Look Before You Leap by Maddie M

Once upon a time there lived the Carmichaels. They were your typical American family, except the father, Chris, was a top lawyer in California, so he and his family got to live like royalty. His wife, Lynette, was also very successful in her job by owning her own realtor business. Together they had two daughters named Larissa and Heidi. Larissa was two years older than Heidi and they were complete opposites. However, they were each other’s best friends. One Saturday morning, the girls got up and decided to go to the mall.

“Bye girls, have fun!” said Lynette as they walked out the door. And, believe me when I say the girls listened to their mother when she told them to have fun. Spending hundreds of dollars was something that the Carmichael sisters were very good at. Six hours, $3,000, and thirty-two shopping bags later was when the girls decided to head home, which was around four o’clock.

“Almost time for the party!” exclaimed Heidi.

“Heidi, I told you, in order to have the party, first, we have to get mom and dad out of the house.”

“Sorry, I forgot about that part.”

Now it was almost six o’clock and Larissa decided that it was time to talk mom and dad into going out for the night. Dinner and a movie always seemed to do the trick. After twenty minutes of persuading, they finally agreed to leave the house. And the best part was that they forgot to tell her she couldn’t throw a party.

Just before Lynette and Chris walked out the door around seven, they told the girls ‘the safety speech.’ “Don’t open the door for anyone, keep all of the windows locked, don’t answer the phone unless you know the phone number…”

“Mom, I’m sixteen years old. Don’t you think I’m a little old for that spiel? And if you don’t get a move on, you’re going to miss the movie. And remember, make sure you call twenty minutes before you come home, and please, take your time. Stay out as late as you want to!” yelled Larissa, but her parents were already stepping into their brand new fire red Cadillac.

“Alright Heidi, now we can have the party. Grab my cell phone and call everyone that we know. Have them here for like eight, and tell them to bring a friend. Just make sure that you don’t invite Chad Alby,” said Larissa.

“Okay, I got it. No Chad!”

The first people to come were Larissa’s best friend Katherine and her boyfriend, Nick. After they showed up, the rest of the school just started pouring in. It’s a good thing that the Carmichaels house was a mansion, because anything smaller than that wouldn’t have fit the forty people that were now dancing across their living room floor.

After several hours, Heidi just so happened to glance at the clock.

“Larissa, it’s already eleven thirty! Mom and Dad should be getting home soon!”

“Heidi, they just called me. They said that they were stuck in traffic, so they won’t be home for at least another hour!”

Little did Larissa know was that the phone call from her parents came in at ten forty-five, and now it was eleven thirty. She had fifteen minutes to get forty people out of her house and clean everything up. It’s a good thing she had Heidi to help out, because it wasn’t just Larissa’s mess. Some of Heidi’s friends were there too.

As soon as Larissa realized what time it actually was, she panicked.

“Everybody out!” she screamed. “I mean it, get out now!”

Nobody cared how loud Larissa was screaming, or that she had tears streaming down her face in frustration. Nobody cared that the music was off either. The guests had made up their minds; they weren’t going anywhere. However, there was one thing Larissa hadn’t tried yet, bribery.

It was eleven forty eight when Heidi saw the Cadillac headlights pour through the living room windows. Eleven fifty was when Larissa heard the clacking of her mom’s Jimmy Choo pumps coming up the porch and onto the steps of their mansion.

“Hi mom,” said Larissa and Heidi together. “We just finished watching a movie, but now we’re going to bed. Goodnight.”

“Okay girls. Goodnight.”

“I can’t believe that we got everyone out of the house in less than fifteen minutes,” said Heidi once they were upstairs in Larissa’s room.

“It’s amazing what a fifty dollar bill can do. I’ve never seen some of those people move so fast!”

“Well, I really am tired, so goodnight!” exclaimed Heidi.

Just before Heidi opened the door to exit Larissa’s room, Lynette beat her to it. Larissa and Heidi were shocked to see an unpleasant, familiar boy standing next to their mother with a look of confusion on his face.

“Chad Alby! What are you doing here?” screamed Larissa.

“I came for the party, but apparently I was a little late.”

“Haha. That’s funny. What party are you talking about? There was no party here,” said Larissa, praying that her mother would believe her.

“Larissa, enough. Chad told me everything, and I believe him. His story sounds exactly like something the two of you would try to pull off. Now, thanks to Chad here, you are both in big trouble,” said Lynette.

That night, neither of the Carmichael girls slept much. One part of them felt guilty about going behind their parents back, and the other part of them was proud and happy because if it weren’t for Chad, they wouldn’t have been caught. Neither one of their parents had any clue what had happened that night.

The next morning, the guilt over powered the joy and the girls wished that they had never thrown the party. They also remembered that it was the same day that their credit card bills were coming in the mail, and they knew that they had gone way over their limits.

Once the girls reached the dining room table, the first thing they heard was their dad yelling at them.

“You spent six hundred dollars on a purse?” screamed Chris.

“Well, Heidi and I are going to share it, so it’s like getting two three hundred dollar bags, which is a very reasonable price.” Larissa tried to sound as convincing as possible, but even she knew that she had dug her self a hole that was much too deep for her to get out of alone.

“Listen, Mom, Dad, we are really sorry about the party. We promise that we will never throw another one without your permission. And we’ll be sure to do all of the chores this week, and anything else you want,” said Larissa, trying to sound sincere while lying through her teeth. The only thing Larissa was promising was that she would never throw a party the night before her bills were coming in.

“You bet you’ll do everything we tell you to. Both of you are grounded for the next two weeks. I want your credit cards too until further notice. And I want that bag you just bought. It will go great with my new outfit,” said Lynette with a semi-smile on her face.

Heidi thought about protesting but she decided that once they were un- grounded, she would just go back and buy the same bag again .

So, in the end the Carmichael girls ended up staying grounded for the full two weeks, but they were each sick one week, so it didn’t matter about being grounded or not. Lynette waited on them hand and foot. However, they did learn one very important lesson. Never plan a party the night before your credit card bills are coming in.

Pirate Patricio by Lindsay B

As the ship rocked with the immense waves, Pirate Patricio didn’t even flinch. He was the bravest pirate in all the land and nothing frightened him. He had gone on countless journeys across the oceans, through the jungles, and over mountains far and wide. Pirate Patricio was very knowledgeable when it came to navigation but he was not a very kind man. Being a pirate and all, he took what he could get, even at the cost of others. In fact, once, he burned down a boat full of gifts to bring to a charity just so he could keep a thing or two for himself.

Pirate Patricio was setting out for his most challenging adventure yet. He planned to go to Cash Cay which was a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. No man had ever ventured all the way out to Cash Cay and made it back alive. Ancient legends say that there is a buried treasure hidden within Cash Cay’s deep bramble. Supposedly, the hidden treasure is guarded by an evil spell that won’t allow the jewels to leave the small, uncharted island. This didn’t bother Patricio one bit. In fact, he found it exciting that he would be the first one to advance all that way.

Once Patricio’s ship was packed with supplies, a makeshift crew, and Patricio’s other treasures, they were off. Patricio had nothing but confidence in himself but don’t be mistaken, he was not cocky. He was a stern leader and nobody questioned his authority. His crew was made up of the men he took mercy on when robbing their houses, boats, or anything else with value.

The journey to Cash Cay was a harsh one. They lost five out of twenty men and three more were getting sicker by the minute. But once Patricio’s ship pulled into the rocky shore, he knew it would all be worth it.

“Stay here,” he commanded, “Nobody leave the ship. If I’m not back within a week, come looking for me. If that happens, and I emphasize the ‘if’ part, be very careful. Many dangers lurk around every corner and I don’t want to lose any more men than we already have. I’m sure I’ll see you all in a few days. Good bye!” And with that, Patricio was off.

It took a good thirty minutes to get from the ship to shore because he of course had to use the row boat in the shallow waters. But once he lugged himself onto the soft, white sand, Patricio didn’t hesitate and began his search right away.

High and low he looked but could find nothing but panthers, snakes, spiders, poisonous vegetation, and salt water. Patricio didn’t even know where he was going to set camp and the sun was already beginning to cast a hazy shadow over the island’s mysteries. But Patricio could not rest until he found a place to stay the night. At that very moment, he saw a flame in the distance. Puzzled, he followed it until he reached what resembled a village. Tiny mud huts lined up along side a dirt road. Animals kept inside of pens and children running around, playing some sort of game that involved a stick and a pebble. A beautiful, young woman with long black hair and a turquoise necklace on slowly sauntered up to Patricio. Patricio had never seen such a beautiful woman. She was so real looking compared to the women back home. Her flawless complexion matched her dark chestnut eyes beneath her dark eyebrows. Patricio couldn’t help but stare.

“Can I help you?” the nameless woman asked in a soft, pure voice.

“Yes, my ship is wrecked and I have no place to stay for the night. Is there any way you can help me?” Patricio asked while lying through his teeth.

“Oh yes of course, we always have room here. I’m Natika. Welcome to my village.” She said with a smile.

“Patricio. The pleasure is all mine.” Patricio answered and stuck out his hand for a shake. Natika just stared at it, bewildered, and then turned around to walk away.

“If there’s anything I can do for you, just let me know,” she called back over her shoulder.

That night, Patricio couldn’t stop thinking about Natika. She was so perfect in every way and he didn’t even know anything about her, yet.

Over the next few days, Patricio and Natika spent more and more time together. Patricio forgot about the treasure all together. All he wanted now was to spend 100% of his time with Natika because he didn’t know how long it would last.

Everything was going perfect until Patricio caught sight of the large white sail that barely stuck up above the towering trees. In a day or so, his men would come looking for him and then he might have to leave Natika. Instead of that happening, Patricio would have to come up with a plan to keep them on the ship and send them home.

In the dark of the night, Patricio crept away from Natika’s hut and wandered to the shore. Once he arrived, he took the torch he had with him and waved it furiously. After an hour of that, one of his ship mates, Marg, must have caught sight of it so he paddled the row boat to shore.

“What is it boss?” he asked; ready to fulfill any order Patricio had.

“I want you to take my ship back home. Actually, now it’s your ship. Take her home for me and take good care of her. Take all the men with you and leave me here. Don’t ask any questions.” Patricio commanded.

“Aye aye , sir. But, one last thing…did you find the treasure you were lookin’ for?” Marg asked.

“No, I’ve found one twice as great. Now go on and set sail right away. If the men ask where I’ve gone, tell them you were worried so you went looking for me and saw me in horrible conditions, dieing and I appointed you as captain right there and then. If anyone gives you trouble, then just let them know whose boss. Now, be off!” Patricio said back to Marg, ready to start his new life with Natika.

And with that, the big, white sails that hovered above the treetops were gone by morning and Natika nor her people never new anything about Patricio’s past. He lived happily with Natika from there on out.

Too Little To Late by Lida H

BOOM! Was all you heard coming from Travis’s basement. It was no surprise to Lily when she reached the bottom of the stairs. Travis had always been into experiments. He never really did well in school except for science class. Travis had been trying for a while now to come up with an invention to heal cuts quickly & without pain. He had yet to do so but kept trying anyways. Lily had always been a supporter of Travis. She was in love with him since freshman year when they met at a school fundraiser. Though Travis knew that, he had no feelings for her, he thought she was too clingy and always getting into his business and asking him too many questions. It made him feel bad but the thought of her made him cringe and he wouldn’t mind if she had stopped interrupting into his life. But Lily was not the main problem right now, now he needed to focus on his experiments.

Travis had been struggling for hours and hours. Nothing seemed to work and he was getting more frustrated than ever. And just when he thought it couldn’t get any worse he looked to the side and there was Lily’s face again. This was her third time in the same hour, Travis was getting extremely annoyed. “Lily why are you here AGAIN?! THIS IS THE THIRD TIME IN JUST ONE HOUR! DON’T YOU GET HOW OBNOXIOUS YOU ARE, JUST STAY AWAY FROM ME!” Travis screamed.

Lily was shocked and startled by how Travis had just yelled at her. She searched for words but nothing came out. They both stood there and looked at each other. Lily didn’t want to believe that those words just came out of him mouth, and Travis couldn’t believe he actually told her the sad awful truth. Lily didn’t know much at the point other than she needed to leave now and wasn’t going to return back to this basement anytime soon or maybe ever again. Travis was angry and went to go chase after Lily when he knocked over some chemicals and they spilt into one another all over his arm. By the time he could get to the stairs Lily was gone, long gone.

It wasn’t until the next day when Travis woke up to put medicine on his arm where he had cut himself from a knife. It bled and bled and now he had to wait for it to heal, but last time he checked on it, it wasn’t looking any better. He really hated going to hospitals so he was going to refrain from going as long as possible. As he got out some medicine and went to go put in on he realized something….it was gone! What had happened?! The cut was deep and hadn’t been treated properly for it to heal just over night and disappear, even if he had gone to the hospital and gotten it treated no cut like it could just vanish in a 24 hour time frame. That’s when it hit him, the chemicals! That must be it! When he went to chase after Lily and all those chemicals spilt into his arm. Had he really done it?! He finally figured out a solution! He rushed into the basement to figure out what the chemicals were. Travis knew that any good scientist wouldn’t just rely on one trial. So he gathered a few of his friends who had cuts here on there on them. He tried and to his surprise it had worked, on all four people. This was amazing! Travis couldn’t wait to share with everyone the great invention! He thought he would tell Lily first, she was the only one who believed in him and was there while everyone else told him to get a real job. Then he realized that Lily wasn’t there anymore. But he snapped out of it and Lily didn’t seem to be a concern anymore, she never really had been to him. Now it was time, he had to go inform everyone of this magnificent product.

It didn’t take long for the word to get out to everyone in the town and even beyond. Everyone was talking about this new product and couldn’t wait to get their hands on it. Soon the press and everyone were at Travis’s door step waiting and wanting to catch a glimpse of it. It wasn’t until a week or so after the unforgettable day in Travis’s life that he got all the products packaged and ready to be sold. His invention sold everywhere and he made millions and billions of dollars. Travis had made more money than he knew what to do with. Right after Travis was exposed to the public about his product he was soon overwhelmed by the companies and girls that wanted to meet with him. Travis could get used to this lifestyle, he now had everything, he had money, fame, and girls that weren’t obnoxious like Lily.

Five years had passed now and Travis loved his life, he couldn’t get enough of this. Then he realized he was missing something, he couldn’t figure it out right away but he knew something just wasn’t right. Travis decided to go back to his hometown for a visit. Everything was exactly how he remembered it, small and full of life. He visited old friends and family, he had really missed them, it was good to be home. It wasn’t until around dinner time when he decided to go to his favorite restaurant for dinner. He was enjoying his meal when he looked up and this beautiful girl graced on by. He couldn’t help but look at her and stop her to ask her, her name. He approached her and got nervous, this never happened to him before he was used to girls coming up to him. “Excuse me miss, what’s your name?”

“Oh my gosh, Travis, Is that you?!”

“Lily?!”

“Yes! Travis, long time, no see, how are you doing?! And why are you here?”

“I came home for a while to visit, see how things were here and stuff”

The two talked all night and much to Travis’s surprise they got along great. He realized that this is what he’s been missing, Lily.

       Two weeks had passed and the two were inseparable, they did everything and went everywhere. Finally Travis brought it up and openly said the two should date. Lily looked at him and said she couldn’t. Travis was so confused, what? Why?! Lily finally broke down and told him. “A year and a half after you left, I went for a regular check up, and then the doctors informed me that I had cancer, there is no cure or medicines that I can go on for the kind that I have. There are not much more the doctors or I could do except live the rest of my life as a normal person.” Travis was shocked and didn’t know what to do or say next. He was so scared for her, how could she act like it was okay? All Travis knew was that he wanted to spend every day with her; he had missed out on her for too many years to go back home and just leave her.

               Travis was now standing at the funeral, listening to people giving him sympathy. He couldn’t believe she was gone less than a couple of weeks after she informed him of her illness. They money, fame, and other girls didn’t matter to him anymore; Lily had taught him one of the most important lessons he’ll learn in his life. He was sorry for being too many years too late. Travis regretted the fact he didn’t have as much time with Lily like he’d like. He was glad he decided to come back home for a bit a visit though; it’s never too late to try to make things right. 

A Purpose to Fight For by Kyle L

March 12, 2444

When I think back to my childhood, my brain only racks up complete and utter darkness. I have no recollection of anything before I was about six years old. It’s an odd feeling, as if every single memory before then has been completely wiped from the depths of my mind. My name is John Sierra or as I am tagged in the military, number 117. Today, all I know and live for is following the orders of my commanding officer. Every day I carry out mission after mission, without as much as a whine of disapproval. I’ve constantly wondered what my purpose in life was, if there really is anything else to life than fighting and following orders. I don’t know what it is, but I will find my true purpose.

March 22, 2444

Today I have been informed that a race other than Humanity exist. The United Nations Military Program (UNMP) has not yet learned enough about this species to even give it a name. Our best scientists and AI (Artificial Intelligence) software have been working tediously, day and night to learn all they can about his new species. So far, all they have to work with is the knowledge that this unknown species is imminently violent. At the first sight of one of our frigates, more specifically, the Enterprise, the alien species turned and attacked with what seemed more force than necessary. Two torpedoes, composed of what we now know is a high concentration of plasma, liquefied her. They also have a fragment of the alien ship’s armor that was suspected to have broken off during the firing phase pf the torpedoes. Before we are to openly approach these newcomers again, we must learn more about them and their culture.

May 17, 2444

I was recently told to gather the rest of my squad as we are to be embarking on a very important mission. Our scientists have gotten almost nowhere since my last entry, and Chief Mendallas has briefed us on our mission objectives. The alien species has sent us an encrypted message, which has been decoded and thought to say We are the Sangheili, Humanity is coming to and end. Our objectives were to scavenge what we could of the so called Sangheili technology while fending the alien race off of a human controlled planet in the neighboring solar system.

On another note, I’ve asked Chief Mendallas about where I came from, and why I was here, protecting Humanity. The only he could tell me was that I was part of the UNMP’s program in military defense because I was ‘special’, unlike other children of my time. The rest, he told me, was classified.

May 30, 2444

Our recent mission was a success, as always, it seems that we succeed at everything, which is good, right? I’ve been told many times we always win. With the new data my squad and I were able to gather, the scientists and AI’s working on learning about the Sangheili culture has made a huge leap forward. We have almost been able to fully replicate the alien’s energy shields that surround their ships using small scale shields found during our mission that they often carry. But all of these discoveries do not matter. We have not been able to apply them to any of our ships or combat armor, so it’s not of much use at the moment. At this very moment, the Sangheili are attacking. They’ve destroyed over half of the UNMP fleet we have sent out to defend while we’ve only been able to destroy a few of their ships.

August 2, 2444

The Sangheili have been relentlessly attacking for months now, depleting our defensive ships to almost nothing. We tried to fall back to a far away planet called Xanus, but it seems as if the Sangheili have planned for this. As we were departing to Xanus, they somehow placed a tracking probe onto our frigate. They located us within days and wiped out nearly three-fourths of the planets twelve million people. Things don’t seem to be going very well at all. Almost every military personnel in the UNMP are not showing the slightest bit of optimism. For now all we can do is defend and try to muster a plan to gain a victory, which should help build morale among everyone.

September 13, 2444

Planning for the next big mission had been underway for little over a month. Chief Mendallas has informed me that I will be leading this mission, but the costs could be significant. He has not yet told me what I am to do. He tells me this may just be the most deadly mission yet, but if successful, the most beneficial. I have also been told I am the man to do it.

October 1, 2444

Well, this is it; the mission planning has been completed. I have just come from the briefing room and this mission does not in any way sound easy, but hey, haven’t I always loved a challenge? My squad and I are to capture, not destroy an enemy ship in the Eridanus Solar System, where a huge battle is raging at this moment. We then have to eliminate the crew and find a way to have the ship take us back to their home planet. We are then to find their leader and bring it back alive to our scientists so they can try to negotiate some peace treaty or alliance. It seems that that is our only hope right now.

Is this what I am meant to be? A tool, a soldier? Throughout my life, I have been told countless times to follow orders, kill first and ask questions later.

I have to leave now, this is where my journal ends, I may not come back from this mission alive, but I think I finally know what my purpose in life is: I am meant to serve and protect Humanity.

A, B, C, or D by Katie P

Lily Groven was seventeen, and was living just outside of New York City. Her father owned a big company, and her mother owned her own bakery. She had exceptional grades, and she was President of her senior class. She was the perfect student. No one would have ever thought that she would ever be at the risk of getting expelled.

Greg had been Lily’s best friend since his mother started working for her mother. Greg started going to Lily’s school on a scholarship sophomore year. He was always getting into fights because he was different. He didn’t grow up like the rest of these kids, his family lived a good life, they weren’t poor, but they were nothing like Lily’s family. They found that out at the end of senior year, when Greg felt like he was about to lose everything.

“Lily, honey, Callie, Dave, and Greg will be here any minute, you might want to some note paper, pens, and highlighters out of the hall closet so that you guys can study!” Lily’s mom Laura yelled from her office where she was coming up with new recipes for her bakery.

“Right mom,” Lily said with a tint of sarcasm to her voice. She knew that there was no way that they were going to get any studying done. They would be having her mother’s double chocolate cake, and talking about how much trouble they would all be in if they failed their finals.

Within a half hour all three of Lily’s friends were now in her living room with their school books not even close to being opened. Greg seemed to be acting weird all night though, but Dave and Callie were acting more suspicious than usual. Greg kept looking over to the table were they had all put down their books. Callie and Dave kept looking at Dave’s bag. Lily knew that Greg was scared about finals and the risk of failing them, but she could not figure out why Dave and Callie were acting so weird.

“Hey guys do you think that we could maybe study for a while.” Lilly asked looking over at Greg.

“I will,” Greg said. Callie and Dave looked at each other and then looked back at Greg and Lily.

“I have a better idea, and we wouldn’t even have to open a book,” Dave said with a smile, “My brother’s both took the chemistry final. Mike took it two years ago and Conner took it last year. It hasn’t changed one bit. So, I thought that if we really needed to pass these finals we could use the answers.”

“NO way,” Greg said, almost yelled, “I have everything to lose, if we even get caught or if someone gets suspicious, I could be expelled. I mean I know that I have gotten in trouble before with fighting and all, but I only got out of getting suspended because I had such good grades.”

“See we knew that you could get in trouble, well we could all get in trouble, but that is why we won’t all have the same answers. Based on how we are doing in this class that is how many we will get wrong,” Dave said pulling an envelope out of his backpack.

“I have to get close to a C, you and Lily can get almost perfect scores, and Dave can just get like a B or something,” Callie said smiling at her self.

“Well, as long as you guys are sure that we won’t get caught,” Greg said.

Lily knew that nothing good could come out of this, something bad was going to happen or someone wasn’t going to fallow the plan. She w\would have never guessed how it would turn out. She studied that test front and back about 20 times that night. She kept repeating to herself, a, b, a, c, d, and so on. She was nervous out of her mind and had no idea how she was going to get through the test.

The next morning she went to pick up Greg early. She was in her car going over the answers to the test and Greg came running down the stairs and looked like he has been up all night. They were early for school so they decided that they would drive around and go over the answers to the test.

“I think that we should be alright, as long as we don’t have the same answers to the test,” Lily said with a laugh, but they would so find out that it wasn’t funny.

They walked into the chemistry lab and within two minutes of sitting down the teacher passed out the exam. Throughout the whole test Greg and Lily kept looking over at each other as nervous as possible. Lily had the worst feeling in the pit of her stomach. Greg knew that if something happened to Lily she could always get out of it, but he had been at the risk of getting expelled because of his fights, and now he felt like it could really happen.

The next day they were all seated around a table in the chemistry lab, and a beep came over the loud speaker.

“Would Lily Groven and Greg Warren please come down to the vice principle’s office,” the voice said.

The walked down and didn’t say one word to each other, of their palms were sweating and Greg knew that he was done; he was going to have to leave this school, his friends, and Lily. Something had happened and neither of them knew how. Greg could spot the image of the vice principles face from going through his head. She would be so disappointed. He hadn’t studied at all, had no idea was going to happen unless he opened the door.

They walked up to the door, and opened it, but instead of the principle being upset and having a sad look on her face, she was smiling.

“Would you two come in please I have some college’s that are interested in you both,” the vice principle said. She told how proud she was that the two of them had done so well on their finals. She showed them there tests and Lily right away spun around to look at Greg. Greg had gotten a B+ on his. She knew that Greg hadn’t looked at the answers. She was so excited and so happy. Everything had turned out ok and Lily knew that she would never take the risk of taking answers again.

Greed and Gold by Jonathan Parker

Once there was a man named Andy. Andy lived in a small town in Oregon, where he owned a store. This store supplied almost all of the town’s shopping needs, since there wasn’t a Wal-Mart or Target for fifty miles. The store had everything; groceries, cleaning supplies, toys for children, DVD’s, video games, sports supplies, musical instruments, and almost anything else you can buy in a store. Everyone from the towns near Andy also shopped at the store, and almost half the town worked at the store. All this business made Andy very rich.

If there was one thing that Andy loved, it was money. This was good, because he had a lot of it. He reveled in the thought that he was the richest and most famous person in town. Whenever he was chauffeured around town in his stretch Hummer limousine, people would point and stare at him. After some good investments in the stock market Andy was so rich and famous that sometimes Bill Gates would stop by his mansion to ask for money.

One day Andy decided to commemorate how rich and famous he was. He bought all the gold in Fort Knox from the US government, and hired 5,000 people to build a giant statue of himself made of solid gold. He decided to call it the Statue of Andy, and build it right in the center of his little town at the entrance to his store.

The statue took five months to finish, but when it was done it was the most impressive man-made monument ever built, rivaling the Pyramids in grandness and majesty. The base of the statue was over 2000 feet wide, which forced Andy’s company to bulldoze the houses around the store in order to make room. The statue was over a mile high, and depicted Andy pointing at the sky in an inspirational pose. It was so enormous that it blocked out the Sun in all the cities surrounding it on certain hours of the day, acting like a gigantic sundial.

Eventually, after two months of enduring living with the Statue of Andy, the citizens of the towns around it decided it had to go down. Huge mobs of protestors appeared at the statue. Thousands of people picketed Andy’s giant store, robbing him of all his business. Since Andy still had to pay for the upkeep of the store and his workers’ wages, he lost money rapidly. Soon Andy realized that things would have to change.

When Andy woke up the next morning he walked out of the mansion that he had built inside the statue. He stood on the makeshift balcony of his giant statue’s hand, and addressed the people protesting below. “People protesting my statue!” he said, “I have decided to pacify you. Everyone who stops protesting my statue will get $200 worth of store credit, free of charge!” The people below, however, did not share his enthusiasm.

Andy was out of ideas. He had no money left, and no one ever came into his store. Walking inside his deserted store, he got an idea that would make everyone happy. He ran out to tell the people picketing, and they agreed to try it.

A week later, Andy walked to his office on the top floor of his giant store. People smiled and greeted him politely as he walked by. They were all wearing new gold jewelry and watches. When he got to the top floor of the building, several people were waiting for him. They all started talking to him at the same time. “Hello, I’m from the National Homeless People’s Fund. Thank you for giving us ten billion dollars worth of gold,” said one of them. “I am a representative of the Starving People in Africa Fund, and would like to thank you for your $10,000,000,000 donation,” said another. Andy plowed through the crowd of people and walked into his office. He sighed and looked out the window. His giant golden head, resting where the entire body had been a week before, stared back at him. Andy sighed. He wished that the entire statue was still there, but he realized that the statue did more harm than good, and everyone seemed to be happy with the new arrangement. He had a lot of work to do, so he sat down at his desk and tried to forget about it.

The Way the Water Moves by Krista S

I can remember that day. Like a clean cut view into the past. It’s not like I want to remember it, but it doesn’t matter now. I can’t stop what I’m thinking and I can’t think what my mind won’t remember. The day my heart was broken and healed at the same time.

My story might remind you of how the water moves, you know that feeling. The feeling when your toes reach the crystal blue stream and you just can’t get enough. The way you float on the water and it seems as in an instant all the problems of the now, the past, and the future are drifting away on the on ocean’s breeze.

My story is kind of like this. It has the ups and the downs with the water in between. As perfect as my memory serves, it was July. July 28th to be exact. The morning sun just broke into the pink sky without any warning. I’m not used to waking up early, but some kind of movement, some sort of force, pushed me out from underneath the covers and into the world that I never called my own. My mom was making breakfast downstairs as always. The smells from the kitchen crept up the stairs to my bedroom. It smelt like she burnt the food though. It was Saturday, so just put on some comfortable clothes and went downstairs.

"Hi mom," I said in a hurried voice. I'm not much of a big talker, well, at least back then I wasn't. I didn't enjoy talking to my mom when she was in one of her "bad state of mind" moods swings. Don't get me wrong, we spent time together and I took joy in her barely-there company, but I wish she wasn't like she was. I guess in general I didn't accept her the way she was. I was selfish, maybe.

"Hello honey," said my dazed mother, "you want to go to the café for breakfest Because I just burnt what was supposed to be bacon and toast,” she said with a half smile. I gladly took her offer. It wasn't like her to take me anywhere. I usually went with my best friend Nick. So I stayed in my comfy clothes and took my mom's jacket out of the hall closet. I knew that even if it was 90 degrees out, she still needed her jacket. Some kind of protection, I guess. My mother always thought that the world was after her. Surely this aided to her severe depression and her drinking problem. Her drinking got in the way of everything, including our mother daughter friendship. But I have to say, I loved my mother. I know the words she couldn't ever really speak after my father’s death were that she really loved me too.

I opened the front door as the sun peered into our lonely home. The young kids across the way were running through a sprinkler and singing some crazy rhyme. I smiled at our next door neighbor that was getting his mail. He knew of my mother's condition because he could hear the nights when she screamed out names. Names of people I never heard of. My mom's situation was my murder. Fellow students at school laughed at me and my mom when she would come to pick me up from school. I just looked on. I couldn't change my mother, couldn't change that she was mine. But like I said, I loved her. My mom's weary hand grasped on to mine as we walked out the door. Every step she took was an achievement in itself.

We choose to go to our favorite café, The Burlington Town café, where the people there could somewhat relate to me mom. They didn’t mind her strange ways, which was unusual because most outsiders were quick to judge. “Hello Ellen,” the waitress said to my mother in such a warm and welcoming voice. “And hello to you Carrie.” She said to me. “Now what will it be for you guys?” I knew my mother would say that she would just have some coffee, black that is. Because it helped her with her hangovers. And no doubt that is what she ordered.

“Hi Liz, I would really like a hot cup of coffee, black of course.” My mom said slowly and loud, as if she thought that the waitress was deaf. Liz wrote down my mom’s order because she knew my mother would go frantic if she didn’t see her write it down. Liz, the waitress then looked at me and I said that I would like some tea and a muffin. My usual order too. By this time it was noon of July, 28th. My mom and I finished our breakfast and left the café. We were starting to walk home when all of a sudden my mom started crying. She knelt down on her knees and I then went down beside her.

“What is it mama? Are you okay?” I looked at my bawling mother and said. I wanted to cry too, because it hurt to see her in a pain that is not curable or preventable. Everybody says that my mom’s condition got worse after my dad died in a car crash. But it was all the same to me, at least at that time it was.

“I’m so, so sorry Carrie, for all that I’ve put you through. This past couple of years have been so difficult for me and I know you too. I haven’t been there, like a mother should. I…..”

“But mom, you are ill and are the one who is going through the most. I will never blame you or wish you were different.” I said this but half of it was a lie. I wish there was some magical medicine or pill to take away what she feels.

“Don’t ever think that I resent you. Mama this isn’t your fault! Stop crying Mom! Please!” I then realized about half the town was out on the streets watching my mom’s and my life unfold into pieces. I then knew our whole conversation was being put out there for all to see. What kind of freak will I be called tomorrow? I took my mother’s teary hand and helped her to her feet. I never said a word the whole walk home. Neither did my mother.

Together we walked into our house. My mom ran upstairs and I went over and laid on the couch. My thoughts were racing and I couldn’t keep straight which ones were real. I soon fell asleep with the TV still on. I didn’t really care what the night would bring and I sure wasn’t in the mood to do any work of any sort. I suddenly woke up and the moon was high I the sky. I couldn’t believe that I slept through the whole afternoon. I’m sure that Nick has at least tried to call me a few hundred times. I wanted to talk to him and tell him about my horrible day. Because I knew that he was the only one who really cared.

Distant family members were never here for my mom and me. They kept us out of the picture because we weren’t “normal”. What ever the heck normal is. I got up and went to the front door. Usually when I was asleep during the day or at school my mom would wait on the porch steps counting the minutes until I come and bring her inside. But when I looked outside, she wasn’t there. I wasn’t totally scared, but I knew that something was wrong. I walked briskly to the back of our house and still there was no trace of my mom. I heard the telephone ring and part of me thought it was Nick, and the other part was shaken in fear.

“Hello,” I said in an out of breath voice. “Hello is this Carrie. Are you Ellen’s daughter?” said the voice trying to be caring. But I wasn’t consoled. “Yes, I’m Carrie. Who is this?” I said. “I’m the Chief of the Burlington Town Police Department. And I’m sending a police car to your house. When you’re here, then we can talk. Goodbye Carrie.” The man said in a cold rattled voice. I hung up the phone and hurried to get on some new clothes. I knew my mother must have done something, but I was in fear for the worst.

The police car came in my driveway and the police man raced out to me. He said to me, “Come with me, and maybe we’ll make it in time to see her.” “I’m not a child, don’t candy coat what happened. Tell me now!” I screamed. I started crying. I didn’t want to hear the man’s reply, but knew I would have to hear it sooner or later. Cold tears ran down my reddened face and I was screaming as I it seemed my heart was bleeding. The police man lightly grasped my hands and told me my mother had jumped off a bridge on Highway 72. He said she landed in a river and was still conscience. But I saw the movement in his face as to say it was almost over for her. “Carrie, your mother is in the face of death, and her words to me when I left were to bring you to her. So, Carrie will you come with me?” the officer said. I took a hold of his warm hand and got into the police car.

The trip to the hospital was the longest ten minute ride I’ve ever had or ever will take. No words were exchanged on the way. But the silence was enough. Then, we got there. The officer and I ran into the emergency room and into the Critical Care Unit. That’s when I saw her, dead and cold. But yet a smile on my mother’s face. One that I had never seen her express to me. I went to her side and grasped her hand. I then saw that she had a note by her side that said, “I love you. And I knew the only way to make it better was give myself to the way the water moves.”

From the Streets to the Court by Joe D

“Everyone quiet down, Mr. Crane is going to talk to you for a little while,” said the YMCA director to the kids from the ages of 8-12.

“Thank you Miss Swanson, I think I’ve got it from here,” said Tyler Crane. “How are all of you doing today?”

“Good,” replied the high pitched voices.

“I have a story to tell you all and I hope you are willing to listen to what I have to say because it’s very important,” said Tyler. “Let me start from when I was about 14 years old, only a little bit older then a few of you guys. I grew up in the streets of Harlem, New York, not far from here, actually just a couple of blocks. I would always come here, to this very YMCA, and play basketball. Be it by myself or with a few of my buddies. I would stay here for hours at a time every day shooting around, lifting weights, swimming, but mostly playing b-ball. And don’t you think for one minute that if I did all of this I must not have done my homework, because school was a huge priority and I would make sure I got it done before I came here. I stayed here so long because I didn’t look forward to going home. My apartment was not the nicest of places, especially the location it was in. I never knew my dad and my mom worked nights at the local laundry mat. I had an older brother but he was in and out of jail most of my life, but he didn’t have any influence on me.”

“That sounds really scary,” said a voice from below him.

“It was, but I learned to get through it and life was okay,” replied Tyler. “When I got into high school life got better. I signed up for basketball tryouts hoping to find something to do while I am out of school. Tryouts were really tough but I thought I would at least make JV. I was devastated when I got my letter stating that I was cut from all of the teams and had to play DARE instead. But that didn’t stop me one bit, that event just made me work harder toward being a great basketball player. I came back next winter and I got a starting position on the Varsity squad. It felt great to receive that letter and I didn’t let the team down. The players gave me the nickname ‘T-Crane’ because I was such a stellar player. Our record was 18-0 going into the playoffs but we lost in the 2^nd round. The same exact thing happened the next year and our coach knew that the team would crush under the pressure of a huge crowd. But we over came our fear and made it to the championship game during my senior year. I was number one in scoring, rebounding, and assists in the history of my school. I hadn’t got a championship yet, and I wasn’t about to give this game up. We crushed our opponents, never letting up on them even when we were up by 35 in the 4^th quarter. It was a great feeling to get that win but I had another thing to focus on that year, college. I sent in a few letters to different universities around New York, and it devastated me to get those letters of rejection back. But I didn’t give up hope yet, and neither should any of you, even when the going gets tough. Instead of applying to New York schools, I decided to apply to the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. I thought it would be a waste of money to send the application, but it wasn’t. I received a letter in the spring saying I was accepted into UNC. I was so thrilled to be accepted, and my mom almost fainted. Not only did I get accepted, I got an all expenses paid tuition to the college also.”

“Congratulations Mr. Crane, I never knew that about you,” said the YMCA lady.

“Thanks, but I haven’t even gotten to the best part yet,” replied T-Crane. “At UNC I played all four years, but the same thing happened in high school, we didn’t make it to the championship game until I was a senior. Our team cruised through the Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, and Final four like a hot knife through butter. But I am not going to lie and say that the championship was a piece of cake, because we had to take on Adam Morrison and the intimidating Gonzaga Bull Dogs. We were up by 3 at the half but trailed 77-75 with 10 seconds left in the game. I had 4 fouls and I needed to steal the ball without fouling. Adam threw an extremely long pass and I saw it about to sail over me, but I jumped with all my might and snatched the ball from the air and landed on the half court line. This was my moment to show the scouts and the NBA that I wouldn’t crush under pressure and that I was clutch. I glanced up at the clock and it said 3.2 seconds, I took one dribble, jumped off my right foot, and tossed the rock into the air. If I make it we win, if I don’t we lose. It felt like the longest time for the ball to reach the hoop. I heard the buzzer go off and the greatest sound of my life, the swish of a perfect shot, sliding through the net.”

“Great job Mr.” said the 9 year old to Tyler.

“Why thank you,” responded Mr. Crane. “I went on to be drafted by the Boston Celtics, where I play now, and look how far I’ve come. Do any of you know why I had this talk with you guys today? Yes, the gentleman in the blue shirt.”

“Maybe you want us to work hard and never give up, no matter what,” said Jake.

“Exactly!” proclaimed T-Crane. “No matter what life throws at you or whenever the going gets tough, almost too tough. You should also keep striving to reach your goals.”

Near the End of Existence by Corey C.

The year was 2552. The last of the human existence has gone into hiding. The planet has been ravaged into war by the Predators, and the Galactic army. The war has plagued planets across the Galactic Republic, and entire civilizations have vanished. The Republic has been scarred badly. The president Vladimir Bhutto has been assassinated, and vice president John Huckabama Edwards McCain has been taken into captivity. Major General George Rumsfeld brought the division back to the command post. There they had taken a last stand until the back up arrived.

Chief of Staff Kade Klause was on his way with the Galactic Army. The 120,000 soldiers marched there way through the valley. They took each step with pride, because they were the last chance of hope for the human civilization. Some were equipped with plasma rifles, while others had the M-600 which was the newest version of the old M-60. The hover tanks strolled on by the soldiers, giving them a sense of protection. Just then, the soldiers walked up to a mound of freshly murdered bodies. By the look of it, the Predators must have eaten their organs, and left the rest to rot. Klause decided to bury the bodies, and he dug a grave 15 feet down, 10x10 wide. After the bodies were laid to rest, the chief of staff gave a short speech, and then they had a moment of silence.

Meanwhile Major General Rumsfeld was holding off the predators from trying to reach the city, where the humans were hiding. The predator’s landstalkers were moving in. Major General Rumsfeld took an RPG, and propelled a grenade loaded with millions of nano robots, that would quickly eat away the metal and computers of the landstalker. The behemoth came crashing to the ground, and rattled it so hard, that a giant gorge split the battle filed in half. This gave Rumsfeld an advantage, because it would slow the predators down. It was no problem for the soldiers, because there booster jet packs would get them right over the gorge. With every shot that the Predators took, the more vicious they got. They needed to be taken down in one shot. Major General Rumsfeld then called in Special Forces. Major Matthias Mattox plotted there vantage points, gave them special plasma rounds, and told them to move out.

Chief of Staff Klause was making his way to the Abandoned City as they called it, because it seemed like no one was there. He needed to make it up and over the mountain, through the Forest of Solitude, and across the river Thames. Once across they would have to hike 3 more miles until they reached the command post of Major General Rumsfeld. There he would try and crush the Predators for good, save the human race from being slaughtered. Getting up the mountain would be a treacherous feat. Once over it would be a quick hike to the river.

At the command post, Major Matthias and his other snipers took up there positions. He loaded the Plasma round into his chamber, and looked into his scoped. He aimed for the head. He pulled the trigger, and the bullet screeched as it left the barrel. The bullet was traveling at 2000 mph. The plasma heated up. It entered the head, and once inside it exploded. The limp body fell to the ground. Rumsfeld called in more Special Forces, and had them take up positions all around the battle field. All over, the heads were exploding. The predators switched out soldiers, and the Galactic Armies sniper rounds didn’t work any more. They needed Chief of Staff Klause’s plasma rifles.

Back at the mountain, they had made a trail for the tanks to travel up. They went slowly to make sure nothing went wrong. Five hours later, the last tank had made it up, and the last hundred soldiers followed. Going down the mountain would be easier, but they had to regroup at the base. There they made camp, and they would rest for a few hours. When the troops had awakened, it was sunny out. They picked up camp, and decided to get into the shade of the forest, before it got too hot. They twisted and winded around the serpent like path towards the river. Once at the river, they deployed the bridge. They all got across and headed for the command post. A couple miles later, they could hear the gun fire, and see the smoke from the flames of the destroyed land walkers. They readied there guns with the plasma rounds, and got into formation. They moved in, and started the attack. The predators were no match for the fully automatic plasma rifles. Chief of Staff Kade Klaus converged with Major General Rumsfeld. With the Plasma Rifles, and the snipers, the predators had a grim chance of winning. The leader came in, and the entire army fired upon him, like a firing squad in World War Two. The leader fell, and the Predators were crushed. Earth was saved, and the other planets were free of there rule. The galaxy had been liberated from evil.

A Walk in the Jiggy Jiggy Jungle by Connor A.

Mongo was on his daily walk through the jungle. Every day he left around mid afternoon and would be gone for hours, enjoying the beautiful sounds of the rainforest and everything else it had to offer. Mongo was from a small village in the heart of the South American rainforest. His village had been there for countless centuries and their way of life seemed perfect. Nobody ever fought with one another and everything belonged to the community as a whole. If you needed something all you had to do was ask.

Mongo did not need much though. He was old now and was just enjoying what was left of life. He never had a wife or children and he would often get lonely and it was times like those when he loved being in the jungle the most. On his walks Mongo would encounter all sorts of animals and plants that would mesmerize him and keep him staring in awe. Even the dangerous animals like jaguars and such didn’t seem to mind Mongo. He had a safe, easy going personality and never meant any harm.

One day Mongo had gone very far from his village and came to a giant river called the Amazon. He had heard stories of the crazy dragon creatures that lurked in the foggy water so he kept his distance from the river bank. He continued walking along the shore when he came to a little sandy beach cut in the side of the river. There, lying in the sand was a massive crocodile, bigger than anything Mongo could have imagined. Its head alone was as long as half of Mongo’s body. Mongo stood still and watched what the croc would do next. It looked old, very old, like Mongo. And suddenly it didn’t look so scary. Mongo crept along the beach behind the croc being careful not to step on its tail. When he reached the other side of the 15 foot mammoth he saw a very deep gash on the side of the crocodile’s neck. Mongo felt very bad and pulled out his hunting knife and some string he had. He then went back into the jungle and looked for the Cahya Caia thorns to use as a needle. He rushed back to the injured croc as fast as he could and knelt down next to it. Mongo was terrified but he knew he must help the creature. He quietly whispered to it, “Don’t be afraid, I will not hurt you.”

Mongo threaded the thorn and began to stitch the wound. For some reason the crocodile did not move. Not even open and eye. It just lay there breathing heavily as Mongo worked. When Mongo was done he cut the thread and stepped back from the crocodile. He then sat there for a while observing his patient. Finally after an hour, when Mongo was about to fall asleep the crocodile lifted itself up and crawled in the black water.

Mongo thought a lot about his strange encounter the day before. He was curious to see how the injured crocodile was doing so the next day he went back to the small beach on the river. When he got there the giant croc was no where to be found. This upset Mongo very much. He stayed for an hour scanning the water, looking for any sign of the huge reptile but he saw nothing. While Mongo was walking back home through the jungle he heard a thundering bang ring out through the wilderness. He dropped to the ground in fear and quickly crawled behind a big bush. He looked around trying to find the source of the disturbance. He then heard loud shouts and men yelling off to his right. He quickly scampered from one hiding place to another getting as close as he could to the ruckus. When the commotion came into view he was heartbroken. He saw the crocodile he had saved the previous day, shot dead on the ground with the hunters around him congratulating each other. There were 3 men and Mongo could tell they were from some other strange place beside the jungle. Mongo became furious and without even thinking he ran out with his hunting knife and stabbed the man closest to him. The other men were completely shocked by what had just happened and ran to get their guns but Mongo’s knife was already flying through the air towards to second man. It hit him in the stomach sending him to the ground in pain. Just as Mongo looked at the last man he took a thundering blow to the chest as a bullet slammed into him. He collapsed down next to the dead crocodile.

Mongo lay on the mossy covering of the jungle. He thought about the long life he had lived and all the good things he had in his life. And suddenly he was not angry, or scared or sad or anything. He accepted his fate and knew that he went down fighting. He looked up into the trees, his face going blank, and said, “Thank you Jiggy Jiggy Jungle.”

The Boy’s Last Confession by Anna R.

I wake up sweating underneath my bed covers. I hear the noise again that has woken me up. I swing my legs over the side of the bed, and slip into my slippers. The noise starts to get louder as I take each step towards the door. I feel I am sweating once more as I reach my hand forward towards the door. I clasp the handle and turn it. The door makes a squeaking noise as I pull it towards me. I look out onto the forest. I can see no one on this dark and foggy night. I check one more time before I come to the conclusion that I was tired and it was making me hear things. I close the door and turn around and there it is, on the table, the knife that will haunt me forever.

After a few moments of staring at it, I decide to reach out and grasp the handle. I bring it down to my side and look around the kitchen to see how it could have gotten there. I am puzzled. I thought to my self that nothing can just appear out of nowhere. Someone must have put it there, and that means someone is in the house. I started to panic. With the knife held high I start walking around the house, trying to find the culprit. It takes a total of fifteen minutes for me to search the house. I found no one.

“Hello is anybody there!” I call out to the open house. “If you don’t leave I will call the police right now!” Still I received no answer. I guess I must have left the knife there and I can’t remember it, I thought. I concluded that I was going crazy, so I threw the knife in a drawer, and walked up the towering stairs to my bedroom. I jumped right into my bed, and turned to my side to look at the green glowing digital clock on my night stand. It was 5:00am, this little night escapade cost me an hour of my sleep. Since I had to wake up in only thirty minutes I unwillingly got back out of the bed. Man, what a morning this was turning out to be.

As the hot water poured on my face, I lost the thought of the knife and was only thinking of the presentation I had to make at work. I felt refreshed after the shower, even if it was only for a second. I still had to get stuff ready for my presentation, and I couldn’t find my lucky pen. I looked everywhere for it. The last place that was left to look was drawer with the knife. I hesitated a little, but I remembered I had to find my pen. I pulled the drawer open. There was good news and bad news. I found my pen no problem. The bad news was the knife was gone. I spun around as quickly as I could. There, in the same place as it had been previously, was the knife.

I felt like I was going to be sick. This was not normal for a knife to do this. Maybe, I thought, this was the workings of a ghost. It could be true. Nobody ever proved there were no such things as ghosts. Most people just didn’t believe in them. This was my only conclusion besides a mass murderer hiding in my cupboard just trying to freak me out. Somehow, I thought it was more plausible to have a ghost then a mass murderer after me. I thought of all the ghost shows I’ve seen, and the most logical answer that kept coming into my head was to free the ghost from what ever was keeping it from the after life.

I jumped on the computer to scan for any recent deaths in the area. Nothing popped out at me that could have been the murder. I then started to look for not so recent deaths. I saw the perfect murder. The article said:

Just yesterday afternoon in a small town called Boxboro, a young male has been found dead. His name was Jim Groundswell. Police found his body lying on a table, having been stabbed multiple times. There was an investigation on this murder, and girlfriend, Jenny Hinkle, has been charged with murder and awaits the trial………

Everything started to make since. The knife, the table, it was all linked to this murder. I had to think of a plan. I had to free this ghost, or it will haunt me forever.

“Jim!” I called out into my house,”I know you are there. Why are you haunting me? Are you trying to tell me something? Please explain these things, maybe I can help you.” All of a sudden it got cold; it was as if I went right into the Artic weather. I turned around to face the table, and there sitting on it was a young man. “Jim?” I asked. The figure nodded its head up and down. “What do you want me to do? How can I help you move on?”

He started to open his mouth. I could hear a faint word coming through his mouth. “Jenny……” I then realized he was talking about his girlfriend that had killed him.

“What do you want with Jenny? Isn’t she the one that killed you?” His head started to shake from left to right. I finally understood, she didn’t kill him, but if she didn’t who did.

As if he was reading my mind he said, “I did.”

With those last words he disappeared. My guess was that all he needed to do was clear his girlfriend’s name. He wanted to die without the guilt of someone, who he loved, taking the blame for what he did. I thought it was sweet of what he did. I was now happy for him that he could move on. I only thought about it for a minute though, because I was sprinting out the door to work.

The Freedom Fighters by Alex M.

The year was 2036. By this time, democracy had left the barren shores of America. A strong tyrannical government had taken root in Washington. Freedoms had been revoked. The Constitution was shredded. Liberty was suppressed. Books were burned. Newspapers were shut down. Any voice that was critical of the government was silenced.

***

But there was a rebel group named the Wolves who resisted the government oppression. They operated at night, out of sight of the government spies who were around every corner. They met secretly in the forest and planned how to fight the government. The spies and soldiers only patrolled the city, so they were safe in the forest.

Their activities were similar to other resistance groups; they put flyers in mailboxes, passed out banned literature, and occasionally clashed with government forces. They tried to stay away from the soldiers, because they were always vastly outnumbered when fighting them and as a result lost quite a lot of men when skirmishes broke out.

One warm night in August, the Wolves were shoving anti-government flyers into mailboxes, hoping to get new recruits. This technique actually worked, and that is why they had so many resistance fighters. But as they were about to leave the neighborhood, a group of soldiers patrolling the streets found them.

Gunshots rang out. The Wolves were being fired upon and didn’t have weapons to retaliate. So they hid behind houses, mailboxes, cars, and anything else that could provide shelter. People in the neighborhood, hearing the gunshots, woke up and went outside to see what was going on. There was a war going on in the street, and most of the people became frightened and hid inside.

Not all of the civilians were afraid, however. Many of them even sympathized with the Wolves. They were tired of the oppressive government taking all of their rights and were about to do something about it. The government had erased the 2^nd Amendment, and people were not allowed to have private firearms. But many ignored the law and kept them anyway. Those that had weapons used them. Now it was the soldiers that were being fired upon.

Confused and scared, the soldiers retreated further down the street. The also had called in reinforcements to crush the rebels, but it would take an hour for them to arrive.

So they immediately started building a barricade which they could fight behind. Sticks, trash, newspapers, and many other things were thrown on to the pile. They gathered what weapons they had and got ready for the battle.

Sure enough, fifty or so government troops marched down the street and towards the rebels and their barricade. The rebels were hidden, and it was dark, so the soldiers did not know where the enemy was. As the soldiers got closer, the rebels fired upon them, in perfect unison. The soldiers regrouped and fired back.

The battle lasted for about 45 minutes, and the soldiers eventually surrendered. They had suffered severe casualties while the Wolves suffered only minimal casualties. The Wolves had won the battle, but there was a long war ahead of them.

After the word of the soldier’s defeat spread across the nation, small pockets of resistance popped up nationwide. The revolution had begun. The Wolves, who had only started out with ten to fifteen members, now had thousands upon thousands of members. In a matter of months, major battles had been fought across the nation, and the government was losing a lot of ground. By now the Wolves controlled 70% of the nation.

It was a cold December morning, and snow was falling. The government and its soldiers planned to make a last stand in the nation’s capitol. The Wolves had surrounded the city. Each side was preparing for battle. The Wolves planned to enter the city in 45 minutes. All of a sudden, a man holding a piece of paper walked out of the city and towards the commanding officer of the Wolves. They were about to fire upon him, but he held his hands up in surrender. They lowered their guns and he stepped closer to them.

He was tired and dirty. His uniform was torn in many places. He was weak from starvation and dehydration. He handed the officer the dirty piece of paper. The officer read the paper, as if he were surprised. Then he read it again, and again, and several more times after that. It was a note to the Wolves written by the General of the government forces. He had surrendered and was prepared to give the city to the Wolves.

They had won. The war was over. Freedom and liberty had been restored to America. And they found the Constitution, which hadn’t been shredded after all, but was being temporarily stored in the basement of the White House. The one that had been shredded was a copy. Books were once again sold and read. Newspapers sprung up, and people read them like they did before the government banned them. But everyone remembered what had happened, and they were not going to forget it any time soon. They made sure everyone knew how evil government could be, so that a similar government would never occur again. As their leader once said, “We shall always remember, so we may always be free.”

Short story blog assignment comment criteria

I would like your short story comments to answer the following five questions:

I - Describe your personal reaction to the story. How do you feel after reading it? What do you remember? What images do you see? What concepts or ideas are in your head? What did the story make you think about?

II - Does the main character change over the course of the story? If so, what is his or her great insight or epiphany? How is this change important to the story? How would the story be different if the character didn't change?

If the main character does not change, explain why it was important that he/she remain static throughout the tale. How was the story arc dependent on the main character's personality?

III. What was your favorite part of the story? Did it occur in the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, or resolution? Pick a line that you liked, copy and paste it into the comment box, put quotes around it, and explain what it was about it that stood out to you.

IV - Overall, what is this tale's best quality? It could be its characters, the conflict, the resolution, the description of the setting, the story arc, use of dialogue, etc. Use specific details and references to the story to explain why you thought this was its best strength.

V - What is one piece of advice that the author might consider for future writing assignments? This should be phrased constructively (try doing ------- next time, consider --------) or inquisitively (what do you think would happen if you -------------?)

Comments should be two to three paragraphs (8 to 12 well-written, informative sentences). Your comments should appear below the story you are responding to. When asked to choose an identity, click "nickname," then sign your comment with your first name and last initial. Comments not posted according to these instructions will be deleted.

I would like you to respond to a minimum of two essays per class (6 total). The essays will be up by the end of school on Thursday, Jan. 31st.

* Please bring a printed copy of your comments to class on Monday, Feb. 4th, as I will check them then. Your classmates and I thank you for your valuable feedback.

Six comments = a "check"

Nine comments = a "check plus"

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