I have been in here for so long. Familiar faces pass by me. I smile but I do not receive one back. I am going in all different directions. Numerous times I see the same places with the same things there. If only I could figure out what these places were called and why they are here. Many of them have big buildings and long buses. The buildings are tall, wide, and have many windows. At night there are areas that have tons of bright lights. Most of the time in these places there are things written on the walls and people walking around. There is plain gray pavement instead of soft green grass.
I need to get out of here. If only I knew what here was. I must find a map to know where I am going. Every time I buy one, I cannot use the map. It is like its being taken away from me. Sometimes before it gets taken away, I get a glimpse of it. The map has many big islands that are colored dark green and big bodies of water that are colored blue. I do not understand how or why this happens. Plenty of odd things happen but this is the oddest thing I see and feel. It is always strange in this world. I am just going keep going right the entire time maybe I will get somewhere then.
“No, no, no. My controller is not working it keeps going right instead of left.” Game over! “Ahh man we were so close to winning. Oh man its already two in the morning I have to go to bed. We can play again tomorrow I just need to get my controller fixed before we play.”
Untitled By: Noah Bresloff
As I walked out into the yard, I could see my brother Jake in the distance. Mama said not to talk to him and let him rest after, well maybe I shouldn’t say. Anyways, I disobeyed her and went to check on him. He seemed strange. He wasn’t talking much, actually he wasn’t talking at all; he was just ignoring every word that came out of my mouth like I wasn’t there. “Hey Jake, how are you today” I said with a grin. Still, no answer. “I heard it was pretty scary overseas and well, I know you might not want to talk about it, but I just wanted to ask if you wanted to vent or maybe you wanted breakfast since you haven’t eaten in a while.” I stood there for a minute, waiting for a response still nothing, not even a single word. Mama told me to come back in for breakfast, so I obliged. Though as I ate, I thought about what could be wrong with Jake. “Why doesn’t he talk to me, mom?” I said waiting patently for a response. “Well son, when you get a little older, I’ll tell you. Right now, might not be the best time.” She said. “ Derek, honey how are those classes going?” Mom said. “ Good” I answered swiftly, wanting to talk to Jake again to see if I could get him to tell me what was wrong . After breakfast, I did exactly that. Rushing to the meadow once more, grabbing some flowers to bring to Jake as some sort of gift. “Hey Jake!” I said, interrupted by my mother saying something, but I couldn’t make out what she said exactly. When she got closer, she muttered those spine chilling words again “Honey, once your done placing those flowers on Jake’s grave, we have to go to the reception.” After those words were said, I snapped back into reality and said my final goodbyes to Jake, while placing the flowers upon his headstone.
Senior year Championship Game By: Marc Mitchell
My heart raced at the fear of losing the championship game. Our team is up by one. All we need to do is hold them from scoring and we win it all. The opposing team dribbles up the floor and takes a deep shot. Bang! They hit a clutch three with the clock winding down. Our coach calls a time out. There are seven seconds on the clock. Sweat raced down my eyes as he drew the play up for the best shooter on my team, Steph. The ball was inbounded. I stood in the corner shaking, praying that he would make the shot. Steph grabbed the ball and dribbled up the court. The clock, moving like a rocket. 5... 4... 3... Bam! Steph was knocked to the ground by one of the players on opposite team. He broke his wrist! All hope was lost as we only had three seconds left on the clock and we were down by two. All of us had given up. We got in the huddle and coach wrote up a play. For me! The amount of pressure felt as an elephant was sitting on me. 2,000 people in the stands stared at me. At that time, I remembered the story my dad always told me when he was alive. It was about how he hit a buzzer beater to win the game when he was a senior like me. This gave me confidence. I had to make this shot for my dad. Steph was escorted off the court and the game started back up. I got the ball, weaved through the defenders and took the shot. Bzzzzzzzz. The horn went off and the game was over. I wanted to cry. I let my dad down.
Wait... Is that Perfect? By: Kamryn Anderson “CLICK”. I tapped my pen. 7 times to be exact it just wasn’t even. I clicked it three more times, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, 10 my lucky number. Hi, my name is Lucy I am in the sixth grade and I'm currently taking a world history test. Of course, it's on the computer. For some reason I feel stressed working on electronics. CLICK. I submitted my test, waiting for my results. 100, 100, 100, I repeatedly said to myself, I was very stressed about my grade, since I haven't studied much. Phew! I got a 95 I hope that’s good enough. I felt the need to go through my world history binder since I finished my quiz early, I collected some old papers and headed to the trash can. Then I thought, what if I need this one day maybe I won't, but maybe I will. I put the papers back in my binder and headed back to my desk. I had a few of my pens laid out on my desk so I thought I'd arrange them in rainbow order. Red orange yellow, oh no what if my desk is contaminated? I put on my mask and went to grab a Clorox wipe I came back to my desk and wiped my area down a few times. Hoping it was clean enough. I tapped my pen a few more times CLICK, CLICK, CLICK. I was trying to patiently wait for class to end but instead my mind was racing because I can't remember if I locked the door after leaving the house this morning. Oh, my goodness! what if I forgot, someone would break in, there will be a massive robbery and there was something else, I forgot what it was... Oh! I know! I forgot to take my OCD medicine before school.
Serpent of Mine By: Marina Flores As Magnolia treaded through the lush grass of the meadow behind her house, she spotted a flash of movement in the brush. The sunlight dappled the bark of an old, fallen tree. There, basking in one of the puddles of sunlight, was a powder blue snake, absorbing the solar rays. Its keeled scales made eyelash crests above its almost eclipse-like eyes, a majestic being it was. Magnolia stared at the serpent in wonder, soon making eye contact with it. They stood for a few moments, boring into each other with gazes of great curiosity. The snake slithered down its perch, making its way towards her. Magnolia kneeled, letting the snake coil into her hands. She smiled, rising, taking her new friend to her home. It has been months since Magnolia found her reptilian friend, who she had now named Haru. But what was really intriguing was how fast Haru took up space in her family’s home. At one point, he was big enough sit next to Magnolia while the family had dinner. She had loved Haru unconditionally, feeding him whole rabbits every week. One morning, while she and Haru read on the porch, her parents had come to inform her that her snake had become too big to keep with them. It had been a somber evening the day that Magnolia came back to the meadow where she had found Heru. As the family trudged through the meadow, a group of men, all in lab coats, lumbered towards them frantically. They stood gaped in astonishment at Haru. Magnolia gasped in awe as she heard the chief cry out in celebration, “The last Prairie Basilisk! It’s here! It’s here!”
Sweet Deception By: Zoe Carroll
The rich mint filling, the dark chocolate where you can almost taste the ground up cocoa beans from its country of origin. I would definitely say that Mint Patties are the town’s favorite candy. I mean it’s in every store, even the bookstore! Sadly, I’m allergic to the famous town candy, I found this out when I moved here. As a welcoming gift I got a basketful of Mint Patties, I ate almost the entire basket! Then in the middle of the night my throat closed up and I felt like I couldn’t breathe, my face was red with hives, my eyesight was blurry, and my eyes were watering. I thought I was going to die. As I got rushed to the town’s local ER it turned out I was highly allergic to the mint filling. Anyway, I’m going back to work after I had a vacation and I’m so glad this small town of Ohio has accepted me. They even wrote “Isaac is outgoing and cheerful, we love working with him” in my birthday card. “Hi everybody! How are y-“, I get interrupted from a blaring TV as I walk into work. “This is channel 9, your local news. We have some shocking news, Mint Patties may have some connection to a virus. We’ll keep you updated as the day goes on”. “I just ate one of those!!”, someone screamed. “Me too!”, someone else screeched. The whole office blew up. I look outside and the whole town must have seen the news because everyone is throwing Mint Patties in the trash, in the sewer, anywhere but their mouths. I fear that this could get bad in a few weeks. After 2 weeks… “Oh yeah the whole town has gone crazy”, I say talking to my mom who lives in New York, “I get dirty looks getting a Snickers bar from the store”. After I finish my conversation, I see people starting to gather in the middle of the road including the mayor. “I wonder why they’re there, its late”, I say to myself. I open my door and all eyes turn to me, they look like they just hurt someone, their eyes have glint of fear mixed with anger. I hear someone collapse to the ground. “I gave them the Mint Patty like you told me Mayor Mott! He has just passed out, I think….”, someone blurted out to break the silence. “You gave that to someone?!”, I yelled, “Why would you do this mayor?!” “Well we think that this population needs to be lowered, for the community of course. For your information everyone, I have the list of symptoms for the virus”, Mayor Mott announced evilly, “Cough, blurry vision, watery eyes, and hives.” “I’ve had a cough, and it started before I watched the news! I also ate one two weeks ago!”, my next-door neighbor shrieked. The crowd went crazy I tried interjecting by saying, “Those sound like my all-“. I was interrupted from helicopters whirring above the neighborhood, they were helicopters for the news holding cameras. The police surrounded us and said in their megaphone. “Stop this was just a social experiment, you all experienced mass hysteria!” “Then where did Mayor Mott get his symptoms from?” I said, “Those are just allergy symptoms, I’m allergic to Mint Patties and experienced all of them. It was no virus.”
My First Time By: Wyatt Scruggs
It was late afternoon, and the sky was black. I walked into the small diner with a suit on, a briefcase in my hand, and my head down. The diner had a white and black checker tiled floor, and lines of yellow and red on the walls. I sat at the closest booth to the door and sat there nervously, as I waited for her to walk through the door. This was my first time doing something like this, and I was regretting my decision to come more every second. There were 4 workers in the kitchen and only one other man in the diner. He was too busy eating to notice anyone else in the restaurant. I was wondering if she would ever come when a tall middle-aged woman dressed in a slim black dress and an identical brief case in her hand opened the door and stepped in. she sat across from me and we barely talked. A few minutes passed and the workers went to the back, the man had left after eating a large amount of food. The woman leaned forward and said in a whisper, “I have the money, did you get the stuff?” I replied in a quiet tone, “I have the stuff”, and we made the trade under the table. There was no way anyone would be able to tell we made the transaction, but I left quickly and immediately. She left a whole half hour later, as to not arouse suspicion. The trade was complete, and no one was caught.
The Hike Gone Wrong By: Brayden Laboranti On a cold misty morning where the air is thinner than a pencil, a tall figure wakes up and prepares for an adventure. With the outside temperature at a crisp 53 degrees Fahrenheit, he dresses for the occasion with sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt. He grabs his bags as the outside calls him. Waving one last goodbye to his dog, he sets out for what could his last adventure. Ready for anything. With a thin fog slowly disappearing he looked up at the tall mountain peak he hoped to reach. As he climbed, he noticed the many dangers such as rocks, wind, animals, and many bad terraranan. He shook off the feelings of worries, after all he’s climbed many mountains before. He’s got this, right? He thought as he climbed. While climbing, the sun starts to rise and the animal start. chirping, a great morning with great weather, perfect conditions for climbing. As he climbed the air got thinner and the animals getting less frequent, he got more worried. This has been far been the tallest he’s ever climbed by far, he’s super proud with his achievement but he is nowhere near the top of the mountain. He knew he could turn back now, but the presence of the top challenged him to want to climb and he didn’t want to go home unsatisfied. So, he did what his gut told him to do, he climbed higher. After an hour of climbing, he finally made it to the top of the mountain, but he was only halfway done, and he needed to get back to the bottom to base camp. With all quiet he admired the view and patted himself on the back knowing he climbed up this mountain. He had conquered it. Out of nowhere, wooooooosh a big gust of wind comes and takes him off guard and off the mountain. A fatal fall leading to many injuries, one of them being fatal. While he made it to the bottom of the mountain as he wanted to, he didn’t make it ...
Life with Giants By: Jasmine Anderson
It was about dawn when I awoke. The sun was barely shining through the curtains. I yawned, stretching out my legs. The soft sheets of the bed were comforting and warm, but it was time to start the day. I jumped off my bed, slowing walking to the kitchen. Something was off. Nobody was around. Nobody was outside in the backyard. Nobody in any of the rooms. I was alone. The only other being in the house was my sister. I knew what was up... it was Sunday. Suddenly, a bright light came from the front door. They were back. The giants dashed in, searching for my sister and me. Every time they returned home; the beasts searched for us. I ran into the largest bedroom and hid under the bed. The monsters could never reach me now. My sister, Lucy, was also there. She glared at me for a moment, then the ground started to shake. The giants were here. The tallest one bent down and tried to grab me. It was too big to fit under the large bed. They eventually ran off back into the kitchen. I quietly stalked out of the bedroom, looking towards the front door. It was open. I bolted for it, running outside. The world was so bright. I have only ever been outside the house once or twice. The smells of the outside were so amazing. I decided to hide under a giant black vehicle. It is nice to be small. One of the big monsters screeched “He got out again!,” dashing outside. They looked around for a bit, then under the car, where I was, and grabbed me. We headed back inside. I tried to bite them, but the giant would not let me go. “Alfredo!,” the monster growled. ” You should know better than to go outside! It’s extremely dangerous!” they scolded as they put me down, “Silly cat.”
Untitled By: Kendyll Cobb
It’s a nice sunny day, with little to no clouds in the sky. The temperature outside is perfect and it’s a great day to be outside. I get out of bed to go do the dishes I didn’t do last night, and funny enough they were all clean! While it’s a little odd because I don’t remember doing them last night, I'm not complaining, at least their done. So, I get ready to go to work and I find out we’re off today, it's almost like today is perfect. I get ready to go to the store and I walk outside to see 100 dollars on the sidewalk! While today seems a little too good to be true, I don’t mind it. As I'm walking to the store something seems off, like someone following me... I turn around and I don’t see anyone. I brush it off and continue walking, but for some reason I can't shake this feeling. I arrive at the shops and almost nobody's there. I ask why but nobody answers. For some reason they all look different, I've seen all these people before but somethings different about them. I get the things I need for dinner and head off to get some lunch. I sit down at the table and not shortly after, a man sits down at a table right behind me. The café has the familiar felling like I have been here before, but I don’t recognize it. The man that sat down is the only other person in the café besides myself. The man is not tall but not short, not big but not thin, he’s just... there. I walk outside and suddenly everything is 100 times for gloomy I turn around and BAM! I wake up.
The Immortals and Lila By: Anniston Kegley
It was a dark windy night and everyone was sound asleep except Lila. She was a strange “little girl”, whose parents had never been seen before. Some say she’s an orphan, some say her parents were abducted by aliens, but her personal favorite was “her parents died ages ago and their dead bodies lay in their living room”! Although all of these myths were false and Lila acted like they didn’t bother her, they truly didn’t. She was built with a tough skin and had dealt with rumors and tales for quite a while now. The truth was she took care of an old couple who still live in this house. They were the cutest old couple you could ever imagine, but they had a ginormous secret. They were immortal and have been living since the eighteenth century. Their names are Mike and Sandy. Lila had been taking care of them since she was a little tike because they had cursed her to look like a six year old for the rest of her life. Lila was now twenty years old and her only joy was visiting her favorite old couple. Every day she would stop by on her way home from work to check-up on them even though they were cursed to live forever. Truth be told, Lila loved looking young because she didn’t have to worry about aging, she could order off the kids menu without question, and could pass as any age she pleased. The only issue she had with this curse was that she was lonely. Everyone her age called her a freak so it was hard to make friends. That’s why she cherished her old friends Mike and Sandy and passing the never ending time of immortality.
The Voice By: Finn Mariani
Every day is the same. No matter what I do, I always wake up the same way doing the same things. I repeat a cycle of my day. It's been like this for so long that I now know exactly what's going to happen. My bed has lumps and the clothes I wear are ripped and torn. My life feels like a fever dream, doing the same things every day. I don’t know why I am here. The worst part is there seemed to be a “voice” in my head, but it never talked. The voice controlled everything; I was merely watching it live my life. The only thing I could control was my voice. I was only capable of speaking compared to moving. I didn’t know why. It was as if I was a puppet. Perhaps another toy to play with. Then one day, I saw a new area consisting of a dark and hot tunnel. I felt the soupy air hitting my face as the “voice” made me walk closer to the entrance. The walls seemed to have electric bolts coming from them. This was uncharted waters for me. The idea crossed into my mind that this could possibly be the end, where I can gain control back. The “voice” made me walk into the tunnel. I was scared. Whenever I shouted, it made me stop dead in my tracks, waiting for me to stop. I didn’t know what was happening, but this little part of me still had the flame of hope. The flame was almost dead at that point. I wondered to myself why I was here as it kept making me walk down the tunnel. I now noticed that the tunnel was getting darker and narrower. My feet felt like they were about to collapse, as I felt blisters scraping against the rubberish ground. Suddenly, I blacked out. I then woke up again in the same bed with the same clothes. Yet this time, I was in control. I was so excited. I could finally live my live and be free from these chains of the “voice”. I heard a noise of footsteps. They were so loud, but for some reason I chose to ignore them. I was too busy screaming in joy from finally being free that I was too stubborn to realize what was happening. That all changed the moment, I realized someone was making his way back from behind the screen.
Untitled By: McKenna Lukanich
There was a knock on the door. When we opened the door there stood a man who looked unsure of where he was. He was disheveled with stringy long hair hanging on his shoulders. This stranger was carrying an infant car seat. Inside the car seat was the tinniest baby I have ever seen. The baby was swallowed by the car seat buckle. The man knew nothing about the baby. He did not know his name or his history. All he knew was that he was to be dropped off at our door. This baby was so little that his legs were as small as my fingers, his head was the size of my fists, and he weighed less than four pounds. My 4 siblings and I surrounded his car seat smiling over him. His eyes were wide open staring up at us, unsure of where he was. Our home was his now his new home for a week, a month, a year, or more. Everything about this situation was different. We now had a knew sibling, from different parents, who looked nothing like us but he instantly became one of us. We adored him. We were immediately attached to him. Our love for him was bigger than we ever imagined and we spent the next year loving on him, anxiously waiting for the day that they take him back. Would it be this week? Will we have to say goodbye today?
In Memory By MacKenzie Lovely
Landing on the runway in Hawaii, cannot wait to see the beautiful island of O’ahu, with all the breathtaking flora. As we make our way off the plane, we are shocked to see dad on one knee asking the big question to mom. Grinning happily as mom walked down the aisle, I feel a little tear of happiness roll down my face. At dinner cannot think of a better moment than now, dad suddenly interrupt's and says, “I need to stop somewhere after dinner, need you ladies to come with me”. Pulling out of the driveway, dad drives us to a mysterious location. We stop at a house, as we walk to the door dad picks mom up and carries her into our new house. Fast forward 5 years we finally become a family of four, we just adopted Rosie, she has had a rough life and just needs to be loved.
Suddenly I am awakened by the smell of candles burning and my grandmother’s whimpering. Realizing I was not asleep, but just a thirteen-year-old girl, escaping to my memories just to help me get through the worst day of my life, the day I lay my parents to rest.
Lost in the Woods By Kamden Milner
Flying through the woods like a hawk. Weaving in and out of trees as fast as I could. I was swift as a fox and sneaky like a predator in the night, stalking its prey. Hopping over roots and stones I was having such a thrill on my adventure through the woods. As I was passing an unfamiliar area I stopped and looked around. I was lost! I had no idea what to do but try to trace my steps back home. As I wandered back trying to find my home, I found another lost thing that looked like me. I went over to ask them for directions back home. But as he turned around, we heard a voice calling out a name and it seemed to startle him. As the voice got louder, he moved closer and closer to me until he grabbed me forcefully and ran through the woods. He looked wounded and scared. He looked like me but beat up and bigger and stronger. He took me to a cave which was dark and deep. He set me down on a pile of dirt and told me that the person calling his name was the person who had abused him and forced him to fight others. He also said he ran away a few months ago and has hid since then. I told him he can stay with me and my owner, that is if we ever got home.
The sky was getting darker and the person was still calling his name. I knew my parents must be worried sick thinking I may never get home. I told my new friend it was time to leave but he hesitated. Although he didn’t want to go out there with his owner looking for him, I convinced him to come with me. We walked carefully trying not to step on any twigs or branches. After a couple minutes the voice stopped. After the voice stopped, we took off in a dead sprint in the direction he had told me to go. I followed behind him as best I could, trying to keep up. The sky turned so dark we could barely see a foot in front of us. We had been running for hours and were so tired and desperate for shelter. Soon enough I could smell the delicious food that mom always cooks; we were almost home! As I saw the house, I knew I was safe and could finally get some rest. I soon introduced my new friend to my parents. He looked as happy as I was when I first found a home and a family. Although he had finally found a home, it took him some time to feel comfortable but who could blame him. Eventually, he looked like a new dog, wagging his tail and playing with his loving family all around him.
Quiet Street By: Shawn Dooley
The streets are almost pitch black in the middle of one certain night. Crickets chirping, wolves howling, and the streets are only lit by a very faint streetlight. Just five dark houses with people sleeping and not a noise to be heard but an unusual creature is lurking in its dark discreet home. One family will have an unexpected night to not ignore. During a very dark night, the moon is a slight crescent and is not providing lots of light. A creature is lurking in one certain house. One person wakes up to an unusual noise but goes back to sleep and thinks it's nothing. While the creature keeps wondering throughout the house no one wakes up until they hear a ringing sound, of a faint bell coming from downstairs. One of the kids named John is very tired because of not getting enough sleep. He is constantly waking up to strange noises. He remembers the dinner bell but realizes it was not dinnertime, so it might be a fire alarm. He starts franticly looking around, searching for the fire, but he finds nothing. John is so scared of fire. Finally, he is exhausted, thinking it's all in his head, so he slowly walks upstairs and climbs into his Lightning McQueen race-car bed. He quickly falls back to sleep before he realizes that he smells smoke. John is so tired that he doesn’t think anything of it until he sees blurry red coming at him from under the door of his room. He starts to panic and decides to wake up his parents, until he sees his room engulfed in flames. And now the stairs are also in flames. Does he give up hope?