all went wrong and K.J. and his friends needed to go back in time and let Tupac die all over again. Because, if they could not get their life back they would be homeless, with nowhere to go, and with no family. So they packed up some more food and were off to save the day. Instead of going back to the day before Tupac died, they went back to the night of the concert. They wasted no time and arrived at the front of Mandalay Bay where the fight took place. This time they didn't buy tickets and waited outside by the backstage exit. The boys fell asleep and heard all this commotion. They woke up and saw Tupac coming out of the backstage; the black truck was pulling up. They couldn't believe they were actually witnessing this. The boys heard 6 rounds fired and Tupac fell to his knees dead and one of his bodyguards was wounded. It was one of the worst things to see as one of the greatest rappers of all time to just die.

The whole ride home from Vegas was complete silence as they thought about how precious life really is. When they got home K.J.'s dad was at his normal job and everything was perfect. That day they went home knowing to never look back and to always live everyday to the fullest like it's your last.

(June 2008)


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The Kings Loss

By Brennan, 13

Once, a long time ago in a barren desert filled with wastes of many wars and victories, there was a king who was the most magnificent king of the land, Grimles. He had the most vibrant red cape embodied with small white diamonds. His crown was pure gold with a giant red ruby implanted to the crown. He had the most beloved wife Isabel, and his courageous son Leo. As powerful and intimidating as he was, he still had enemies. As numerous as his enemies were though, they still failed to defeat him.

'So we are having a family dinner tonight. Finally, away from all the others,' enquired Isabel.

'Yes,' answered Grimles.

Grimles set off to prepare his army. After hours of training his new archer team, Grimles exclaimed,

'We are ready to fight.'

'Thank you king,' said Onue, the head archer, as he bowed.

His melee, a close ground group that fought with swords, was ready for battle they have been experienced for three years now. Suddenly a messenger came.

'I carry a message from the new dark emperor, Enu. He challenges your power with a war starting tomorrow. Be ready!'

As the archer rode away,

'Kill him, kill him now!' shouted Grimles.

Onue shot a piercing arrow straight into the messenger. He fell over dead as his horse ran away. Grimles smiled as he walked off, his army was ready.

Grimles got home late and found his wife sitting on a chair.

'You forgot again. You are so caught up with this war,' stated Isabel angrily.

'I am sorry, it will not happen again. It is just that we had to train for hours because a new emperor, Enu, proposed a threat against us,' Grimles explained.

'Do not let it happen again!' commanded Isabel.

They went away to bed. When Grimles woke he found Roku, melee battle master, standing over him.

'Enu's army is approaching,' said Roku.

Grimles got up and prepared as fast as he could. He ran out to the towers and looked over the edge.

'No, this is horrible!' yelled Grimles. 'Prepare for battle!'

The army quickly prepared and got into stance.

'Wait, wait, FIRE,' shouted Grimles.

The archers shot. Many soldiers went down but they still came.

'Keep going they are still coming!' said Grimles.

They were now around twenty yards away.

'Melee, attack,' said Grimles.

Grimles army rushed Enu's army. It was a long hard battle with lots of clashing of blades.

'Grimles, behind you,' said a soldier.

Grimles slashed behind him and a man fell. They were now getting tired and weary, then right when they thought it was over,

'Oh no, they have archers,' yelled Roku.

'Shield position,' shouted Grimles.

They all gathered into a position where their shields completely covered all of them. The arrows just clanged and bounced off their shields. But they had no way of killing the archers. Then Grimles archers shot down most of Enu's archers so they retreated as did their melee army. Grimles and his army went back to their kingdom with a smile of victory across their faces.

'This is a proud day, you should all be proud,' said Grimles. 'But it is not over,' he continued.

When Grimles walked into his house he found a note. It read, I am sorry Grimles but we just can not stay here you pay no attention to us and it is not good for your son. I am leaving you.

'What, this cannot be!' shouted Grimles.

He stomped out of his house in rage. He gathered his army in the mid of night and went to attack Enu's village.

'Excuse me sir, but what is the meaning of this?' questioned a soldier.

Grimles did not answer him, but just kept on walking. He motioned for his army to come with him. They soon got to the front of Enu's village.

'Get out here!' shouted Grimles.

Enu walked out with his army ready to fight, but a shocking sight over came Grimles. He saw Isabel with Enu.

'What is this,' shouted Grimles.

Grimles, in rage, thrust his weapon through the air right into Enu. He fell, dead.

'What will you do now, your king has fallen and your husband, Isabel, has died' shouted Grimles.

Grimles army and archers attacked. Grimles, a tear running down his face, was watching. Nobody was left alive. Grimles army went back to their kingdom. The next night Grimles went back to the front of Enu's kingdom. He shouted in to the air,
'Why, why, what have I become.'

Then Isabel and Leo walked out, covered in ashes, with tears running down his dirty face, he ran to Isabel and picked her up in his arms.

'I am sorry I got so caught up, will you forgive me?' questioned Grimles.

'Yes,' said Isabel happily.

They ran back to the kingdom. They climbed the stairs to the top of the castle and Grimles shouted,

'My kingdom is complete, and I will never again let what really matters slip away for what does not matter that much.'

Everyone cheered. And they were never defeated again. They died a noble death and everyone remembered them.

(June 2008)

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Alice the Hungry Alligator

By Mark, 13

There once was a lonely alligator who lived in a lake at the edge of the Enchanted Rainbow Forest. She was not a very happy alligator and was always looking for something to eat. She hoped to one day find some kind of food that would make her happy. But she ate everything in the lake.

She ate the birds, she ate the bees, she ate the frogs, she ate the logs but nothing made her happy. So one day she said,

'Hey! I'll go on a journey through the forest, to find that magical food.'

So off she went in search of this mystical food. She wandered around the edge of the lake, at the edge of the lake she met a turtle,

'Why hello there alligator, I'm Timmy.'

'Hello Timmy, I'm looking for food and you look mighty tasty.'

'Oh no alligator, you can't eat me, my shell is too hard, your teeth are too soft, but I have something that I think you will love.'

So he worked his way slowly into the bushes. He came back with some leaves and berries.

'Here is a salad, it is my favourite food in the whole forest.'

Alice ate the salad in a single gulp, she still was not happy, so she walked away and got in the water. She swam through the lake, and when she got to the middle she saw a little orange fish.

'Hello there alligator, my name is Freddy.'

'Why hello there Freddy, I'm looking for some food and you look mighty tasty.'

'Oh no alligator, you can't eat me, my bones are too small, and they will get stuck in your throat. But I have something you will love to try.'

So the fish swam down to the bottom of the lake. He came back with a lobster.

'This is my favorite of all foods here in this lake.'

Alice ate the lobster, but she did not feel any happier. So she swam the rest of the way to the other end of the lake. She got out of the water and out by the bushes there was a fluffy white bunny.

'Hello alligator, my name is Bonny.'

'Hello there Bonny, I'm looking for some food and you look mighty tasty.'

'Oh no alligator, you can't eat me. My fur does not taste good and is hard to swallow. But I have something you can eat.'

The bunny scampered off into the forest. She returned with some carrots.

'These are my favorite, I eat them every day.'

Alice ate the carrots, but she was still as unhappy as before, so she walked off into the thick forest.
She was walking down a path, looking for some food, when a brown monkey popped out from a tree above.

'Hello there alligator, my name is Marty.'

'Hello there Marty, I'm looking for some food and you look mighty tasty.'

'Oh no alligator, you can't eat me. My fur does not taste good, and neither does my meat. But I have something for you that will really make you happy.'

Marty swung back into the trees above. He returned with a bunch of bananas.

'Try these alligator, these bananas are the best in the forest.'

Alice ate the bananas, but still she was unhappy. She walked on through the forest. She stopped in a clearing in the forest and sat on a log next to a tree.

'I will never find anything that makes me happy, I could look forever and still find nothing.'

Just then a caterpillar crawled along a branch next to her. She was prickly and green. She just sat there on the branch and looked over at Alice, and Alice stared back.

'Hello there alligator, my name is Cindy.'

'Hello there Cindy, I'm looking for food, but you are too small to eat, and you don't look very good.'

'Why do you search for food all of this day?'

'I am unhappy and have no friends, I want more food to make me happy.'

'I will be your friend alligator, but I don't think I caught your name.'

'My name is Alice, and why would you want to be my friend, I'm a mean, grumpy alligator who lives at the end of the lake.'

'Because I have no friends of my own, I live alone in this tree, just eating the leaves, for the same reason you do. Why don't we meet here again tomorrow, the sun is setting and I must go to bed.'

'Certainly Cindy, I'll be here at noon.'

'Goodbye Alice.'

'Goodbye Cindy, I will see you tomorrow.'

Alice walked back to her home, at the end of the lake. She passed Marty and Bonny and Timmy and all the others she met along the way. But there was something different about them, they all looked at her differently, with smiles on their faces. That was because Alice too had a smile on her face.
She went to bed that night still grinning, happy at last, happy she had a friend and not because she was fed. So the next morning she went on her way, to see her friend Cindy and stay there all day.

(June 2008)

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Abella the Beautiful

By Angela and Kayla, 14 and 13

The forest surrounding me is enchanting, something I have never seen before. The flowers are colors of green, purple, pink and yellow and have the most delicious smell. The trees tower over me, with moss spreading around their bark. Deer, foxes, and rabbits are trotting across my path, as if they didn't notice me standing there.

'Abella', shrieked a voice.

I didn't recognize the name, but I whipped my head around to see two abnormally small people gazing upward, smiling at me,

'Abella, where have you been?'

'We have been watching over you for many years my dear, but recently we have lost track of you,' spoke the small girl.

I look at them curiously,

'Where am I?'

'Well, The Twilight Forest of course.'

'I'd like to go home now.'

'We're afraid we can't let you do that.'

Their smile is frightening and I can't take it any longer. I turn around and run, hoping I can find a way back home.

As I was running, I stopped at the sight of a glorious creature. The creature spoke to me,

'Oh dear child, are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost!'

I stared at her. She is so beautiful, her hair was the color of blood, her eyes remind me of an emerald, and her skin of porcelain. She was flawless. The woman scrutinizes me,

'You look quite alright, my dear. I am Amelia, Queen of Zotat, the Fey, and you my child are in my bright court.'

I looked at her to see that she was studying me.

'Pray tell, what is the Fey?'

'Darling, how can you not know what the Fey is? It's a fairy court.'

I stared at her for her silly response, fairy court. How childish.

'My, my, you are quite the beautiful one,' Amelia quickly changed the subject.

'Thank you,' I stammered.

'I saw you once as a baby, but I never imagined I would once see you like this. Your hair is a brilliant shade of black; it highlights your shimmering green eyes. Your skin looks almost translucent, and is extremely beautiful.'

'I thought fairies were supposed to be mean to things that aren't their kind? That's how it is in books,' I said all of a sudden, jumping back to the topic of fairies.

'Don't speak such horrid things! We are peaceful creatures and you're not human, but merely a fairy. You do have a hint of humanity left but that can easily be taken care of,' she smiled maliciously.

'And how will you do that?' I asked suspiciously.

The Queen smiled again but there is something strange about it. She took my hand and I felt some kind of surge, almost like an adrenaline rush. From that moment, I knew what she was doing, filling me with power, power that was rightfully mine.

Waking up from a dream like that was hard. It's what made me think my life was boring on my walk to school. I have a boring family, boring friends, and boring school work. Though it wasn't all boring, for I had that dream every night. A dream that makes me feel special, superior, in charge. I felt like there is something about me that I have yet to discover. And now I was more determined to find out what it was about me.

In my dreams I'm in a forest, which seems vaguely familiar. Instead of going to school, I feel like finding out if this forest was real. When I followed the trail I went on in my dreams, I actually found it. On the outside it looks normal, but right when I started walking I felt something prickling all over my skin. I blinked once and found myself in a whole other forest. It doesn't look real, the way everything looks, too perfect like. The forest of my dreams, the one I see every night.

'Abella,' I heard a voice shriek the familiar name from my dream. I turned my head around and saw the two little people from my dreams.

'Hey, I know you! I see you every night in my dreams. Why do you call me Abella? My name is Cordelia,' I told them.

'Yes, we do visit you in your dreams. Although you always run away from us,' pouted the girl.

'Now, come with us. We must take you to the Queen. Oh, and trust me my dear, your name is Abella.'

They took my hand and lead me to a palace. They lead me to a room they called the Bright Court. The Queen sat on a throne high above us, up many stairs. We walked the stairs to her. When she saw me, she smiled.

'Hello, my child,' she greeted me.

'Child?' I asked in confusion.

'Of course, you are my daughter after all, Princess of Zotat. You see, I gave birth to you in the human world. At the time we were in a war and I knew you would be safer in the human world than mine. You weren't allowed to come back to Fey until you were 15, as you are now. We had to give you a home to stay in, so we gave you to the nice couple you lived with until now. Welcome home Abella.'


Amelia my mother, grabbed my hands just like she did in my dream, and I felt that powerful rush.

'Let go, what are you doing to me!?' I yelped.

'Calm down dear, I am only returning your powers to you,' she replied.

'Powers, but humans don't have powers,' I took a step back from her. I had no idea what she was talking about.

'Goodness, how many times must I tell you? You are not human. You are Abella, the Princess Fairy.'

I looked at Amelia in awe, she was serious. She truly believes that we are some mythical creatures. But she has yet to prove anything to me. I did not believe her.

'Prove it. Prove to me that we are fairies,' I said with a stern voice.

'Oh I will do that without hesitation, I will show you the elements. I learned them from a dear friend, a witch actually,' Amelia said matter of factly.

Out of nowhere it started to get windy, my hair stirred all over my face rapidly. And then, in the blink of an eye, it stopped. Heat, lots of heat, it felt as if you're in the very starting point of the fire. Wetness, my face damp, my hair drenched, and then, once again, it stops. Under my feet I feel movement, the earth. I smell wheat, grass, every earthy smell. Then suddenly claustrophobia. I feel tense and squished. As if there was a hundred people just crowding around me.

'Stop it, stop it right now!' I cry.

Amelia laughs, her eyes jumping with amusement.

'You think this is funny!' I cried.

'Oh yes, very amusing when a child first sees what she is to become,' she said with a smile.

'Do you believe me now? Or must I prove more to you?' she questioned.

'No, that's fine, I am quite convinced,' I said with a strangled voice, 'I just don't believe that I am magical and have powers.'

'Oh, but you do! We must start your training at once!'

She turned and hurriedly walked away. I ran after her.

'Training, what training? Training for what?'

'Well your powers of course. You must learn to use them and how to handle them, not let them control you.'

We walked passed many staring eyes. As I got glimpses of them they looked beautiful but evil. Something was just very wrong about the way they looked at me, like I'm some kind of outsider.

'What's wrong with those?' I hesitate, 'those fairies?'

'Those over there? They are corrupted fairies, they mean nothing to us, so just ignore them and they will leave you alone.'

Amelia took hold of my hands and we walked into an unusual chamber. There were lots of books, and small bottles of colored liquids.

'Ah, here we are. You know I learned all my powers in this very room, and now so shall you.'

'Where do we begin?' I ask annoyed, I still did not believe that I was magical.

For many days I learned the elements, how to use glamour to hide my fairy looks, and how to make different potions. I went through many training lessons, my mother always the one teaching me but today I have a different teacher. His name is Kalan, the warrior. He was 16, but was very skilled and educated.

'Very good Abella, you're improving oh so much, I am very impressed,' he complimented me with a heart melting smile, after hours of training.

I blushed, 'thankyou Kalan, but its only because you're an amazing teacher.'

Kalan smiled and went back to training me. I soon realized I was falling in love with him. That boy was sublime. He had brown shaggy hair; screaming silver blue eyes that just pierce right through you. Striking facial features, and the most charming personality. Kalan was wonderful, though whenever we were having a moment where I thought he liked me, he started training me again.

Two days later, while training, he asked me,

'Aren't you going to miss your human friends?'

'I didn't really have a lot of friends in that world. I always felt like an outsider, and I guess I was.'

'I find it hard to believe that anyone could not like you,' I turned my face to his. He smiled.

'It's not that they didn't like me. I just didn't like them. I think I would fall in love with someone from my real kind,' I said with a slight smile.

'Your real kind?'

'Someone like...you,' I whispered.

I looked up at him but he did not hear what I said. I was grateful for that.

A loud sound went off while he was teaching me the elements. It sounded like an alarm. We went outside the palace and saw everyone running, panicking.

'What's going on?' I asked with a shaky voice.

'War, the dark court has declared war. They are here outside those gates.'

Kalan pointed to these massive gold gates with odd creatures with snarling faces pushing to get in. I was scared. I did not know what the Dark Court was capable of. It scared me to think that I was in the middle of a war.

'This is what your mother protected you from in the human world. She did not want you to get hurt, for you were such a small child.'

'We should run Kalan. We need to get away!'

'No, my princess. You must get away. You must go into the castle, and I must protect you. Our great warriors will fight for our freedom from the dark court. If all goes well, we shall conquer them and be free from their dark magic.'

He grabbed my arm and we ran towards the castle. The alarm was growing louder and louder until it abruptly stopped.

'What happened?' I asked him.

'They're here. Run my princess, run!' I turned and ran towards the door to the castle. I looked back and saw Kalan pull the sword from his belt in pursuit for battle.

'Meet me in the great chamber at the far side of the palace!' he told me.

I did not want to leave him but I listened to what he said and ran into the palace. I arrived at the chamber. It was dark and eerie with hard stone walls and a great fireplace. I fell to the ground and wept. Somehow, in the mists of my weeping, I fell into a deep sleep.

When I awoke, I was in my bedroom. The fireplace was blazing with a roaring fire. I rolled to my side and my eyes fell on Kalan, sitting in a chair that was pushed up to the edge of my bed. His head rested on my sheets.

'Kalan?' I whispered.

He stirred around a bit, and then his eyes fluttered open. When he got a glimpse of me, a big goofy grin made it's away across his face.

'When did you get in here?' I asked quietly.

'Is the war over?' I sat up in bed awaiting an answer.

'Yes princess, it is. We won. The dark court is now and forever forbidden from our land. We are safe from their horrid magic.'

'Have many of our men and woman died?'

'None, we defeated them with no worry...'

'And the Queen?'

'You mean your mother.'

'She is not my mother. My mother lives in the human world.'

'Abella, you have to accept your new life. The Queen is your mother. The woman we put you with was merely your caretaker until you were old enough to come to your real home. You are part of the Fey, a fairy and most definitely not a human.'

'She was not my caretaker! She was my mother! She is my mother! She took care of me and where was the Queen? She was here. My mother is human.'

'I have no further interest to argue with you Abella. Think what you may, but you are wrong. Now get some rest to build up your strength. Your training will continue soon.'

With that, he got up from the chair and walked out of the room.

The next morning, a messenger came to my bedroom and dropped a single piece of paper onto the table by my door. I thanked him and he left with a nod. I got out of bed and walked to the table. The paper was an invitation to a ball on the following night. I was confused. I did not know of any ball. I got dressed and ate a quick meal. Then I headed to my training classes with Kalan. When I reached him I said,

'Kalan, is there a ball?'

'Yes Princess. Why might you ask?'

'I got an invitation. I was wondering if perhaps it was from you.'

'If only, princess, but no, I did not send for you to come to the ball with me. It was your mother Abella.'

'Oh. Then I shall go with her, as my mother,' I said, hoping he would catch my words and appreciate what I had said.

He did, with a turn he raised his brow to me.

'Your mother?' he asked.

'My mother. I have accepted my way of life. I am a fairy and I am destined to live here, with my mother, and with you.'

He looked puzzled and dropped the subject instantly.

'We must cut our training for today. There is much I must do to prepare for the ball. And you must find a dress. Good day, Abella,' and with that he walked out of the chamber, leaving me wondering where to get a dress.

The next night arrived quickly. Women around the palace found a wonderful dress for me to wear. It was sewn with fine green satin, the color of my eyes. My mother presented me with a brilliant green emerald to wear around my neck. I looked beautiful. I arrived at the ball to see many people on the ballroom floor dancing. The dining hall looked beautiful.

A man came to me while I was beside my mother, asking me to dance. He was quite handsome, but I did not want to dance with any other man, only Kalan. But my mother shook her head in approval, so I smiled and took his hand. We danced a traditional dance.

After dancing for only a few minutes, Kalan stepped up behind the man and tapped his shoulder.

'May I cut in?' he asked the man.

The man nodded his head and stepped back. Kalan took my hand and we danced. I smiled with delight, thinking that maybe this wasn't such a bad place after all.

(June 2008)

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09-Jul-2011