When the Wind Blows
I woke up to ambulances whooping and angry taxi drivers honking their horns. I knew I should have gotten that other apartment. It was much quieter, but this one made me look good when I took girls home, although I wouldn't consider myself a ladies man. It was freezing outside, but my apartment was cozy with the furnice blasting. My apartment overlooked the busy streets of New York. I had made it to New York. I have dreamed of being a big artist and making it into the finest New York galleries my whole life. New York was definitely the place to be for the arts. Looking back at my college years, I definitely got off track from my dream. I partied my whole college life away but by some luck, I got a big break and made it here.
Even with all the excitement and inspiration the city brings, I was at a major block right now. I had no inspiration in me. Not a single drop. I had to go down to Andy's Art, the gallery my art was showing in, to set up for my first big gallery showing. I walked out the entrance doors to my apartment building and was hit with a gust of wind. I whistled for a taxi. One pulled over and I got in.
"Oh I'm sorry!" Said a girl dressed in every color of the rainbow. She was wearing a orange hat with a big pom pom on the top of it. She had a smiled slightly embarassed.
"Oh. Umm. It's ok." I replied blankly. Wow. This had never happened to me before. Getting in a taxi at the exact same time as another person. I had thought about this happening a few times, but I always thought I would react angry and fight for the taxi saying I got in it first. But when I looked at her, anger didn't rush to me. I felt like nothing was wrong.
"I'm just gonna wait till you guys figure it out. Jus' tell me where." Said the taxi driver.
"Where you headed?" She said with an enthusiasm I hadn't seen a girl so awake at 7am in a long time. Even I'm not that awake at 7am.
"1340 Willow Street. Up north."
"Is it okay if we share? I'm heading that way anyway." She replied.
"Yeah, sure." I said.
"Willow Street it is," said the driver.
"If you don't mind me asking, why you heading so far up? Not many people work up there and there's not much to do for recreation." I asked curiously. I wondered why a girl like her would ever go up into a boring town when she was in the middle of the best part of New York.
"I'm going to teach up at Willow High School." She said enthusiastically. I was absolutely amazed at how she was actually excited to teach at Willow High School. It was notorious for mean and sassy students.
"What do you teach?" Now I spoke with a bit more interest. I really wanted to get to know her.
"Well, I don't teach there normally. I'm just subbing. I'm not really even a teacher. Most people say my life is unstable because I donʻt have a real job, but all I like to live in the moment. I like to jump around and test the waters, try everything. One day Iʻm a waitress, the next day Iʻm a...sub!" She spoke with passion that filled her up. I had never met a woman like that. She was mezmorizing and intoxicating. She was the complete opposite of me. I always had a goal, always reaching for something. I like black and white things. Concrete things. She lived in the moment. For a second I envied her.
"So, what's your name?" I tried not to sound too creepy.
"Molly. You?" Molly was the prettiest name I had ever heard.
"I'm Charlie. I'm an artist."
"Wow! An artist! I LOVE art! My favorite piece is by Pablo Picasso. It's called "House on the Hill."
"I think Picasso's style is very unique. I know that piece very well. It symbolizes bareness in a town."
"I think it symbolizes a lot more than that! You have to look at it differently!"
And there she went, babbling on for the rest of the ride. She talked about her family's disapprovement of her lifestyle, her neighbor's obsession with heavy metal music, and her cat named Alfred. She said she doesn't have any regrets, unlike me.
Finally we turned on to Willow Street and I saw high school up a bit further. I was sad for this ride to come to an end. I wanted to see her again so I gave her my flyer for my art showing. She said she'd try to make it after work as she got out of the taxi. I was left stunned. The driver turned around with a sly smile and said, "Where to boss?" I looked at him, my eyes still seeing her face. He chuckled and started driving.
I was in spiffy mood the whole time I was seting up my pieces. When my friends, who were helping me set up, came up to me and asked where I wanted a painting to go, I would say, "Where ever you think it's going to pop out!" They would give me weird stares and murmer behind my back. I wasn't usually very care-free and spontanious. Usually I had a place for everything and I knew exactly what I wanted. But not now. As an artist, I should be carefree and adventerous, but I wasn't. I hoped with all my heart that she would show up tonight. The opening was at 8:00 pm. Time wasn't ticking fast enough. Slowly, couple by couple came in the doors and I went through the basic motions; shaking their hands, thanking them for coming. I did all this with my mind and eyes only ready for one person. Molly.
Finally I saw her. Her green eyes were like rare emeralds. The orange hat she had on earlier was still tightly around her ears.
"Hey! You made it!" I exclaimed.
"Wow. This is great! She smiled and took her coat off.
"I'll walk you through the gallery," I said.
We were halfway through the gallery and about to move on to the next piece when she stopped me. When I looked at her reaction to the art, I was amazed at her extremely confused expression. She had stopped at a piece I had recently made. It was a bare-looking, windswept plaza at dusk with a man with an outstretched arm reaching. I tried to capture the emptiness of the plaza I had visited in Spain last summer. I remember a man who was reaching and chasing after a paper that had flown away from him. I though it only represented emptiness and bareness.
"What do you think?" I asked, wondering if she saw the meaning too.
"Hmm. It's longing." WHAT! Longing?! That had never even entered my mind!
"The man is reaching for his lost dreams and hopes. He's been alone and empty for so long and finally and glitter of hope has showed up. The paper represents all the good he is trying to grab. The wind is trying to blow the hope away but at the same time, helping him to see that there is hope. His dreams are catchable." She finished with conviction and confidence.
I just stared at her. She saw everything differently than me. These words had changed everything about my life. I had such a one-track mind that I never bothered to leave room for interpretation.
"Thank you." I said softly. She looked up at me with the wisdom still right on top of her eyes.
"Your welcome." We stood in silence for a while after that, just looking at the painting.
"Do you think I'll ever see you again?" I blurted out without thinking. She looked up at me and hesitated, her eyes lingering on mine. She pulled out a shimmery green pen from her pocket and grabbed one of the gallery's pamphlets and ripped a corner off. She scribbled a name and a number.
"Here." She placed it in my hand. When I looked up, all I could see was a bobbing orange ball. I ran out after her.
"MOLLY! Wait!" She looked back for a second, smiled, and got into her cab. The cab pulled away from the curve and off it went. As I strained my eyes to see one last glimpse of her, I saw the cab driver from this morning driving her away.
Another cab stopped in front of me and I got in. We were at my apartment in minutes. I paid and got out. I stood on the sidewalk just staring.The apartment looked so different than this morning. So much had happened to me. I changed. I reached down into my coat pocket past my keys and the paper with her number and pulled out a big, thick rolled up paper. Right as I pulled it out from the depths of my pocket a gust of wind blew. It blew towards the south unlike this morning when it was blowing towards the north. I saw a flicker of white in the corner of my eye. I reached my free hand into my pocket. NO! I watched the ripped-corner piece of paper get sucked out by the wind, becoming smaller and smaller until it was just a speck. I lost her. I lost Molly. I reached for the paper but new it was too late.
I looked down into the hand holding the thick roll of paper and unrolled it. There on the paper were Molly's bright green eyes staring at me and that warm smile I first saw her wear. She was sitting on a bench in the same plaza in Spain in the painting earlier. She was sitting next to the same man. I realized I was the man in the plaza reaching for inspiration. The wind had blown her my way for inspiration and then blown her away. It was only a flicker, but it was enough to inspire me. Leyna
Friday, April 29, 2011
Mysterious Boss
Mysterious Boss
“The Amazon River, magnificent as it is, holds many wonders, nothing else holds more beauty than this,” shouted Wildlife Ranger Joe. Joe then quickly jumped off the rock. Joe was always fascinated from rare insects to dead birds. He applied for a T.V. show once in Australia, but sadly, he got declined because of his age. He was pretty young, in fact he is one of the youngest Wildlife Ranger, being able to drive around last year.
In Honolulu, May 12th, 2056, something happened a few months ago, where this mysterious letter came in from Dr. Gombini, his boss. Dr. Gombini was always looking for new adventures but because last year, he had a terrible stroke and he is now unable to walk.
“Here it says that there will be a feast held at this what-so-called Cave,” read Dr. Gombini. “But that’s not all, there’s a note on the bottom, *People who received this letter are automatically enrolled in this ‘Amazonian Game’, that’s nice, but I’m not sure what it’s abo…”
“REALLY! ME AND RUFFLE ARE EXCITED TO DO THIS!” screamed Joe. Ruffle slowly raised his tail and gave a happy look.
“I doubt this but I guess you can give it a try since you’ve never seen the wonders of the Amazon. The Amazon Forest isn’t some forest but a spectacular place of wonders.”
Joe then snatched the script from Dr. Gombini’s hand and read the location of the meeting place for the beginning of this adventure!
“All right, I’m ready for this new adventure!”
A few weeks later into the summer:
“All right Mr. Gombini, won’t you send me off?”
“Why should I, you’re great and ready for this hunt! There’s no need to send you off.”
“Well, I guess, but I hope you’ll be alive to see the many pictures I will take for my collection.”
“Yeah… hopefully…”
They gave each other a hug and Joe started on his way to the Honolulu airport.
Days after:
“Wow, is this how Brazil is like! It’s very nice here, kind of like Hawaii…” loudly whispered Joe to Ruffles. Ruffles wagged his tail like a madman and was very content. “Let’s see, it says here to meet at the hotel ‘La Suerte’, he then noticed something “AWWW SHUCKS! IT’S 8 right now and we are supposed to meet at 10, and he ran.
9:56
“We’re late! Taxi!” hollered Joe. He got in.
“Where eet ess thet you went to go?”
“La Suerte Hotel”
After driving around for a few minutes, the taxi suddenly came to a stop.
Joe asked, “Is this it?”
“Yes!” The taxi man got out and several random guys got into the car and started driving.
“What are you doing, what’s that thing by my head?”
“Shut up and you shall live,” This man dressed in black clicked the gun and Ruffles started barking. He kicked the dog and instantly Ruffles got knocked out…
One day later:
“Where am I… Why does my head hurt so much…?” asked Joe. “We’re in the middle of nowhere… Ruffles? RUFFLES???” Joe slowly treaded across this empty landscape and soon finds out that Ruffles isn’t with him. Suddenly, something pulled the ground and it opened up. He decided to investigate it and went in.
The tunnel consisted of many twists and turn, his favorite shirt was soon turned to rags because of twigs as he tripped and rolled down. Soon after a while, the tunnel opened up to five pathways and he came to a stop. “Oh Lord, is this what awaits me in the middle of an adventure?”
Joe decided to choose his path by juggling a stick (to point) and assumed the path it pointed was the right one to explore. It was a long time before he came to the conclusion of the 2nd path, and you do know how scientists are. Slowly, he walked and the path got dimmer, but he didn’t dare panic because of many beliefs. Such things as the El Tunchi, practice of cannibalism and etc.
After a long time, Joe decided to rest and soon stopped feeling his way. He got out his phone… “DANG, I got two more bars of energy left, I got to save it” he said while noticing that it was already 1:00 PM. “Wow, one day passed and it’s the second day already?” Joe thought, and he decided to lie down. Slowly, slowly things faded away and Joe fell asle…
A few hours later:
CRASH-BOOM-MEROW-BARK
Joe instantly sat up, blinking in horror. These screams sounded like animals in pain, and he quickly listened for it as it distanced off. Joe who can’t stand animals screaming and quickly ran after hearing the echoing sounds.
As the tunnel opened up to a whole forest, Joe finds mysterious truck prints, and he concludes that there is some kind of scent of illegal poaching. He followed the truck wheel prints and soon enough, he bumped into a cage. In the cage was a half-dead bird and it’s body so scrawny it can’t fly. Quickly, he blew open the cage and let the bird free, instantly, the bird slowly bounced away. Joe then ventured around the place and found tents that are also full of cages. He undid the ropes of the cages and let them all go, sooner than he thought, and a guy dressed in black came running in.
“You there, what are you doing? Do you realize you are letting go our bosses collection?” yelled the guy dressed in black.
Just like any man would do, he grabbed his phone and dialed the “Brazilean Emergency Number.” After that, he ran.
After running around the mass of tents, he ceased and hid behind a bush. One jiffy later, a dog was barking and yet Joe had the heart to come to it and let it go. Not to his expectation, the dog jumped on him and gave him a slurp. It gave him a very deep stare and “It’s you my boy!” Ruffles barked again, he was pretty messy after getting caught.
“You know what? Let’s find an empty van and get out of here, but I’m pretty sure there’ll be guys on the look out so try to be quiet,” he said to the dog. To his surprise there was actually a parked empty van. They quickly ran to it and without anybody noticing drove off into the wild back to the city.
The very next day, they quickly booked a ticket back to Honolulu and after getting off the plane:
“We got to get back to Dr. Gombini as soon as possible,” Joe thought to himself and drove back to his house. Dr. Gombini was sitting in a chair, like he was expecting Joe.
“Here, we have a serious problem, there’s a new organization called “Blamimals” who collect specimen of species even if it’s dead or alive.” Dr. Gombini then showed a picture of their logo. The logo was pretty intimidating, a skull with skeletons holding it up.
“I seem to have to call the police?”
“They are quite the sneaky ones, and the government can’t do anything about it because of their mysterious boss’s influence.”
“Next time, I think we should go investigate more about this.”
“Yeah, I’ll get some more data, because we are responsible for this too. Not only do we have to care, but we have to stop them as well.”
“We’ll see, there’s a way to stop those fools…” snickered Joe.
KK
“The Amazon River, magnificent as it is, holds many wonders, nothing else holds more beauty than this,” shouted Wildlife Ranger Joe. Joe then quickly jumped off the rock. Joe was always fascinated from rare insects to dead birds. He applied for a T.V. show once in Australia, but sadly, he got declined because of his age. He was pretty young, in fact he is one of the youngest Wildlife Ranger, being able to drive around last year.
In Honolulu, May 12th, 2056, something happened a few months ago, where this mysterious letter came in from Dr. Gombini, his boss. Dr. Gombini was always looking for new adventures but because last year, he had a terrible stroke and he is now unable to walk.
“Here it says that there will be a feast held at this what-so-called Cave,” read Dr. Gombini. “But that’s not all, there’s a note on the bottom, *People who received this letter are automatically enrolled in this ‘Amazonian Game’, that’s nice, but I’m not sure what it’s abo…”
“REALLY! ME AND RUFFLE ARE EXCITED TO DO THIS!” screamed Joe. Ruffle slowly raised his tail and gave a happy look.
“I doubt this but I guess you can give it a try since you’ve never seen the wonders of the Amazon. The Amazon Forest isn’t some forest but a spectacular place of wonders.”
Joe then snatched the script from Dr. Gombini’s hand and read the location of the meeting place for the beginning of this adventure!
“All right, I’m ready for this new adventure!”
A few weeks later into the summer:
“All right Mr. Gombini, won’t you send me off?”
“Why should I, you’re great and ready for this hunt! There’s no need to send you off.”
“Well, I guess, but I hope you’ll be alive to see the many pictures I will take for my collection.”
“Yeah… hopefully…”
They gave each other a hug and Joe started on his way to the Honolulu airport.
Days after:
“Wow, is this how Brazil is like! It’s very nice here, kind of like Hawaii…” loudly whispered Joe to Ruffles. Ruffles wagged his tail like a madman and was very content. “Let’s see, it says here to meet at the hotel ‘La Suerte’, he then noticed something “AWWW SHUCKS! IT’S 8 right now and we are supposed to meet at 10, and he ran.
9:56
“We’re late! Taxi!” hollered Joe. He got in.
“Where eet ess thet you went to go?”
“La Suerte Hotel”
After driving around for a few minutes, the taxi suddenly came to a stop.
Joe asked, “Is this it?”
“Yes!” The taxi man got out and several random guys got into the car and started driving.
“What are you doing, what’s that thing by my head?”
“Shut up and you shall live,” This man dressed in black clicked the gun and Ruffles started barking. He kicked the dog and instantly Ruffles got knocked out…
One day later:
“Where am I… Why does my head hurt so much…?” asked Joe. “We’re in the middle of nowhere… Ruffles? RUFFLES???” Joe slowly treaded across this empty landscape and soon finds out that Ruffles isn’t with him. Suddenly, something pulled the ground and it opened up. He decided to investigate it and went in.
The tunnel consisted of many twists and turn, his favorite shirt was soon turned to rags because of twigs as he tripped and rolled down. Soon after a while, the tunnel opened up to five pathways and he came to a stop. “Oh Lord, is this what awaits me in the middle of an adventure?”
Joe decided to choose his path by juggling a stick (to point) and assumed the path it pointed was the right one to explore. It was a long time before he came to the conclusion of the 2nd path, and you do know how scientists are. Slowly, he walked and the path got dimmer, but he didn’t dare panic because of many beliefs. Such things as the El Tunchi, practice of cannibalism and etc.
After a long time, Joe decided to rest and soon stopped feeling his way. He got out his phone… “DANG, I got two more bars of energy left, I got to save it” he said while noticing that it was already 1:00 PM. “Wow, one day passed and it’s the second day already?” Joe thought, and he decided to lie down. Slowly, slowly things faded away and Joe fell asle…
A few hours later:
CRASH-BOOM-MEROW-BARK
Joe instantly sat up, blinking in horror. These screams sounded like animals in pain, and he quickly listened for it as it distanced off. Joe who can’t stand animals screaming and quickly ran after hearing the echoing sounds.
As the tunnel opened up to a whole forest, Joe finds mysterious truck prints, and he concludes that there is some kind of scent of illegal poaching. He followed the truck wheel prints and soon enough, he bumped into a cage. In the cage was a half-dead bird and it’s body so scrawny it can’t fly. Quickly, he blew open the cage and let the bird free, instantly, the bird slowly bounced away. Joe then ventured around the place and found tents that are also full of cages. He undid the ropes of the cages and let them all go, sooner than he thought, and a guy dressed in black came running in.
“You there, what are you doing? Do you realize you are letting go our bosses collection?” yelled the guy dressed in black.
Just like any man would do, he grabbed his phone and dialed the “Brazilean Emergency Number.” After that, he ran.
After running around the mass of tents, he ceased and hid behind a bush. One jiffy later, a dog was barking and yet Joe had the heart to come to it and let it go. Not to his expectation, the dog jumped on him and gave him a slurp. It gave him a very deep stare and “It’s you my boy!” Ruffles barked again, he was pretty messy after getting caught.
“You know what? Let’s find an empty van and get out of here, but I’m pretty sure there’ll be guys on the look out so try to be quiet,” he said to the dog. To his surprise there was actually a parked empty van. They quickly ran to it and without anybody noticing drove off into the wild back to the city.
The very next day, they quickly booked a ticket back to Honolulu and after getting off the plane:
“We got to get back to Dr. Gombini as soon as possible,” Joe thought to himself and drove back to his house. Dr. Gombini was sitting in a chair, like he was expecting Joe.
“Here, we have a serious problem, there’s a new organization called “Blamimals” who collect specimen of species even if it’s dead or alive.” Dr. Gombini then showed a picture of their logo. The logo was pretty intimidating, a skull with skeletons holding it up.
“I seem to have to call the police?”
“They are quite the sneaky ones, and the government can’t do anything about it because of their mysterious boss’s influence.”
“Next time, I think we should go investigate more about this.”
“Yeah, I’ll get some more data, because we are responsible for this too. Not only do we have to care, but we have to stop them as well.”
“We’ll see, there’s a way to stop those fools…” snickered Joe.
KK
Rap Battle
Rap Battle
Lucas And Markus were two low class teenagers living in the Bronx, they were pretty normal teenage boys with only one two things on there mind, girls and money.
It was a hot Sunday afternoon, and they needed to find a way to beat the heat.
"Man, lets go find us some girls" Markus said.
"Sure…"
"I think that my cousins got air conditioning man" Markus said.
"Sweet, sweet lets get going man."
They walked to Markus's cousins house, if you could call it a house. It was a rundown old stone house barely holding together, they stepped inside and headed down to the basement, immediately feeling the cool air.
"Man this feels good" Lucas said.
There were a lot of people in the basement of his cousin's house, some young some older.
"Yo, Yo Markus come on in" His cousin said. "Were having a rap battle"
"Alright hey Lucas you should try" Markus replied, pushing me forward.
"Nah, man I wouldn’t be good at this kind of thing" I replied nervously. "its just not for me, you know I was never good in English."
"Fine, Fine*wuss* cough"
"You know what ill do it"
I stepped forward into the middle of the circle; I actually wasn’t sure how to rap,
"Could someone um show me how to do this? "
Markus stepped forward,
"Damn, you stupid" he said. "But whatever"
*Markus Raps*
"Alright I get it"
I stepped forward again feeling nervous, a beat came on, and suddenly something came over me and I didn’t know why or how, but it felt right. I started to flow and not just random words but real rapping. The kind of stuff you see in dem Videos on MTV.
" Damn Lucas, you got talent" his cousin said.
"Thanks. Man, I felt nervous again, as soon as that beat was off I was back to myself, it was almost as if the beat was some kind of steroid for me, I didn’t know but I loved it. "
"Alright Man" Markus replied. "All I know is that you were good"
"Well I got to head out, I want to get home before it gets dark, I don’t want any trouble from Terrell." Lucas replied "I'll see you tomorrow man"
Lucas began heading home, it was getting dark out and he was getting scared. Every night Terrell and his gang hung out on the corner of his street harassing everyone that came by.
" Yo, Lucas, what you doing out here" I heard Terrell's deep voice. "This is our street you know that"
"I don’t want any trouble man" Lucas replied "Just trying to get home"
"Well you got trouble bro, how much money you got on you"
"None"
"lying man, I can tell"
Right then, Lucas sprinted as fast as he could getaway from Terrell and towards his house, barely making it, he could still hear t is ace
"Ready to go to school" Lucas asked.
"Man I got different plans for you" Markus replied "We are entering you in a rap battle son"
"What about school, you know it’s the only way to get ahead in this world man."
"Nah, this is way more important than that, it’s a fast track to being famous "
So Lucas and Markus skipped school in order to enter themselves into a rap battle. The rap battle was held in a broken down factory and everyone there was older than him and looked very intimidating.
"Lucas" The announcer called him up to rap.
Lucas walked a=upped to the announcer, and signed in. He started looking around to see whom his opponent was, he finally saw him. His opponent was an older looking Latina Guy. He looked pretty intimidating as he eyed Lucas down.
"Lets flip a coin to see who raps first" the announcer said. "Juan"
Juan Raps
Crowd Claps
"All right, All right" The announcer said. "Pretty good, pretty good but Lets give Lucas a chance, come on people"
I felt Nervous, then suddenly the beat came on and my pulse began to speed up, I started to think fast almost like I was on speed or something.
"Juan I think you need to get gone. Your up in my face you a disgrace. You're raps are generic like the name Eric. I'm done with you, you’re a washed up old fool. "
Crowd Claps
" Wow" the announcer says," well we got ourselves a winner, a new rapper on the scene"
I felt ecstatic, I thought I was going to do bad but I did great, I was feeling like a god, I decided to take the rest of the day off and just chill, maybe at Markus's house.
"Lucas your good, maybe you should join our group" the announcer says.
"Ill think about it, I want to stick with my friends"
To be Continued TS
Lucas And Markus were two low class teenagers living in the Bronx, they were pretty normal teenage boys with only one two things on there mind, girls and money.
It was a hot Sunday afternoon, and they needed to find a way to beat the heat.
"Man, lets go find us some girls" Markus said.
"Sure…"
"I think that my cousins got air conditioning man" Markus said.
"Sweet, sweet lets get going man."
They walked to Markus's cousins house, if you could call it a house. It was a rundown old stone house barely holding together, they stepped inside and headed down to the basement, immediately feeling the cool air.
"Man this feels good" Lucas said.
There were a lot of people in the basement of his cousin's house, some young some older.
"Yo, Yo Markus come on in" His cousin said. "Were having a rap battle"
"Alright hey Lucas you should try" Markus replied, pushing me forward.
"Nah, man I wouldn’t be good at this kind of thing" I replied nervously. "its just not for me, you know I was never good in English."
"Fine, Fine*wuss* cough"
"You know what ill do it"
I stepped forward into the middle of the circle; I actually wasn’t sure how to rap,
"Could someone um show me how to do this? "
Markus stepped forward,
"Damn, you stupid" he said. "But whatever"
*Markus Raps*
"Alright I get it"
I stepped forward again feeling nervous, a beat came on, and suddenly something came over me and I didn’t know why or how, but it felt right. I started to flow and not just random words but real rapping. The kind of stuff you see in dem Videos on MTV.
" Damn Lucas, you got talent" his cousin said.
"Thanks. Man, I felt nervous again, as soon as that beat was off I was back to myself, it was almost as if the beat was some kind of steroid for me, I didn’t know but I loved it. "
"Alright Man" Markus replied. "All I know is that you were good"
"Well I got to head out, I want to get home before it gets dark, I don’t want any trouble from Terrell." Lucas replied "I'll see you tomorrow man"
Lucas began heading home, it was getting dark out and he was getting scared. Every night Terrell and his gang hung out on the corner of his street harassing everyone that came by.
" Yo, Lucas, what you doing out here" I heard Terrell's deep voice. "This is our street you know that"
"I don’t want any trouble man" Lucas replied "Just trying to get home"
"Well you got trouble bro, how much money you got on you"
"None"
"lying man, I can tell"
Right then, Lucas sprinted as fast as he could getaway from Terrell and towards his house, barely making it, he could still hear t is ace
"Ready to go to school" Lucas asked.
"Man I got different plans for you" Markus replied "We are entering you in a rap battle son"
"What about school, you know it’s the only way to get ahead in this world man."
"Nah, this is way more important than that, it’s a fast track to being famous "
So Lucas and Markus skipped school in order to enter themselves into a rap battle. The rap battle was held in a broken down factory and everyone there was older than him and looked very intimidating.
"Lucas" The announcer called him up to rap.
Lucas walked a=upped to the announcer, and signed in. He started looking around to see whom his opponent was, he finally saw him. His opponent was an older looking Latina Guy. He looked pretty intimidating as he eyed Lucas down.
"Lets flip a coin to see who raps first" the announcer said. "Juan"
Juan Raps
Crowd Claps
"All right, All right" The announcer said. "Pretty good, pretty good but Lets give Lucas a chance, come on people"
I felt Nervous, then suddenly the beat came on and my pulse began to speed up, I started to think fast almost like I was on speed or something.
"Juan I think you need to get gone. Your up in my face you a disgrace. You're raps are generic like the name Eric. I'm done with you, you’re a washed up old fool. "
Crowd Claps
" Wow" the announcer says," well we got ourselves a winner, a new rapper on the scene"
I felt ecstatic, I thought I was going to do bad but I did great, I was feeling like a god, I decided to take the rest of the day off and just chill, maybe at Markus's house.
"Lucas your good, maybe you should join our group" the announcer says.
"Ill think about it, I want to stick with my friends"
To be Continued TS
Jumping the . . Brass Knuckles
Jumping the… Brass Knuckles?
Blood cascades down from Mike's nose, running down his jugular. Raging fury is in his eyes as he struggles to get up. His opponent, Drake, hit him to the ground before he could get up, while Drake's brass knuckles glistens in the light, dripping with a bit of blood. Drake took off into a sprint so he wouldn't be caught, leaving Mike. That's where I decide to step in.
Pretending I just came upon the scene, I run up to Mike and made sure he was all right. "Mike, I'm going to go get the nurse, okay?"
He grunts then starts to shake his head. "No. I'm fine."
"Fine? You look like your face went through the washing machine!" I say with exasperation.
"I'm just going to go home and get some rest," he replies weakly. Mike then sits up and begins to limp away.
Later on, in the high school's halls, I see Mike getting his stuff from his locker. I go up to him and ask, "Hey, I thought you were going to go home?"
He narrows his eyes—like I'm the enemy—and responds, "I didn't get my homework yet. Back off." I see Brant, someone who sits next to Mike in English, coming through my peripheral vision; Mike uses this as an excuse to turn away.
I decide now is not the best time to question him and leave. But as I was walking away, I hear Brant give Mike some of his "miracle cream". Brant says it's should help alleviate Mike's wounds, which is like what it did to Brant when he was sick and injured.
I sigh and try to get through the school day, like every other student—it's been almost five hours since I've last seen Mike. Then, I see Drake walking through the hall. He seems to be scoping out the area— looking out for teachers, perhaps. He's pretty tall—being about six feet—and his hair was cut recently; the T-shirt he wears has a few dirt stains, while his jeans look like they're too big even with his burly build.
All of a sudden, he grabs the kid—I don't know his name—rummaging through his locker, and he punches the poor kid's face—I see a glimpse of light as he does so. His hand connects with his victim's solar plexus, and while a smirk appears on his face. The guy's face has blood all over with bruises starting to form, which is when Drake sees this an opportunity to go to his next class, impassive. Brant comes up from behind, seeming out of nowhere, and runs to give his ointment. I go up to ask a question, but Brant pushes me out of the way, getting some ointment on the sleeve of my shirt. I cringe and decide to just go.
Mike hasn't been back since a month ago when I saw him getting beat up. His parents say he's sick with Staph, but that seems odd, considering he was fine (other than his broken nose) last I saw him. And the other guy I don’t know the name of has been apparently out sick with the same thing, too. So have other Drake's victims….
I decide to sneak into Drake's place while he's going out for a party (like he usually does on the weekends). I shimmy my way into his room through his window with some tools my dad had lying around. His room smells like old food with some Frebreeze—as if someone's trying to cover the stench. I scrunch my nose and start rummaging through his stuff. Seeing as though his past victims have been sick, I assume he has not only been beating them but perhaps poisoning them, too. I come up empty, but as I am biking to my house, I see Drake. He narrows his eyes at me while plodding along the sidewalk. I slow down and make a split second decision: question him.
I smile and say, "Drake?" He hesitantly turns his head towards me. "Can I ask you something?" He doesn't reply, but I continue, "I've been wondering why you choose to hurt those people."
"Look," he says, "I don't want to talk to you, but I'm not in a bad mood—the party I came back from was great. So I will they say that they deserve it. For reasons that are none of your business, of course." He then snickers and says, "But if you think that I am the cause for them being all sick… well, that's just not me." He treads away, leaving me in a little confusion. But he had to be the cause of it. I head back home to figure everything out and get a clear mind.
I look for patterns in Drake's prey, and all of them seem to have Staphylococcus, or Staph, which is a bacterial infection. I research more about it and look at the causes: pneumonia, food poisoning, skin infection, toxic shock syndrome, and—blood poisoning. That has to be it!
My mind starts to rush with emotions and ideas; it's very overwhelming. I take some deep breaths to calm myself, but that doesn’t help. I've figured this out! My first "case": solved!
Drake has been hitting his victims with his brass knuckles, and they always cause blood wounds. His brass knuckles must have Staphylococcus on them, and they're not clean so it keeps on spreading to Drake's prey. A smile twitches on my face, and when I look at my reflection on my computer screen, my grin beams and stretches further. I leave my things and head to the hospital, where Mike is to tell him my discovery.
It felt like a lifetime to bike all the way there—I didn't pass my drivers license test yet. I feel a wave a relief as I see it's visiting hours, and I start my way to Mike's room. Brant's in there as well, but he's sitting on a chair reading a magazine. The room smells sterile and like ammonia, which is not a surprise. Everything is white—walls, floor, ceiling, bed, sheets—, but Brant's blazing red shirt contrasts with everything.
"Hey, Mike!" I pronounce with elation.
He groans and asks why I'm here. I see that he's looking at some papers about his medical evaluation and inquire if I can see them, while pointing at the papers.
"I guess," he answers, handing me the papers. I scan through, confirming that what I thought was right. I look at the cause for the Staph that Mike has and gasp. Brant leaves to room and says he's going to get some food, and I run to my bike and go home, leaving the papers in Mike's room.
I shut my locker and lower my head against its door. Oh, great. I cannot believe I was so quick to judge. I then exhale and trudge to English. I can't seem to look at Drake because he was right when I questioned him.
"Okay class, we're going to have a workshop day in English today. I will make you all into groups of three or four, and you will all have to write a short essay on the topic I choose for you…." Mr. Sharpe goes on, but I tune his voice out of my mind. "Riley," I look up when he calls my name, "you will be with Brant, and your topic will be about impulsiveness." I try to hide a grimace and go to my group. What an ironic topic for us; it's still silly though.
Everything became a blur after that because for some reason, I start to yell. It's mostly at Brant because I accuse him for infecting everyone, but he deserves it. Next thing I know I'm over at the principle's office with Brant.
"Now, Riley, calm down. Please explain why you're upset," Principle Adams says calmly. Her face shows annoyance, but it looks like she's trying to hide it.
"Okay," I utter. "Brant—over there—has been the cause of the Staph infections. I'm not sure if it's intentional or not, but it's him. I know it. After every time each victim has been hurt, Brant's always there to give his 'miracle cream'. This 'cream' is infected with Staphylococcus, er, Staph, and it's been spreading because of him. You can check the medical records because the causes of everyone's Staph is a skin infection." Principle Adams considers my theory. I smirk.
Brant's body looks as if he's in shock. "W—wh—wha—,"he stutters, trying to defend himself. I give him a smug look, while he says again, "What the heck are you talking about? How could you accuse me like this? I didn't do it!" Sure he didn't.
I smile and hand some papers to the principle. "Look at these," I start. "They are results of the cultures of Brant's ointment. I had them medically examined after Brant accidentally brushed some ointment on my sleeve."
Principle Adams' thin eyebrows arch up, and she excuses me. I hear her calling Brant's parents on my way out. My smile looks like the Cheshire cat, wild with excitement, but I can't help it.
I'm glad I didn't blurt out my first idea about Drake being the culprit—I should apologize to him later—, but it's always good to make mistakes. Well, to learn from them at least.
In English class, I relax and smile—it's been about a month since what Brant did, and he hasn't been back in school since. No more people he can harm anymore. In fact, there haven't been any more cases of skin infections since I caught him. The only sick cases so far have been with a couple of teachers in the hospital last week, but that was just food poisoning.
Class is almost over, so I go over to Mr. Sharpe to talk about the assignment, and a half-eaten sandwich is on the side of his desk. He started it about an hour ago when class started, so why hasn't he finished it? He always devours his food in the first ten minutes of class. His hand is clutching his stomach, and his face is pale.
"Mr. Sharpe, are you okay?" I ask with worry in my voice.
"Hmm? Oh. Yes, I'm fine. Nothing for you to worry about," he responds weakly. His face turns a sickly green, and he buries his face in the trashcan. I can hear him retching.
"Mr. Sharpe, do you want me to get the nurse?"
"It's just food poisoning—I guess I caught it from the other teachers, eh?" he tries to joke about that, but I don't smile. He doesn't even talk to the other teachers. I know this because when I asked my History teacher if she knew where he was, she said that she had no idea and that he was sort of a recluse. I knit my eyebrows together.
"Do you know any of the other teachers that have been sick?" I start to interrogate.
He bites his lip and replies, "Not really, I guess. They don't talk much… like me, I guess." I consider this for a moment and ponder. How could all the teachers have been food poisoned if they don't even interact with one another?
Realization kicks in. That means that this is not accidental. What's going on?
~ RandomGirl KMC
What special trait about yourself made you want to write your short story?
I wanted to write this short story because I am interested in science, and I thought that it would be interesting to write a "medical mystery". I also enjoy watching TV shows that have to do with solving cases ("Bones", "Psych", etc) and reading books about similar topics as well, which is where the mystery idea comes from.
Blood cascades down from Mike's nose, running down his jugular. Raging fury is in his eyes as he struggles to get up. His opponent, Drake, hit him to the ground before he could get up, while Drake's brass knuckles glistens in the light, dripping with a bit of blood. Drake took off into a sprint so he wouldn't be caught, leaving Mike. That's where I decide to step in.
Pretending I just came upon the scene, I run up to Mike and made sure he was all right. "Mike, I'm going to go get the nurse, okay?"
He grunts then starts to shake his head. "No. I'm fine."
"Fine? You look like your face went through the washing machine!" I say with exasperation.
"I'm just going to go home and get some rest," he replies weakly. Mike then sits up and begins to limp away.
Later on, in the high school's halls, I see Mike getting his stuff from his locker. I go up to him and ask, "Hey, I thought you were going to go home?"
He narrows his eyes—like I'm the enemy—and responds, "I didn't get my homework yet. Back off." I see Brant, someone who sits next to Mike in English, coming through my peripheral vision; Mike uses this as an excuse to turn away.
I decide now is not the best time to question him and leave. But as I was walking away, I hear Brant give Mike some of his "miracle cream". Brant says it's should help alleviate Mike's wounds, which is like what it did to Brant when he was sick and injured.
I sigh and try to get through the school day, like every other student—it's been almost five hours since I've last seen Mike. Then, I see Drake walking through the hall. He seems to be scoping out the area— looking out for teachers, perhaps. He's pretty tall—being about six feet—and his hair was cut recently; the T-shirt he wears has a few dirt stains, while his jeans look like they're too big even with his burly build.
All of a sudden, he grabs the kid—I don't know his name—rummaging through his locker, and he punches the poor kid's face—I see a glimpse of light as he does so. His hand connects with his victim's solar plexus, and while a smirk appears on his face. The guy's face has blood all over with bruises starting to form, which is when Drake sees this an opportunity to go to his next class, impassive. Brant comes up from behind, seeming out of nowhere, and runs to give his ointment. I go up to ask a question, but Brant pushes me out of the way, getting some ointment on the sleeve of my shirt. I cringe and decide to just go.
Mike hasn't been back since a month ago when I saw him getting beat up. His parents say he's sick with Staph, but that seems odd, considering he was fine (other than his broken nose) last I saw him. And the other guy I don’t know the name of has been apparently out sick with the same thing, too. So have other Drake's victims….
I decide to sneak into Drake's place while he's going out for a party (like he usually does on the weekends). I shimmy my way into his room through his window with some tools my dad had lying around. His room smells like old food with some Frebreeze—as if someone's trying to cover the stench. I scrunch my nose and start rummaging through his stuff. Seeing as though his past victims have been sick, I assume he has not only been beating them but perhaps poisoning them, too. I come up empty, but as I am biking to my house, I see Drake. He narrows his eyes at me while plodding along the sidewalk. I slow down and make a split second decision: question him.
I smile and say, "Drake?" He hesitantly turns his head towards me. "Can I ask you something?" He doesn't reply, but I continue, "I've been wondering why you choose to hurt those people."
"Look," he says, "I don't want to talk to you, but I'm not in a bad mood—the party I came back from was great. So I will they say that they deserve it. For reasons that are none of your business, of course." He then snickers and says, "But if you think that I am the cause for them being all sick… well, that's just not me." He treads away, leaving me in a little confusion. But he had to be the cause of it. I head back home to figure everything out and get a clear mind.
I look for patterns in Drake's prey, and all of them seem to have Staphylococcus, or Staph, which is a bacterial infection. I research more about it and look at the causes: pneumonia, food poisoning, skin infection, toxic shock syndrome, and—blood poisoning. That has to be it!
My mind starts to rush with emotions and ideas; it's very overwhelming. I take some deep breaths to calm myself, but that doesn’t help. I've figured this out! My first "case": solved!
Drake has been hitting his victims with his brass knuckles, and they always cause blood wounds. His brass knuckles must have Staphylococcus on them, and they're not clean so it keeps on spreading to Drake's prey. A smile twitches on my face, and when I look at my reflection on my computer screen, my grin beams and stretches further. I leave my things and head to the hospital, where Mike is to tell him my discovery.
It felt like a lifetime to bike all the way there—I didn't pass my drivers license test yet. I feel a wave a relief as I see it's visiting hours, and I start my way to Mike's room. Brant's in there as well, but he's sitting on a chair reading a magazine. The room smells sterile and like ammonia, which is not a surprise. Everything is white—walls, floor, ceiling, bed, sheets—, but Brant's blazing red shirt contrasts with everything.
"Hey, Mike!" I pronounce with elation.
He groans and asks why I'm here. I see that he's looking at some papers about his medical evaluation and inquire if I can see them, while pointing at the papers.
"I guess," he answers, handing me the papers. I scan through, confirming that what I thought was right. I look at the cause for the Staph that Mike has and gasp. Brant leaves to room and says he's going to get some food, and I run to my bike and go home, leaving the papers in Mike's room.
I shut my locker and lower my head against its door. Oh, great. I cannot believe I was so quick to judge. I then exhale and trudge to English. I can't seem to look at Drake because he was right when I questioned him.
"Okay class, we're going to have a workshop day in English today. I will make you all into groups of three or four, and you will all have to write a short essay on the topic I choose for you…." Mr. Sharpe goes on, but I tune his voice out of my mind. "Riley," I look up when he calls my name, "you will be with Brant, and your topic will be about impulsiveness." I try to hide a grimace and go to my group. What an ironic topic for us; it's still silly though.
Everything became a blur after that because for some reason, I start to yell. It's mostly at Brant because I accuse him for infecting everyone, but he deserves it. Next thing I know I'm over at the principle's office with Brant.
"Now, Riley, calm down. Please explain why you're upset," Principle Adams says calmly. Her face shows annoyance, but it looks like she's trying to hide it.
"Okay," I utter. "Brant—over there—has been the cause of the Staph infections. I'm not sure if it's intentional or not, but it's him. I know it. After every time each victim has been hurt, Brant's always there to give his 'miracle cream'. This 'cream' is infected with Staphylococcus, er, Staph, and it's been spreading because of him. You can check the medical records because the causes of everyone's Staph is a skin infection." Principle Adams considers my theory. I smirk.
Brant's body looks as if he's in shock. "W—wh—wha—,"he stutters, trying to defend himself. I give him a smug look, while he says again, "What the heck are you talking about? How could you accuse me like this? I didn't do it!" Sure he didn't.
I smile and hand some papers to the principle. "Look at these," I start. "They are results of the cultures of Brant's ointment. I had them medically examined after Brant accidentally brushed some ointment on my sleeve."
Principle Adams' thin eyebrows arch up, and she excuses me. I hear her calling Brant's parents on my way out. My smile looks like the Cheshire cat, wild with excitement, but I can't help it.
I'm glad I didn't blurt out my first idea about Drake being the culprit—I should apologize to him later—, but it's always good to make mistakes. Well, to learn from them at least.
In English class, I relax and smile—it's been about a month since what Brant did, and he hasn't been back in school since. No more people he can harm anymore. In fact, there haven't been any more cases of skin infections since I caught him. The only sick cases so far have been with a couple of teachers in the hospital last week, but that was just food poisoning.
Class is almost over, so I go over to Mr. Sharpe to talk about the assignment, and a half-eaten sandwich is on the side of his desk. He started it about an hour ago when class started, so why hasn't he finished it? He always devours his food in the first ten minutes of class. His hand is clutching his stomach, and his face is pale.
"Mr. Sharpe, are you okay?" I ask with worry in my voice.
"Hmm? Oh. Yes, I'm fine. Nothing for you to worry about," he responds weakly. His face turns a sickly green, and he buries his face in the trashcan. I can hear him retching.
"Mr. Sharpe, do you want me to get the nurse?"
"It's just food poisoning—I guess I caught it from the other teachers, eh?" he tries to joke about that, but I don't smile. He doesn't even talk to the other teachers. I know this because when I asked my History teacher if she knew where he was, she said that she had no idea and that he was sort of a recluse. I knit my eyebrows together.
"Do you know any of the other teachers that have been sick?" I start to interrogate.
He bites his lip and replies, "Not really, I guess. They don't talk much… like me, I guess." I consider this for a moment and ponder. How could all the teachers have been food poisoned if they don't even interact with one another?
Realization kicks in. That means that this is not accidental. What's going on?
~ RandomGirl KMC
What special trait about yourself made you want to write your short story?
I wanted to write this short story because I am interested in science, and I thought that it would be interesting to write a "medical mystery". I also enjoy watching TV shows that have to do with solving cases ("Bones", "Psych", etc) and reading books about similar topics as well, which is where the mystery idea comes from.
Magical Ring
Danny Stallings and The Bewitched Ring
Long ago, before TV, computers, cell phones and cars lived a Princess named Danica. She lived on a long line of hideous, boring, hairy, carless, strange, crazy and awkward queens. But despite all their faults it never dampened on their big generous hearts. One day Danica was doing her daily deeds for the towns people when she over heard a toddler whining to his mom about Danica, complaining how strange and weird-looking she was, how he wanted a new princess.
Danica was horrified! She had no awareness that people talked about her behind her back, that people thought so little of her. So as a result of her low self-esteem, Danica ran, she ran as fast as her long awkward legs would let her until nightfall. Then she collapsed on the grassy riverbank and cried herself to sleep.
The next morning she was awakened by the shining reflection of light coming from something in the riverbed. She stood up to try and find the source of the glare that obnoxiously woke her up. She saw the light but she couldn’t quite make out what was causing it, so Danica dove in the water to go check it out. What she brought out of the river was a beautiful golden ring decorated with an opal stone in the center. Taking this as a sign that her life was about to turn around she put the ring on. I was way to big at first but just as she was about to take it off, the ring started glowing, it magically adjusted perfectly to her finger. It was a magic ring! At this point she was convinced that it was meant for her, that the ring was looking for her. When Danica got back she didn’t expect anyone to rush at her worried where she was all night but was still excited to share of her new discovery. She walked in and everyone was looking at her in aw, soon she felt more coordinated, more in control. She ran to find the closest mirror and looked at what everyone was staring at. Danica was beautiful. From that point forward she wore the ring everyday, and shared the miracle with all of the towns people, the miracle of the ring that made all who wore it beautiful and talented. The towns' people grew to love Danica and appreciate her large generous heart. When Danica died she passed it down to her ugly, boring and awkward daughter so the town may respect her as they grew to respect Danica through the rings powers. When Danica gave her daughter the ring, she had one request: lend the ring to anyone in need and pass it on through generations to come so our descendants can be respected as I was.
3,000 years later…
"Danny Stallings? Danny Stallings?!" called the ninth grade English teacher at Ridgewood high. "Tardy again, how is that girl not expelled." She notes under her breath. Then crashing through the door and falling over herself Danny bursts into the classroom, "Here! Danny Stallings is here Mrs. Mathews!" The class giggles to themselves at Danny, "LOSER cough, cough" "HAHA OMG look at her outfit" "What a freak" Danny looks at the many rows of desks in the classroom but only see's Rebecca White, the most popular girl in school of course leading the line of insults. The teacher doesn’t even say anything to stop the kids, she just watches.
"Mrs. Mathews? Are you hearing this?"
"Hearing what Danny? Please go to your seat I've heard just about enough of your attitude."
"My attitude?! Why do you hate me so much? I haven’t done anything wrong besides coming late to class, I'm even getting an A!"
"I haven't figured out why I hate you yet Danny there's just something urging me to bully you everyday, I can't stop it."
Danny grabbed her bags and ran out the door, her thoughts were racing. How could her favorite teacher Mrs. Mathews hate her? She even admitted it in front of the entire class, as if they don’t make fun of me enough already. She sighs, "Huh, I need a miracle."
She came storming into her house on the verge of tears, her mom sees her and knows exactly what's going on. She gives Danny a big hug.
"Another bad day at school hun?"
"Everyone hates me, even Mrs. Mathews, I can't play sports, I'm not funny, I'm not pretty, and I don’t have one talent."
"Honey buns of course your talented, you're very smart…"
"That’s not a talent mom! That’s a quality. I'm talking about things like sports and dancing; like Rebecca White she's an amazing singer and dancer, she's gorgeous and because of that, she is the most popular girl in school. How did I turn out so awful if even you are beautiful and talented"
Danny's mom looked down at her hand, the only piece of jewelry she wore, shining in the light on her pointer finger; a golden ring with a centered opal stone.
"I new this day would come, its time you new the truth."
Danny's mom takes off the ring and hands it to Danny.
"I'll let you figure this one out on your own"
Danny's mom leaves the room, no instruction just the ring. 'This is ridiculous' Danny thinks to herself, 'it's just a ring' and she throws it under her bed. All of a sudden she feels and hears a rumbling sound shaking her whole room, then she sees a bright flash of all different color coming from under her bed. As abrupt as it began the supernatural events were over and Danny rushed to get the ring to reinforce that what she saw was real. It was glowing under her bed, freaking out with so many questions needing answers she yells for her mom.
"MOM! IT'S YOUR RING! PLEASE TELL ME WHATS GOING OON!"
Right away as if she was waiting outside the door her mom entered the room. But it wasn’t her mom this woman was disgusting. The beautiful and perfect mother she had grown up with was gone, she was hairy, gawky, dirty, warts and pimples covered her face, she was, me.
"Mom? Is that you?" Danny asked in complete shock.
"Yes muffin, its me. Don’t be alarmed"
"What happened to you? Is it the ring? Tell me how it works. I wanna use it!"
"Yes it is the ring but before you use it there are some thing you should know that may affect you in crucial moments if you don’t follow them correctly."
Danny nodded her head as if she was listening but couldn’t wait to get that last chance of hope slipped on her finger. Finally her mom was done with her long instruction and handed Danny the ring. She shuffled around to get the ring on as fast as she could then rushed to the bathroom to see the improvements. What Danny saw in the mirror, she couldn't believe, every single bad characteristic about her vanished and all that was left was a perfect teenage woman.
That week was great; people started respecting her and began to like her more, including her teacher. The week after that she made multiple new friends and was already being invited to their houses. The next week she made the varsity soccer team started getting invited to parties. The following week she began hating on all the people who had once been nice to her when she was an ugly nerd and she got asked to prom! Every night Danny takes the ring off and puts it on her bedside table then first thing every morning she puts it on so she wont have to see herself as she once was.
Danny's popularity was growing rapidly and so was her ego. Her mom couldn't even recognize her anymore: Danny couldn’t go one hour without criticizing someone or complimenting herself. Almost as if she forgot that not to long ago she was one of those "ugly nerds" that have nothing but intelligence.
Prom was right around the corner and the cutest guy in school, Adam Bartlett, asked Danny to go with him. Danny wanted to be the hottest girl there so she got an extremely expensive dress from Black and White, a spray on tan, and $150.00 diamond earrings. Her mom was furious,
"You STOLE my money so you can look hot for one night?"
"Ya what do you care. Besides it wouldn’t kill you to take some of these steps either, ugly." She says as she scoffs at her own joke.
"I don’t even know who you are anymore! If you keep acting like thins I don’t know how long that rings going to last you, remember what I told you?" Of course Danny didn’t remember because while her mom was telling her she was busy staring at the ring. But she didn’t care; she just kept getting ready for prom that was following night. The next morning she woke up and did her routine of putting on the magic ring then going to the bathroom to admire herself, but she wasn’t beautiful, on the outside or the inside…
To be continued…
Suzanna
What special trait/thing about yourself made you want to write your short story?
The special thing about myself is that I strive to make everyone happy. I wrote this because maybe if everyone didn’t care so much about their outer appearance and did their best to be nice to everyone than we could have a happier world.
Long ago, before TV, computers, cell phones and cars lived a Princess named Danica. She lived on a long line of hideous, boring, hairy, carless, strange, crazy and awkward queens. But despite all their faults it never dampened on their big generous hearts. One day Danica was doing her daily deeds for the towns people when she over heard a toddler whining to his mom about Danica, complaining how strange and weird-looking she was, how he wanted a new princess.
Danica was horrified! She had no awareness that people talked about her behind her back, that people thought so little of her. So as a result of her low self-esteem, Danica ran, she ran as fast as her long awkward legs would let her until nightfall. Then she collapsed on the grassy riverbank and cried herself to sleep.
The next morning she was awakened by the shining reflection of light coming from something in the riverbed. She stood up to try and find the source of the glare that obnoxiously woke her up. She saw the light but she couldn’t quite make out what was causing it, so Danica dove in the water to go check it out. What she brought out of the river was a beautiful golden ring decorated with an opal stone in the center. Taking this as a sign that her life was about to turn around she put the ring on. I was way to big at first but just as she was about to take it off, the ring started glowing, it magically adjusted perfectly to her finger. It was a magic ring! At this point she was convinced that it was meant for her, that the ring was looking for her. When Danica got back she didn’t expect anyone to rush at her worried where she was all night but was still excited to share of her new discovery. She walked in and everyone was looking at her in aw, soon she felt more coordinated, more in control. She ran to find the closest mirror and looked at what everyone was staring at. Danica was beautiful. From that point forward she wore the ring everyday, and shared the miracle with all of the towns people, the miracle of the ring that made all who wore it beautiful and talented. The towns' people grew to love Danica and appreciate her large generous heart. When Danica died she passed it down to her ugly, boring and awkward daughter so the town may respect her as they grew to respect Danica through the rings powers. When Danica gave her daughter the ring, she had one request: lend the ring to anyone in need and pass it on through generations to come so our descendants can be respected as I was.
3,000 years later…
"Danny Stallings? Danny Stallings?!" called the ninth grade English teacher at Ridgewood high. "Tardy again, how is that girl not expelled." She notes under her breath. Then crashing through the door and falling over herself Danny bursts into the classroom, "Here! Danny Stallings is here Mrs. Mathews!" The class giggles to themselves at Danny, "LOSER cough, cough" "HAHA OMG look at her outfit" "What a freak" Danny looks at the many rows of desks in the classroom but only see's Rebecca White, the most popular girl in school of course leading the line of insults. The teacher doesn’t even say anything to stop the kids, she just watches.
"Mrs. Mathews? Are you hearing this?"
"Hearing what Danny? Please go to your seat I've heard just about enough of your attitude."
"My attitude?! Why do you hate me so much? I haven’t done anything wrong besides coming late to class, I'm even getting an A!"
"I haven't figured out why I hate you yet Danny there's just something urging me to bully you everyday, I can't stop it."
Danny grabbed her bags and ran out the door, her thoughts were racing. How could her favorite teacher Mrs. Mathews hate her? She even admitted it in front of the entire class, as if they don’t make fun of me enough already. She sighs, "Huh, I need a miracle."
She came storming into her house on the verge of tears, her mom sees her and knows exactly what's going on. She gives Danny a big hug.
"Another bad day at school hun?"
"Everyone hates me, even Mrs. Mathews, I can't play sports, I'm not funny, I'm not pretty, and I don’t have one talent."
"Honey buns of course your talented, you're very smart…"
"That’s not a talent mom! That’s a quality. I'm talking about things like sports and dancing; like Rebecca White she's an amazing singer and dancer, she's gorgeous and because of that, she is the most popular girl in school. How did I turn out so awful if even you are beautiful and talented"
Danny's mom looked down at her hand, the only piece of jewelry she wore, shining in the light on her pointer finger; a golden ring with a centered opal stone.
"I new this day would come, its time you new the truth."
Danny's mom takes off the ring and hands it to Danny.
"I'll let you figure this one out on your own"
Danny's mom leaves the room, no instruction just the ring. 'This is ridiculous' Danny thinks to herself, 'it's just a ring' and she throws it under her bed. All of a sudden she feels and hears a rumbling sound shaking her whole room, then she sees a bright flash of all different color coming from under her bed. As abrupt as it began the supernatural events were over and Danny rushed to get the ring to reinforce that what she saw was real. It was glowing under her bed, freaking out with so many questions needing answers she yells for her mom.
"MOM! IT'S YOUR RING! PLEASE TELL ME WHATS GOING OON!"
Right away as if she was waiting outside the door her mom entered the room. But it wasn’t her mom this woman was disgusting. The beautiful and perfect mother she had grown up with was gone, she was hairy, gawky, dirty, warts and pimples covered her face, she was, me.
"Mom? Is that you?" Danny asked in complete shock.
"Yes muffin, its me. Don’t be alarmed"
"What happened to you? Is it the ring? Tell me how it works. I wanna use it!"
"Yes it is the ring but before you use it there are some thing you should know that may affect you in crucial moments if you don’t follow them correctly."
Danny nodded her head as if she was listening but couldn’t wait to get that last chance of hope slipped on her finger. Finally her mom was done with her long instruction and handed Danny the ring. She shuffled around to get the ring on as fast as she could then rushed to the bathroom to see the improvements. What Danny saw in the mirror, she couldn't believe, every single bad characteristic about her vanished and all that was left was a perfect teenage woman.
That week was great; people started respecting her and began to like her more, including her teacher. The week after that she made multiple new friends and was already being invited to their houses. The next week she made the varsity soccer team started getting invited to parties. The following week she began hating on all the people who had once been nice to her when she was an ugly nerd and she got asked to prom! Every night Danny takes the ring off and puts it on her bedside table then first thing every morning she puts it on so she wont have to see herself as she once was.
Danny's popularity was growing rapidly and so was her ego. Her mom couldn't even recognize her anymore: Danny couldn’t go one hour without criticizing someone or complimenting herself. Almost as if she forgot that not to long ago she was one of those "ugly nerds" that have nothing but intelligence.
Prom was right around the corner and the cutest guy in school, Adam Bartlett, asked Danny to go with him. Danny wanted to be the hottest girl there so she got an extremely expensive dress from Black and White, a spray on tan, and $150.00 diamond earrings. Her mom was furious,
"You STOLE my money so you can look hot for one night?"
"Ya what do you care. Besides it wouldn’t kill you to take some of these steps either, ugly." She says as she scoffs at her own joke.
"I don’t even know who you are anymore! If you keep acting like thins I don’t know how long that rings going to last you, remember what I told you?" Of course Danny didn’t remember because while her mom was telling her she was busy staring at the ring. But she didn’t care; she just kept getting ready for prom that was following night. The next morning she woke up and did her routine of putting on the magic ring then going to the bathroom to admire herself, but she wasn’t beautiful, on the outside or the inside…
To be continued…
Suzanna
What special trait/thing about yourself made you want to write your short story?
The special thing about myself is that I strive to make everyone happy. I wrote this because maybe if everyone didn’t care so much about their outer appearance and did their best to be nice to everyone than we could have a happier world.
Mount Alveska
Mount Alyeska
"Over 7 feet of snow has fallen in the small town of Girdwood, Alaska," said Channel 9 reporter Evan Nickelson. This has been one of the most violent winters in Alaskan history, with record amounts of snowfall and hail. Local snowplow man Tyron Brown told reporters, " This is by far the busiest winter I've had in over twenty years. I have to clear snow off the roads constantly as this snow is relentless!" This year, winter has come much earlier than usual, and it's the coldest it's ever been since recorded history. The temperature has dropped into the negatives and the weather has been quite unpredictable. The clouds are dark and ominous and what lies ahead is unknown. The town's people know, however, that this winter will be a time that will never be forgotten.
Max and Paul have always been best friends. They grew up together in their small town suburb and were practically brothers. Year by year, they went to school and lived full lives, learning new concepts, experiencing different things, and maturing as individuals. Max and Paul were always interested in the exact same things. In the fourth grade, the two of them joined the boy scouts with their dads. Everything was going well and it seemed as if nothing could go wrong. They continued going to the meetings and functions week after week, until one rainy day in April when Max found himself at the boy scouts' annual camping trip alone without his friend Paul. At first, he was confused and wondered what had happened to his best friend. Later that night as he sat in the camp dining hall, his dad nudged him and signaled him to come outside. After opening the oak doors, they stepped out into a light drizzle. His dad said, "I just got a call from Paul's dad… He said that he was getting a divorce, and that Paul was sorry that he couldn't make it to the trip… I'm sorry sport." And from that day on, Paul never returned to the boy scouts, but after some time Max and Paul's friendship resumed. They continued to go through school and life went on. They continued to have fun and they learned how to ski in the process of doing so. But an unmistakable fear had seized Paul the year his parents got divorced; he seemed to be scared… scared of life… scared of what life could do to him after his dad had moved away. During the seventh grade ski trip to Mount Alyeska, Paul was going down a fairly easy course when he lost control of his skis and veered off the course. He then found himself in very deep and soft snow. And while he was trying to free himself from the slushy mess, the snow gave way and he fell into a dark crevasse. From the surface, fearful weeping could be heard for over an hour before the fire department was able to rescue him. Luckily, he only fell about 8 feet and sustained no physical injuries. Mentally, he was quite traumatized from his near death experience.
As time passed, it seemed as if he had overcome his fears. Before Paul and Max knew it, eighth grade, full of skiing and meeting new people, was over. Max, being the adventurous type, felt a strong urge to culminate the end of middle school and celebrate the beginning of high school with a perilous ski trip down the snow-bat country—a feat that not even his father had accomplished. As always, he invited Paul to embark on this dangerous, shenanigans-filled journey. Paul, the archetype of apprehension, had to be persuaded to come. Paul, feeling that he needed to settle a score with the mountain that almost took his life, agreed to come along. They planned to begin their trip early Friday morning, and return late Sunday afternoon. As the morning was readily approaching, Paul and Max stared at their alarm clocks, watching the minutes pass from 5:12AM to 5:13AM… waiting for 6:00AM to arrive. They were going to tackle the most dangerous and difficult runs Mount Alyeska had to offer, but Max was confident that he, as well as the better half of the magnificent duo, would have a great time.
The day before, Paul had run into a girl he really liked from school and invited her to come along. When Max went to Paul's house to pick him up, he was surprised to see that Paul had brought company. Kelly greeted Max as the two entered the car. Kelly was by far the cutest girl in school and boys were always interested in her. Paul had always possessed a certain charm with the girls, and he had convinced her to come along. Max's dad drove the three up the frosted-over highway, through the snowy woods, and finally to the lodge at the bottom of Mount Alyeska. He was troubled. The snow, which had barely covered his windshield minutes ago, had now blanketed the entire vehicle. Arriving at the lodge, they walked through the double doors, feeling the warm embrace of an internal heating system, and a fireplace crackling nearby. Saying goodbye, the three adventurers rode on the gondola to the very top of the mountain. Max would never forget peering at the sunrise over the snow-capped peaks. Each of them had twenty-pound mountaineering packs full of supplies and camping equipment. And as the three of them sat at what seemed to be the top of the world, they looked down the near-vertical slopes below and reminisced about memories from the past year. Then, as the sun appeared almost fully over the horizon, Paul stood up in silence, brushing the snow off his ski pants. He then looked at the slope and decided that he would be the first to tackle the new feat, hoping to impress Kelly in the process. He proceeded by slowly inching himself closer to the beginning of the run until he jolted forward and disappeared, the slush of snow being heard as he attempted the moguls. Max and Kelly followed, officially beginning their ski trip. They continued skiing along the mountain, coming to a fork in the trails about halfway down. They needed to decide which to continue on with. After the first run of the day, Paul felt empowered with confidence and decided for the group. Rather than ski along either path, they would go off the trail, down the treacherous mountainside, and over the tracks of previous skiers that gave them an eerie warning to turn back. Apprehensive at first, Max refuses to go down that makeshift trail because it seems too dangerous. However, he finally agrees to do so and the three begin to trek down the mountainside, neither keeping track of where they were going nor knowing how they would return.
As Max, Kelly, and Paul slowly maneuver their way down the mountain, they hear a thousand jet engines roaring at full throttle, reverberating across the mountain. A terrifying sound that becomes louder and louder as an ocean of snow comes tumbling down the mountain. In great panic, they ski down the mountain as fast as humanly possible, but are swept away by the avalanche of snow blistering down the mountain. After all of the havoc, about 100 meters further down the mountain, Paul arises along with Kelly. In great disbelief at being unharmed, Paul sees Kelly in the rubble of trees and fears the worst. They instantly meet eyes and Paul is euphoric to see that Kelly is okay, but then realizes that Max has not surfaced. Shock comes over Paul; he fears that he may have lost his best friend because of his reckless decision. In horror and panic Paul shouts, "Max! Max can you hear me?" without even a whisper of a response in return. In the midst of the avalanche, Kelly said that she saw a blue blur about 50 m in front of her before she was buried in snow and she believed that blur was Max. Slightly relieved, Paul and the two continue to ski down the mountainside in search of their friend. And again, they scream his name at the top of their lungs, with no response. Just as they are about to lose hope, they hear a faint, "Help! Help! Can anyone hear me?" It's Max, crouched over near a tree, waving his friends over.
"Hey buddy, are you okay?" Paul exclaimed.
"Ugh, I'm in so much damn pain." Max replied." I think I may have broken my leg and it really hurts to breathe. I've tried to stand up but I can't."
At this moment, fear overwhelms Paul, Kelly, and Max because they realize the direness of their situation; they are lost, the sun had all but set, it looked as if a storm was coming, their good friend with the only mountaineering experience was very badly injured, and as Paul flipped open his phone… that there is no signal to be found.
Horrified, the three realize that they could very well die out here in the unforgiving Alaskan wilderness. Especially Max, who had received serious injuries. Moreover, he had started to develop the beginning stages of frostbite. Numbness spread all throughout his extremities as he shivered in the stinging cold. They had brought some supplies with them, but had lost two mountaineering packs to the avalanche. The remaining pack contained one sleeping bag and a two-man tent. Max, channeling his inner boy scout, instructs Paul and Kelly to pitch the tent nearby and on solid snow. They had been swept down the mountainside, and with the enveloping darkness of night, would have to wait until morning and hope for rescue.
Two days had past and no rescue had come. Their supplies were beginning to dwindle and Max's condition was obviously worsening. He had begun to cough up blood and complained of stabbing pain in his chest; he had punctured his lung. Taking his friend's dire condition into account, Paul came up with a plan that would either save them or kill them. He decides they would pack up, and try to make the journey back to the lodge—a distance of eleven miles that would take about a day and a half to traverse. Paul created a makeshift sled out of branches and rope from the surrounding trees and his daypack. They begin to make the arduous journey up the mountain. With Paul pulling the sled, the three friends make impressive progress at first. Unaware they are going in the complete opposite direction, they travel further away from the lodge and deeper into the Alaskan wilderness.
Back in town, Max, Paul, and Kelly's parents are at the local police station filing a missing persons' report to the police. And to their terror, they discover that the worst blizzard in over 70 years is expected to hit the small town of Girdwood, Alaska in approximately sixteen hours. Realizing the three teenagers would certainly die in the blizzard, the parents huddle together like mice sharing a large slice of cheese.
"We have breaking news this morning. Three students attending Dante's High school—Paul Jonson, Max Meredith, and Kelly Anderson—have been reported as missing during a weekend long ski trip on Mount Alyeska. Possibly the largest search in Girdwood history is being mounted to save them. With an imminent blizzard predicted to hit Girdwood, the efforts of the many men, women, and children who are out on Mount Alyeska with search dogs, flares, and people actively skiing down the trails in search of them are greatly appreciated. We hope for their safe return," reported Evan Nickelson, a channel 9 newscaster. The three teenagers' parents gathered around the television, watching the broadcast. Right after the newscast, the phone rang and Ms. Jonson answered. It was her ex-husband—Paul's dad. He had heard about the commotion in Girdwood, and he was driving down to find his son.
"Okay, okay, men, three teenagers are lost on this mountain. We have a window of approximately fourteen hours to get them the hell out of there before the storm comes. Look high and look low; I don’t want one goddamn inch of this mountain unsearched. Do you understand?" said Captain Hansen as briefed the squad of firefighters. On the other side of the mountain, Paul's dad sipped contemplatively from a canteen. All he could think about was all of the years he hadn't been there for Paul. His son, lost somewhere on a goddamn mountain in the freezing cold, with no one there to help him? "No way. I am not going to let this happen," said Paul's dad as he put on skis. He was about to start skiing down to search for his son when he thought that maybe the rescuers were searching in the wrong area. Most likely, they were searching on trails already established by the resort. Knowing his son would want to try something harder, Paul's dad immediately knew his son would be in the bat-county. Paul's father had once tried this feat as well, which resulted in a broken leg and fractured ribs. Trembling at the sheer thought, he alerted the coast guard as well as the coordinator of the volunteer search effort. With that, he began skiing down the back-county, determined to find his son. "I'm coming from you son; I won't lose you… not this time."
Meanwhile Paul, Max, and Kelly's pace had come to a screeching halt. No matter how much determination Paul had, he was physically exhausted. They trudged through the deep snow when they heard a small rumbling noise. Was it another snowstorm? They grew concerned. Suddenly the snow gave way underneath the sled and Max fell through. Dangling over what seemed to be a never-ending hole of darkness, it was up to Paul to get Max out. Previously having a bad experience, Max had a flash back that distracted him for a second. "Is this really happening all over again?" he asked himself. The ropes that Paul had attached to Kelly as an anchor to secure Max had turned into a harness of death that would pull Kelly to her demise. Paul pulled with all his might, but they were sliding closer and closer to the edge. Four feet, three feet, and then one foot away from the entrance of the crevasse, Paul thought to himself, "I wish I could see my dad just one last time." He slipped and just when Kelly, Paul, and Max were about to fall to their deaths, a stranger's hand reached out to Paul and with incredible strength pulled him, then Kelly, and then slowly Max out of the abyss. The owner of the hand was no stranger; this man was Paul's dad.
Resting just twelve feet away from the dark hole, Max, Kelly, and especially Paul sat there in disbelief. Paul stared at his estranged father glimmering in the bright reflection of the sun off the snow-capped peaks. And in a way he looked unearthly, like the statue of David, or some famed hero from Greek myth.
Even though Paul's father had found the three teenagers, they were not out of the woods just yet. They may have been saved, but they were far from being rescued. Max was deathly now and he had trouble breathing with each passing breath becoming more labored and shallow. Captured in the heat of the moment, Paul's dad completely forgot that window in which the three could be rescued was rapidly closing. The storm was imminent; they had about an hour. Paul's dad had informed the coast guard to search the back-county trails, but there were many makeshift trails. Although they were glad to be alive, they were still in a lot of danger. The most terrifying aspect of the entire ordeal was that the four would most likely have to weather out the storm, and the myriad of unknown challenges lying ahead. At that moment, they began to trek back up the mountain in order to escape the oncoming storm. Outrunning it was unlikely; they would have to survive the oncoming blizzard. Paul's dad had some experience in surviving in the wild and he immediately instructed Paul and Kelly to start digging into the snow on the mountainside in order to build a snow cave. They dug into the early night until they had built a cave roughly the size of a sedan. With shelter, they would be able to survive the night. After all of their efforts, they had a suitable shelter, fire, some warm water, and leftover granola bars from their snack packs. Life for them did not seem all that bad anymore. The only thing left to do was to talk and wait out the night. Max and Kelly drifted off into a much-needed rest while Paul and his estranged father sat in silence.
"Hey dad…can I ask you a question?" said Paul apprehensively.
"Yes, of course son." Paul's dad said in response.
"Why did you leave that one night?"
"Well son, we didn’t want you to know…I have cancer…let me make a correction…I had cancer. I was off at a clinic in New Hampshire receiving treatment. You were so young at the time. We didn't want you to have to deal with what we thought was inevitable."
Paul sat there in awe as he realized that all this time, time he spent resenting his dad for leaving, his father had been protecting him. He felt absolutely ecstatic because he knew that from that point on, he would have a fatherly figure in his life, this whole time being oblivious to the raging snowstorm outside.
At the Mount Alyeska lodge where the search headquarters was, the blizzard was taking place full force outside, but no one was giving up the fight. No matter how dangerous it was, almost everyone from the town capable or aiding in the search was present. There were groups in snowmobiles leaving every fifteen minutes and countless people on dogsled searching as well. The coast guard was also not giving up the fight and had multiple helicopters equipped with thermal cameras to identify body heat as well as trained cross-country skiers searching the terrain. Since the beginning of the search, over 100 square miles had been covered high and low, yet not one person was found. Then, the captain of the coast guard remembered what Paul's dad had said about the back trails, as well as the fact that he hadn’t returned. He then ordered his men to search the backside of the mountain as well as everything surrounding it. Over half of the entire search force was moved to the bat-county trails. The effort was so large that it even made nation wide news and made it seem as if it would be almost difficult for the rescue party not to be successful by just the sheer numbers of people participating.
Paul and his father had talked all throughout the night, about everything and anything they could think of or catch up on. It seemed to be quite a long time since they had entered the snow cave, and just as they were contemplating on whether or not to continue their trek up the mountain, they heard salvation knocking on the door of their makeshift home. The thud of helicopter blades, the bark of dogs, and multiple people yelling out their names rang throughout the snow cave, and they were ecstatic. Paul woke up Kelly and Max, who were so relieved that rescue had finally come. They exited the cave together to be greeted by familiar faces. Mr. Brown the snowplow man was there, Max and Paul's fifth grade teacher was there, and even Kelly's old track coach was present. Rescue had finally come for the three teenagers. They had escaped a cold and dark fate. Paul pondered whether chance or fate had reunited him with his father. Nevertheless, he was happy.
The four soon returned to their homes and their everyday lives, aside from the interviews. The news had brought the small town of Girdwood, Alaska much publicity and Paul, Max, and Kelly were placed in the spotlight for the first time in their lives. Max and Paul started the ninth grade with memories that will live within them forever. Kelly went a different route, and wrote a detailed account of their experiences on an unforgiving mountain one winter weekend. On a broader note, being lost in the Alaskan Wilderness gave everyone in the town a new appreciation for life. Paul finally asked Kelly out on a date, and she agreed. People say the town of Girdwood has never seen a happier couple. Paul's father made amends, sold his home in New Hampshire, and returned home. As for the town's people… well, I can't say what each person gleaned from the story, but they were definitely happy to have the precocious albeit mischievous teenagers back. The tale of bravery, determination, and strength of character will live on from generation to generation and inspire an appreciation for life. Life is a glass swan—beautiful, but ultimately fragile.
-Ron
What special trait/thing about yourself made you want to write your short story?
The reason why I wrote this type of story is mainly because I used to watch a lot of survival T.V shows on the Discovery Channel such as Man vs. Wild and Survivorman. These show's inspired me to write a story about surviving in the Alaskan Wilderness because I always found it entertaining to watch Bear Grylls from Man vs. Wild survive in many different places. So all in all, I thought that it was a good idea and that it would be fun to write about.
"Over 7 feet of snow has fallen in the small town of Girdwood, Alaska," said Channel 9 reporter Evan Nickelson. This has been one of the most violent winters in Alaskan history, with record amounts of snowfall and hail. Local snowplow man Tyron Brown told reporters, " This is by far the busiest winter I've had in over twenty years. I have to clear snow off the roads constantly as this snow is relentless!" This year, winter has come much earlier than usual, and it's the coldest it's ever been since recorded history. The temperature has dropped into the negatives and the weather has been quite unpredictable. The clouds are dark and ominous and what lies ahead is unknown. The town's people know, however, that this winter will be a time that will never be forgotten.
Max and Paul have always been best friends. They grew up together in their small town suburb and were practically brothers. Year by year, they went to school and lived full lives, learning new concepts, experiencing different things, and maturing as individuals. Max and Paul were always interested in the exact same things. In the fourth grade, the two of them joined the boy scouts with their dads. Everything was going well and it seemed as if nothing could go wrong. They continued going to the meetings and functions week after week, until one rainy day in April when Max found himself at the boy scouts' annual camping trip alone without his friend Paul. At first, he was confused and wondered what had happened to his best friend. Later that night as he sat in the camp dining hall, his dad nudged him and signaled him to come outside. After opening the oak doors, they stepped out into a light drizzle. His dad said, "I just got a call from Paul's dad… He said that he was getting a divorce, and that Paul was sorry that he couldn't make it to the trip… I'm sorry sport." And from that day on, Paul never returned to the boy scouts, but after some time Max and Paul's friendship resumed. They continued to go through school and life went on. They continued to have fun and they learned how to ski in the process of doing so. But an unmistakable fear had seized Paul the year his parents got divorced; he seemed to be scared… scared of life… scared of what life could do to him after his dad had moved away. During the seventh grade ski trip to Mount Alyeska, Paul was going down a fairly easy course when he lost control of his skis and veered off the course. He then found himself in very deep and soft snow. And while he was trying to free himself from the slushy mess, the snow gave way and he fell into a dark crevasse. From the surface, fearful weeping could be heard for over an hour before the fire department was able to rescue him. Luckily, he only fell about 8 feet and sustained no physical injuries. Mentally, he was quite traumatized from his near death experience.
As time passed, it seemed as if he had overcome his fears. Before Paul and Max knew it, eighth grade, full of skiing and meeting new people, was over. Max, being the adventurous type, felt a strong urge to culminate the end of middle school and celebrate the beginning of high school with a perilous ski trip down the snow-bat country—a feat that not even his father had accomplished. As always, he invited Paul to embark on this dangerous, shenanigans-filled journey. Paul, the archetype of apprehension, had to be persuaded to come. Paul, feeling that he needed to settle a score with the mountain that almost took his life, agreed to come along. They planned to begin their trip early Friday morning, and return late Sunday afternoon. As the morning was readily approaching, Paul and Max stared at their alarm clocks, watching the minutes pass from 5:12AM to 5:13AM… waiting for 6:00AM to arrive. They were going to tackle the most dangerous and difficult runs Mount Alyeska had to offer, but Max was confident that he, as well as the better half of the magnificent duo, would have a great time.
The day before, Paul had run into a girl he really liked from school and invited her to come along. When Max went to Paul's house to pick him up, he was surprised to see that Paul had brought company. Kelly greeted Max as the two entered the car. Kelly was by far the cutest girl in school and boys were always interested in her. Paul had always possessed a certain charm with the girls, and he had convinced her to come along. Max's dad drove the three up the frosted-over highway, through the snowy woods, and finally to the lodge at the bottom of Mount Alyeska. He was troubled. The snow, which had barely covered his windshield minutes ago, had now blanketed the entire vehicle. Arriving at the lodge, they walked through the double doors, feeling the warm embrace of an internal heating system, and a fireplace crackling nearby. Saying goodbye, the three adventurers rode on the gondola to the very top of the mountain. Max would never forget peering at the sunrise over the snow-capped peaks. Each of them had twenty-pound mountaineering packs full of supplies and camping equipment. And as the three of them sat at what seemed to be the top of the world, they looked down the near-vertical slopes below and reminisced about memories from the past year. Then, as the sun appeared almost fully over the horizon, Paul stood up in silence, brushing the snow off his ski pants. He then looked at the slope and decided that he would be the first to tackle the new feat, hoping to impress Kelly in the process. He proceeded by slowly inching himself closer to the beginning of the run until he jolted forward and disappeared, the slush of snow being heard as he attempted the moguls. Max and Kelly followed, officially beginning their ski trip. They continued skiing along the mountain, coming to a fork in the trails about halfway down. They needed to decide which to continue on with. After the first run of the day, Paul felt empowered with confidence and decided for the group. Rather than ski along either path, they would go off the trail, down the treacherous mountainside, and over the tracks of previous skiers that gave them an eerie warning to turn back. Apprehensive at first, Max refuses to go down that makeshift trail because it seems too dangerous. However, he finally agrees to do so and the three begin to trek down the mountainside, neither keeping track of where they were going nor knowing how they would return.
As Max, Kelly, and Paul slowly maneuver their way down the mountain, they hear a thousand jet engines roaring at full throttle, reverberating across the mountain. A terrifying sound that becomes louder and louder as an ocean of snow comes tumbling down the mountain. In great panic, they ski down the mountain as fast as humanly possible, but are swept away by the avalanche of snow blistering down the mountain. After all of the havoc, about 100 meters further down the mountain, Paul arises along with Kelly. In great disbelief at being unharmed, Paul sees Kelly in the rubble of trees and fears the worst. They instantly meet eyes and Paul is euphoric to see that Kelly is okay, but then realizes that Max has not surfaced. Shock comes over Paul; he fears that he may have lost his best friend because of his reckless decision. In horror and panic Paul shouts, "Max! Max can you hear me?" without even a whisper of a response in return. In the midst of the avalanche, Kelly said that she saw a blue blur about 50 m in front of her before she was buried in snow and she believed that blur was Max. Slightly relieved, Paul and the two continue to ski down the mountainside in search of their friend. And again, they scream his name at the top of their lungs, with no response. Just as they are about to lose hope, they hear a faint, "Help! Help! Can anyone hear me?" It's Max, crouched over near a tree, waving his friends over.
"Hey buddy, are you okay?" Paul exclaimed.
"Ugh, I'm in so much damn pain." Max replied." I think I may have broken my leg and it really hurts to breathe. I've tried to stand up but I can't."
At this moment, fear overwhelms Paul, Kelly, and Max because they realize the direness of their situation; they are lost, the sun had all but set, it looked as if a storm was coming, their good friend with the only mountaineering experience was very badly injured, and as Paul flipped open his phone… that there is no signal to be found.
Horrified, the three realize that they could very well die out here in the unforgiving Alaskan wilderness. Especially Max, who had received serious injuries. Moreover, he had started to develop the beginning stages of frostbite. Numbness spread all throughout his extremities as he shivered in the stinging cold. They had brought some supplies with them, but had lost two mountaineering packs to the avalanche. The remaining pack contained one sleeping bag and a two-man tent. Max, channeling his inner boy scout, instructs Paul and Kelly to pitch the tent nearby and on solid snow. They had been swept down the mountainside, and with the enveloping darkness of night, would have to wait until morning and hope for rescue.
Two days had past and no rescue had come. Their supplies were beginning to dwindle and Max's condition was obviously worsening. He had begun to cough up blood and complained of stabbing pain in his chest; he had punctured his lung. Taking his friend's dire condition into account, Paul came up with a plan that would either save them or kill them. He decides they would pack up, and try to make the journey back to the lodge—a distance of eleven miles that would take about a day and a half to traverse. Paul created a makeshift sled out of branches and rope from the surrounding trees and his daypack. They begin to make the arduous journey up the mountain. With Paul pulling the sled, the three friends make impressive progress at first. Unaware they are going in the complete opposite direction, they travel further away from the lodge and deeper into the Alaskan wilderness.
Back in town, Max, Paul, and Kelly's parents are at the local police station filing a missing persons' report to the police. And to their terror, they discover that the worst blizzard in over 70 years is expected to hit the small town of Girdwood, Alaska in approximately sixteen hours. Realizing the three teenagers would certainly die in the blizzard, the parents huddle together like mice sharing a large slice of cheese.
"We have breaking news this morning. Three students attending Dante's High school—Paul Jonson, Max Meredith, and Kelly Anderson—have been reported as missing during a weekend long ski trip on Mount Alyeska. Possibly the largest search in Girdwood history is being mounted to save them. With an imminent blizzard predicted to hit Girdwood, the efforts of the many men, women, and children who are out on Mount Alyeska with search dogs, flares, and people actively skiing down the trails in search of them are greatly appreciated. We hope for their safe return," reported Evan Nickelson, a channel 9 newscaster. The three teenagers' parents gathered around the television, watching the broadcast. Right after the newscast, the phone rang and Ms. Jonson answered. It was her ex-husband—Paul's dad. He had heard about the commotion in Girdwood, and he was driving down to find his son.
"Okay, okay, men, three teenagers are lost on this mountain. We have a window of approximately fourteen hours to get them the hell out of there before the storm comes. Look high and look low; I don’t want one goddamn inch of this mountain unsearched. Do you understand?" said Captain Hansen as briefed the squad of firefighters. On the other side of the mountain, Paul's dad sipped contemplatively from a canteen. All he could think about was all of the years he hadn't been there for Paul. His son, lost somewhere on a goddamn mountain in the freezing cold, with no one there to help him? "No way. I am not going to let this happen," said Paul's dad as he put on skis. He was about to start skiing down to search for his son when he thought that maybe the rescuers were searching in the wrong area. Most likely, they were searching on trails already established by the resort. Knowing his son would want to try something harder, Paul's dad immediately knew his son would be in the bat-county. Paul's father had once tried this feat as well, which resulted in a broken leg and fractured ribs. Trembling at the sheer thought, he alerted the coast guard as well as the coordinator of the volunteer search effort. With that, he began skiing down the back-county, determined to find his son. "I'm coming from you son; I won't lose you… not this time."
Meanwhile Paul, Max, and Kelly's pace had come to a screeching halt. No matter how much determination Paul had, he was physically exhausted. They trudged through the deep snow when they heard a small rumbling noise. Was it another snowstorm? They grew concerned. Suddenly the snow gave way underneath the sled and Max fell through. Dangling over what seemed to be a never-ending hole of darkness, it was up to Paul to get Max out. Previously having a bad experience, Max had a flash back that distracted him for a second. "Is this really happening all over again?" he asked himself. The ropes that Paul had attached to Kelly as an anchor to secure Max had turned into a harness of death that would pull Kelly to her demise. Paul pulled with all his might, but they were sliding closer and closer to the edge. Four feet, three feet, and then one foot away from the entrance of the crevasse, Paul thought to himself, "I wish I could see my dad just one last time." He slipped and just when Kelly, Paul, and Max were about to fall to their deaths, a stranger's hand reached out to Paul and with incredible strength pulled him, then Kelly, and then slowly Max out of the abyss. The owner of the hand was no stranger; this man was Paul's dad.
Resting just twelve feet away from the dark hole, Max, Kelly, and especially Paul sat there in disbelief. Paul stared at his estranged father glimmering in the bright reflection of the sun off the snow-capped peaks. And in a way he looked unearthly, like the statue of David, or some famed hero from Greek myth.
Even though Paul's father had found the three teenagers, they were not out of the woods just yet. They may have been saved, but they were far from being rescued. Max was deathly now and he had trouble breathing with each passing breath becoming more labored and shallow. Captured in the heat of the moment, Paul's dad completely forgot that window in which the three could be rescued was rapidly closing. The storm was imminent; they had about an hour. Paul's dad had informed the coast guard to search the back-county trails, but there were many makeshift trails. Although they were glad to be alive, they were still in a lot of danger. The most terrifying aspect of the entire ordeal was that the four would most likely have to weather out the storm, and the myriad of unknown challenges lying ahead. At that moment, they began to trek back up the mountain in order to escape the oncoming storm. Outrunning it was unlikely; they would have to survive the oncoming blizzard. Paul's dad had some experience in surviving in the wild and he immediately instructed Paul and Kelly to start digging into the snow on the mountainside in order to build a snow cave. They dug into the early night until they had built a cave roughly the size of a sedan. With shelter, they would be able to survive the night. After all of their efforts, they had a suitable shelter, fire, some warm water, and leftover granola bars from their snack packs. Life for them did not seem all that bad anymore. The only thing left to do was to talk and wait out the night. Max and Kelly drifted off into a much-needed rest while Paul and his estranged father sat in silence.
"Hey dad…can I ask you a question?" said Paul apprehensively.
"Yes, of course son." Paul's dad said in response.
"Why did you leave that one night?"
"Well son, we didn’t want you to know…I have cancer…let me make a correction…I had cancer. I was off at a clinic in New Hampshire receiving treatment. You were so young at the time. We didn't want you to have to deal with what we thought was inevitable."
Paul sat there in awe as he realized that all this time, time he spent resenting his dad for leaving, his father had been protecting him. He felt absolutely ecstatic because he knew that from that point on, he would have a fatherly figure in his life, this whole time being oblivious to the raging snowstorm outside.
At the Mount Alyeska lodge where the search headquarters was, the blizzard was taking place full force outside, but no one was giving up the fight. No matter how dangerous it was, almost everyone from the town capable or aiding in the search was present. There were groups in snowmobiles leaving every fifteen minutes and countless people on dogsled searching as well. The coast guard was also not giving up the fight and had multiple helicopters equipped with thermal cameras to identify body heat as well as trained cross-country skiers searching the terrain. Since the beginning of the search, over 100 square miles had been covered high and low, yet not one person was found. Then, the captain of the coast guard remembered what Paul's dad had said about the back trails, as well as the fact that he hadn’t returned. He then ordered his men to search the backside of the mountain as well as everything surrounding it. Over half of the entire search force was moved to the bat-county trails. The effort was so large that it even made nation wide news and made it seem as if it would be almost difficult for the rescue party not to be successful by just the sheer numbers of people participating.
Paul and his father had talked all throughout the night, about everything and anything they could think of or catch up on. It seemed to be quite a long time since they had entered the snow cave, and just as they were contemplating on whether or not to continue their trek up the mountain, they heard salvation knocking on the door of their makeshift home. The thud of helicopter blades, the bark of dogs, and multiple people yelling out their names rang throughout the snow cave, and they were ecstatic. Paul woke up Kelly and Max, who were so relieved that rescue had finally come. They exited the cave together to be greeted by familiar faces. Mr. Brown the snowplow man was there, Max and Paul's fifth grade teacher was there, and even Kelly's old track coach was present. Rescue had finally come for the three teenagers. They had escaped a cold and dark fate. Paul pondered whether chance or fate had reunited him with his father. Nevertheless, he was happy.
The four soon returned to their homes and their everyday lives, aside from the interviews. The news had brought the small town of Girdwood, Alaska much publicity and Paul, Max, and Kelly were placed in the spotlight for the first time in their lives. Max and Paul started the ninth grade with memories that will live within them forever. Kelly went a different route, and wrote a detailed account of their experiences on an unforgiving mountain one winter weekend. On a broader note, being lost in the Alaskan Wilderness gave everyone in the town a new appreciation for life. Paul finally asked Kelly out on a date, and she agreed. People say the town of Girdwood has never seen a happier couple. Paul's father made amends, sold his home in New Hampshire, and returned home. As for the town's people… well, I can't say what each person gleaned from the story, but they were definitely happy to have the precocious albeit mischievous teenagers back. The tale of bravery, determination, and strength of character will live on from generation to generation and inspire an appreciation for life. Life is a glass swan—beautiful, but ultimately fragile.
-Ron
What special trait/thing about yourself made you want to write your short story?
The reason why I wrote this type of story is mainly because I used to watch a lot of survival T.V shows on the Discovery Channel such as Man vs. Wild and Survivorman. These show's inspired me to write a story about surviving in the Alaskan Wilderness because I always found it entertaining to watch Bear Grylls from Man vs. Wild survive in many different places. So all in all, I thought that it was a good idea and that it would be fun to write about.
Struggle
Struggle
Daylight, the glowing sky, and a beautiful world, where a light glitter shadow gathers. The world was split into three parts, the Reformation Federation, the International Unity Union, and where I was born as a royal prince of the Bineria Empire. The Reform Fed. took their places in Asia and Oceania, The I.U.U have Europe and Northern Africa, and my country of Bineria have all of the Americas. The balance of power was delicate and peace hard to come by. The stenches of war ravage many places. This is the stage where I take my place, my place in the world and for a better future.
When I was eleven, I was exiled from the royal family, after the assassination of our parents and the coup by my brother, my sister and I were escorted to Italy by the last of the loyalists while the capital endured the coup. It was a sad day indeed, my brother Giancarlo al Bineria was usually a nice and charismatic man, he was always a nice person, I guess he just revealed his mask. As we fled from the royal capital, it seems that all of my parents 's royal guards have disappeared on the day of the assassination. Tragically, my sister lost her right arm during the coup, now her chance at a happy life under my brother's reign of our nation are slim, even if we happened to come back one day. We were luckier than many of our other siblings, who were killed in the coup.
With my brother in charge, the empire became dangerous, aggressive, and harsh, following the philosophy of the survival of fittest. But yet his popularity soared as he promised to bring the other nations to their knees. At ages of five and eleven, my sister and I lost everything: our right to the throne, our identity, friends and family. However, fortune had not abandoned us, Ave and I were placed in the care of the Italian Prime Minister,Wertin Bruno. He had a son called Bille who is near my age and we get along rather well. Later, Ave and I decided to give up our last name and trace of royalty altogether. The people of Bineria thought we were dead as most of the royal family was killed in the coup. Giancarlo called this massacre the work of terrorists and assigned Wishker al Bineria to take the throne while Giancarlo became the prime minister. That was o doubt a clever move, Wishker was always a puppet he used while he pulled the strings using his connections with the surviving nobility. While Wishker, our mediocre brother, was suspected and toke the burden of the empire. Ave and I were powerless, so we laid low and stayed with Bille. So time passed peacefully as Ave and I lived in a safe haven, away from all those troubles and struggles.
However, peace did not last, the horns of war was heard and Italy was under attack by Bineria. Even though Italy was one of the most powerful state in the International Unity Union, Bineria's advance arsenal of aerial bombardments gave its army a huge advantage in mobility and firepower as the traditional Italian Army lost control of the sky. After one month of brutal bombardment, Italy surrendered and was renamed New Wishker, after the current "puppet" emperor. The atrocities was astonishing, as we were escorted out of Rome, we were ambushed. Stood in front of us were several tanks and as soon as I locked my sight on them, they began to fire. The truck in front of us blew up in a fiery explosion as our car flipped, gunfire and artillery rocked my ear and my last thought before I lost consciousness was that I need to protect Ave no matter what.
Six Years Later
"Schenzel, wake up! You are sleeping, aren't you? The teacher is kind of angry" said my classmate Katherine Toshford as she began to shake me out of my slumber.
"Huh? Oh right, Mr. Eaze. The answer was twenty two and it was according to Heron's formula," I answered.
"Schenzel, I know you have one of the highest grade in the class, but please don't doze off. Attendance counts as grades too, but your answer was correct," Mr. Eaze replied and then sighed. He thought he could never motivate me to be great, not that I wouldn't want to. But every year, some of the brightest students from this colony school are selected to meet the governor of this colony, a sure way to blow my cover as a Binerian commoner. Yes, Italy has fallen and has became one of the colonies of the Bineria Empire while it was now engaged in war with the Reformation Federation, however, resistance still continued, but futile as the discrimination against the Italians grew worse. During the ambush, the Prime Minister was killed and the remaining Italian army forcefully rescued Bille as they thought of him as a beacon of hope. Ave and I were abandoned and eventually rescued by the Binerian army. Latter, Earl Toshford, one of the few nobility who is still loyal to my parents, offered my sister and I the opportunity to stay at this school and protect ourselves from the clutch of our brother.
Days after days, I felt restless. I wanted power, however I couldn't declare myself against my brother yet, it was too soon and the safety of my sister might be compromised. My sister meant the world to me and losing her was like losing hope itself. I knew how she had suffered because of her disability, but that never stopped her, her smile was the most cherish memory I have. I have a picture of her in my necklace, I carried wherever I go, I can't let myself forget all the trials she and I faced. I will make her a better world to live, rather than this war-torn world between the three superpowers.
After school, Katherine walked up to me, her voice full with concern" You know Schenzel, you are quite talented, but why are you always missing class?" "I have to make money for Ave" I held up a poker chip and a chess piece. Katherine was the granddaughter of the Earl and is currently the student body president, she was quite popular and powerful consider her grandfather founded this school. She also discovered the secret that we were one of the few surviving royalty. "This is not how you suppose to spend your life. You need to change for the better," she replied. " Change means nothing, without power and influence, I can achieve nothing," I shot backed. "Beside how do you think that I felt on that day, knowing what my brother have done to me! Now he just conquered half of the International Unity Union and along with the power he already had in Bineria, what can a powerless seventeen years old do? " I saw her scared face and wish I shouldn't done that. "Oh, I am sorry" " No, it is I who should be sorry," I said. "Well, we can spend some quality time toge-----" Suddenly, a truck swerved across the street, and crashed into the tunnel leading into the Florence Ghetto where the poor Italian, the lowest class lived. I ran to the truck and saw that the driver was unconscious. Then, I heard something from the radio he had on the rack saying "Reply Alpha-03, how is the hijacked truck". Only then I realized I walked right into a terrorist ploy. These people are the remains of the nationalists and former army members who decided to fight back with anything and Binerians often used this as an excuse to degrade their treatment of the Italian. However, I needed to get to safety quick, so I try to get to the handle but only to see the bullets brazing the doors. I realized I was trapped and quickly ran to the back part of the truck, hopefully escape that way. Only then I noticed, that door was blocked by a weird obsidian containers, it seems to be sphere, all smooth and no crack. 'Well I am royally screwed,' I thought as I tried to hide behind it before the soldiers can come and find me, only for my plan to fail as the sphere opened made a sharp releasing sound. Coming out was a woman who seemed drugged and a silver crown. I tried to suppress my shock as I tried to help her just as the door was kicked open by the soldiers. I felt her weak pulses and see her hand was wrapped tightly around the crown.
"Surrender now terrorist, and hand over the container!" said the leader of the soldiers. I realized that they were the governor's personal guards. "Why do the terrorists want this woman?" I tried to stall for time. "Oh, you are not one of them, but however student, you are a witness to this Project. You must die!" He shouted as he load his gun and I can see my death coming toward me. At that moment, I thought I was going to die, all my hope of creating a better world for Ave and defeating Giancarlo won't be realized. I felt my necklace, at least if I die, I will never give up Ave for anything. Then, the woman in the sphere jumped in front of me and took the shot. Suddenly I heard her voice command" Put on the crown, last true prince of Bineria and create a scourge the world! " Before she crumpled to the floor. The lead royal guard to the governor seemed angry as he swear " Why did I killed the Subject, the governor will f*cking kill me for this" Meanwhile, taking advantage of their distraction, I hid behind several boxes as made the only choice I have. Ave will live to see a better world, I put on the silver crown. For a second nothing happened and dread began to twist my stomach. Then, I felt power flowing through my veins as I heard the voice of the woman again " You have gain the true power of the king, for you the crown bestowed upon you your power of command and power of strategy. Remember the deal, my service to the royal family is complete and yours just have begun." Her voice reverberate in the truck before her body turned to dust. Suddenly I knew what to do, suddenly I walked out facing the royal guards, their guns pointed towards me. Then I said" Under the power of the crown, die!" As they started to salute me saying "Yes your majesty, as they pulled the trigger, not at me, but at themselves. The flying arcs of bloods splattered across my face made me realized that I just killed. But I realized that this is my true side, I feel confidence and power all through my body. I laughed, 'finally I have been granted power' With my ability and this object, I will reclaim the throne and make the world better. I will create a new world for Ave and I will defeat Giancarlo and avenge my family. However first thing first, the colony of Italy will fall, I reached for the driver's radio and contacted the Italians resistance group as I said to them " Trust me, heirs of Italia, I command you all to follow me to restore your nation!" I was hesitant to lead them but as I saw the picture of my sister, Ave, I knew what to do. For the sake of her, I need to go on, the trial of blood just began.
Señor ele
I created the story to test my ability and express myself. I found inspiration in many forms and created this story.
Daylight, the glowing sky, and a beautiful world, where a light glitter shadow gathers. The world was split into three parts, the Reformation Federation, the International Unity Union, and where I was born as a royal prince of the Bineria Empire. The Reform Fed. took their places in Asia and Oceania, The I.U.U have Europe and Northern Africa, and my country of Bineria have all of the Americas. The balance of power was delicate and peace hard to come by. The stenches of war ravage many places. This is the stage where I take my place, my place in the world and for a better future.
When I was eleven, I was exiled from the royal family, after the assassination of our parents and the coup by my brother, my sister and I were escorted to Italy by the last of the loyalists while the capital endured the coup. It was a sad day indeed, my brother Giancarlo al Bineria was usually a nice and charismatic man, he was always a nice person, I guess he just revealed his mask. As we fled from the royal capital, it seems that all of my parents 's royal guards have disappeared on the day of the assassination. Tragically, my sister lost her right arm during the coup, now her chance at a happy life under my brother's reign of our nation are slim, even if we happened to come back one day. We were luckier than many of our other siblings, who were killed in the coup.
With my brother in charge, the empire became dangerous, aggressive, and harsh, following the philosophy of the survival of fittest. But yet his popularity soared as he promised to bring the other nations to their knees. At ages of five and eleven, my sister and I lost everything: our right to the throne, our identity, friends and family. However, fortune had not abandoned us, Ave and I were placed in the care of the Italian Prime Minister,Wertin Bruno. He had a son called Bille who is near my age and we get along rather well. Later, Ave and I decided to give up our last name and trace of royalty altogether. The people of Bineria thought we were dead as most of the royal family was killed in the coup. Giancarlo called this massacre the work of terrorists and assigned Wishker al Bineria to take the throne while Giancarlo became the prime minister. That was o doubt a clever move, Wishker was always a puppet he used while he pulled the strings using his connections with the surviving nobility. While Wishker, our mediocre brother, was suspected and toke the burden of the empire. Ave and I were powerless, so we laid low and stayed with Bille. So time passed peacefully as Ave and I lived in a safe haven, away from all those troubles and struggles.
However, peace did not last, the horns of war was heard and Italy was under attack by Bineria. Even though Italy was one of the most powerful state in the International Unity Union, Bineria's advance arsenal of aerial bombardments gave its army a huge advantage in mobility and firepower as the traditional Italian Army lost control of the sky. After one month of brutal bombardment, Italy surrendered and was renamed New Wishker, after the current "puppet" emperor. The atrocities was astonishing, as we were escorted out of Rome, we were ambushed. Stood in front of us were several tanks and as soon as I locked my sight on them, they began to fire. The truck in front of us blew up in a fiery explosion as our car flipped, gunfire and artillery rocked my ear and my last thought before I lost consciousness was that I need to protect Ave no matter what.
Six Years Later
"Schenzel, wake up! You are sleeping, aren't you? The teacher is kind of angry" said my classmate Katherine Toshford as she began to shake me out of my slumber.
"Huh? Oh right, Mr. Eaze. The answer was twenty two and it was according to Heron's formula," I answered.
"Schenzel, I know you have one of the highest grade in the class, but please don't doze off. Attendance counts as grades too, but your answer was correct," Mr. Eaze replied and then sighed. He thought he could never motivate me to be great, not that I wouldn't want to. But every year, some of the brightest students from this colony school are selected to meet the governor of this colony, a sure way to blow my cover as a Binerian commoner. Yes, Italy has fallen and has became one of the colonies of the Bineria Empire while it was now engaged in war with the Reformation Federation, however, resistance still continued, but futile as the discrimination against the Italians grew worse. During the ambush, the Prime Minister was killed and the remaining Italian army forcefully rescued Bille as they thought of him as a beacon of hope. Ave and I were abandoned and eventually rescued by the Binerian army. Latter, Earl Toshford, one of the few nobility who is still loyal to my parents, offered my sister and I the opportunity to stay at this school and protect ourselves from the clutch of our brother.
Days after days, I felt restless. I wanted power, however I couldn't declare myself against my brother yet, it was too soon and the safety of my sister might be compromised. My sister meant the world to me and losing her was like losing hope itself. I knew how she had suffered because of her disability, but that never stopped her, her smile was the most cherish memory I have. I have a picture of her in my necklace, I carried wherever I go, I can't let myself forget all the trials she and I faced. I will make her a better world to live, rather than this war-torn world between the three superpowers.
After school, Katherine walked up to me, her voice full with concern" You know Schenzel, you are quite talented, but why are you always missing class?" "I have to make money for Ave" I held up a poker chip and a chess piece. Katherine was the granddaughter of the Earl and is currently the student body president, she was quite popular and powerful consider her grandfather founded this school. She also discovered the secret that we were one of the few surviving royalty. "This is not how you suppose to spend your life. You need to change for the better," she replied. " Change means nothing, without power and influence, I can achieve nothing," I shot backed. "Beside how do you think that I felt on that day, knowing what my brother have done to me! Now he just conquered half of the International Unity Union and along with the power he already had in Bineria, what can a powerless seventeen years old do? " I saw her scared face and wish I shouldn't done that. "Oh, I am sorry" " No, it is I who should be sorry," I said. "Well, we can spend some quality time toge-----" Suddenly, a truck swerved across the street, and crashed into the tunnel leading into the Florence Ghetto where the poor Italian, the lowest class lived. I ran to the truck and saw that the driver was unconscious. Then, I heard something from the radio he had on the rack saying "Reply Alpha-03, how is the hijacked truck". Only then I realized I walked right into a terrorist ploy. These people are the remains of the nationalists and former army members who decided to fight back with anything and Binerians often used this as an excuse to degrade their treatment of the Italian. However, I needed to get to safety quick, so I try to get to the handle but only to see the bullets brazing the doors. I realized I was trapped and quickly ran to the back part of the truck, hopefully escape that way. Only then I noticed, that door was blocked by a weird obsidian containers, it seems to be sphere, all smooth and no crack. 'Well I am royally screwed,' I thought as I tried to hide behind it before the soldiers can come and find me, only for my plan to fail as the sphere opened made a sharp releasing sound. Coming out was a woman who seemed drugged and a silver crown. I tried to suppress my shock as I tried to help her just as the door was kicked open by the soldiers. I felt her weak pulses and see her hand was wrapped tightly around the crown.
"Surrender now terrorist, and hand over the container!" said the leader of the soldiers. I realized that they were the governor's personal guards. "Why do the terrorists want this woman?" I tried to stall for time. "Oh, you are not one of them, but however student, you are a witness to this Project. You must die!" He shouted as he load his gun and I can see my death coming toward me. At that moment, I thought I was going to die, all my hope of creating a better world for Ave and defeating Giancarlo won't be realized. I felt my necklace, at least if I die, I will never give up Ave for anything. Then, the woman in the sphere jumped in front of me and took the shot. Suddenly I heard her voice command" Put on the crown, last true prince of Bineria and create a scourge the world! " Before she crumpled to the floor. The lead royal guard to the governor seemed angry as he swear " Why did I killed the Subject, the governor will f*cking kill me for this" Meanwhile, taking advantage of their distraction, I hid behind several boxes as made the only choice I have. Ave will live to see a better world, I put on the silver crown. For a second nothing happened and dread began to twist my stomach. Then, I felt power flowing through my veins as I heard the voice of the woman again " You have gain the true power of the king, for you the crown bestowed upon you your power of command and power of strategy. Remember the deal, my service to the royal family is complete and yours just have begun." Her voice reverberate in the truck before her body turned to dust. Suddenly I knew what to do, suddenly I walked out facing the royal guards, their guns pointed towards me. Then I said" Under the power of the crown, die!" As they started to salute me saying "Yes your majesty, as they pulled the trigger, not at me, but at themselves. The flying arcs of bloods splattered across my face made me realized that I just killed. But I realized that this is my true side, I feel confidence and power all through my body. I laughed, 'finally I have been granted power' With my ability and this object, I will reclaim the throne and make the world better. I will create a new world for Ave and I will defeat Giancarlo and avenge my family. However first thing first, the colony of Italy will fall, I reached for the driver's radio and contacted the Italians resistance group as I said to them " Trust me, heirs of Italia, I command you all to follow me to restore your nation!" I was hesitant to lead them but as I saw the picture of my sister, Ave, I knew what to do. For the sake of her, I need to go on, the trial of blood just began.
Señor ele
I created the story to test my ability and express myself. I found inspiration in many forms and created this story.
Preston
Preston
My parents are the old fashioned type. You can tell just by their I-am-better-than-you names, Bart and Charlotte Parker, which describe them better than I ever could. Dad owns Piers 25-37 and charges people who want to dock their boats there. He comes home late from the yacht club, golfing, or whatever dads do, and leaves early for work in the morning. Typical dead-beat dad except we've got money, we've got lots of money. But it's not the good well-earned, self-made, work-my-way-up kind of money, it's old inherited money. My Dad is the sole heir of my long gone grandmothers' fortune. That's probably why my Mom married him, I mean the man has not an atom of appeal in his 250 pound body.
And my mom, well my mom is hard to describe. It seems like she could have been cool at some point, but has completely lost that. Mom wears dresses every day and accessorizes with beautiful pearls dangling from her neck and a signature fake smile plastered across her face. She's not the kind of person that you go to for advice of any kind; feelings and emotion get swept under the rug. My parents don't talk to us or each other, I mean they've never really had a parental conversation like the ones that I see in movies.
By "us" I mean my lovely nine-year-old sister Claire and I. There is no one more charming, adorable, and likeable than Claire. She can sometimes be a spoiled little brat, but can you blame her? I mean given our circumstances it's only normal. I can't help but smile when she says my name "Saywah", which is really pronounced Sarah but she's always had trouble with R's. She is my best friend, and the person who makes me want to keep everything together. She is innocence in the rawest form.
But anyways, back to my pompous Mother. Up until recently I don’t think I've ever even seen my Mom raise her voice, except for the time that Claire refused to wear a dress to our family's annual charity ball. Philanthropic right? No, it's all an act. Our entire life is a show, an elaborate, elegant, exclusive movie that only recently took a turn for the worst.
I could only see flashes of shadows in the small crack beneath my door, swiftly stabbing through the light that brightened up the hall. I always wondered why they left that hall light on. Fighting in the dark must not be as fun. I like to imagine their silhouettes as little shadow puppets putting on a special feature just for Claire and I. Our parents have been at it all month. The littlest things have been setting them off. Fighting about money, the house, cleaning, and even what's for dinner.
But last night was the worst I'd ever heard it. "You have to try a little harder to make things work", Mom kept saying. "I am done trying", my father would yell back. It ultimately ended in my mother kicking my dad out. I heard his car engine rev up as he descended down the driveway. I felt my heart beating out of my chest and I wanted my body to diffuse in to my bed sheets. I was so glad that Claire had fallen asleep earlier because I couldn’t let her see me like this. I spent the rest of the night counting the number of crystals hanging from the chandelier above my bed, 937 being the final number.
"Pass me some of the bacon, pleeeeease", Claire said. And if it weren't for her cute little gapped tooth smile, I would have slapped her right there for being so happy. She loves bacon; it's her favorite thing second to me, so she says. I picked up the plate with my fists clenched so tightly that my fingers were turning red. I let go thinking Claire had grabbed the other end of it, and it dropped to the floor. "AAAAngelaaaa", Claire screamed. "No it's fine Claire I got it, it's my fault anyway. When you drop something it is your job to pick it up." I insisted. But Angela ran in and started sweeping the glass and bacon up before I could even get out of my chair.
Angela is our maid/nanny/driver/fill in parent, she barely speaks English and calls Claire and I "the queens". She's a really great person and I always feel bad making her work so hard. Claire on the other hand, fully harnesses the advantage that is Angela.
"Good morning my leetle queens, no school for today if you not want to", Angela said in a genuinely joyful tone. Was I the only one afraid for what would happen when Mom came down? "Why is there no school today?" Claire asked. Obviously being so sound asleep last night that she missed everything. "Speeecial day today Queen Claire! You pick what you do today!" Angela said. "Where's Mommy and Daddy?" Claire asked Angela dodged this with, "Oh so many questions this morning, you just enjoy the bacon leetle queen."
And then Mom came down looking like she was just thrown out of tornado. Her hair was all over the place, her makeup was running, and she wasn't wearing a dress. You know something is wrong when Mom isn’t wearing a snobby vintage dress. "So how is everyone this beautiful Wednesday morning?" She asked. I almost laughed right there in her face "Are you joking Mom, really how stupid do you think I am? We need to talk in the kitchen.", I insisted.
She followed with a surprised expression painted on her face. I got right in front of her and asked, "What is going on. I mean like where is Dad?" She responded in the quietest voice I have ever heard, "Well Dad and I have been getting into what you might call fights over the last few weeks and I thought that it would be best if he left the house for a little bit while we figure this whole thing out. I didn't want to have to tell you this in such a flat out way but I think we might be getting a divor-" I interrupted " Mom I get it okay, you and dad are fighting, things have been stressful lately, and you think that this is a good idea. But I'll tell you it's not. Mom you do not need to mess this family up even more." I knew it was harsh, but a divorce really? That was the last thing we needed. That would crush Claire's whole world. "Sarah keep it together okay?! You don’t need to make this into a bigger deal than it already is. And also don’t go telling all your little friends about this because they will tell their parents and we don’t need that right now." That's my Mom, always caring about what other people will think. "Well I am going to school. If you are going to be in denial about this, than so am I Mom." I said
I got in the car with Angela and didn't talk the whole way to school. "Have a good day my queen", she shouted out the window of the car. My bag felt like it was 90 pounds and my head was spinning. I met up with my friends and we walked to math class, my favorite. Even my friend Katie's story about her date last night with Joey Faringer couldn't get me open my mouth. But my friends weren’t worried or anything and the more time they have to talk about themselves, the happier they are.
I threw my bag on the desk in math and took out my notebook. How could my Mom do this? Everything was fine up until recently. Why couldn’t she just let things be? I felt tears burning my eyes, I cried when I was angry. "Is everything okay Ms. Parker?", Mr. Street asked concerned. "Yea yea no I'm fine", my voice cracked so he wasn't convinced. "Why don’t you just take a few seconds outside and you can come back in when you're ready", he said.
I sat down in the hall way and just let it all out. I haven’t cried in years and this needed to come out. This was not the silent type of cry, this was the type of cry with all kinds of weird noises that you didn’t even know you could make. I must have been really loud because around the corner came a very worried Preston Walker. Now if I wasn't worried about sounding like a typical teenage girl, I would say that Preston is probably the hottest guy in school. But I do care about that, so I will say that he has such charisma and confidence that being around him makes you feel like the most socially awkward person ever. He was coming straight for me so I wiped the tears from my face and put on a fake smile. "Are you alright Sarah?", I swear if one more person asked me that question I would punch them. "You know, I have had better days.", this just slipped out of my mouth and I immediately regretted it.
"What's wrong? I wont judge you or anything, maybe I can help.", he was so endearing that the following words just came out. " Things at home have just been tough lately. I mean things have never been good, but recently my parents have just been constantly fighting. They hate each other. And this morning my mother informed me of a possible divorce. She can't do that. Not to Claire, not to me." It seemed like the words were just spewing from my mouth, I had no control of them at all these things just needed to get out. Preston looked so deep into my eyes that it made me a bit uncomfortable. As he talked to me he never broke his stare or confidence.
"Last year my parents got a divorce and at first I was so upset by the whole idea that I didn’t talk to them for a month. I was so mad that they were splitting the family up and I couldn’t believe that they were being so selfish. Time went by and I started to realize things were better. Like I was actually spending time with my Dad on the weekends and my Mom would actually smile and laugh when I saw her. I then realized that I was the one who was being selfish. My parents were finally happy. So now as you can see I am fine, I love my life and the way things turned out." His words were crazy, it's like he read all the problems in my mind and knew just what to say. "Things wont get better right away. But in the end you'll be happy, trust me.", he said.
"Thank you so much Preston. You honestly don’t even know how much you just helped me.", I thanked him for about 10 minutes after that and finally let him go. I grabbed my phone from my bag and called Angela to come pick me up, I couldn’t go back to class right now I needed to get home to my Mom. Angela came right away and didn’t ask any questions.
I ran in the house and found my mom lying in front of the TV, something she never does. "Mom I know your not being selfish. I am being selfish. You are doing what is best for all of us, you are helping our family. I'm really sorry that I said what I did earlier and I didn’t mean it" I got emotional and started to cry again. She stood up from the couch and hugged me tightly, which hasn’t happened in years. Claire came running down from her room and joined in our group hug. We were all crying and it seemed like sadness, but I knew it wasn’t.
-Friend
My parents are divorced and that kind of inspired this story. My initial reaction was very similar to Sarah's. I was confused, concerned, and worried for what might happen next. I wish I would have had a Preston in my situation, someone to represent hope, confidence, and patience.
My parents are the old fashioned type. You can tell just by their I-am-better-than-you names, Bart and Charlotte Parker, which describe them better than I ever could. Dad owns Piers 25-37 and charges people who want to dock their boats there. He comes home late from the yacht club, golfing, or whatever dads do, and leaves early for work in the morning. Typical dead-beat dad except we've got money, we've got lots of money. But it's not the good well-earned, self-made, work-my-way-up kind of money, it's old inherited money. My Dad is the sole heir of my long gone grandmothers' fortune. That's probably why my Mom married him, I mean the man has not an atom of appeal in his 250 pound body.
And my mom, well my mom is hard to describe. It seems like she could have been cool at some point, but has completely lost that. Mom wears dresses every day and accessorizes with beautiful pearls dangling from her neck and a signature fake smile plastered across her face. She's not the kind of person that you go to for advice of any kind; feelings and emotion get swept under the rug. My parents don't talk to us or each other, I mean they've never really had a parental conversation like the ones that I see in movies.
By "us" I mean my lovely nine-year-old sister Claire and I. There is no one more charming, adorable, and likeable than Claire. She can sometimes be a spoiled little brat, but can you blame her? I mean given our circumstances it's only normal. I can't help but smile when she says my name "Saywah", which is really pronounced Sarah but she's always had trouble with R's. She is my best friend, and the person who makes me want to keep everything together. She is innocence in the rawest form.
But anyways, back to my pompous Mother. Up until recently I don’t think I've ever even seen my Mom raise her voice, except for the time that Claire refused to wear a dress to our family's annual charity ball. Philanthropic right? No, it's all an act. Our entire life is a show, an elaborate, elegant, exclusive movie that only recently took a turn for the worst.
I could only see flashes of shadows in the small crack beneath my door, swiftly stabbing through the light that brightened up the hall. I always wondered why they left that hall light on. Fighting in the dark must not be as fun. I like to imagine their silhouettes as little shadow puppets putting on a special feature just for Claire and I. Our parents have been at it all month. The littlest things have been setting them off. Fighting about money, the house, cleaning, and even what's for dinner.
But last night was the worst I'd ever heard it. "You have to try a little harder to make things work", Mom kept saying. "I am done trying", my father would yell back. It ultimately ended in my mother kicking my dad out. I heard his car engine rev up as he descended down the driveway. I felt my heart beating out of my chest and I wanted my body to diffuse in to my bed sheets. I was so glad that Claire had fallen asleep earlier because I couldn’t let her see me like this. I spent the rest of the night counting the number of crystals hanging from the chandelier above my bed, 937 being the final number.
"Pass me some of the bacon, pleeeeease", Claire said. And if it weren't for her cute little gapped tooth smile, I would have slapped her right there for being so happy. She loves bacon; it's her favorite thing second to me, so she says. I picked up the plate with my fists clenched so tightly that my fingers were turning red. I let go thinking Claire had grabbed the other end of it, and it dropped to the floor. "AAAAngelaaaa", Claire screamed. "No it's fine Claire I got it, it's my fault anyway. When you drop something it is your job to pick it up." I insisted. But Angela ran in and started sweeping the glass and bacon up before I could even get out of my chair.
Angela is our maid/nanny/driver/fill in parent, she barely speaks English and calls Claire and I "the queens". She's a really great person and I always feel bad making her work so hard. Claire on the other hand, fully harnesses the advantage that is Angela.
"Good morning my leetle queens, no school for today if you not want to", Angela said in a genuinely joyful tone. Was I the only one afraid for what would happen when Mom came down? "Why is there no school today?" Claire asked. Obviously being so sound asleep last night that she missed everything. "Speeecial day today Queen Claire! You pick what you do today!" Angela said. "Where's Mommy and Daddy?" Claire asked Angela dodged this with, "Oh so many questions this morning, you just enjoy the bacon leetle queen."
And then Mom came down looking like she was just thrown out of tornado. Her hair was all over the place, her makeup was running, and she wasn't wearing a dress. You know something is wrong when Mom isn’t wearing a snobby vintage dress. "So how is everyone this beautiful Wednesday morning?" She asked. I almost laughed right there in her face "Are you joking Mom, really how stupid do you think I am? We need to talk in the kitchen.", I insisted.
She followed with a surprised expression painted on her face. I got right in front of her and asked, "What is going on. I mean like where is Dad?" She responded in the quietest voice I have ever heard, "Well Dad and I have been getting into what you might call fights over the last few weeks and I thought that it would be best if he left the house for a little bit while we figure this whole thing out. I didn't want to have to tell you this in such a flat out way but I think we might be getting a divor-" I interrupted " Mom I get it okay, you and dad are fighting, things have been stressful lately, and you think that this is a good idea. But I'll tell you it's not. Mom you do not need to mess this family up even more." I knew it was harsh, but a divorce really? That was the last thing we needed. That would crush Claire's whole world. "Sarah keep it together okay?! You don’t need to make this into a bigger deal than it already is. And also don’t go telling all your little friends about this because they will tell their parents and we don’t need that right now." That's my Mom, always caring about what other people will think. "Well I am going to school. If you are going to be in denial about this, than so am I Mom." I said
I got in the car with Angela and didn't talk the whole way to school. "Have a good day my queen", she shouted out the window of the car. My bag felt like it was 90 pounds and my head was spinning. I met up with my friends and we walked to math class, my favorite. Even my friend Katie's story about her date last night with Joey Faringer couldn't get me open my mouth. But my friends weren’t worried or anything and the more time they have to talk about themselves, the happier they are.
I threw my bag on the desk in math and took out my notebook. How could my Mom do this? Everything was fine up until recently. Why couldn’t she just let things be? I felt tears burning my eyes, I cried when I was angry. "Is everything okay Ms. Parker?", Mr. Street asked concerned. "Yea yea no I'm fine", my voice cracked so he wasn't convinced. "Why don’t you just take a few seconds outside and you can come back in when you're ready", he said.
I sat down in the hall way and just let it all out. I haven’t cried in years and this needed to come out. This was not the silent type of cry, this was the type of cry with all kinds of weird noises that you didn’t even know you could make. I must have been really loud because around the corner came a very worried Preston Walker. Now if I wasn't worried about sounding like a typical teenage girl, I would say that Preston is probably the hottest guy in school. But I do care about that, so I will say that he has such charisma and confidence that being around him makes you feel like the most socially awkward person ever. He was coming straight for me so I wiped the tears from my face and put on a fake smile. "Are you alright Sarah?", I swear if one more person asked me that question I would punch them. "You know, I have had better days.", this just slipped out of my mouth and I immediately regretted it.
"What's wrong? I wont judge you or anything, maybe I can help.", he was so endearing that the following words just came out. " Things at home have just been tough lately. I mean things have never been good, but recently my parents have just been constantly fighting. They hate each other. And this morning my mother informed me of a possible divorce. She can't do that. Not to Claire, not to me." It seemed like the words were just spewing from my mouth, I had no control of them at all these things just needed to get out. Preston looked so deep into my eyes that it made me a bit uncomfortable. As he talked to me he never broke his stare or confidence.
"Last year my parents got a divorce and at first I was so upset by the whole idea that I didn’t talk to them for a month. I was so mad that they were splitting the family up and I couldn’t believe that they were being so selfish. Time went by and I started to realize things were better. Like I was actually spending time with my Dad on the weekends and my Mom would actually smile and laugh when I saw her. I then realized that I was the one who was being selfish. My parents were finally happy. So now as you can see I am fine, I love my life and the way things turned out." His words were crazy, it's like he read all the problems in my mind and knew just what to say. "Things wont get better right away. But in the end you'll be happy, trust me.", he said.
"Thank you so much Preston. You honestly don’t even know how much you just helped me.", I thanked him for about 10 minutes after that and finally let him go. I grabbed my phone from my bag and called Angela to come pick me up, I couldn’t go back to class right now I needed to get home to my Mom. Angela came right away and didn’t ask any questions.
I ran in the house and found my mom lying in front of the TV, something she never does. "Mom I know your not being selfish. I am being selfish. You are doing what is best for all of us, you are helping our family. I'm really sorry that I said what I did earlier and I didn’t mean it" I got emotional and started to cry again. She stood up from the couch and hugged me tightly, which hasn’t happened in years. Claire came running down from her room and joined in our group hug. We were all crying and it seemed like sadness, but I knew it wasn’t.
-Friend
My parents are divorced and that kind of inspired this story. My initial reaction was very similar to Sarah's. I was confused, concerned, and worried for what might happen next. I wish I would have had a Preston in my situation, someone to represent hope, confidence, and patience.
2 Races at the Track
2 races at the track
Beep beep beep! I wake up to the sound of my alarm clock in my hotel going off. Focusing my eyes on I look at the clock and it reads 6:00. I am so tired from last night, I had to ride on a six hour flight from Hawaii to Oregon. The hotel bed was uncomfortable and hard. Today is the big day; the national track meet is today. I am considered the top 400 sprinter in the U.S. and could qualify for the Olympics if I win today. Stumbling out of my bed I get ready to get breakfast with Bob at the hotel buffet breakfast downstairs.
Bob is staying in a room with his friend, Todd. Bob is usually mellow and doesn't say much. Bob is blonde with a buzz cut and is pretty small. He grew up in California and goes to the same school as Todd. Bob is usually around Todd. Todd is related to Bill Gates and is quite rich. Todd usually keeps to himself and doesn't usually talk. As I walk to Bob's hotel room I start to smile remembering the good fun we had together. The last time I saw them was in 3 months ago when we were surfing at Huntington Beach. I remember the scorching sun from the beach and the still cold water at the beach.
I knock on Bob's door and see Bob, a fit blonde teenager answer the door standing with him is Todd, an African American teenager who is a lot bigger and a little older than Bob. Looking at Bob I say," Lets go get breakfast in the lobby."
"Wait Jimmy, I have to go take my pills," Bob says. "Why do you need to take pills, Bob," Todd asks? "I have diabetes. It 's a secret. I was just diagnosed, so don't tell anyone, Todd," Bob says. "Hurry up," I yell.
After about ten minutes of waiting around, we finally leave Bob and Todd's room and get into the elevator. When we get to the restaurant, we see Fred. I see Fred staring at Bob with an icy glare. Fred's fists are now clenched, while Bob starts to puff his chest up acting tough. Fred then walks up and punches Bob in the stomach. Looking at Bob and Fred, I immediately see a mismatch in size. Bob weighing 180 pounds and at 5'10 is a lot smaller than Fred. Bob seems to have bigger muscles; Bob's muscles are rippling out of his veins while Fred's are hard to see. Fred outweighs Bob by at least 25 pounds and is about four inches taller. Bob falls to the ground swearing and says, "Fred, I hate you."
Fred looks down at Bob and laughs and says," You better watch you back, Bob, or something worse might happen."
Bob gets up and pushes Fred. I step in between both of them and breakup the fight. Fred yells angrily at me, "Let me go, Jimmy. Let me and Bob settle this". Fred walks away while Bob tries to get revenge and chases after him, but is held back by Todd and I. This is the most mad I've seen Bob get. I can hear him swearing under his breath and muttering about killing Fred.
After everything settles back down we get to the hotel buffet. The smell of the food is like heaven. We get our seats at the restaurant and make our way to the buffet line. While we are walking there I notice Bob limping and tell him that he should go back to the table. Todd and I assure him that we will help to get food for him. At the buffet, there are fruits, cereal, waffles, and drinks. I get Bob and myself a bowl of cereal while Todd gets himself a waffle. Todd also gets Bob a strawberry Gatorade. I get to the table before Todd gets there, when Todd gets there Bob is already eating his cereal. Todd hands Bob the strawberry Gatorade. Bob says looking at the Gatorade label, "I can't drink this. If I do I could die within five minutes. If I consume more than five tablespoons of sugar it puts me in serious danger. " " Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that," replies Todd.
I hear a fork scraping against a plate and look next to us. I see a man with a nametag on. I think it says Jessie. All the people attending the track meet are supposed to wear a nametag so he must be running or watching. He is pretty big at around 6'3 and looks to weigh around 230 pounds. His eyes keep fanning back and forth; his eyes seem locked in on us. I think I saw him coming out of the room next to Bob's. "Is he stalking us?" I whisper to Todd and Bob that there is someone stalking us. I look up to show him the man but he isn't there. I turn and look everywhere, but I can't find him.
We just finished eating and start heading back to our rooms. The elevator door creaks opens and we all get in. Then as the door starts to close I see something swing forward to stop the door. I look and see Jessie, the guy I saw sitting next to us at breakfast. I feel goose bumps creeping up on my arm; I look at the guy and see something sticking out of his pocket. I look closer and see the outline of a knife and the online of a small container. I look at what floor the elevator is on, the 3rd we still have 7 more until we get off. Shivering from fear, I picture Jessie murdering all of us in the elevator. The elevator now seems steaming hot due to my fear. The elevator plays a calm jazz tune in the background; the music is soothing but doesn't calm me.
As soon as the elevator reaches the tenth floor, I race out of the elevator. I look back and see him following us. I get to my room and lock the door. Than I hear deafening and think that the guy must have attacked him. I look in my room for a weapon to use and find a silver pocketknife on the counter. Clutching the heavy pocketknife in my hand, I am ready to attack. But when I get there, I see Bob beating up Fred. I put the pocketknife back in my pocket sensing no danger. I separate both of them.
"Bob, what the hell happened?" I yell. Bob responds angrily, "Fred came out from hiding inside my room and jumped at me." "Is that true?" I ask Fred. He ponders his thoughts for a while and says, "I thought that was my room and accidently walked in. The door was unlocked and wandered in. I got startled and jumped and attacked when Bob and Fred came in."
Not knowing what to do, I told both of them to leave each other alone and go back to their rooms to get ready for the track meet.
After Fred leaves, I question Bob why he and Fred hated each other so much. Bob said that they both run the hundred-meter dash and that Fred had a slower hundred time than Bob by .3 seconds. After hearing this, I kind of understood why Fred tried to fight Bob. Fred was competitive and was angry with Bob for being better than him. Fred and Bob were both competing for the top hundred meter time.
I walk back to my room and put on my USA uniform. The tank top has red and blue stripes with white in the background. The pants are very short and are blue. I look at the clock and it reads 10:30. It's almost time to go. The bus will be coming to pick us up to take us to the stadium at 11. I go and get Bob and Todd and by the time we get downstairs it is 11 o'clock.
When we arrive at the stadium I am astonished by the size of the stadium. The stadium is gigantic and music is blasting from speakers. In the front of the stadium there are big letters showing Rose Garden. On the walls of the stadium they have the times for each event posted. The 400-meter dash is the first event and it starts in 30 minutes.
I take a warm up lap around the track and then start to stretch. While stretching I hear on the loud speakers a man talking in a monotone voice saying, "400 meter-runners, please check in." I go to the official office and check in. The official office is a small air-conditioned room with only 10 people inside. It is right next to the track and has a good view of the entire field. Inside I tell one of the officials that I am here. He scans his computer and tells me that my event is starting in five minutes. I thank the official and jog out of the office. I get to the track and put on my track spikes.
The referee tells us to take our positions. "On your mark, get set, go," he says. The starter pistol fires as the runners explode off the starting blocks. I am leading the way slightly with only 150 meters left. While I am running, I see Bob slouched on the ground and Fred running off. Bob almost looks as if he is dead and I wonder to myself what is he doing. I see his water bottle lying on ground, spilled all over the place. I have just over 25 meters left to run and it looks like I am going to win.
I reach the finish line coming in first place. Instead of celebrating I immediately run over to where Bob is lying down. By the time I get there, there is a big crowd of people around Bob. I try to squeeze my way through the crowd but no one budges, it's like a wall surrounding Bob. The paramedics are examining Bob and just finished checking his vitals. There were no signs of a fatal attack. The paramedics start to put Bob's body in the back of the ambulance for further medical examination. I go up to one of the paramedics and ask how long that will take and they say, "One week at the earliest." After the crowd leaves I observe the scene to see if anything looks out of place. I remember about the water bottle on the ground. I pick up the water bottle, there is about half of the water left. The Dasani water tag is still stuck on the water bottle. I look inside of the water bottle and it looks a little murky. I hold the bottle to my nose sniffing it and smell a faint smell. I think to myself if I should try it. I finally decide to pour a little on my finger. I lick my finger and taste sugar. I think that he may have been killed by the sugar.
I start to look for Fred. After, I remember that I saw him running away from Bob on the track. I run off and find Bob getting ready to run the 100-meter dash. I confront him and ask, "Why did you run away from Bob when he was dying?"
Fred replies sounding startled, "I ran because he said that he found out that I took steroids. I ran away and I was going to come up with a plan to get back at him. I would never kill him!" Fred frowns and walks away with his head down. He looks like he is actually sad that Bob got killed.
With no leads on who killed Bob, I start think about who would want to hurt Bob. I remember Jessie the stalker from the hotel. I run around the stadium looking for him and can’t seem to find him. As I run I pass the officials office, I decide to stop and see if anybody named Jessie was entered in any events. When I enter I see Jessie there in a referee uniform. Seeing him makes my body twitch in fear. I look around and no one seems to be in the office. I am scared, I wonder if he is going to kill me. I get ready to run when he comes over and gently grabs my arm and ask me, "Is there something wrong that I have done? Why are you afraid of me? You ran away from me in the elevator today." I feel relieved that he wasn't stalking us and apologize, "Sorry, I thought that you were stalking us."
He was the last suspect I could think of. I walked around and kept thinking. I wondered who knew that Bob had diabetes. In the morning I recollected that Bob mentioned that his diabetes was a secret. Who knew that Bob had diabetes? I thought about Todd and how he heard the conversation in the morning. I was shocked at myself for thinking that Todd and Bob were best friends. Todd wouldn't hurt Bob. Suddenly, in the corner of my eyes I see Todd he's running and leaving the stadium.
Todd's event was about to start and he was leaving. I start to chase after him; he has over a 200-meter lead against. After about two minutes Todd starts to slow down. It looks as if his stamina has died down. I am about ten-meters away from him when Todd pulls something out of pocket. He pulls out a 9 mm pistol and he is pointing it at me. I try to talk him out of shooting me. "Why'd you kill Bob? You don't need to do this. Just turn yourself in."
Todd laughs and says, "I can't turn myself in after what I've done. Bob would've taken away my dream; he was going to beat me in the 100-meter dash. I trained with him and allowed him to use my private coaches. I wasn't going to make it to the Olympics because of him. I couldn’t let him take away my dream."
Todd points his gun at me. I look around to see if anyone is there to save the day. I scan everywhere and can't see anybody. My heart is racing as I close my eyes, preparing to be killed. Todd now cocks his gun back and points it at me. I now realize my death is inevitable. I put my hands to my sides and than I feel something in my pocket. I wonder what it is, and then I remember that the pocketknife is still in my pocket from this morning. Acting discreetly I grab my pocketknife with my sweaty hand and wait for a distraction. I look to the left and act like something is there and Todd looks towards the same direction thinking that there really is something there.
While Todd is not looking at me, I explode off my legs launching myself towards him with my pocketknife, aiming at his chest. Everything seems to move in slow motion while I am in the air, jumping at Todd. I stay in the air, flying at Todd. Todd looks back at me and is stunned he fires his pistol and the bullet skims past me. I hear the whizzing of the bullet and stab Todd while the bullet passes me. Todd collapses to the ground, screaming in pain.
I wrote this story about track because track is one of the sports that I play. When I was writing this I was doing track. I wanted to do my story about track because I love track.
José
Beep beep beep! I wake up to the sound of my alarm clock in my hotel going off. Focusing my eyes on I look at the clock and it reads 6:00. I am so tired from last night, I had to ride on a six hour flight from Hawaii to Oregon. The hotel bed was uncomfortable and hard. Today is the big day; the national track meet is today. I am considered the top 400 sprinter in the U.S. and could qualify for the Olympics if I win today. Stumbling out of my bed I get ready to get breakfast with Bob at the hotel buffet breakfast downstairs.
Bob is staying in a room with his friend, Todd. Bob is usually mellow and doesn't say much. Bob is blonde with a buzz cut and is pretty small. He grew up in California and goes to the same school as Todd. Bob is usually around Todd. Todd is related to Bill Gates and is quite rich. Todd usually keeps to himself and doesn't usually talk. As I walk to Bob's hotel room I start to smile remembering the good fun we had together. The last time I saw them was in 3 months ago when we were surfing at Huntington Beach. I remember the scorching sun from the beach and the still cold water at the beach.
I knock on Bob's door and see Bob, a fit blonde teenager answer the door standing with him is Todd, an African American teenager who is a lot bigger and a little older than Bob. Looking at Bob I say," Lets go get breakfast in the lobby."
"Wait Jimmy, I have to go take my pills," Bob says. "Why do you need to take pills, Bob," Todd asks? "I have diabetes. It 's a secret. I was just diagnosed, so don't tell anyone, Todd," Bob says. "Hurry up," I yell.
After about ten minutes of waiting around, we finally leave Bob and Todd's room and get into the elevator. When we get to the restaurant, we see Fred. I see Fred staring at Bob with an icy glare. Fred's fists are now clenched, while Bob starts to puff his chest up acting tough. Fred then walks up and punches Bob in the stomach. Looking at Bob and Fred, I immediately see a mismatch in size. Bob weighing 180 pounds and at 5'10 is a lot smaller than Fred. Bob seems to have bigger muscles; Bob's muscles are rippling out of his veins while Fred's are hard to see. Fred outweighs Bob by at least 25 pounds and is about four inches taller. Bob falls to the ground swearing and says, "Fred, I hate you."
Fred looks down at Bob and laughs and says," You better watch you back, Bob, or something worse might happen."
Bob gets up and pushes Fred. I step in between both of them and breakup the fight. Fred yells angrily at me, "Let me go, Jimmy. Let me and Bob settle this". Fred walks away while Bob tries to get revenge and chases after him, but is held back by Todd and I. This is the most mad I've seen Bob get. I can hear him swearing under his breath and muttering about killing Fred.
After everything settles back down we get to the hotel buffet. The smell of the food is like heaven. We get our seats at the restaurant and make our way to the buffet line. While we are walking there I notice Bob limping and tell him that he should go back to the table. Todd and I assure him that we will help to get food for him. At the buffet, there are fruits, cereal, waffles, and drinks. I get Bob and myself a bowl of cereal while Todd gets himself a waffle. Todd also gets Bob a strawberry Gatorade. I get to the table before Todd gets there, when Todd gets there Bob is already eating his cereal. Todd hands Bob the strawberry Gatorade. Bob says looking at the Gatorade label, "I can't drink this. If I do I could die within five minutes. If I consume more than five tablespoons of sugar it puts me in serious danger. " " Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that," replies Todd.
I hear a fork scraping against a plate and look next to us. I see a man with a nametag on. I think it says Jessie. All the people attending the track meet are supposed to wear a nametag so he must be running or watching. He is pretty big at around 6'3 and looks to weigh around 230 pounds. His eyes keep fanning back and forth; his eyes seem locked in on us. I think I saw him coming out of the room next to Bob's. "Is he stalking us?" I whisper to Todd and Bob that there is someone stalking us. I look up to show him the man but he isn't there. I turn and look everywhere, but I can't find him.
We just finished eating and start heading back to our rooms. The elevator door creaks opens and we all get in. Then as the door starts to close I see something swing forward to stop the door. I look and see Jessie, the guy I saw sitting next to us at breakfast. I feel goose bumps creeping up on my arm; I look at the guy and see something sticking out of his pocket. I look closer and see the outline of a knife and the online of a small container. I look at what floor the elevator is on, the 3rd we still have 7 more until we get off. Shivering from fear, I picture Jessie murdering all of us in the elevator. The elevator now seems steaming hot due to my fear. The elevator plays a calm jazz tune in the background; the music is soothing but doesn't calm me.
As soon as the elevator reaches the tenth floor, I race out of the elevator. I look back and see him following us. I get to my room and lock the door. Than I hear deafening and think that the guy must have attacked him. I look in my room for a weapon to use and find a silver pocketknife on the counter. Clutching the heavy pocketknife in my hand, I am ready to attack. But when I get there, I see Bob beating up Fred. I put the pocketknife back in my pocket sensing no danger. I separate both of them.
"Bob, what the hell happened?" I yell. Bob responds angrily, "Fred came out from hiding inside my room and jumped at me." "Is that true?" I ask Fred. He ponders his thoughts for a while and says, "I thought that was my room and accidently walked in. The door was unlocked and wandered in. I got startled and jumped and attacked when Bob and Fred came in."
Not knowing what to do, I told both of them to leave each other alone and go back to their rooms to get ready for the track meet.
After Fred leaves, I question Bob why he and Fred hated each other so much. Bob said that they both run the hundred-meter dash and that Fred had a slower hundred time than Bob by .3 seconds. After hearing this, I kind of understood why Fred tried to fight Bob. Fred was competitive and was angry with Bob for being better than him. Fred and Bob were both competing for the top hundred meter time.
I walk back to my room and put on my USA uniform. The tank top has red and blue stripes with white in the background. The pants are very short and are blue. I look at the clock and it reads 10:30. It's almost time to go. The bus will be coming to pick us up to take us to the stadium at 11. I go and get Bob and Todd and by the time we get downstairs it is 11 o'clock.
When we arrive at the stadium I am astonished by the size of the stadium. The stadium is gigantic and music is blasting from speakers. In the front of the stadium there are big letters showing Rose Garden. On the walls of the stadium they have the times for each event posted. The 400-meter dash is the first event and it starts in 30 minutes.
I take a warm up lap around the track and then start to stretch. While stretching I hear on the loud speakers a man talking in a monotone voice saying, "400 meter-runners, please check in." I go to the official office and check in. The official office is a small air-conditioned room with only 10 people inside. It is right next to the track and has a good view of the entire field. Inside I tell one of the officials that I am here. He scans his computer and tells me that my event is starting in five minutes. I thank the official and jog out of the office. I get to the track and put on my track spikes.
The referee tells us to take our positions. "On your mark, get set, go," he says. The starter pistol fires as the runners explode off the starting blocks. I am leading the way slightly with only 150 meters left. While I am running, I see Bob slouched on the ground and Fred running off. Bob almost looks as if he is dead and I wonder to myself what is he doing. I see his water bottle lying on ground, spilled all over the place. I have just over 25 meters left to run and it looks like I am going to win.
I reach the finish line coming in first place. Instead of celebrating I immediately run over to where Bob is lying down. By the time I get there, there is a big crowd of people around Bob. I try to squeeze my way through the crowd but no one budges, it's like a wall surrounding Bob. The paramedics are examining Bob and just finished checking his vitals. There were no signs of a fatal attack. The paramedics start to put Bob's body in the back of the ambulance for further medical examination. I go up to one of the paramedics and ask how long that will take and they say, "One week at the earliest." After the crowd leaves I observe the scene to see if anything looks out of place. I remember about the water bottle on the ground. I pick up the water bottle, there is about half of the water left. The Dasani water tag is still stuck on the water bottle. I look inside of the water bottle and it looks a little murky. I hold the bottle to my nose sniffing it and smell a faint smell. I think to myself if I should try it. I finally decide to pour a little on my finger. I lick my finger and taste sugar. I think that he may have been killed by the sugar.
I start to look for Fred. After, I remember that I saw him running away from Bob on the track. I run off and find Bob getting ready to run the 100-meter dash. I confront him and ask, "Why did you run away from Bob when he was dying?"
Fred replies sounding startled, "I ran because he said that he found out that I took steroids. I ran away and I was going to come up with a plan to get back at him. I would never kill him!" Fred frowns and walks away with his head down. He looks like he is actually sad that Bob got killed.
With no leads on who killed Bob, I start think about who would want to hurt Bob. I remember Jessie the stalker from the hotel. I run around the stadium looking for him and can’t seem to find him. As I run I pass the officials office, I decide to stop and see if anybody named Jessie was entered in any events. When I enter I see Jessie there in a referee uniform. Seeing him makes my body twitch in fear. I look around and no one seems to be in the office. I am scared, I wonder if he is going to kill me. I get ready to run when he comes over and gently grabs my arm and ask me, "Is there something wrong that I have done? Why are you afraid of me? You ran away from me in the elevator today." I feel relieved that he wasn't stalking us and apologize, "Sorry, I thought that you were stalking us."
He was the last suspect I could think of. I walked around and kept thinking. I wondered who knew that Bob had diabetes. In the morning I recollected that Bob mentioned that his diabetes was a secret. Who knew that Bob had diabetes? I thought about Todd and how he heard the conversation in the morning. I was shocked at myself for thinking that Todd and Bob were best friends. Todd wouldn't hurt Bob. Suddenly, in the corner of my eyes I see Todd he's running and leaving the stadium.
Todd's event was about to start and he was leaving. I start to chase after him; he has over a 200-meter lead against. After about two minutes Todd starts to slow down. It looks as if his stamina has died down. I am about ten-meters away from him when Todd pulls something out of pocket. He pulls out a 9 mm pistol and he is pointing it at me. I try to talk him out of shooting me. "Why'd you kill Bob? You don't need to do this. Just turn yourself in."
Todd laughs and says, "I can't turn myself in after what I've done. Bob would've taken away my dream; he was going to beat me in the 100-meter dash. I trained with him and allowed him to use my private coaches. I wasn't going to make it to the Olympics because of him. I couldn’t let him take away my dream."
Todd points his gun at me. I look around to see if anyone is there to save the day. I scan everywhere and can't see anybody. My heart is racing as I close my eyes, preparing to be killed. Todd now cocks his gun back and points it at me. I now realize my death is inevitable. I put my hands to my sides and than I feel something in my pocket. I wonder what it is, and then I remember that the pocketknife is still in my pocket from this morning. Acting discreetly I grab my pocketknife with my sweaty hand and wait for a distraction. I look to the left and act like something is there and Todd looks towards the same direction thinking that there really is something there.
While Todd is not looking at me, I explode off my legs launching myself towards him with my pocketknife, aiming at his chest. Everything seems to move in slow motion while I am in the air, jumping at Todd. I stay in the air, flying at Todd. Todd looks back at me and is stunned he fires his pistol and the bullet skims past me. I hear the whizzing of the bullet and stab Todd while the bullet passes me. Todd collapses to the ground, screaming in pain.
I wrote this story about track because track is one of the sports that I play. When I was writing this I was doing track. I wanted to do my story about track because I love track.
José
Utopia
Utopia
6:30 am
It was 6:30am and my alarm clock was beeping. I personally think that the worse thing about alarm clocks is that its melody gets stuck in your head. I groaned and rolled to the edge of my bed. Morning sun filtered through the curtains. We were only allowed to have one nightstand between the two beds so I had to get up and walk to shut it off.
Then I noticed a strange thing: a lump in the other bed. Unmoving, covered in a blanket, it's been here before by the way. I tore off the blanket to find a boy in pajamas snoozing away.
"Will, get up." I warned my friend. "…uhhh," a late reaction from him.
I then shook him until actual words came out. "Alright, alright!" Will said.
Will sat up. Wearing blue pajamas like mine, being a freshman like me, he was an average sized boy with brown hair and had a carefree disposition.
"Stop sleeping in my room." I exclaimed.
"It's not like you need two beds, help a friend out." Will yawned. "You're the only one who gets a room to yourself."
"Just sleep in your room."
"I can't sleep with Chainsaw shaking the walls."
'Chainsaw' is the nickname Will gave to his sophomore roommate Walter. You could only guess why Will calls him that.
"You're nice."
"Facts are facts."
I sighed, it was useless to kick Will out. (Not without a lock on my door, which by the way is not allowed.)
"Whatever, it's time to get ready." I started to change.
"See ya!" Will left and went back to his room.
It was Thursday, May 14th, 2015. Like any other school day, I had to get ready for school. After I changed, I went downstairs to the main floor. Although breakfast is at 7:00, people normally wake up earlier to play games on the computers in the game room or watch TV. Minecraft 8.6, Starcraft, Facebook and Youtube are normally on the computers. I decided to watch TV with the others.
At 7:00, breakfast/roll call starts. The three leaders split roll call evenly.
"Arthur Noah." I raised my hand, said 'here' and went back to eating. At 7:10 they open the doors and we are free to leave. School doesn't start till 8 at the earliest but it takes 15-20 minutes to walk to school. On the way people tend to stop at shops or stay in the game room until the last minute. (If you weren't at school by 8 you're dead)
I left at 7:30 with Will. We walked on the sidewalk; the roads were filled with a few bicycles as usual. Some trams were going into the city. Then I heard a motor, I watched as a car passed by. I froze. I blinked and watched it ride into the city. A car. An actual car!
"You gotta wonder if it's worth it." Will said.
Year 2013, the climate changed for the worst. Scientists predicted that without a solid idea, the world would die. Eco-Terrorists groups from around the world became much more active. New religions were sprouting. The People wanted solutions. Natural Disasters became worse.
Scientists from around the world met, they discussed possible experiments to settle the chaos of the world. The final plan was a city. An experimental city which waste was minimal, much of the energy came from natural resources, a city which pollution was next to nothing, and a city that 'could be the closest to Utopia'. The city I'm currently living in, Eco-X09.
------------------------------------ (This means a different character narrates)
2:04 pm
The tram was noisy. Not that it was raging, but the tracks made a constant sound that annoyed me. It was hot and stuffy and I've been on this tram for a good half an hour, just watching the city go past me. To be honest I didn't want to be here. I was on a noisy tram, moving to a new city with some escort lady trying to act all cheery towards me.
There were no other passengers, just the lady sitting next to me and myself. We had the only seats, everything else on the tram was just boxes and boxes of who knows what.
"You know, this tram is normally meant to transport cargo. But since you're a special case, we cleared space," the lady said.
She told me her name, Mrs. Julia Noah or something. To be honest I didn't really care, nothing really cared to me anymore. I ignored her.
"Are you going to miss your friends?" she asked.
What kind of question is that? Is that really the best way to strike up a conversation? I didn't answer.
After while she said, "I'm sorry about your mom."
She just went out and spoke her mind.
"Did you know her?"
"No, but it must be awful right now."
You think? Two months ago, my mom died. She worked for the government experimenting on eco-energy. Chemical explosion. She wasn't the only victim. After her funeral I kinda lost the joy in life. She won't be their watching TV in the living room. It was just my dad and I. School turned into a slow torture, the house was too quiet, my dad had a hard time smiling. One week ago, my dad transferred to the new city's government branch. Apparently, some higher ups took pity on me and allowed me to be the first kid to transfer into Eco-X09. Now I'm riding a tram with an awkward escort to some utopia city.
"I have a son the same age as you, you'll be transferring into his high school. I hope you can be friends."
"Yeah."
"I know it's hard but you're going to love this city. You can start a new life there."
You forgot to add without my mom.
"Oh! We're here!" She pointed.
We just left the city. The new city was built on an enormous plot of land just outside not being used for anything. I looked up and was confused. When you think most sustainable city you think green right? All I saw was a huge wall of 30 foot concrete and a massive glass dome on top.
-------------------------------------------------
8:30 am
By now Will and I were having class at Robert Noah High School. I had math. Bored, I stared out the window. Our school was on a low hill. I could see outside as far as the gateway. A large wall to prevent any sudden variables from sneaking in surrounds this eco-city just so you know. For example, more people. When this city was first created, it offered a ton of jobs to the people. A lot of people wanted to start again. To prevent major variables, only government workers and chosen people were allowed to be in the exodus. My mom's a government worker and my dad's a writer. I never asked what Will's parents do.
Even though I said 'exodus', trees probably outnumber people. 65% of the city's area is nature. And that is a lot of trees since I can't even count the number of buildings. Wherever you look there are trees, trees, and more trees. Even in the center of the city some parks are set up.
You wouldn't think that filtered sun could feed them all make the rooftops shine like mirrors. That's right, filtered sunlight. Covering the entire city is a glass dome. Not really glass but it looks like it. Scientists invented a clear, rotating, solar panel that absorbs 30% of the sun and filters the rest down to the city. All buildings have a full sun shingle roof to absorb the rest for extra power. It's a little weird, but it's not as hot in the summer although you wouldn't want to catch an airplane in here. (If you want to catch a plane, you have to go to the next city.)
The only vehicles in here are trams, bicycles and cars. Trams are the main way people get around if they don't want to walk. They cost money and are everywhere. (They have solar panels on them by the way.) Bicycles populate the roads and are used by all ages for a free and fast ride. Cars on the other hand are extremely rare. Not only do they cost much, there's an extra tax for anyone who owns a car in this city. Gas is expensive and you can only get one of those cars that don't emit exhaust. To have one means you're living in the moment.
At 2:30, school was over for me. I went to the library after school and used a computer to search for community service options. In this city, students have to do one shift of community service a week. (University students have to do less.) It's supposed to promote bonding within the community but I think the government is just looking for free labor. I signed up for being a cleaner tonight and left.
I was walking back from school with Will and other friends when my phone rang. It was my mom.
"Hello?"
"Arthur, I'm going to double your weekly allowance."
Now part of me just did a back flip launched in to space for a second.
"Because, I want you to take care of someone."
There was always a catch when dealing with my mom.
"His name is David, he's the very first transfer student into the city."
Okay, I don't know if it should go down in history but what's that got to do with me?
"He will be your new roommate."
I swear my mom can read my mind.
"So? I asked.
"He's declared an experiment by the government."
"What!"
My friends turned around and looked at me.
"Scientists want to test his psychological reasoning of the city, because they didn't tell him anything about it. They want to know how he will take it all in. They will be observing him constantly. They used his dad as an excuse for him to transfer into the city."
"Where's his mom?"
"She died. I brought him here, he's lost willpower."
"…So basically, he's a lab rat in a maze."
"Don't call him that. I want you to be his friend. Just because he's an experiment doesn't mean he can't have fun being one by hanging out with friends and living a normal school life."
"Alright, I'll try." I hung up the phone.
"What was that?" Will asked.
"I'm getting a roommate."
Will looked curious and depressed at the same time.
At the dorms, it was two hours before dinner. You didn't have to attend but you had to be in your room by 10:30 or else. Most people play games or go to the mall to get food.
"Arthur," it was one of the dorm leaders. "Someone is waiting in your room."
"Okay."
As I walked up the stairs, I worried about what to say. What do I start out with? What can I show him? He lost his mom. What are our interests? What do I say? Psychological analysis. By now I got to my room. I took a deep breath and opened the door.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4:26 pm
I was waiting for about 5 minutes before a boy opened the door. He had black hair, medium height, and was wearing a uniform. The dorm leader said his name was Arthur.
"Uh, hi." He said.
"Hi, my name's David." He nodded and sat on the other bed with all the posters.
"My name's Arthur Noah." He responded.
Noah? "Uh, sorry, do you know someone named Julia?" I asked.
"Yeah, that's my mom."
"Your mom works for the government?"
"Yeah, in this city 30% of all adults are working for the government."
Weird City. Weird guy, he didn't seem surprised at all that I knew his mom's name.
"So how do you like Eco-X09?" He asked.
I could tell he wanted to change the subject.
"So far I've seen trees, some buildings and more trees."
"Yeah."
Don't forget to mention more trees. They don't call it the green city for nothing. I noticed an air conditioner above the nightstand.
"You guys have AC?"
"Yup. These are the eco friendly ones." Arthur switched it on and a cool breeze filled the room.
We were silent for a bit while enjoying the breeze. Looking around the room, he noticed the blue bag I was holding.
"Oh yeah, you got that when you first arrived right? I should show you what's in there. Just dump it on the bed."
He was acting really strange, changing the subject constantly.
"Um… did your mom tell you anything about me?" I asked.
For a moment his eyes widened. "N-Nothing."
Anyway, I dumped everything on the bed. By the way, are beds in this dorm supposed to be wrinkled and look used when you move in? Inside the bag there was a chrome cell phone, a phone charger, an I.D, a wallet, an empty metal bottle and a map of the city. Arthur picked up the phone.
"You weren't allowed to bring your phone with you right? This phone is standard in this city. Everyone has one, you're not allowed to have any other kind."
"Why?"
"To prevent everyone from buying new ones constantly I guess." He shrugged. "This is the most eco friendly phone in the world and is only available in this city. People say it's a symbol that you are a resident of this city."
Then what's the I.D. for?
"The I.D.," I swear he read my mind. "Is so you can buy stuff at school, also to show you go to our school."
I looked at my I.D. It had a picture of me, usual stuff, a bar code and 'Robert Noah High School on the top. Robert…Noah? I must have had a look of suspicion because he answered immediately.
"Yeah, my dad donated a lot to the school so they named it after him."
I glanced at him, is this guy rich? The door opened. It was the guy who told me the rules of the dorm.
"Arthur." Held out a white envelope. Arthur took it and the guy left. When he opened it, even though his face didn't move I swear his eyes beamed or something.
"Uh, do you want to get something to eat?" he looked at me.
"The guy said dinner's in a couple hours."
"You can skip if you want. It's more fun to go into the city."
"I guess. What should I bring?"
"Your phone, I.D…and water bottle. "
I got up and went with him.
---------------------------------------------------------------
4:47pm
Along with David and some other friends, I rode a tram into the city and was at the mall. While David kept staring at everything, Will and the others dragged us to the arcade while telling David about all the fun stores simultaneously. Now the arcade is quite big, and busy. I personally enjoy games, but the sheer amount of people inside is plain scary.
Inside had dark walls, glowing lights and people walking about. Within seconds, it was only David and I. I got change and walked around with David following me. A house of the dead X was free so I played it with him. We died honorably by corroded chainsaws.
After more games we got thirsty and went to the food court. The food court is quite odd. The roof is glass so sunlight pours through providing natural lighting. Also, tables have solar panels in them so when night falls the tables provide some of the lighting. I showed David all the possible places we could order. I asked what he wanted but he didn't know.
"Do you want ramen?" I asked.
"Sure, but I don't have any money."
"It's okay, I'll pay for you." There's always a catch when dealing with my mom.
I ordered 2 shoyu ramen along with two sodas. The cashier gave me my change showed us the beverage dispenser. David looked around but didn't see any cups. I filled my bottle and he imitated. We sat down at a nearby table until our order came.
"There were no cups." David said.
"In this city you're supposed to have your issued bottle with you when you want to drink something. It's supposed to prevent disposable cups from entering the landfill." I explained.
"So you can't drink anything if you forget your bottle?" David seemed surprised.
"There are glass cups, but they cost money. It's not much but people would rather carry a bottle everywhere. Also employees use paper gloves when dealing with food. Plastic wouldn't biodegrade." I explained.
David was stunned. A place where you are forced to have the same phone, have a water bottle and where a driver's license meant nothing along with other stuff. I guess everyone was like that at first. Our order was ready and David volunteered to go get it. Then my phone rang, it was Will.
"Where are you guys? We looked everywhere."
"We got hungry so we went to the food court."
"What? Don't leave without us." Will hung up.
David was back with the food. "Will and the others are coming. They say they were looking everywhere for us."
"Oh."
We were just about to eat when we heard Will's voice and saw him coming towards us.
---------------------------------------------------------------
5:55pm
"That was fast." Arthur said.
"We were close. You would think you guys were at the food court."
You guys looked everywhere? Yeah right. You're not even trying to hide all those bags of stuff you bought.
"What did you guys get?" I asked.
"Oh," Will pulled out a 'Halo Cosmos', 'Call of Duty Over World', and 'Dead Space Mars'. "Just these."
Carefree aren't you? How much did that all cost? 200 bucks?
"Let's move to a bigger table." Will said. We all moved from our two person to a five person. The others got hamburgers and we all started talking.
"So, how do you like the city?" Will asked.
"I've been here a few hours and it's really different."
"Too bad for you, school's the same. Well except for the community service part. Oh yeah, Arthur you gotta do something by Saturday."
"I'm gonna be a cleaner tonight." Arthur said.
What's a cleaner? Do you pick up trash?
"Tonight? Really? It's going to be cold."
Arthur shrugged.
"Well I guess you'll be fine, oh yeah did you kn-." And just like that the conversation shifted from me to Arthur. I guess it's better this way since I don't know anything about this city.
"-Next time tell me when your dad is going to make the sequel, alright?"
"Yeah, Yeah." Arthur agreed.
"David, did you know Arthur's dad's a writer?" Will shifted towards me.
"No?" No author named Robert Noah came to mind.
"He writes fantasy." He's popular so Arthur's loaded with money.
"No I'm not." Arthur objected. "The amount I get from them is just as much you guys get."
Then why did you buy me ramen?
"Oh yeah, what you your parents do?" Will asked me.
Somehow I expected this. "My dad works for the government." I answered.
"What about your mom?"
"She died a couple months ago." I said.
That froze everyone.
"Sorry." Will said.
"No problem, I'm over it." Which was a lie.
Will quickly changed the subject and I responded half-heartedly. Somehow that one question got me really depressed. Like how I was trying to forget everything in past but it all flooded in. I looked at all of them. All of them have two parents. Two parents to love them and scold them. And me, I don't even see my dad by going to their boarding school. I looked around at the food court; it was getting dim due to the sun setting. Along with my new life of one parent, now I have to get used to this weird city. It's not fair, why does everybody else get to smile while I feel like disappearing? All this talking and new technology I can't keep up with, I just want to be alone. Everyone just says sorry and makes sad faces. The world isn't fair, utopia huh? What kind of utopia is it if I can feel this empty and left behind while in it? Isn't utopia supposed to be the perfect city?
Apparently my emo vibes were showing because Arthur got up and said, "David, you want to be a cleaner with me tonight?"
I looked at him confused. Picking up trash on a cold night? No thanks.
Will smiled. "Yeah, be a cleaner with him. You'll love it. "
"Alright." Arthur said as he dumped our empty bowls and dragged me to an Internet café close by.
"Log in." Arthur demanded.
"I don't wanna be a cleaner." I was tired, I moved into a new city, I walked around a huge mall and my feet were tired. I don't think I want to pick up trash for who knows how long.
"Just try it, it's really fun."
Tired of arguing, I just did what he said and he signed me up for a 'SPC'.
"Good. We start now."
"What?!" He dragged me outside of the mall and paid for a tram ride leading outside of the city.
"Why do you pay for me?" I asked after a few minutes. We were on a tram that had a midair track, there's no way I could escape now. It was hot and stuffy, trams don't have AC I guess.
"Oh, the school doubled my allowance to give your dad an easier time with finances."
That was nice of them. But didn't you say your parents provide the money?
"It must be hard." He said.
"Not really." I answered.
"No, it is hard."
That surprised me.
"I lost my grandma a few years ago. I know it can't compare but I know it's really hard to lose a family member."
"…It is." I agreed. "She's not there anymore. She's gone so suddenly."
"But, you can start a new life here."
That made me mad. Please. Why would I get use to this place? You think a pretty city can replace a parent?
"I can't. This place has everyone moving forward so fast. How can I keep up?"
"By moving on and living."
I looked at him.
"What do you want me to do? Forget about my mom? Just turn into another person and start anew? How can I forget? You make it sound so easy but it's hard. It's really hard to keep on living like normal and getting over it."
"The world never stops rotating."
"That's helpful. You're saying just move on like it's no big deal." My voice rose and people started glancing.
He was silent for the rest of the ride and so was I. I refused to talk to him. I looked out the window; the lighting inside made the outside dark and vast. Halfway through we hit ground and passed through the forest. After a few minutes we were at our stop, the edge of the city, the wall. A small train station like thing was where we got off.
I was confused. Why do we need to be at the border to clean? Arthur motioned me to a door in the wall and I followed. The guard checked his computer and our identification and let us through.
We went up some stairs an elevator and Arthur picked up some equipment. We were on top of the wall within minutes. In front was the huge view of the outside world and behind us their steel frames supported the solar panels.
Then a loud noise sounded. In front of us, I was shocked to see a huge steel track rise out in front of us. The more came out the more I realized that it was forming what looked like a spiral staircase around the solar panels. When the noise stopped, a spiral steel track circled around the whole thing ending at the top. Arthur didn't look surprised.
A pod like thing came around and stopped in front of us. It was circular with the bottom half metal with a door, and the top having rails to grip onto. It seemed to ride on the rails. But the most definitive feature was the two huge nozzles attached facing the panels.
Arthur walked into the pod.
"W-Wait. Just what are we cleaning?" I asked.
"Isn't it obvious? We're going to clean the solar panels." He responded.
--------------------------------------------------------- (David again)
7:02pm
Apparently being a cleaner means to strap yourself in a harness and spray the entire solar panel dome covering the whole city with high-pressured water hoses as you slowly go up.
"I-Is this legal?" Can the government really make a high school student do this? I peeked over the pod and saw we were at least 50 feet up.
"As long as you're 15 and older you can do it." Arthur started spraying while pushing a lever making the pod go up.
Then I started. Honestly it was kinda fun using a power hose. Slowly we spiraled up as the wind got stronger. We were silent most of the way. When we were almost at the top, Arthur started talking.
"Answering your question, it's not that I want you to forget your mom. But maybe you can be happy here with all of us." Arthur said.
I blasted a bird feather out of a socket. "It's hard to keep up." I said again.
"That's what friends are for. To help you." He responded.
"Can you guys really help me?"
"We can."
"But what are you going to do? You can't make me forget my mom."
"I don't want you to forget her. But maybe you could forget the pain that came with it."
Replace the pain? Clever. It honestly didn't sound like a bad idea.
"What do I replace it with?" I asked.
"With this city and everyone it in." It started to get a little windy.
"Is this city really that great?" I asked. Sure it was cool we got to ride on a pod while circling the city, it was cool everything was all high tech but a tragedy like that was painful.
"Yup. And we're at the best part." Arthur let go of the lever. We were at the very top of the city where all the solar panels meet. Any higher and the pod would descend. I looked down and saw the city far below in the middle with plenty of buildings and forest all around. Looking at the horizon, although it was dark I could see for miles, we must have been thousands of feet up.
"Cool isn't it?" I had to agree. It was amazing. "And that's not the best part." Arthur checked his phone. I checked mine, 7:44. At 7:45 something crazy happened. One by one, all the buildings started glowing. Before I knew it, we were below a huge glowing city within a shining dome. It was like a snow globe.
"Wow!" I exclaimed.
"Yeah. I said that when I first saw it. It's really cool and to think this is considered a job."
We were silent for a bit while the wind blew on our backs.
"You know, this city has a lot of things you haven't seen yet. I mean, there's so much more you could see. So why not explore it with us? School's really fun, and we could go to the mall all the time."
I was silent. This city was amazing. I mean what other place let's you ride above its tallest skyscraper and feel like you're on top of the world? Exploring it doesn't seem like a bad idea if I have all these guys with me. Although nothing can replace my mom, maybe friends could replace the pain.
The wind blew past us. I thought of everyone, my dad, my new friends, my mom. I smiled and looked down on the glowing city once more. Wind blew across my face and whipped my hair. As we stood on top of the world I thought maybe, just maybe, I could give life another chance.
I think that the part of me who wants to make people happy in general is what made this story. I want the reader to be interested in what happens next.
By Ace
6:30 am
It was 6:30am and my alarm clock was beeping. I personally think that the worse thing about alarm clocks is that its melody gets stuck in your head. I groaned and rolled to the edge of my bed. Morning sun filtered through the curtains. We were only allowed to have one nightstand between the two beds so I had to get up and walk to shut it off.
Then I noticed a strange thing: a lump in the other bed. Unmoving, covered in a blanket, it's been here before by the way. I tore off the blanket to find a boy in pajamas snoozing away.
"Will, get up." I warned my friend. "…uhhh," a late reaction from him.
I then shook him until actual words came out. "Alright, alright!" Will said.
Will sat up. Wearing blue pajamas like mine, being a freshman like me, he was an average sized boy with brown hair and had a carefree disposition.
"Stop sleeping in my room." I exclaimed.
"It's not like you need two beds, help a friend out." Will yawned. "You're the only one who gets a room to yourself."
"Just sleep in your room."
"I can't sleep with Chainsaw shaking the walls."
'Chainsaw' is the nickname Will gave to his sophomore roommate Walter. You could only guess why Will calls him that.
"You're nice."
"Facts are facts."
I sighed, it was useless to kick Will out. (Not without a lock on my door, which by the way is not allowed.)
"Whatever, it's time to get ready." I started to change.
"See ya!" Will left and went back to his room.
It was Thursday, May 14th, 2015. Like any other school day, I had to get ready for school. After I changed, I went downstairs to the main floor. Although breakfast is at 7:00, people normally wake up earlier to play games on the computers in the game room or watch TV. Minecraft 8.6, Starcraft, Facebook and Youtube are normally on the computers. I decided to watch TV with the others.
At 7:00, breakfast/roll call starts. The three leaders split roll call evenly.
"Arthur Noah." I raised my hand, said 'here' and went back to eating. At 7:10 they open the doors and we are free to leave. School doesn't start till 8 at the earliest but it takes 15-20 minutes to walk to school. On the way people tend to stop at shops or stay in the game room until the last minute. (If you weren't at school by 8 you're dead)
I left at 7:30 with Will. We walked on the sidewalk; the roads were filled with a few bicycles as usual. Some trams were going into the city. Then I heard a motor, I watched as a car passed by. I froze. I blinked and watched it ride into the city. A car. An actual car!
"You gotta wonder if it's worth it." Will said.
Year 2013, the climate changed for the worst. Scientists predicted that without a solid idea, the world would die. Eco-Terrorists groups from around the world became much more active. New religions were sprouting. The People wanted solutions. Natural Disasters became worse.
Scientists from around the world met, they discussed possible experiments to settle the chaos of the world. The final plan was a city. An experimental city which waste was minimal, much of the energy came from natural resources, a city which pollution was next to nothing, and a city that 'could be the closest to Utopia'. The city I'm currently living in, Eco-X09.
------------------------------------ (This means a different character narrates)
2:04 pm
The tram was noisy. Not that it was raging, but the tracks made a constant sound that annoyed me. It was hot and stuffy and I've been on this tram for a good half an hour, just watching the city go past me. To be honest I didn't want to be here. I was on a noisy tram, moving to a new city with some escort lady trying to act all cheery towards me.
There were no other passengers, just the lady sitting next to me and myself. We had the only seats, everything else on the tram was just boxes and boxes of who knows what.
"You know, this tram is normally meant to transport cargo. But since you're a special case, we cleared space," the lady said.
She told me her name, Mrs. Julia Noah or something. To be honest I didn't really care, nothing really cared to me anymore. I ignored her.
"Are you going to miss your friends?" she asked.
What kind of question is that? Is that really the best way to strike up a conversation? I didn't answer.
After while she said, "I'm sorry about your mom."
She just went out and spoke her mind.
"Did you know her?"
"No, but it must be awful right now."
You think? Two months ago, my mom died. She worked for the government experimenting on eco-energy. Chemical explosion. She wasn't the only victim. After her funeral I kinda lost the joy in life. She won't be their watching TV in the living room. It was just my dad and I. School turned into a slow torture, the house was too quiet, my dad had a hard time smiling. One week ago, my dad transferred to the new city's government branch. Apparently, some higher ups took pity on me and allowed me to be the first kid to transfer into Eco-X09. Now I'm riding a tram with an awkward escort to some utopia city.
"I have a son the same age as you, you'll be transferring into his high school. I hope you can be friends."
"Yeah."
"I know it's hard but you're going to love this city. You can start a new life there."
You forgot to add without my mom.
"Oh! We're here!" She pointed.
We just left the city. The new city was built on an enormous plot of land just outside not being used for anything. I looked up and was confused. When you think most sustainable city you think green right? All I saw was a huge wall of 30 foot concrete and a massive glass dome on top.
-------------------------------------------------
8:30 am
By now Will and I were having class at Robert Noah High School. I had math. Bored, I stared out the window. Our school was on a low hill. I could see outside as far as the gateway. A large wall to prevent any sudden variables from sneaking in surrounds this eco-city just so you know. For example, more people. When this city was first created, it offered a ton of jobs to the people. A lot of people wanted to start again. To prevent major variables, only government workers and chosen people were allowed to be in the exodus. My mom's a government worker and my dad's a writer. I never asked what Will's parents do.
Even though I said 'exodus', trees probably outnumber people. 65% of the city's area is nature. And that is a lot of trees since I can't even count the number of buildings. Wherever you look there are trees, trees, and more trees. Even in the center of the city some parks are set up.
You wouldn't think that filtered sun could feed them all make the rooftops shine like mirrors. That's right, filtered sunlight. Covering the entire city is a glass dome. Not really glass but it looks like it. Scientists invented a clear, rotating, solar panel that absorbs 30% of the sun and filters the rest down to the city. All buildings have a full sun shingle roof to absorb the rest for extra power. It's a little weird, but it's not as hot in the summer although you wouldn't want to catch an airplane in here. (If you want to catch a plane, you have to go to the next city.)
The only vehicles in here are trams, bicycles and cars. Trams are the main way people get around if they don't want to walk. They cost money and are everywhere. (They have solar panels on them by the way.) Bicycles populate the roads and are used by all ages for a free and fast ride. Cars on the other hand are extremely rare. Not only do they cost much, there's an extra tax for anyone who owns a car in this city. Gas is expensive and you can only get one of those cars that don't emit exhaust. To have one means you're living in the moment.
At 2:30, school was over for me. I went to the library after school and used a computer to search for community service options. In this city, students have to do one shift of community service a week. (University students have to do less.) It's supposed to promote bonding within the community but I think the government is just looking for free labor. I signed up for being a cleaner tonight and left.
I was walking back from school with Will and other friends when my phone rang. It was my mom.
"Hello?"
"Arthur, I'm going to double your weekly allowance."
Now part of me just did a back flip launched in to space for a second.
"Because, I want you to take care of someone."
There was always a catch when dealing with my mom.
"His name is David, he's the very first transfer student into the city."
Okay, I don't know if it should go down in history but what's that got to do with me?
"He will be your new roommate."
I swear my mom can read my mind.
"So? I asked.
"He's declared an experiment by the government."
"What!"
My friends turned around and looked at me.
"Scientists want to test his psychological reasoning of the city, because they didn't tell him anything about it. They want to know how he will take it all in. They will be observing him constantly. They used his dad as an excuse for him to transfer into the city."
"Where's his mom?"
"She died. I brought him here, he's lost willpower."
"…So basically, he's a lab rat in a maze."
"Don't call him that. I want you to be his friend. Just because he's an experiment doesn't mean he can't have fun being one by hanging out with friends and living a normal school life."
"Alright, I'll try." I hung up the phone.
"What was that?" Will asked.
"I'm getting a roommate."
Will looked curious and depressed at the same time.
At the dorms, it was two hours before dinner. You didn't have to attend but you had to be in your room by 10:30 or else. Most people play games or go to the mall to get food.
"Arthur," it was one of the dorm leaders. "Someone is waiting in your room."
"Okay."
As I walked up the stairs, I worried about what to say. What do I start out with? What can I show him? He lost his mom. What are our interests? What do I say? Psychological analysis. By now I got to my room. I took a deep breath and opened the door.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4:26 pm
I was waiting for about 5 minutes before a boy opened the door. He had black hair, medium height, and was wearing a uniform. The dorm leader said his name was Arthur.
"Uh, hi." He said.
"Hi, my name's David." He nodded and sat on the other bed with all the posters.
"My name's Arthur Noah." He responded.
Noah? "Uh, sorry, do you know someone named Julia?" I asked.
"Yeah, that's my mom."
"Your mom works for the government?"
"Yeah, in this city 30% of all adults are working for the government."
Weird City. Weird guy, he didn't seem surprised at all that I knew his mom's name.
"So how do you like Eco-X09?" He asked.
I could tell he wanted to change the subject.
"So far I've seen trees, some buildings and more trees."
"Yeah."
Don't forget to mention more trees. They don't call it the green city for nothing. I noticed an air conditioner above the nightstand.
"You guys have AC?"
"Yup. These are the eco friendly ones." Arthur switched it on and a cool breeze filled the room.
We were silent for a bit while enjoying the breeze. Looking around the room, he noticed the blue bag I was holding.
"Oh yeah, you got that when you first arrived right? I should show you what's in there. Just dump it on the bed."
He was acting really strange, changing the subject constantly.
"Um… did your mom tell you anything about me?" I asked.
For a moment his eyes widened. "N-Nothing."
Anyway, I dumped everything on the bed. By the way, are beds in this dorm supposed to be wrinkled and look used when you move in? Inside the bag there was a chrome cell phone, a phone charger, an I.D, a wallet, an empty metal bottle and a map of the city. Arthur picked up the phone.
"You weren't allowed to bring your phone with you right? This phone is standard in this city. Everyone has one, you're not allowed to have any other kind."
"Why?"
"To prevent everyone from buying new ones constantly I guess." He shrugged. "This is the most eco friendly phone in the world and is only available in this city. People say it's a symbol that you are a resident of this city."
Then what's the I.D. for?
"The I.D.," I swear he read my mind. "Is so you can buy stuff at school, also to show you go to our school."
I looked at my I.D. It had a picture of me, usual stuff, a bar code and 'Robert Noah High School on the top. Robert…Noah? I must have had a look of suspicion because he answered immediately.
"Yeah, my dad donated a lot to the school so they named it after him."
I glanced at him, is this guy rich? The door opened. It was the guy who told me the rules of the dorm.
"Arthur." Held out a white envelope. Arthur took it and the guy left. When he opened it, even though his face didn't move I swear his eyes beamed or something.
"Uh, do you want to get something to eat?" he looked at me.
"The guy said dinner's in a couple hours."
"You can skip if you want. It's more fun to go into the city."
"I guess. What should I bring?"
"Your phone, I.D…and water bottle. "
I got up and went with him.
---------------------------------------------------------------
4:47pm
Along with David and some other friends, I rode a tram into the city and was at the mall. While David kept staring at everything, Will and the others dragged us to the arcade while telling David about all the fun stores simultaneously. Now the arcade is quite big, and busy. I personally enjoy games, but the sheer amount of people inside is plain scary.
Inside had dark walls, glowing lights and people walking about. Within seconds, it was only David and I. I got change and walked around with David following me. A house of the dead X was free so I played it with him. We died honorably by corroded chainsaws.
After more games we got thirsty and went to the food court. The food court is quite odd. The roof is glass so sunlight pours through providing natural lighting. Also, tables have solar panels in them so when night falls the tables provide some of the lighting. I showed David all the possible places we could order. I asked what he wanted but he didn't know.
"Do you want ramen?" I asked.
"Sure, but I don't have any money."
"It's okay, I'll pay for you." There's always a catch when dealing with my mom.
I ordered 2 shoyu ramen along with two sodas. The cashier gave me my change showed us the beverage dispenser. David looked around but didn't see any cups. I filled my bottle and he imitated. We sat down at a nearby table until our order came.
"There were no cups." David said.
"In this city you're supposed to have your issued bottle with you when you want to drink something. It's supposed to prevent disposable cups from entering the landfill." I explained.
"So you can't drink anything if you forget your bottle?" David seemed surprised.
"There are glass cups, but they cost money. It's not much but people would rather carry a bottle everywhere. Also employees use paper gloves when dealing with food. Plastic wouldn't biodegrade." I explained.
David was stunned. A place where you are forced to have the same phone, have a water bottle and where a driver's license meant nothing along with other stuff. I guess everyone was like that at first. Our order was ready and David volunteered to go get it. Then my phone rang, it was Will.
"Where are you guys? We looked everywhere."
"We got hungry so we went to the food court."
"What? Don't leave without us." Will hung up.
David was back with the food. "Will and the others are coming. They say they were looking everywhere for us."
"Oh."
We were just about to eat when we heard Will's voice and saw him coming towards us.
---------------------------------------------------------------
5:55pm
"That was fast." Arthur said.
"We were close. You would think you guys were at the food court."
You guys looked everywhere? Yeah right. You're not even trying to hide all those bags of stuff you bought.
"What did you guys get?" I asked.
"Oh," Will pulled out a 'Halo Cosmos', 'Call of Duty Over World', and 'Dead Space Mars'. "Just these."
Carefree aren't you? How much did that all cost? 200 bucks?
"Let's move to a bigger table." Will said. We all moved from our two person to a five person. The others got hamburgers and we all started talking.
"So, how do you like the city?" Will asked.
"I've been here a few hours and it's really different."
"Too bad for you, school's the same. Well except for the community service part. Oh yeah, Arthur you gotta do something by Saturday."
"I'm gonna be a cleaner tonight." Arthur said.
What's a cleaner? Do you pick up trash?
"Tonight? Really? It's going to be cold."
Arthur shrugged.
"Well I guess you'll be fine, oh yeah did you kn-." And just like that the conversation shifted from me to Arthur. I guess it's better this way since I don't know anything about this city.
"-Next time tell me when your dad is going to make the sequel, alright?"
"Yeah, Yeah." Arthur agreed.
"David, did you know Arthur's dad's a writer?" Will shifted towards me.
"No?" No author named Robert Noah came to mind.
"He writes fantasy." He's popular so Arthur's loaded with money.
"No I'm not." Arthur objected. "The amount I get from them is just as much you guys get."
Then why did you buy me ramen?
"Oh yeah, what you your parents do?" Will asked me.
Somehow I expected this. "My dad works for the government." I answered.
"What about your mom?"
"She died a couple months ago." I said.
That froze everyone.
"Sorry." Will said.
"No problem, I'm over it." Which was a lie.
Will quickly changed the subject and I responded half-heartedly. Somehow that one question got me really depressed. Like how I was trying to forget everything in past but it all flooded in. I looked at all of them. All of them have two parents. Two parents to love them and scold them. And me, I don't even see my dad by going to their boarding school. I looked around at the food court; it was getting dim due to the sun setting. Along with my new life of one parent, now I have to get used to this weird city. It's not fair, why does everybody else get to smile while I feel like disappearing? All this talking and new technology I can't keep up with, I just want to be alone. Everyone just says sorry and makes sad faces. The world isn't fair, utopia huh? What kind of utopia is it if I can feel this empty and left behind while in it? Isn't utopia supposed to be the perfect city?
Apparently my emo vibes were showing because Arthur got up and said, "David, you want to be a cleaner with me tonight?"
I looked at him confused. Picking up trash on a cold night? No thanks.
Will smiled. "Yeah, be a cleaner with him. You'll love it. "
"Alright." Arthur said as he dumped our empty bowls and dragged me to an Internet café close by.
"Log in." Arthur demanded.
"I don't wanna be a cleaner." I was tired, I moved into a new city, I walked around a huge mall and my feet were tired. I don't think I want to pick up trash for who knows how long.
"Just try it, it's really fun."
Tired of arguing, I just did what he said and he signed me up for a 'SPC'.
"Good. We start now."
"What?!" He dragged me outside of the mall and paid for a tram ride leading outside of the city.
"Why do you pay for me?" I asked after a few minutes. We were on a tram that had a midair track, there's no way I could escape now. It was hot and stuffy, trams don't have AC I guess.
"Oh, the school doubled my allowance to give your dad an easier time with finances."
That was nice of them. But didn't you say your parents provide the money?
"It must be hard." He said.
"Not really." I answered.
"No, it is hard."
That surprised me.
"I lost my grandma a few years ago. I know it can't compare but I know it's really hard to lose a family member."
"…It is." I agreed. "She's not there anymore. She's gone so suddenly."
"But, you can start a new life here."
That made me mad. Please. Why would I get use to this place? You think a pretty city can replace a parent?
"I can't. This place has everyone moving forward so fast. How can I keep up?"
"By moving on and living."
I looked at him.
"What do you want me to do? Forget about my mom? Just turn into another person and start anew? How can I forget? You make it sound so easy but it's hard. It's really hard to keep on living like normal and getting over it."
"The world never stops rotating."
"That's helpful. You're saying just move on like it's no big deal." My voice rose and people started glancing.
He was silent for the rest of the ride and so was I. I refused to talk to him. I looked out the window; the lighting inside made the outside dark and vast. Halfway through we hit ground and passed through the forest. After a few minutes we were at our stop, the edge of the city, the wall. A small train station like thing was where we got off.
I was confused. Why do we need to be at the border to clean? Arthur motioned me to a door in the wall and I followed. The guard checked his computer and our identification and let us through.
We went up some stairs an elevator and Arthur picked up some equipment. We were on top of the wall within minutes. In front was the huge view of the outside world and behind us their steel frames supported the solar panels.
Then a loud noise sounded. In front of us, I was shocked to see a huge steel track rise out in front of us. The more came out the more I realized that it was forming what looked like a spiral staircase around the solar panels. When the noise stopped, a spiral steel track circled around the whole thing ending at the top. Arthur didn't look surprised.
A pod like thing came around and stopped in front of us. It was circular with the bottom half metal with a door, and the top having rails to grip onto. It seemed to ride on the rails. But the most definitive feature was the two huge nozzles attached facing the panels.
Arthur walked into the pod.
"W-Wait. Just what are we cleaning?" I asked.
"Isn't it obvious? We're going to clean the solar panels." He responded.
--------------------------------------------------------- (David again)
7:02pm
Apparently being a cleaner means to strap yourself in a harness and spray the entire solar panel dome covering the whole city with high-pressured water hoses as you slowly go up.
"I-Is this legal?" Can the government really make a high school student do this? I peeked over the pod and saw we were at least 50 feet up.
"As long as you're 15 and older you can do it." Arthur started spraying while pushing a lever making the pod go up.
Then I started. Honestly it was kinda fun using a power hose. Slowly we spiraled up as the wind got stronger. We were silent most of the way. When we were almost at the top, Arthur started talking.
"Answering your question, it's not that I want you to forget your mom. But maybe you can be happy here with all of us." Arthur said.
I blasted a bird feather out of a socket. "It's hard to keep up." I said again.
"That's what friends are for. To help you." He responded.
"Can you guys really help me?"
"We can."
"But what are you going to do? You can't make me forget my mom."
"I don't want you to forget her. But maybe you could forget the pain that came with it."
Replace the pain? Clever. It honestly didn't sound like a bad idea.
"What do I replace it with?" I asked.
"With this city and everyone it in." It started to get a little windy.
"Is this city really that great?" I asked. Sure it was cool we got to ride on a pod while circling the city, it was cool everything was all high tech but a tragedy like that was painful.
"Yup. And we're at the best part." Arthur let go of the lever. We were at the very top of the city where all the solar panels meet. Any higher and the pod would descend. I looked down and saw the city far below in the middle with plenty of buildings and forest all around. Looking at the horizon, although it was dark I could see for miles, we must have been thousands of feet up.
"Cool isn't it?" I had to agree. It was amazing. "And that's not the best part." Arthur checked his phone. I checked mine, 7:44. At 7:45 something crazy happened. One by one, all the buildings started glowing. Before I knew it, we were below a huge glowing city within a shining dome. It was like a snow globe.
"Wow!" I exclaimed.
"Yeah. I said that when I first saw it. It's really cool and to think this is considered a job."
We were silent for a bit while the wind blew on our backs.
"You know, this city has a lot of things you haven't seen yet. I mean, there's so much more you could see. So why not explore it with us? School's really fun, and we could go to the mall all the time."
I was silent. This city was amazing. I mean what other place let's you ride above its tallest skyscraper and feel like you're on top of the world? Exploring it doesn't seem like a bad idea if I have all these guys with me. Although nothing can replace my mom, maybe friends could replace the pain.
The wind blew past us. I thought of everyone, my dad, my new friends, my mom. I smiled and looked down on the glowing city once more. Wind blew across my face and whipped my hair. As we stood on top of the world I thought maybe, just maybe, I could give life another chance.
I think that the part of me who wants to make people happy in general is what made this story. I want the reader to be interested in what happens next.
By Ace
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)