STORIES COME to LIFE! Volume 8: a Literary Arts Personal Story, Writing Residency Led with Mrs

The Durham Arts Council’s CAPS Program Presents… STORIES COME TO LIFE! Volume 8: A Literary Arts Personal Story, Writing Residency Led with Mrs. Anita Woodley, DAC’s Drama Emerging Artist

CoEditors: John Andy Hamner & Anita Woodley

Written by: th 6 Grade Explorers Students Teacher Ms. Alyssa Putt Core Classes 1, 2, 3, 4

JW Neal Middle School March 79, 2016 Durham, North Carolina

Sponsored By:

PAGE 1 Volume Eight Ms. Putt’s 6th Grade Core Explorers Students March 79, 2016, 2016 Stories Come to Life! Literary Residency with Mrs. Anita Woodley

Durham Arts Council Creative Arts in Public & Private Schools (CAPS) program Durham Arts Council Mission: The Durham Arts Council, Inc. mission promotes excellence in and access to the creation, experience, and active support of the arts for all people in our community. Learn more online at, www.durhamarts.org.

“Now in its third year, the Stories Come To Live residency program led by CAPS teaching artist, Anita Woodley has continued to inspire students to write with confidence. Every student has a story and every sixth grade student who participated in Stories Come To Life this year shared their story. We appreciate the extraordinary environment that Mrs. Woodley creates to nurture and encourage students to write. Additionally, this program would not be possible if not for the support of the staff and teachers at Neal Middle School, Durham Public Schools, Fairway Printing, Inc., and GlaxoSmithKline for seeing the value in this residency and sponsoring this transformative experience.” – Shana Adams, Director of Creative Arts In Public & Private Schools (Durham Arts Council)

About Creative Arts in Public & Private Schools (CAPS) Primarily a partnership between Durham Arts Council and Durham Public Schools, CAPS places professional artists in public and private classrooms throughout Durham, Granville, and Orange counties to provide creative and interactive residencies that teach core subjects (math, science, writing, social studies), character education and a variety of life skills through the arts. CAPS impacts the lives of over 20,000 students each year. CAPS artists also work within the community providing programs in early childhood centers, preschools and afterschools. We serve seniors and adults groups, and provide professional development ‘ARTS’ workshops for teachers and business teams. www.durhamartscouncilcaps.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1... Letter from the Durham Arts Council & CAPS Shana Adams, Program Director of Creative Arts In Public & Private Schools (Durham Arts Council) Page 2... Core One, Authors and Titles Page 3... Core Two, Authors and Titles Page 34... Core Three, Authors and Titles Page 4... Core Four, Authors and Titles Page 56... Letter from CAPS Literary Theatre Teaching Artist Anita Woodley, Awardwinning Journalist & Performer Page 7... Biography for Anita Woodley Page 8… Letter from CoEditor John Andy Hamner Page 7798... Urbanese Dictionary by 6th Grade Students

Core ONE Page 9… Core 1‘s Artwork Collage, Story Snapshots Page 10… Tezzy “The Street Life” Page 1011… Andrea H. “One Day” Page 1112… Sexygirl “Mr. Sexyman” Page 1213… Diva_money_39 “Best Sleepover, Ever” Page 1314… Chailyn UN. “Bryson Tiller” Page 1415… No_fat_ch1chks “21 Savage” Page 15… Jamya L. “Eyebrows” Page 1516… Limike_03 “Basketball” Page 1617… The Calculator “The GTA Life” Page 1718… Dj Savage Skelex “The Worst Day of My Life” Page 18… S.C. “:] Soccer Is Life” Page 19 … S.R. “The Hard Time With My GF” Page 2021… Terra U. (Twh) “Food” Page 2122… Yoel CR. “Barcelona” Page 22… Red “Our Panther Family, Accessories And My Phone Case” Page 2223… A.moneyy.Baby “The Day I Met My bff4l” Page 2324… Pimpdaddynyy “It’s All About The Shoes”

Core TWO Page 25… Core 2‘s Artwork Collage, Story Snapshots Page 26… Queen_A “I Love Traveling” Page 2627… DOG 21 “The First Time Going to 6th Grade” Page 2728… Brooklyn H. “Drama In Middle School” Page 28… Christian MM. “Police Visit” Page 29… Paul S. “I Want To Be A Director” Page 2930 … Kelyn AM. “Too Much” Page 31… Luis JM. “I Will Not Talk About…” Page 32… Samuel TE. “My Mom’s Cancer” Page 3334… Shaun K. “Things I Hate and Things I Like, Love” Page 3435 … Si'Mirrar N. “The First Time I Got Into A Fight” Page 35 kashmoney.n “The Day I First Met My Crush, Until Now’’ Page 3536… Taylor B. “My Future Jobs” Page 3637… Viviana FP. “The Time I Got Into My First Fight” Page 3738… Zackery T. “When My Dog Died”

Core THREE Page 39 … Core 3‘s Artwork Collage, Story Snapshots Page 40…@justrendy._ “Dating My Bestfriend” Page 4041… Myss_.bri Bripurdyy“The Scariest Day Of My Life!” Page 41 … Cornell J. “The Burn” Page 4144… DeeAysia A. “Powerless... A Work of Fiction” Page 4445… Love_Hemmings “My Graduation” Page 45… Neededme “Wouldn’t Try To Fix It” Page 46… Jasmine P. “My Baby Sister” Page 4647… Ghost “Why My Friends Are My Friends” Page 4749… @_la.prxncessa “The Walking Dead” Page 49… Lilballislife__ “Basketball Or Else…” Page 5051… Richard CT.“Lucky/Funny Game, Or Life Moments And My Favorite Things” Page 5152… Angel P. :^) “When It Happened” Page 5253… Semar B. “MCJS Bully, Turned Friend” Page 53… Sewewa “My First Perm” Page 5356… VIBEWITHSTEPH “Once Again…” (Genre: Fiction, Drama)

Core THREE Continued... Page 5657… lady.paid :) “My Best Friend That I Am Crazy In Love With…”

Core FOUR Page 58… Core 4‘s Artwork Collage, Story Snapshots Page 59… Angel G. “The Day I Started Playing Soccer, And When I Broke My Leg” Page 6061… Shazar P. “The Day I Fought Someone” Page 6162… Elvin CC. “WrestleMania 2l” Page 6263… Ashley R. “Ashley’s Life” Page 6364… Brian TE. “The Worst Month Ever Than Good” Page 6465… Bryan HC. “The Scariest Day Of My Life” Page 6566… Eduardo RE. “4th Grade Times” Page 6667… ChristopherR. “Police” Page 6768… Destiny W. “The Comment Fight” Page 6869 … Emileo CR.“My First Time Playing The Xbox One” Page 69… Isaiah P. “Minecraft, Terraria, and 3DS” Page 70… JasonZ. “The Day I Got GTA 5” Page 7071… Jenny HV. “Leticia, My Best Friend” Page 7172… Cheese “Moving Schools” Page 7273… Tyquan H. “Skyzone” Page 73… Waverly S. “GTA 5” Page 7376… Cristian BS. “5th Crazy Times”

Students learning and playing Chinese Jump Rope to celebrate completing their stories on Day 3.

A Letter from Anita Woodley, CAPS Literary & Theatre Teaching Artist, Improv Performer & Awardwinning Journalist

Hey There, Students! As promised, here is your book featuring the personal stories you and your classmates shared with me during the threeday Stories Come To Life Literary Arts Residency! Congratulations, YOU are now all published authors! I want to give a special thanks to you for being a part of this program and entrusting me with your personal stories. I also thank you for your contributions to the “Urbanese Dictionary”, which features spelling the way you uniquely hear the sounds and experience 735 standard English words. I had a fabulous time teaching you in this workshop! You’ll remember our “guest instructors”, like my real, 100yearold GreatGrandma, Transformers, Curious George, my brother, my 8th grade son, and my mom. It was an honor to share my own stories about my struggles in middle school, and growing up poor in the Housing Authority projects of Oakland, California. I am very proud of you for sharing your heartfelt stories with the world. Your perspectives are very important and help us to better understand the world as you experience it. Yes, sometimes your life can be fabulous. Sometimes it may get rough, seem out of your control, and even, perhaps, scary. However, through it all, always aim to find a positive solution that empowers and uplifts you. You are worth it, and valuable, so remember that! Your courage inspires me. Please keep writing about what happens in your life. Volunteer in the community, sleep at least seven hours a night, and eat less unhealthy foods. A special thanks goes to The Durham Arts Council, and our sponsors GlaxoSmithKline and Fairway Printing Inc. for the generous grant supporting this program, which allowed us to reach the entire sixth grade for a second year!

Thank you to my ninth grade high school Drama teacher from 1989, Mr. John Andy Hamner, pictured on the left, for coediting the final versions of the stories. Since our facebook reunion on July 7, 2009, we’ve continued our friendship which has fostered numerous outstanding projects, including Stories Come to Life. Mr. Hamner, appreciate you encouraging and partnering with me to improve the human condition through theatre arts. Thank you to my 8th grade son Xavier, and husband of 20 years, Wes, for your support and patience while I worked hundreds of hours shepherding nearly 300 student stories to completion. And lastly, again, thank you, students, for your stories, because without your energy and contribution this project would not have been possible!

I Will Always Believe That You Will Succeed,

Anita Woodley & GreatGrandma

FOLLOW ME!

KIK, Instagram, Facebook @JUSAnitaWoodley

Text/Voicemail: 9199140104

Website: AnitaWoodley.com

Email: [email protected]

Biography ANITA WOODLEY is an awardwinning journalist, producer, actress, poet, mixedmedia folk artist, baker, and playwright. She is also a statecertified HIV counselor, a Durham Arts Council Emerging Artist in Drama and Literary, Improvisational Theater Teaching Artist for North Carolina’s Durham School District. Along with her own production company, Anita Woodley Productions, Mrs. Woodley is the Founder and President of the nonprofit Spark InnerAction, which promotes health in high risk communities. In her spare time, she is a Columnist for the News & Observer newspaper, the lead vocalist for an Improvisational Jazz band, and an Associate Member of the Sisters Network Triangle for Breast Cancer in Durham. Anita Woodley is a native of Oakland, California where she grew up in the Oakland Housing Authority for twenty years. She is an Inaugural Hall of Honor inductee at her alma mater, Oakland Technical High School with notable alumni Marshawn Lynch, The Pointer Sisters, Rickey Henderson, and Clint Eastwood. To date, Anita Woodley has written and performed eleven solo theatrical plays and DVD recordings, including the criticallyacclaimed – Mama Juggs Breast Cancer & Women’s Health Show, Bucking The Medical and Mental Bull Healthcare System show, and The Men in Me Urban Male Issues Show. She has performed in New York OffBroadway, Los Angeles, Chicago, The National Black Theatre Festival and throughout the U.S. in hospitals, universities, and internationally in Cameroon, West Africa. As a Television and Radio journalist for more than 20 years, Mrs. Woodley worked for CNN, NPR, NBC, CBS, PBS affiliates, earning accolades from the Harry Chapin Foundation for Hunger and Poverty in New York, the National Association of Black Journalists, and an Emmy award for Exceptional Coverage on the tragic events of September 11th, 2001 when the World Trade Center in New York was attacked. Mrs. Woodley lives with her husband and son in North Carolina.

Letter from CoEditor John Andy Hamner When I started teaching, I only wanted to teach drama classes. But I had to teach English classes, too, It wasn’t long, though, before I that they were the same thing. Talking, writing. If you’re performing, or writing a story, or an essay on polar bears, there is a beginning, a middle and an end. So it is with life. Communication is how we make our way in the wider world. It’s often difficult because language doesn’t always have a way to make even our simplest feelings clear to someone else. Our ability with writing depends on developing an ear and practice putting thoughts together on a page. We form and reform language in speeches, books, plays and essays, poems and songs, trying to say what we mean. As I read these stories, I am certainly struck with crude words and simplystated text; the tragedy and struggle they reveal. But, everybody turned in something… Three sentences. Six sentences of five words or less. Runons and incomplete sentences. Yet, everyone wrote something for publication. Mrs. Woodley used every trick in the book, and some she conjured up herself, to teach, cajole, persuade, entertain, inform, and investigate what would make a child do something s/he may not have wanted to do. In some of these texts, you can feel the writer thinking of what to say at all, then what to say next… and others who seem to be writing more than they thought they were going to. Mrs. Woodley was my drama student for her high school freshman year. She’s only gotten more curious, caring and capable in the years since. It was a fine day when Anita took me on this journey with her writing, her plays and teaching. I hope kids in this class will take a part of it with them: a language rule, the way somebody said something that made them think, Mrs. Woodley nailing a point through Grandma or her brother! And, as each one takes a part, or several parts over time, remember: in life, there are no small parts; only small actors. Be big! Be brave!

Core 1 Student’s Artwork Collage

Each square was hand drawn with a sharpie pen by students to visually represent their stories. Pretend as if you are looking through a peephole at each card. Now, can you guess what each story is about?

“The Street Life” By: Tezzy Back from 2009, I used to stay with my sister and her daughters, because mom was always working, and I did not know my Dad. I used to do bad stuff with my friends. Like, it felt good, but it was bad. On most nights, I would hear gunshots. Even in the morning. My brother was my father figure when I was growing up. I remember my first fight. My brother said, “Hit him!” But I didn't want to. And when he punched me, real hard in my face, that's when I wanted to fight the boy. I felt like I was gonna beat him, and I did. And, while we were fighting, my brother tried to get me off of him. I also remember another time, when my brother's friend, Fred, said, “You can play my game in my sister’s room.” My brother was in there already. His friend’s sister had to change her clothes, and she said, “You turn around. Only Tezzy can look.” And I did. She changed in front of me. She was fifteen and I was six. I didn’t know if it was bad or not. I just did it. That is when I started loving older girls. And then I started loving women. Growing up was fun and hard. It was hard in the streets, because kids used to fight all the time. And I saw people do drugs. I would see my family sometimes fight. And that made me who I am.

“One Day” By: Andrea H. One day, I was on kik, and a new message popped up. I was wondering if I should chat or not? Well, I said, “Yes”. I texted back, and said, “Hi, who you?” I looked at the kik picture, and the name was Batted Swag. He texted me back, and said, “Ian.” Then I said, “I don't know you.” He sent me a pic of him. He was cute, so we started texting more. As we were getting to know each other, he said, “Let me get that number.” I just looked at his message for a long time. He kept texting me saying, “Hello!” I said, “Sorry, I have a boyfriend.”

At that time, he stop texting me. So, we stopped texting for, like, a month. Then I texted him, and said, “Hi.” He texted back and said, “Hi, wyd? (What you doing?).” I said, “Nun (Nothing).” So, then I started calling him brother. He called me sister and we started texting back and forth like we used to catch up on each other. We saw each other in school a lot, and started talking more that day, on February 26, 2006. I was in love with Ian Marcellus Frank Battle. When he said, “Do you want to go out?” I said, “You know it.” And so we started dating. I knew that day I said, “Yes”, my world was going to be good, and I was going to have a good life. Well, that is all I hoped for. You liked the story? Now you know. Me and Ian became boyfriend and girlfriend. And just to let you know, we are doing good.

“Mr. Sexyman” By: Sexygirl I was a new girl, and this boy came up to me, and said, “Hey, you are cute, and I want to know if you like me?” I was nervous to tell him. I said, “I will just tell you after school.” He said, “Okay, Baby Girl.” Then I said, “OMG, did you just call me, Baby Girl.” He said, “Yes, I just called you that.” I went over and just hugged him. The next day, I came to school, and he said, “Can I walk you to your class?” I said, “Yes, you can Baby Boy. OMG, you really like me?” He said, “I told you, I really like you. I am in love with you. I want to be with you forever and ever. Can we go out?” I said, “Ok. Yes, we can Bae, love you Bae. But I have to tell you something.” He said, “What?” I said, “I have a crush on you.” He said, “WOW, I thought you did not like me.” I said, “Why would you think that?”

He said, “Idk.” The third day I went to Neal Middle School, he said, “Hey!” I said, “Hey, Bae.” He said, “What you up to?” I said, “Nothing. Looking for you.” He said, “WOW, you really like me.” I said, “I told you, Baby Boy.” He said, “I have to tell you something.” I said, “Ok, yes, what you have to tell me?” He said, “Do you want to go out?” I said, “Yes.” He said, “Ok, Baby Girl.” The fourth day, he came up to me and said, “Can we have kids one day?” I said, “Ok, we can have kids when we get 15 or 17. We can have kids.”

“Best Sleepover, Ever” By: Diva_money_39 I will just go to the point in my story. So, my friends, Stanaja and Dahlia, came to my house for a sleepover. I bought a whole bunch of snacks, like candy, chips. You know, things like that. They arrived, and we got turned up. I let my sister come in my room, with the girls. We got bored, so we all went outside to go buy an Icee. The girls and I got a blue raspberry Icee. You don’t understand how sweet it was. For example, it tasted like a whole bag of sugar. After that, Dahlia went with my sister, Liz, while Stanaja ca me with me to go to my house. When we got there, someone texted Stanaja. With my nosey tail, I went to go see who it was. It was my home girl’s crush. Since I’m a nice person, I won’t say what his name is. Dahlia and Liz came in my room. We got turned up some more by putting glow in the dark paint on the walls, as Fetty Wap RGA and Jacquees Come Thru were playing. My dad ordered us some pizza from Papa Johns. Get ready for this, with different flavors of chicken. And he bought us some chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla ice cream.

Before you knew it, night time came, and a whole lot of boys came to my window, while my dad was asleep. When my dad was asleep, I was talking to my crush, and he asked, “Can I come come in your room?” My eyes turned into hearts. I didn’t know what to say! If you were me, you would do anything to make your crush, your boyfriend. So yes, I did let him in. But here's the good part. Now he's my boyfriend. Now, back to the story. When I let him in my room, all the boys wanted to come in. A girl’s dream come true! Then I heard something. My dad woke up. My boyfriend jumped out the window. When I looked, it was just my dog there. I went back into my room, and looked out my window. The boys were all gone, and me and Stanaja went into my sister’s room. My sister let all the boys in. We heard a bump. I thought it was my dog again. But it was my dad. He walked into my sister’s room,. The boys jumped out the window, while my dad was saying, “What the f**k?!” My dad also jumped out the window, chasing the boys. Lol. I thought, “I’m dead”. But, yeah, the boys got in trouble, and my dad sent me and the girls into the room to go to sleep. In the morning, my dad took my friends home, and I got my phone taken away. So, yeah, it was best sleepover, ever!

“Bryson Tiller” By: Chailyn UN. Bryson Djuan Tiller was born and raised in Louisville. He is now twentythree years old, and he is so FINE! I found his music and fell in love. Then I saw him and almost died! He’s so cute.

He has shoe game and he can dress. He has a little baby girl. No one knows him like me. But one of my good friends knew about him. I have this other friend, named Tkyra, that also really loves him, but not as much as me.

Whenever I ask someone about Bryson Tiller, they say, “I don't know who he is.”

I am in Love with his music. He has the songs, ¨The Sequence,” “Don't,” “502 Come Up,” and “SelfRighteous.” Those are most some of my favorites songs. I love the lyrics from “SelfRighteous”. It says, “I guess you ain’t a freak no more. Sex more, that's what I was on. Talk less, that's what I was on. Selfish, baby I know, I know.”

If I ever, EVER met Bryson Tiller, I would get goosebumps. I would get on top of him. I would never let him go. I would ask him out on a date. But he pays, though. I would tell him how I feel and stuff. But I would also ask him, “Will you marry me?” <3 We are also going to get matching tattoos. I have his hand tattoos already. Some facts about him are: when he was four years old, his mom died. And his middle name is Djuan. But I still love him and his music so much! CHAI

“21 Savage” By: No_fat_ch1chks 21 Savage is my favorite rapper because he tries to stop the beef between Crips and Bloods. He is a Blood and his cousin is a Crip. My favorite song by him is Red Opps. He has three kids. If I knew 21 Savage, I would ask him, “When did you start rapping?” Before he was a rapper, he went to jail five times. He has three big brothers, one little sister. His mom died when he was five years old, so he had to go live with his dad, who was a drug dealer.

I can relate to 21 Savage, about his mom dying, because my cousin died last year. My big cousin died because of his friend. His friend was a gang banger, so they saw the boy and did a driveby, shooting him in the head. He died right there. My big cousin did not even make to the hospital. And this happened when I was in school.

“Eyebrows” By: Jamya L. I don't have any eyebrows. I don't know how they disappeared like that. But I think they faded away. My mom asked me, “Did you cut them off ?” Then she said, “That is how you were born. Just like that.” You can’t really see my eyebrows that good. When I went to see some people, they didn't even know I had eyebrows. In the middle of the year, my friend Terra said, “You don't have no eyebrows.” When she said that, I said, “I know.” When a lot of people started to say it, that is when I decided to make a story about what happened to my eyebrows. I said, “One day, my mom was cooking eggs, and I picked the pan up, and put it on my eyebrows.” Then everybody started laughing. I asked my aunt, “Can you draw me some eyebrows?” And she did. But one was big and one was small, in my opinion. My aunt said, “They will came off in the shower and when you wash your face.” I don't care about my eyebrows anymore. The end. Oh, and I will never draw eyebrows again.

“Basketball” By: Limike_03 I had a basketball game, and a girl came up with the ball, trying to pass the ball to the other girl on her team. I blocked the pass. Then I got the ball, and took it all the way to the basket, making a layup. When I made the shot, I thought I was the best person on our team. The girl passed the ball inbounds. Their team tried to make a half court shot, but they

JW Neal Middle School, Durham, NC. Explorers Core Classes 1, 2, 3, 4 20152016 School Year Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline, Fairway Printing Inc., and Durham Arts Council’s CAPS Program PAGE 16 Volume Eight Ms. Putt’s 6th Grade Core Explorers Students March 79, 2016, 2016 Stories Come to Life! Literary Residency with Mrs. Anita Woodley missed it, and they lost the game. All the people on my team were so happy, because I made the shot and we won the game. My mom, dad, and grandma were so happy with me, because I made the last point of the game, and we won the game because of me. At the end of the game, the team went out to eat to at KFC. We celebrated that we won the game. One of the people who was on that team with me, goes to Neal. But when that victory happened, my greatgrandma had cancer. She wanted to come, but she was in the hospital. I could not see her that day. The fact that I could not see my grandma made me feel bad, because I didn't get to see her most of the time, like I used to. My mom would not let me see her, since my mom and dad were separated, because of something important. Then my greatgrandma died from cancer. And the bad thing is that she died holding my grandma’s hand, which is her daughter, which is my dad's mom. So that was sad. Next, my uncle died because somebody hit him while he was on the motorcycle. He we was in the hospital for a long time, because he broke his back and his neck. That was sad because that was my favorite uncle, out of all my uncles, because he is the one who taught me how to be strong. So, that was really hard on me, because when I think about him dying, I will be MAD for the rest of the day, until I get home. At home, they have a way of calming me down.

“The GTA Life” By: The Calculator When I went to play GTA (Grand Theft Auto), it was fun killing people with other people. I like playing GTA online a lot, taking cars from people, and stealing a lot. Games are cool, but a game inside of a game is more cool. Eighteen hours is the most I’ve played in a day. The video game can affect my life. I am doing the same thing in GTA. Although I love playing GTA, I have a lot of games that I like to play, like Call Of Duty, FIFA 16, Call Of Duty Advanced Warfare, and the last game, Rainbow Six Seg.

A lot of people ask me, “Do you have a PS3, PS4, or Xbox?” “I like playing with PS3,” that is what I will say to them. What I like to do, when I am not playing GTA or other games, is to go on Youtube and talk to my friends. I will talk about GTA more. The thing people like about the game GTA is, you get to explore the beautiful game. And, if you want to know how to not get lost in the real life world, LA or Hollywood, GTA is your game. You get to do missions in both online or single player modes, while having the time of your life, playing GTA. Now the GTA characters are Michael, Trevor and Franklin. Michael is a man who is a rich millionaire. Trevor, is a crazy man who loves to kill people. And Franklin is a gang member who lives with his grandmother. GTA GR is a good game. I like it because you are in a real world, playing with friends, and meeting new people. I have played GTA 5 and GTA San Andreas. GTA 5 is one of the best, real world games.

“The Worst Day of My Life” By: Dj Savage Skelex January 15, 2015, Friday night, was the night that my Grandma Stewart went to live with God/Jesus. She was the best grandma anyone could ever have. That was the worst day of my life. Before I moved, I used to visit her every weekend. She was like my best friend. She was there when I was sad and when I was happy. I was there, when her left arm, and her right leg, would not work. The other thing that I thought would never happen, would be that both of my grandmothers would pass away in the same year. There was only one thing that would cheer me up when I was down: my favorite songs, by my favorite Minecraft Youtuber, Lachlan. Two songs he posted, that made me laugh a lot, were “Mob Can’t Handle Us,” and “I am Believing.” But those did not work. My mom told me how my grandmothers prevented and stopped her from naming me Frodo Bilbo Baggins

Whitaker. My mom was into Lord Of The Rings. So, I have them to thank for naming me Nisaiah Whitaker/Dj Savage Skelex, instead. Grandma Stewart will be missed and loved, and her spirit will still be with us. Everything changed for the worst for our family since her death. My granddad couldn’t function after that day. To Grandma Stewart and Grandma Whitaker: rest in peace, and I hope God is allowing you to look down at me.

“:] Soccer Is Life” By: S.C. I want to be a soccer player when I grow up. I’m always practicing to be what I want to be in life. The skills I work on are shooting, ball control, tricks, and passing the ball. And one important thing, in soccer, is to have a good attitude with the referee and the other soccer players. One time, I was playing for my team, and we were way too good for the other team. We scored, like, six goals on them, including my first goal for that team, because I just started. When I was a little kid, I didn’t like soccer for some reason. But when my brother used to play soccer, he used to make me play with him. I saw him do tricks, so I started doing them, and that’s when I started scoring more, and taking people like crazy. When I was in elementary school, when I went out to recess, kids told me I was really good at soccer. And until this day, I still am a good soccer player and play for a team. I kinda learned how to play soccer by myself. I really haven’t played soccer for that long. I think, I have played soccer for, like, five or four years. The advice I’d give to kids is to never give up, to always keep going no matter what other people say, and always give it your best. I always play soccer behind my house, because there is a soccer field. And I play with my soccer team every Saturday, and sometimes other days. When I cheer for a professional team, I go for the best team ever! BARCELONA!!

“The Hard Time With My GF” By: S.R. It all started when my girlfriend started getting mad at me. The first time she got mad at me was because this girl moved to our school and, I guess, she started to get jealous and mad because I was talking to a girl. I told my GF, “I have no idea why you’re getting mad at me.” Then came the time when I started getting mad at her because she started hugging other guys, when she had a boyfriend. And see, that looks wrong for me. The next day, when me and the new girl were talking, and I think she saw us, the look on her face was like she was even more mad at me. See, I’m not the one hugging other guys when she has a boyfriend. But, by the way, I have never hugged the new girl. That same day, when school was over, we had to go to the bus stop, and we were still not talking. When I got on the bus and got home, I got on the phone, and went on kik to text my friends. When I was in kik, my girlfriend texted me, and she said, “Hey!” And I thought, you know she still is my girlfriend, so I decided to text her back. She started explaining why she was mad at me and why she was jealous. But when I was texting her, I said, “I love you. Let’s fix our problem. If you get mad and jealous at me just for talking to a girl, then I’ll stop talking to her.” And she was like, “Really? Then I’ll stop hugging other guys.” And that made me happy :) !!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wasn't trying to make my GF jealous. I was just talking to a girl, and then we became best friends. I guess that’s when she started to get jealous and mad. And then one day this other girl comes up to me, and talks to me, and we started to have a conversation. And, I guess my GF saw me, and she was looking mad. BUT THAT’S MY STORY. THE END.

“Food” By: Terra U. (Twh) My favorite food is anything that tastes good to me. These are the list of things that I looove to eat: ● Mac’n cheese: It has the melted cheese, and it goes right with any meat. ● Bacon: crunchy, and is good for lunch, dinner, and breakfast. ● Porkchops: a crispy taste that goes right with any side, and has a great taste. ● Ribs: once you put that bbq sauce on it, omgosh, it taste like heaven. ● Chicken: It has that juiciness like a porkchop and it is finger licking good. ● Pig Feet : When my grandmama makes them, they’re great. ● Greens: I like them on the side of a dish to go with the meat. ● Cabbage: The cabbage I like has gotta be sweet and greasy. ● Rice: I like sticky rice, white rice, brown rice, and sweet rice. ● Oodles n’ Noodles: You gotta have some noodles. They are like rice. They are hot and you can’t sip them. ● Sausages: They are just like hot dogs, but sausages taste different, like, a goooood different. ● Sloppy Joe: It's this meat, mixed with tomato sauce, on bread. ● Spaghetti: It is like Oodles n’ Noodles, but spaghetti has meat or meatballs and tomato sauce. ● Pizza: Everybody loves pizza. It is the main thing that everybody eats, if you're not a vegetarian. ● Lasagna: It has a special cheese, still with noodles, and you layer it with meat sauce and more cheese.

● Taco: It’s what Mexicans eat. It has a hard or soft shell, but the meat has to be cooked with cheese, lettuce, sauce and sour cream. ● Burger: It’s the juiciest and sweetest with any toppings. The burger has to have good seasoning. My family eats everything, but the one thing we all like is Mac’n Cheese. We eat cheese all the time, but not literally. It's good and it brings the family together.

“Barcelona” By: Yoel CR. My favorite soccer team is Barcelona, because they have players and shirts that I like. The shirt I mostly like, is their first kit, because they have stripes that go across, and the colors of the shirt are red and blue. My favorite player in Barcelona is Messi because he is the best player in the world. But there is another player that I think is the best player in the world. He is as good as Messi, and his name is Cristiano Ronaldo. I think when Messi and Cristiano retire, Neymar is going to be the best in the world. But I still think Messi is better than Cristiano, because Messi has five Golden Soccer Balls. Ronaldo has only three Golden Soccer Balls. The Golden Soccer Balls decide the winner of a match, typically a knockout match, in which scores are equal at the end of normal time. It is a type of sudden death match. Sometimes, I watch Barcelona games because I don’t know when games are coming on. So my brother, Luis, tells me when the games are going to happen. I watch the games with my brother Luis or my other brother, Alan. Sometimes, I watch them eating something, or just sitting down. I only watch Barcelona a little since because Barcelona doesn’t play that much. During the game, sometimes my brother leaves to do something with my dad or somebody else. When the World Cup happens again, I will go for Argentina to win because they have Messi. I hope Argentina wins the next World Cup soccer game. I feel happy when Barcelona or Argentina wins, and I feel sad when

Argentina or Barcelona loses. That’s why I am happy with Barcelona and Argentina soccer teams.

“Our Panther Family, Accessories And My Phone Case” By: Red So my stepdad is a really good Panthers football fan. He has two Panther shirts with Panther logos on them. One of the shirts has a logo that looks like a Panthers logo, but I think the logo is made out of all of the good Panthers team member’s names. The other shirt has just the Panthers logo on it. My stepdad also has a Cam Newton Dab On ‘Em shirt, and he has a Cam Newton phone case. His case has Cam Newton on it, with blue and white paint flying off of Cam. I have one too, but mine has Cam Newton dabbing on it. The background is all brown with black dots, and it has a Panthers symbol in the left corner. I`m a fan of the Panthers because everyone in my house was not going for the team I went for, so I just wanted to agree with the fam. I started watching the Panthers games and I have been a fan for, like, two years now. In fact, I have watched every game this year. My stepdad calls me “a fickle fan.” But I don't think bad about bandwagon fans. The Panthers will go to the Super Bowl next year.

“The Day I Met My bff4l” By: A.moneyy.Baby I met my bff4l when we were in fourth grade, on this one day when I was changing my classes, and I went into a different class. When I went into the other classroom, the teacher told me to sit beside these two girls named Shazar and Sachi. They were both nice, but I didn’t really talk to them, until my teacher was passing out worksheets and I was confused on a problem. Shazar asked me, “Do you need help?” And I said, “Yes, can you help me?” She helped me and, afterward, I said, “Thank you.” Later on that day, when

“It’s All About The Shoes” By: Pimpdaddynyy I didn’t get these shoes that I wanted. On a Friday night, I was talking about these pink and white shoes that were coming out Saturday Morning. Me and my sister wanted them so badly. So I asked my mom, “Can we get them shoes?” She said, “Yes, but if y’all want to be the first ones to get them, we have to go sign up for the raffle.” Me, my mom, my stepdad, and the whole family went to all the stores in the mall to sign up for them shoes. I left my money at home, so I asked my mom, “Could you buy the Bean Boozle Challenge for me?” She said, “Yes,” and I said, “I’ll pay you back when we get home.” She said, “Okay.” I was so ready for two things, which were those shoes, and to do the challenge. We all pulled up at our house. I got out of the car and set my stuff up. I asked my brothers, “Do you want to do the challenge with me?” And we did it. Next morning, I woke up at seven o’clock, got dressed, took a shower, woke my sister up. Then she got dressed. Then I woke up my mom up at 7:15 am, and she fell back asleep and woke up at eight o’clock, when the doors open of the stores opened. So, we were late. My mom zoomed fast, like a roller coaster, to the stores. When we got there, it was packed. There were a lot of people. I mean, like, it was like we were at a concert.

Everyone was piled up and the lines were crowded up completely. We waited for two hours in one line. Then I left and went to another line at another store, where they sold my size shoe. My mom took me to that store, and I could have gotten the shoes, but I was too hungry. So I left and came back. There were two size fives left, and the lady said, “I need two size fives.” And the storeman said, “You can’t take two.” So she told the lady behind her, “Get the size five for me.” So I wouldn’t get the shoe there. My mom said, “It’s okay,” and we went to find different shoes somewhere else. We found some other shoes and my mom said, “ I will order the ones ya’ll wanted, too.” So, my advice for the people who wait is that you will get your turn one day, too.

Core 2 Student’s Artwork Collage

“I Love Traveling” By: Queen_A I love traveling. I always travel with my family in the sum mer, to different places. We take the Airplane! And some of the places are so far away, that it takes two days in the airplane to get there. When we travel, we have to have fun, because that is the main point of us traveling. Oh, and, also we have to shop once we get to our destination, because we don’t bring a lot of stuff with us. I only take a small bag and my purse. In the small bag are my clothing and shoes that I will be wearing, jackets, dresses, jeans, shirts, tshirts, socks and all that kind of stuff you need for traveling. And, in my purse, I take the little things, like my iphone, camera, chargers, headphones, makeup, eyelashes, lip gloss, hair brush, tooth brush, and also hair ties. My favorite place that I’ve gone to, is New York City. I was born there, but when I got to second grade, we moved. My mom and dad didn’t like to stay in one place, so we moved to North Carolina. And I liked it here a little bit, but not as much as I loved New York City. When it’s summer, I always tell my family that I want to go back to New York City. But they always say, “We have to change the places we visit and not every time go to New York.” So I said, “Okay.” The other places I’ve been to are Florida, Dubai, Michigan, and New Jersey. I Love all those places, and this summer we are going to California. My dad said, “We will go to Los Angeles (L.A.) when we’re in California.” And I want to shop there. I think I am going to go with my dad, mom, sis, and bro that’s all. So, basically, with all of my family.

“The First Time Going to 6th Grade” By: DOG 21 The first time I came to sixth grade, it was hard because I did not want to leave my mom. And I will tell you why I was scared. I did not know my teachers and I did not know if I was going to get friends. I thought that people were going to make fun of me. But when I met my teachers, I was

“Drama In Middle School” By: Brooklyn H. Drama in middle school is crazy! When I say crazy, I mean crazy, because people always talk about people all the time. They talk about your weight, if you're thick. They talk about your clothes, shoes by sometimes saying,“What are those?!” a lot. I don’t say stuff about people a lot because I don't want people to talk about me, and try to start a fight. People you would think that start drama are boys that think they are cool, and perfect, as well as girls who think they are perfect, too. The girls also think they are cute and sweet. But they are not. Some are, but not a lot. People you wouldn’t believe that would talk about you are, like, your friends. Not your best friend. Yes, your friends. One time, I had a friend, I would tell my secrets and then she would go tell someone’s big or little sister. Even my big sister sometimes does this. When I get her mad, she tells people who I don’t like, that I don’t like them. Don’t post private stuff online, when you are in middle school. In 2015, this girl, not naming names, but she posted a video of her twerking. And there was a noise in the background, and people thought it was her virgin clapping. When they saw her in person, they clapped their hands in her face for a week. Then they started calling her "fishyfishy girl”. And people wanted to fight her because she be talking about people. Now when someone says to her, “Meet me outside, so we can fight!” She runs away, cries and people begin making fun of her, for the rest of the school year. One time, I was bullied. They started saying, “You are fat,” and I said, “I am not fat. I am thick.” I don’t like the word “fat”. This girl called me an Oompa Loompa.

I said, “I am not a Oompa Loompa, for one. I don’t have green hair. I am not orange. And I am not three feet tall.” This is what a Oompa Loompa looks like… Not Cool. Then, the next day, she was acting like my friend. I don’t really like her. She is definitely fake, so hey. Other drama, in middle school, is around boys. Girls fight over boys. But some don’t. I had a friend and she was going out with someone, and he was cheating on her with her other friend. Her and her friend fought and they are not friends, again.

“Police Visit” By: Christian MM. I am going to write about the time when the police went to my apartment, because I left with my uncle to go to a cookout. While I was playing hide and seek, and my family didn’t know I left, they called the police. Even a police helicopter was looking for me. My uncle and I left the cookout, and then we came back to my place. Everyone was there. I felt happy when we went to cookout, but when came back to the apartments, I was scared to death. I left running, and I was some dumb. My two cousins were in another apartment, looking for me. But I wasn't there. When they saw me, they said, “You should go to your parents! Always ask for permission to go somewhere!” One the way to my apartment, the police found a water gun, and told me to stop. I thought it was a real gun, but it wasn't. I stepped closer and closer, and I can’t remember anymore about that. My uncle was arrested, and went to jail for two days for taking me with him without anyone knowing. I cried when he went to jail, because he was the best uncle that I would ever ask for. When he came back home from jail, he was beaten up.

“I Want To Be A Director” By: Paul S. I want to be Director, when I need a job. I want to make my own T.V. shows. For me to get that job, when I get older, I need to do good in school. I am doing good in school, so far. I can’t wait to get older, to be a director. I will share half of my money with the poor, homeless, hungry, etc. The rest will go to me, and the people who helped me, like actors and artists. I have made two minimovies using my Legos. My first movie took one day to make. It took my second movie about a week to be completed. The two movies were about more than thirty minutes, total. One was about Star Wars. Another was about a comic book I made. I showed the first movie to my family and they really loved it. I think that’s what made me to want to be a Director. My favorite movie was Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. I do not personally know any Directors. However, someday I hope I will become a Director. I wanna direct fantasy movies using Anime, and maybe some Scifi, using animation.

“Too Much” By: Kelyn AM. I have too many problems, because people say I have a attitude. Like, that’s messed up. I know I'm rude, sometimes, because people get on my last nerves often. Boys I have too many boys coming all up on me. Like, they need to chill, because they're the ones that get me in trouble a lot. They come and just start touching on me, and I am like, “No! I have respect for myself.” They think I don't, but I do. They say, “Let me f**k you!” I start saying, “No,” because I don't like what they're doing too much. Like, I used to love skipping school with this girl named Destiny. But I don't do that no more, because I started to see my grades were

JW Neal Middle School, Durham, NC. Explorers Core Classes 1, 2, 3, 4 20152016 School Year Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline, Fairway Printing Inc., and Durham Arts Council’s CAPS Program PAGE 30 Volume Eight Ms. Putt’s 6th Grade Core Explorers Students March 79, 2016, 2016 Stories Come to Life! Literary Residency with Mrs. Anita Woodley getting lower. I kept getting an attitude with everyone I saw when that happened. I felt weird about skipping school, because Destiny was the one making me like that. Home People ask me, “Why are you so rude?” I don't tell nobody about the things that happen with me... well, just my best friend. I have problems going on at home with my mom and dad arguing a lot more than they did before. They start cussing at each other, back and forth. I think all the stuff they do is effecting me. So, think I get that from them, or the school kids. I don't know, but there's a lot of people that say I got a attitude, which I think I do, sometimes. School I am disrespectful to my teachers, sometimes, when I'm mad and I wanna control the class because the teachers are not doing nothing about it. That’s when I start to comment, and say things to people that hurts the them. Sometimes, I feel bad because I think they’re gonna treat me like that when I'm older. Last year and this year, I have argued, and almost jumped people in fights. People keep saying they heard people say, “We are gonna jump you and Vivianna.” Can they come up to my face and say it to me and not their friends? I know they are saying it, but then, when somebody goes in front them, to confront them about it, they're too scared to say anything, and just walk away. Friends Like, when a B***h comes up to me and says, “I got beef with you!” Then they have beef with me forever, because I don't play them games. If it comes to that point with my friends, nah, it's over. Once they were trying to jump my best friend. Ain't nobody going to touch her. What happened last time with that girl, damn, we left that girl bleeding. Like, all them police came, and just started to grab me and Viviana, like, wow, I never have gone through that. So that's the only reason I have too many things going on in my life.

“I Will Not Talk About…” By: Luis JM. I'm not thinking. I'm not thinking. I'm not thinking. I'm not thinking. I'm not thinking. I'm not thinking. I'm not thinking. I'm not thinking. I'm not thinking. I'm not thinking. I'm not thinking. I'm not thinking. I’m not going to talk about my family, because it is my embarrassing secret.

I’m not talking about my friends, because they embarrass me in a very nonnice way.

I’m not talking about my dog because he is so cute, fluffy, and wait...I’m not supposed to talk about him.

It feels good to be a private person, because you keep your ideas between you and me. And if I do not like someone, I keep it to myself.

If you're like me, well, you are lucky. And it is okay to talk, because there are teachers, other kids and adults, like you and me. REMEMBER THAT.

“My Mom’s Cancer” By: Samuel TE. Eighteen years ago, my mom was diagnosed with cancer. And she said “Why did this happen to me?” My mom didn’t want her life to end when she was young. She was twentyone, at the time. She married my dad when she was twenty. My mom was heartbroken that she thought was going to die. But as kind as my dad is, he stayed with her all the way, and never left her side. She was hospitalized for two years. But when the doctor did an xray scan, they found out the my mom was pregnant with a baby that was five months along. So when they found out, they gave my mom medicine for the baby, so it would live. Just a few days after, they found out the baby started to act weird, being bad, and was not doing things a normal baby would do. The baby was not eating or getting bigger. The doctor did another xray to see what the problem was, and when they got the scans back, the doctor said, “Sorry, but it looks like the cancer is doing something to the baby. I think the cancer is affecting the baby, too, and it's making it hard for the baby to live.” My mother was so worried, she was praying to Jesus that she could get a cure and have her baby. My mom was affected by this. It made her weaker and she could not move that much. The cancer started to get worse, and when she was seven months pregnant, the doctor told my father some bad news that he needed to give to my mom. My dad then told my mom, “Sorry, Honey. The doctor said that the baby will not make it.” My Mom was so sad, she cried for so long. But when the nine months of her pregnancy came, she felt that her water broke, and she was having a baby. So, they took her to the xray room, again. And they found out the baby was still alive and was about to be born. A week passed, and my sister was born. My mom stayed at the hospital for one more year, and when that year passed her cancer was over. She went back to our house and lived her life again.

“Things I Hate and Things I Like, Love” By: Shaun K. The Things I hate are: 1. Raw fish: It stinks and it looks so nasty. But the biggest reason is because they call it “raw fish”. 2. Fake ass people: One minute they all in your face wanting snacks. And the,n when you have no snacks, they are in other people's face, trying not to talk to you. That is fake. 3. A Bully: I really hate a bully because they always f**king with kids, and thinking they are better than you, but they not. 4. S**t: It stinks so badly, and it makes you want to throw up. 5. My bus driver: I hate my damn bus driver, because she tells us, “If ya’ll are talking, I should not hear you,” but we are right in the seat behind her. 6. School lunch: It looks like jail food. Well, I have never seen jail food, but I bet it looks and tastes like jail food, which I hear sucks. 7. Burger King: If you can say, “Fake food,” then I will say, “Burger King, Home of the nasty food.” I mean all fast food is fake, but when you bite into their stuff, you can see the fakeness. 8. Some books: They are so damn long. 9. People who judge me: Those people who f**k with me because I get something wrong. 10. My realistic dream: When I have dreams that someone in my family, that is alive, dies in my dream, OMG! I hate that, like, I should not be thinking about that. I should be thinking of how we are alive. The Things I like, love are: 1. I love chicken, it is the best food in the world. 2. I also love snacks. I stay eating. Every flex time at school I went to, I had a bag of chips. 3. I love playing my game and I do it everyday.

4. I love sports, even though I'm short. I don't give a f**k how big I am,. I love sports. 5. I like school sometimes, because of some teachers, but let's not get into all that. 6. I like Elective classes. 7. Yes, I hate Burger King, but I love McDonalds, Wendy's, and ChickfilA because of the chicken nuggets. 8. And one thing I do everyday is being funny with my homies, who think I'm so f**king funny.

“The First Time I Got Into A Fight” By: Si'Mirrar N. I got into a fight with this girl. We were in the fourth grade. I came out into the hallway, and that’s when that girl came out into the hallway. That’s when she only got one hit off on me, and I started beating her up. She started crying, and telling all the fourth grade teachers. The next day came, and we both got wrote up and sent to I.S.S. (InSchool Suspension). In ISS, the teacher split us up and said, “Turn around and do your work that your teacher gave you all.” We had to sit there for hours and we was bored. Then he let us go to class. The girl asked me, “Do you want to be my friend?” I said, “No.” Me and the girl still have trouble to this day. She still wants to fight me because she wants a rematch. But she was scared to fight me again. Then everybody was, like, “What were you in ISS for and stuff?” When I saw the girl I said, “Eww, look at you.” She said, “Girl, bye.” I said, “Mmm, you can't fight worth crap, so just sit down somewhere before you get beat up, again.” I do still fight when I need to, but not on a regular basis. You know, I like I said, I fight when I need to. I stopped letting it get to me like it used, so I don't fight a lot, like I use to. I just stopped fighting. I tell them, “Man, get out of here with that mess,” unless it’s really bugging me. Then I will fight until I do not have a reason to fight anymore. I would tell other students, that they should not get into any fights, because

“The Day I First Met My Crush, Until Now’’ By: kashmoney.n It all started on one dark, warm summer night. Me, my sis, a boy I didn’t know, my crush, my cousin Shyheem, and my friends, Jayson and General. They were all going to go into Dmya’s house, but I was scared. So, out of nowhere, they kept saying, “Tahodgee, like Dmya.” “Tahodgee like Dmya”. And I was just like, “Who is Tahodgee?” They said, “Don’t worry about it.” I thought: I’ma say this one more time. And out loud, I said,“Who the f**k is Tahodgee?” Finally, my sister was like, “It’s that boy right there.” But I still didn’t know him. A few days later, it was night, and I went inside to get some water. I came back out, Tahodgee was on my cousin’s porch, with my cousin Shyheem, and he said to me. “Do you got a kik?” And I was, like, “Yes,” and he said, “Can I get it?” I gave it to him. A few hours later, my phone got charged after it was dead. I started texting him and he called my fyfy. I texted him and said, “Thank you, too” He texted me and said, “Thanks. Do you like me?” I was like, “Yes,” and he told me he liked me, too. Once that happened, the texts between us started getting boring, so we started talking alone in person. Now, we are getting along, and I’m still waiting to get asked out by him.

“My Future Jobs” By: Taylor B. Lately, I’ve been thinking of what I want to be when I grow up. People say I talk A LOT. Even teachers do. That’s why I think these few jobs would be good jobs for me: ● A Cosmetologist, ● And a Journalist.

Cosmetology

Did you know Cosmetologists LOVE to do beauty? What I mean by beauty is hair, makeup, etc. To some girls, makeup is very important. Well, not some girl’s makeup can get messed up, because they do their own makeup. A cosmetologist can be REALLY girly. What I mean by girly is that some girls act like boys (Tom Boys), and don’t care about makeup. But some do. Like for instance, Beyonce. Whenever she goes on tour, she always brings a makeup kit and a makeup artist. That’s why you always see her with makeup on, whenever she goes on stage. As a cosmetologist, someone like a celebrity may want me to do their makeup or hair when they are on tour one day. Besides makeup, I also like hair. Hair is also important to a girl. Like, if a girl is gothic, she might want to dye her hair black, while it’s flat ironed. Or, if the girl likes pink, she might want pink highlights. I like to braid hair, but I’m working on braiding the hair onto the scalp. And I'm really working on a French Braiding. Journalism Did you know you can get LOTS of money being a Journalist? Just like my inspiration, Mrs. Anita Woodley, she’s a journalist and a cosmetologist. I want to be a Journalist, because I talk A LOT, and that will help me to be on shows, plays and etc. Have you ever thought about being a journalist? Well, I might be an entrepreneur, as well. An entrepreneur is someone who creates their own business. So, I might be an entrepreneur when I grow up, because you can go to the Cosmetology school and then start your own business! I really don’t care what people think about me, I just ignore it. I can't wait! Thanks for watching!

“The Time I Got Into My First Fight” By: Viviana FP. One day, it was a regular day, I was in fifth grade. The fifth graders were in recess, playing different games at stations. But I went to play tag where most of my friends were. This boy was tagged it. He was chasing me. He got mad,

“When My Dog Died” By: Zackery T. In 2015, my dog died. His name was Cush. He was 910 years old. The reason he died was because he was in the back yard playing, and out of nowhere, these dogs went back there and jumped him. This all happened when I was in fifth grade at school. We were in a hotel. When I got out of school, and all of a sudden my grandma called, and said, “Zackery?” I said, “Yes, “ with a sad voice. She said, “When I came home, I saw a lot of blood in the backyard.” So I told her we were on the way. By the time we pulled up, I got straight out of the car and knocked on the door, three times, hard, “BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!” Then I said, “GRANDMA, OPEN THE DOOR!”

She came to open the door. I went inside and said, “Where is he?” She said, “Outside, laying down.” Me, my brother and sister went outside and saw him sitting in a hole where he digs. And there was a lot of blood. He was just sitting there, shaking, looking scared. I ran back in the house, and said “He is cut up real bad.” Then my grandma said in an angry voice, “HE BE JUMPING THE FENCE. SO HE MUST’VE GOT IT FROM THERE!” I said, “It looks like bite marks on him. Like a dog went back there and jumped him.” My grandma called the dog pound people to see what happened. They came within about 30 minutes. He told us what happened. We brought him into the house, and put the dog down. When we put him down, blood started to come out fast. I screamed, “GRANDMA!” She said, “YEAH?!” in a loud, sad voice, I said, “He was bleeding. Real bad.” So after all of that, I went to school on Thursday, while they were at the vet getting the dog stitched. And I was worried. I left to go home, and they told me that my dog was laying down in front of the couch, not moving. Then they told me he was dead. The kind of dogs that jumped my dog were a Pitbull and Labrador.

Core 3 Student’s Artwork Collage

“Dating My Bestfriend” By: @justrendy._ Me and The Kid got together because of my exboyfriend. Me and The Kid met in the hallway, and we started calling each other “light skin, and yellow”. I guess we had an instant click, because we started texting each other a lot. Then, a few weeks later, we started facetiming each other. Two days before the Valentine’s Day dance, we kept looking at each other, and trying to make each other jealous. He would be hugged up on other girls, and I would be talking and messing with other boys. A few hours after the dance was over, he called me, and we stayed up on the phone all night. He asked me out. I kept blushing, and I said, “Yes.” One thing that I know, is that me and mine are a package deal! I know I'm not going to lose him, and he knows that he's not going to lose me, because we have each other on lockdown. I'm so confident in this, because whenever we get mad at each other, a few minutes later, we're all good! (Let's get one thing straight! My baby is my baby. When you think he´s not my baby, he still is! And, if you ever think that´s your baby, ha! he´s still my baby). Some advice to anyone wanting to start a relationship: just be honest, loyal, and respectful. You should also be a little overprotective, and trustworthy.

“The Scariest Day Of My Life!” By: Myss_.bri Bripurdyy One day, I was in my room doing my homework and listening to some of Chris Brown’s music. So, you know, I was getting it. I was, like, “Ayyyeee!” Then my oldest brother, Dre, said, “Bri Bri!” So I went downstairs and I asked my other brother, Mike, “Where Andre at?” That’s when he burst out the closet with this mask on and it scared the mess out of me. I hauled onto the couch really fast. Then he said, “You should've saw your face!” I was so mad he did me dirty like that. Another day, near Halloween, my brother Mike had this Michael Myers costume. So my brother, Tray, kept on scaring me. Me and my brother got put on punishment for the

P.S: I do have one sister, not only brothers.

“The Burn” By: Cornell J. I huffed and puffed, as I ran through my backyard, trying to get away. The only words I could hear were, “HERE I COME!” I ran quicker and quicker, and I finally stopped to hide. I decided to hide in the shed, where he would never find me. Or so I thought. I heard his footsteps getting closer and closer, until they stopped. I ducked down, as low as I could, and hoped he didn't find me. He creaked open the door and said, ¨Tag! You're it. Also, I’m bored, so let's go in the house!” We went in and about ten minutes later, my mother came through the door saying, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”, and gave me a grocery bag with a bag of Takis chips. I said, “What are these?” And she told me, “Open it up and try them.” I grabbed one of those red, tortilla looking chips, and bit right into it. “Mhm,” I said, “Tastes like chicken”, and I tried to cover up my burning hot, red face. I said, “What are these Takis chips made of?” My mother said, “Lime, tortillas, and chili peppers,” And that was the first time I ever tasted Takis.

“Powerless... A Work of Fiction” By: DeeAysia A. Killing my dad was the LAST thing I wanted to do. Walking to the bus stop in the cold, foggy morning, feeling the dread about pulling the trigger on my father. My mother, on

JW Neal Middle School, Durham, NC. Explorers Core Classes 1, 2, 3, 4 20152016 School Year Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline, Fairway Printing Inc., and Durham Arts Council’s CAPS Program PAGE 42 Volume Eight Ms. Putt’s 6th Grade Core Explorers Students March 79, 2016, 2016 Stories Come to Life! Literary Residency with Mrs. Anita Woodley the other hand, is a piece of crap, who didn’t even try to comfort me. Sometimes I wonder how she’s my mother. Hearing a voice in the open distance, and already knowing who it was, I rolled my eyes dramatically. “Hey, what’s up?” Jacob said directly in my ear, putting his arm around my shoulder . “Can you just shut up and leave me alone for once?!” I snapped at him in an icy cold tone. Seeing him have a shocked look on his face, hurt me. But I was just as surprised as him. A few minutes of awkward silence later, the bus came. Stepping onto the bus, getting a wave of sweat and musk. Sitting quietly in the back, a nice looking guy appeared in the seat across from me. My grin soon turning a scowl, once some horror decides to sit on his lap! ‘Mood killer’ I mumbled under my breath. But deep inside, I knew I was ‘THE KILLER’. The bus halted to a stop, and being launched forward, and crashing into the hard leather seat in front of me, was not a pleasant sight to see. Quickly sitting up straight, hoping no one saw, mumbling incoherent words under my breath, I sighed, and rubbed my forehead. Stumbling out of my seat, I made my way to the front of the bus, having irresponsible jerks throw paper at my head. Only having me hoping that none contained saliva. Finally getting out of the vehicle, I spotted some jokes, laughing, and pointing of index fingers at me. “Hey you! Didn't your dad die yesterday?” One of them states, while the others sit there and laugh along with him. “Yea, ‘cause he died of cancer, right?” The chubby one says, slurring his words, making me have second thoughts on whether to believe him. Walking away quickly, trying not to let tears spill from my eyes by blinking repeatedly. But that only brought flashes of my father, sitting in the hospital bed, and telling me we didn't have enough money for the treatment. I remember suggesting my college fund to be used, and he quickly shut that down saying, “I wouldn't give up your future for mine.”

Now I can't stand the smell of the hospital, and the color white… It was all my fault. I couldn't help it anymore, tears were now streaming down my face, one after another. Not knowing what to do, I ran faster than I ever thought I could go. Slowing into a stop, I realize I'm at the back of the school. Sitting down and catching my breath was the least I could do. Sobbing, and an accelerated heartbeat, don't go well, especially when you're gasping for air. After about five minutes, I heard the school bell ring, signaling the students to start their day. “Claire is that you? And what are you doing with tears on your face?” My bestest of all friends, Macy, said to me with a concerning look on her face. “I killed my Dad! ... Okay, there, I said it.” I said, as my voice croaked. “You what?” she asked me with a dumbfounded look on her face. My dad had Cancer, and he never told anyone until last week. When we got him to the hospital, they said, “If he would have gotten here any later, he would been a corpse.” And the bad thing is, they all laughed as if it was funny! Anyways, I sat there and comforted my dad, everyday, so bad to the point that I could only be pried off of him. When it was time for the surgery, my father said, “It costs too much. We can’t afford it.” But the only real thing I couldn't afford to lose was him. I wanted him to use my college funds, but he wouldn't budge. It was like I literally shot him, when I told him I didn't want to talk to him until he used the college funds. And right then, the monitor turned into a long tone, signaling my father's stopped heartbeat. I sighed and waited for Macy to process this in her head. But the silence only put even more weight on my shoulders. “Claire, you could never blame yourself for an accident,” Macy said, with a sincere look on her face. “But the Doc said that someone pulled the cord and I was the only person in the room.” I paused for a second and thought back to the one person who was sitting in the corner, my MOTHER.

“Claire, What's startling you? Tell me!” she demanded with a serious face. “Sorry Claire, but I have some business to attend to... in particular Mommy and Daddy issues,” I said in a calming, sleek tone, with a grin on my face. I wiped the remaining tears on my face, and casually walked away.

“My Graduation” By: Love_Hemmings After a long day of school, I went home to get ready for graduation. I was so happy that I was finally going to sixth grade. Well, that was if I graduated. I wore a long, dark blue dress, and I also wore some black flats. My sister was going to curl my hair. My mom and sisters were gonna come to my graduation. My dad would still be working, so he wouldn’t come. When we were all done getting ready, my mom drove us to my school. I was getting nervous, and my heart was beating so fast,. I asked my music teacher, “Where would my line would be?” She said, “I would be going to the music room.” My friend Holly was already there, so she wanted me to do her hair. I was trying to do a fishtail braid as fast as I could. By the time I was done doing her braid, we were walking out of the classroom. We stood outside in the hallway for a little. My friend on the other side of the hallway, called me. I turned around and she told me, “The guy behind me said he likes your dress.” I was just like, “Umm... yea, thank you.” I turned back around to my friend Holly, because I was kinda blushing at what he said. I felt like I was falling for the guy, even though I kinda liked him already. We went into the gym, and there was a bunch of people sitting already. We all took a seat, where we were supposed to. They introduced everything, and then all the sixth graders stood up, turning around to face the families. We all sang, “The Best Day Of My Life.” Once that was done, the Principal and Assistant Principal started handing out awards. They kept calling me up, and I was happy. I had an award for

Math, Science, and English Language Arts (ELA). They called a few more people up to get their awards, and some of them were my friends. I was happy for them, too. After handing out safety patrol awards, they called up every student present, to get a class award with a graduation cap on it. We got up and gave a rose to our dad or mom. I gave my mom the white rose, and also gave her a hug. I left, and sat back in my seat. After dismissing everyone, the sixth graders went to the library to get food. They were serving pizza and cupcakes. I went back in the gym, where my mom and sisters were sitting, and ate my food. At the end of the graduation, we left to go back home. This was one of my best memories.

“Wouldn’t Try To Fix It” By: Neededme Some friends come and go. The ones that sometimes leave, most of the time, they would think you miss them. But when you're gone, then you're gone. When you’re gone, you don't matter anymore. Unless you say stuff about me to other people. Like that girl that was my friend. Now she is nothing. Sometimes, people do things to you, and they think you won't find out. or maybe they think it won't really matter. But, sometimes, the most littlest things can turn into the biggest things. They can try to fix it, but somethings you can't, no matter how hard you try. The things you did, you can't fix. What you did is not fixable. Most people think apologizing would fix it. But that won't do anything. That one word, “sorry”, won't fix what you did. You said things, and I said things. But how it all started, I still don't understand exactly how it happened. We were friends, until I meet him. At first, it was all good. Until you changed everything. I said something to you. But it wasn't that big of a deal, because most people call you a “Hoe”, so you really should get used to it. But what you said, and did, made everything change. You started saying stuff about me behind my back, and then you acted like it didn't happen. I would not try to fix what happened, but you think I should.

“My Baby Sister” By: Jasmine P. Sallyrose is my sister's name. She’s eight months old. Before she was born, I thought I wasn't going to be attached to her, and that I would dislike her. When Sallyrose was born, she was a cute little baby, but we couldn't take her home. Sallyrose had to stay in the hospital for a month, because she had a collapsed lung. Once she was better, we took her home. And then, from there, she changed my life. Her brightness rubbed off on me. The name Sallyrose came from my mother's and my grandmother’s names combined. My mother is Sally and my grandmother is Rose. People thought Rose was her middle name, but it's not. My brother and I always try to make her laugh, because she has the cutest laugh. She has red hair, blue eyes, and she’s chubby. My family just loves her. I can’t wait for her to start walking and talking. Right now, she's sliding on her stomach and she's starting to use her knees to raise up. Sallyrose is smart. She's already shaking her head no, clapping, putting sounds together, and crawling. I baby sit her a lot; like when my mother goes to the store, or picks my brother up from school. I don't have any trouble with taking care of her. She usually plays with her toys, or tries to sing. If you have a baby sibling or a sibling coming, they will look up to you to teach them, play games with them, and have fun with them. I can't wait to spend my life knowing Sallyrose. I can’t help but wonder what she will do in life and what she’ll become. I can’t wait to spend my life knowing her.

“Why My Friends Are My Friends” By: Ghost Why is Cornell my friend? It’s because he is a really funny jokester. He makes jokes all the time about any and everything. Me and him both play Call of Duty, GTA V, Minecraft, Clash Royale, and Clash of Clans. Cornell is a Rushed/Gemmed Town Hall nine. I am a “Good Town Hall

“The Walking Dead” By: @_la.prxncessa The Walking Dead is the best show ever!! The Walking Dead is sort of a horror show. This show has a 9.6 rating. The makeup looks so real, like, it's impossible to think it’s all fake. The blood, biting, cutting and chopping, all look so real. I guess it's just the makeup, or how the actors act. I totally recommend watching this show. Unless you have blood triggers, or you don't like blood, but like, who doesn't? I first started watching this show during summer break, at a sleepover with my cousins when they said, “You should watch this show called The Walking Dead, it’s so good. It has to do with a lot of blood.” Then I was like, “OHHHHH I’m finna like diss.” So then, my cousin Lucia turned on the TV, to channel 38(AMC). t first, the show was boring. I didn't know any characters. But then I saw my first Walker. But I was so stupid I called them Zombies, and their proper name is

Walkers. Never in the Walking Dead have they called them, “Zombies”. My favorite characters, in kinda a sequence order, would be: Rick, Daryl, Glenn, Carl, Michonne, Maggie, Abraham, Martinez, Shane, Beth, Lizzie, Mika, Carol, and Lorri. Rick is the best character ever out of all the characters. He always finds solutions to anything. Even if it's last minute, it's great. Like, once Rick was at war with the Governor and his group with tanks. They just started shooting at them, because they wanted to keep the prison, a.k.a Rick's place of shelter. But, in reality, the Governor just wanted a way to kill Rick. After the war, everyone on the bad side was killed, or on the governor's side, was killed. Rick managed to keep him, Judith, Maggie, Glenn, Tara, Daryl, Michonne and other people, except Hershel Greene, who was Beth & Maggie’s dad. He got his head chopped off by the Governor. Hershel Greene was one of the kindest people on The Walking Dead TV show. Once, this disease from the Walkers was spreading. He could get it, but all he cared about was finding a cure. It was almost like the flu, but you turn into a Walker. Before the apocalypse, Hershel used to be a vegetarian, so he could be almost like a doctor. So Glenn and other people got it. Hershel made tea with berries, went into cell block C, and gave it to the sick people, risking his life for others. But somehow he never caught it. After his head was chopped off, his eyes turned a teal color. Thanks to Hershel Glenn. He wouldn’t be here right now, expecting to be a father with his child on the way with Maggie. The most, saddest, moment was when Lori Grimes died, a.k.a Carl’s Mom. Lorri was Carl’s mom and Rick’s wife. When Lori was pregnant with Shane’s child, she wanted the baby to have a future, so she told Maggie to cut the baby out. Lorri died from bleeding out, and being shot in the head by Carl, her own son. Right before Lorri died, she told Carl, “Take care of Rick, and Carl will be fine.” Then she passed away, and Judith Grimes was born. Then came the time that Carl had to shoot Lorri, his own mother. Yeah, I know it's sad, but it was something that had to be done.

If you are interested in watching The Walking Dead, it comes on TV Sundays on AM,C at 9:00 p.m. If you watched this show, just take a moment of silence to look back at what they have been through. Lord, so much, and all the people they have lost, it’s just so sad.

“Basketball Or Else…” By: Lilballislife__ What I want to be, when I grow up, is a NBA basketball player. You might ask, “Why?” Well, everybody knows, I’m good at it. DUH! I started playing basketball when I was four years old. I always scored a lot of points. I’ve got that jumper, like Curry, and play like Westbrook. But as I get older, the competition gets harder and harder, which makes me strive higher and higher. I know when I get older, it's going to be hard to make it into the NBA, because I’m already short. But if I keep my grades up, and I stay out of trouble, I’ll be good. And if it doesn’t work out for me to get into the NBA, I have backup plans. I either would go into Dentistry, Fashion, or be an Artist. You might be thinking, “Why these things?” Well, Dentistry is something I wanted to be in ever since I was little. And if you didn't know, they make a lot of money. I would be an Artist because I can draw from time to time. My artwork is good. I’m very creative, and I can make a lot of things. And I could go into Fashion (“cough cough”) because I can dress well. And I have to keep it neat, because if I don't, I wouldn't be able to find anything. A.K.A: My big sis thinks she can dress better than me :) I know I can do at least one of these things. But a NBA basketball player is what I want to be when I grow up. And, hey, everybody knows I’m good.

“Lucky/Funny Game, Or Life Moments And My Favorite Things” By: Richard CT. Oh my GOD, was my life full of lucky moments and surprises. Most of my favorite things are based on my parents, nature, and games. Most people think that games are stupid, because they think games are a mistake and should be burnt and destroyed. But the truth is, games are a miracle, because when you have nothing to do, games are always there to keep you busy. [Coughs] Let's get back to the topic, shall we? As I was saying, I don’t care anymore because my life is scary and painful, but mostly painful. I had to deal with a lot of problems with bullies, but I’m used to those problems now. On with the moments. Firstly, we are going to start out with the game, Call Of Duty: Black Ops 111, and this moment, was crazy. I was playing a round of T.D.M (Team Death Match, for those who don’t know what that is). All of the opposing players were coming from the stairwell, and I was right around the corner. I came out of my hiding place, and every single bugger in the enemy team got headshot, by yours truly. MAN, was that lucky! Even more, from that killjoy that I just launched on, that round upgraded my ManOWar TO THE MAX, TO THE MAX, INSANELY AWESOME! That was a lucky moment, and I would want every round I played to go to the T.D.M. Next, is in a game called The Crew Wild Run. Now, this one is a story you would stay and read, because this is a wild rider. I was playing an online match. I was losing every round to these four O.P. drivers with their lamborghinis. And yes, I had one of those badass cars, as well, because I leveled higher than one thousand. Oh, yes, it’s possible to get that high, and my lamborghinis level was level eight hundred thirty five, or something between eight hundred and nine hundred. I can’t remember exactly. We were all racing. I always start my races with a strong hit, and this one cost the opponents the race. I hit the car beside me so hard, they all crashed. Homey, was that worth it!

Now we are getting into some life lucks. First, the beach. Me, my father, and my sister went fishing. Normally, my father catches more fish than me. But this day was a game changer. We were using shrimp, and I caught, like, twentyfive fish, including a Spanish Mackerel, no racism intended. My father caught three fish and my sister, zippo. Next up, school. Yes, I know that most people say that funny things rarely ever happened in school, but this is funny. I was doing a lesson in Mr. Campbell's class. A friend of mine named Cornell, not corny, I mean Cornell, told me to write something funny. I decided to write Bob Saget :D. I put it on the board, and the trap was set. Me and Cornell were cautious, but we suspected someone would notice what we did, but we were lucky. We saw the prank note, and we were waiting to see Mr. Campbell’s reaction. But we did not expect this reaction. We did not expect him to say it out loud, and with confusion, like this, “BOB SAGET!?!” And then, me and Cornell bursted out laughing. Mr. Campbell started to laugh out loud, too. And then the entire class did the same. MAN, was that funny. That was actually a good moment. That was it for my the most funny and lucky moments I’ve experienced. Now, you guys can go and read other stories. Enjoy the other stories, and I hope you enjoyed this story. See ya’ll next time.

“When It Happened” By: Angel P. :^) I was at my house, and I was living there in 2012. While pettin g my dog, my brother said, “Do you want to play soccer with me?” I told him, “Yes.” As you probably know, dogs love to chase things. I kicked the ball, and it landed near my brother, Alvin P.. The neighbor that was living next door, an old man to me, on my left, was very rude and grumpy. So, when I accidently kicked the ball over his fence, it was really bad. He came outside and took the ball into his house. After that he called the police and I was in big trouble. It was a big problem after that month, which is why I named this story “WHEN IT HAPPENED.” My mom said, “That was a $20

“MCJS Bully, Turned Friend” By: Semar B. When I was six years old, I got two pairs of Jordans and a phone. But the next day, I dropped the phone and it cracked,. So my dad took the phone away. I did not get the phone back until I was seven years old. And when I got on it, I downloaded lots of things, like Instagram, Oovoo, and Subway Surfers. It was all cool, until I went to school. This boy named Jamarcus was bullying me, so I said, “If you were a real man, you would fight me, you little b***h.” Then he said, “I will beat your ass.” So we started to fight. Most people say that the fight was a tie, but I knew that I was in some trouble when I got home. My dad grounded me for five weeks, and took my phone away for six weeks. I was very mad. Over the next few weeks, Jamarcus still bullied me. I thought he was bullying me because he had been bullied before. I told him the reason why I thought that he is bullying me. He started crying and said, “You are right.” So then he said, “I’m sorry for all that me and my friends have done to you.”

It took him four weeks to stop bullying me. And we have been best friends ever since that Friday. He texts me on kik every week and asks, “How is the new school?” I say, “The new school is ok.” Just to be clear, the new school is Neal. But I still love my old school MJCS.

“My First Perm” By: Sewewa I got my first perm on a weekend day, when I was in first grade. My mom brushed and combed my hair, so it took about ten to fifteen minutes to finish combing my hair. I believe that she washed my hair first, then put in the perm. When she put in the perm, there was a tingling sensation. It kinda burned. After she finished, I felt like the Joker. You know, like the one on Batman. From what I remember, my hair was kinda long. My mother did not let me keep it loosely hanging, so she cornrowed it. If youŕe wondering if I liked getting the perm, it was all right. I liked the fact that I had my hair done. But I did not like the tingling burn to my scalp. I later found out that perms can damage your hair. As a result, I cut my hair some years later just to start fresh. But not all the way down. That was my first and my last perm. The reason I got the perm was because my mom decided that I should get one, and I agreed with her. My advice to you is, if you’re wondering if you want to get a perm, it’s your personal decision. You choose, but I’m not getting one, again.

“Once Again…” (Genre: Fiction, Drama) BY: VIBEWITHSTEPH I was packing my clothes in my suitcase. On the other side of the room, I saw my Ma's jewelry box. Walking over to the box, I opened it, taking out a gold pendant cross necklace. I tucked my hair under my ear and moved my hair up, putting on the necklace. Rubbing my thumb left to right, back and forth, on the cross. A tear rolled down my face. I was trying to fight back my tears, but failed uncontrollably. Man, I

JW Neal Middle School, Durham, NC. Explorers Core Classes 1, 2, 3, 4 20152016 School Year Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline, Fairway Printing Inc., and Durham Arts Council’s CAPS Program PAGE 54 Volume Eight Ms. Putt’s 6th Grade Core Explorers Students March 79, 2016, 2016 Stories Come to Life! Literary Residency with Mrs. Anita Woodley miss my momma… I got myself together, hearing a soft, rapid knock on my door. Can't he just leave me alone? Better yet, go away? “Yeah?” I said, quickly putting the stuff back to normal. “You ready to go?” Jordan said, coming inside my room. “Yeah I’m coming. Wait for me downstairs, ‘ight?” I said, not turning back to face him. He grabbed my arm. “I got you ‘ight?! You’ll be good. Your parents got what they got...their actions, their consequences”. I looked at him in disbelief, “You...” I pointed to his face, “know nothing about my family, and you will not disrespect them. I never needed you before or now! I don't need you, at all. I can take care of myself. Dad should've left you out. He never needed you, either,” I mumbled. “What was that?” He tightened his grip on my arm. Snatching my arm, fast, I said, “I.Don’t.Need.You, and neither did Dad.” I felt a hurtful sting on my face, one that I will never forget. A tear rolled down my face. “Man! Granny nevah said I’ma have a dead beat, lil a$$ sista. You ain't worth s**t.” What he said shouldn't have hurt me, but it did. More than the slap. Why? I shook my head continually and packed my remaining clothes. I heard the door slam. I jumped. “I hate you,” I was mumbling. “Speak up, you get heard,” he yelled. “Let's go,” I rolled my eyes. I’m not going to stay here and be disrespected by an older brother I never heard of and never wanted. Why couldn't my dad tell me I had a brother? Did he even know he had another child? I grabbed my suitcase with my most important stuff. I took my phone and wallet from the night stand and headed out my bedroom door. In the hallway downstairs, I looked left and right for a sign of Jordan. He was in the bathroom. I tiptoed to the front door, opening it quickly, but silently, before heading outside. “Bye,” I said.

“Bus one hundredsixty, you can aboard now,” the operator said into a speaker phone. I don't know where I’m going, but I leaving here. Too many memories that’re shattered. “Can I sit here, ma’am?” I said to a older lady, looks about in her 60’s. “Go ahead, sweetie,” he said. I nodded and sat down, “Thank you,” I smiled. Frst one in a while. I woke up at my stop. I got up and exited the bus. I walked down an alley, while feeling a presence behind me. I continued to walk faster, untill somone appeared in front of me. “What do you want from me? If it's money, I don't have it.” “I want you, lil mama.” He licked his lips and winked. I felt disgusted and uncomfortable. He came closer. I moved back. “Follow us, Ma’. We’ll treat you right,” he said. I begin to run the opposite way. Another man appeared in front of me. I stopped. He grabbed my arm, taking me to the ground. “Please stop!” I yelled. “Help!” I added. I felt something hit my neck. I saw double, triple, then everything went back. I woke up in what looked to be a warehouse. “Ugh,” I whined in pain. My head was dizzy. I felt like someone dropped a boulder on my head. “Maannn…. I said bring someone else not my daughter,” a familiar voice yelled, a little above a whisper. “Sorry boss, I didn't know. She just looked like your description,” another man said. “Whatever man, maybe she won't remember me,” a familiar voice whispered. I moved a little, causing the worker to turn to me. “She’s awake boss” He said. “‘Ight.” He still didn't turn to look at me, but I saw a glance of his face. Wait, this must be wrong. He’s dead….right? “DAD!” he turned to me, then looked back. “Help me please. Tell them to leave me alone,” I yelled. The other man came to me with a needle.

“NO! DAD! Please. You promised you will keep me safe. You said you loved me… Why are you doing this me?” I yelled. “Calm down man, I don't want to deal with yo’ s**t ‘ight.” He came closer to stick the needle in my arm. “AHH,” I yelled in pain. Tears ran down my face. Why me? I thought. I started to see double. Then triple. Then black…

“My Best Friend That I Am Crazy In Love With…” By: lady.paid :) Okay. Nobody will ever understand the love I have for my best friend. Every time I get a boyfriend, or he gets a girlfriend, we fall off! It didn’t start off like that, though. I first met my best friend at the mall. He kept talking to me, and I thought he was just a lame weirdo, because he talks so White. Don’t get me wrong, he was so FYI! I went home with my cousin. A’Shanti. that night. I said “Yo’, peezy? Who was that cute boy that was talking to us, before we left the mall?” She told me his name and said, “I will tell him to hit my phone.” Don’t leave her up to nothing, because he didn’t hit my phone. The next year, I posted a boy best friend pic on Instagram, and he was the first to like it. I sent him a message through DM (Direct Messenger). He said, “I want to be your best friend.” We would text each other a lot, and I always told him about my boy problems. He always knew what to say. One day, I texted him, and told him straight up, “I don’t wanna be best friends, anymore. I really have feelings for you.” Then he said, “BFF, I really feel the same way, but I kinda have a girlfriend.” I didn’t reply. He Facetimed me, and we stayed on all night, talking. I had to play it off, so I just smiled and laughed at everything he said. Just talking to him makes me smile. Every time we talk just makes me so happy. My best friend makes my worst days, the best. Nobody ever made me feel this way. Recently, I posted a picture of me and a boy, and the guy said, “I am her best friend.” Of course, my legit best

Core 4 Student’s Artwork Collage

“The Day I Started Playing Soccer, And When I Broke My Leg” By: Angel G. I was five years old when I started playing soccer. My coach used to put me on the bench a lot of times, because I use to suck at playing soccer and I did not try a lot. I told my dad I wanted to stop playing, but he told me to never give up. I practiced a lot to play in more games. I don't have to sit on the bench anymore. I told my coach, “Let me play.” So he saw the difference in how I played. He let me play more, because the other kid that played for my coach, kinda sucked. So he took him off. We almost had a fight, but I ignored him. So he quit the team and I was so happy because I can play more now. My coach was so happy that I never gave up on soccer. When it was the semifinals, we started the game, and I saw the same kid that I was going to fight. He was trying to break my leg, and his team was trying to help him to break my leg. There was a kid who grabbed me. Then the guy who was trying to fight me, he broke my leg on purpose. I was so mad that I wanted to have a fight with him, but I could not walk. We won the game still, And the championship game was in one month. My leg got better by then. There were five days left before for the game, so I practiced a lot. So then I got better to play the game. My coach assigned me as a Captain for my team. The game was about to start. I was so nervous, but I faced the same guy who broke my leg. He was laughing at me, and I wanted to punch his face to see who was laughing after I hit him. The game started and he tried to break my leg again. But he twisted his leg, and I was laughing because he tried to break my leg. My team won the championship and it was the happiest day of my life. I had to stop playing soccer because my leg hurts when I run a lot, and when the players hit it. Even though I had to quit playing soccer, they let me keep the trophy. I was crying and my teammates put their signatures on my trophy. I left so happy that day.

“The Day I Fought Someone” By: Shazar P. The day that I fought someone was a day that I went to a party at Duke Park. It was a crazy party, until it got ugly. It was all fun and games, until she pushed me. I hate when people touch me. And when they touch me, I go crazy and take it real personal. So when the girl pushed me, I pushed her back. Plus, gave her a punch in the face. I was so happy and relieved that was over with. Until she came back for more. And I will say it was not all fun and games. It was not, but she took it all funny, because she was laughing. I turned red, but as soon I finished with her, someone else that was related to her, jumped in. The girl who jumped in to fight me, did not know that I had my God sister with me, plus my sister and cousin. The girl was scared, so she went to get her mom. After that, I said this to the girl, “I told you that you should’ve not messed with me.” But she thought it was funny, until the word, “F**k girl,” came out of her mouth. I said, “B**ch, you a h*e. You are bummy as hell, so get a life. And if you don't want beef with me, go run and play alone with yo’ little sister, like you mommy said!” Within an hour, her, her mom, sister, auntie, and more people came to where I was. I told my sister, “Go get mom,” and she did, returning with our whole family. It was bad. After a while, her and my mom got to arguing and it was not great because her mom was bigger. Then we went home. Next thing you know, you see a car that looks just like the girl’s mom’s car following my mom’s car. As soon as we got out of the car, the girl’s mom started throwing her hands at my mom with a weapon. And that was not it. They fought. My mom won, because the girl pushed her in the bush. And then she went into the house, so I went outside and fought the girl. They called the police, so my mom could get in trouble, and it did work. After that, me and the girl went back to fighting each other, and I won. Now, when I see the girl, I say, “H*e” to her. My advice to you all is that when someone tries to fight you, pick on you, or touches you, you should go for it.

Never let no one try to bully you. And, also, if you see the person, walk away. Always.

“WrestleMania 2l” By: Elvin CC. I love seeing WWE, and going to just the main events: like No Way Out, No Mercy, Judgment Day, Wrestlemania, and more. Once, I went to a WWE live wrestling match that was on Sunday, April 4, 2005. It was fun, and there was too much sound. It was amazing to go. It was Wrestlemania 21, and it was an amazing show. We were there for about two hours. I liked how the fireworks came out. And then they said, “Welcome to Wrestlemania!” I was sitting next to my family and a friend, because it was his birthday. The first match was Chris Jericho vs. The Eagle. It was extreme because they used a lot of weapons, broke a lot of tables, and broke a lot of other things on each other. But the winner was Jerico. The next match was The New Day vs. The New Age Of Outlaw, and it was both awesome and lame. The New Day was cheating because you cannot use any weapons, yet they hit with one, and The New Age were bleeding. But the New Age of Outlaw was the winner. The next match was The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels, and they broke tables. The Undertaker hit the cameraman, and then Shawn Michaels face kicked him, and the Undertaker chokeslammed, and did the Head Stone on Shawn Michaels. The Undertaker won. Then it was a time to watch the group, Money In The Bank, with the wrestlers, RTruth vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Bad News Barrett vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy and Umaga. It was amazing! They broke a lot of ladders and tables. Jeff Hardy was the beast extreme, and jumped from a ladder to Umaga, and the ladder broke. The winner was Kofi Kingston. In the Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena vs. Triple H match for the World Heavyweight Champion belt, it was extreme and kinda bloody. Brock Lesnar did a German Suplex. John Cena and Triple H hit Brock Lesnar, and the winner was John Cena.

When Big Show vs. Mark Henry match started, it was extreme, too. They were friends. But then they became enemies, so they are fighting in Wrestlemania. Both used weapons, and they only broke some tables. But they almost broke the ring. And both of them were bleeding after having two ladders break on them at the same time. And the last match with Randy Orton vs. Rey Mysterio 619 was awesome because they used a pipe and 619 and won.

“Ashley’s Life” By: Ashley R. Hi, my name is Ashley and I will talk to you about my life. I hope you like it. I lived in Fayetteville with my grandmother, when I was one to four years old. When I was turning four years old, I moved to Greensboro with my mom. I was happy because I never saw what my mom looked like. When I left my grandmother’s house, I was kinda sad. But my grandmother said, “Just don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. But do good at your mom’s house,” I said, “Okay.” We got in the car and I fell asleep. But I didn’t dream of anything. When I woke up, we were at my mom’s neighborhood. My family was all there, when I went into the house. Two years later, I was getting out of school, and when I got home I heard that my father died. I was so sad. My mom told me how my father died. My father died by… Well, he was taking his friend to his house and when my father and his friend got out of the car, a person shot my father. But he meant to shoot the other person. A few days later, my mom put me and my brother in foster care. And I was sad, but I had found some more friends. Then, at the end of my third grade school year, my mom took me out of foster care. I was moving into fourth grade. When my mom brought me back home, a man was in the house. And my mom said, “Guys, I’m getting married.” I was happy. We moved to Durham, and I was happy because I

“The Worst Month Ever Than Good” By: Brian TE. I was riding bikes with my friend when I was about eight years old. I was riding in a circle, and a strange lady came out and screamed, “Get out of my yard or I will call the police!” But I was not in her yard. So I went to a hill where there was a road, and I saw no cars. I went down the hill and a car came. I tried to stop with the brakes, but it was too late. The car hit me in the stomach. The person did not notice, so they kept going. My friends did not help me get up. They just went home. I laid there for two or one minute. Then I woke up and went home. I hurt for two days, and where the car hit me left a mark that was big. I had to heal it. The next day, going to school, the same woman came up to me and said, “Never go to my yard!” She was yelling and I said, “I don’t care about that!” I really wanted to hit her very hard. I went to ride bikes again with my friends, and the lady came outside with a bat. One of my friends, who was older, cursed at her and she went back to her home. The next day came, and I went to the back of my yard to explore. I did not know it was poison ivy back there. So I thought it was regular leaves, and I touched it. I went back home, and the next day at school, I was itchy. I scratched all over, until I learned it was poison ivy. I got a

JW Neal Middle School, Durham, NC. Explorers Core Classes 1, 2, 3, 4 20152016 School Year Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline, Fairway Printing Inc., and Durham Arts Council’s CAPS Program PAGE 64 Volume Eight Ms. Putt’s 6th Grade Core Explorers Students March 79, 2016, 2016 Stories Come to Life! Literary Residency with Mrs. Anita Woodley cream. My teacher called my mom to come to the school. The teacher was telling lies to my mom, saying, “He did not do his homework.” But I did. I noticed she was racist. Then I was happy when the teacher got fired. But others were crying. I was happy a new teacher came, because she was nicer than the other one. I was in third grade and I did my school work and homework. And my teacher did get it, even my work from the other teacher I had. Three days passed, and I did not know anyone. I was shy then. Someone pulled my ear and I hit them. But they said, “He started all of it.” So I went to the office, and they let me go back to my classroom. The worst day of them all was when I got lost for nearly ten minutes on the way home. I decided to never go into the woods again. Then I started to have a good day. I moved, but I still went to the same school and good stuff happened. I still ride bikes in the road, but I just look both ways. When no cars are coming, I go. I also go to the store on my bike. Well, until my bike got stolen. I did not do anything for my bike to get stolen. For two years, I saw the same bike as mine. I looked at it, and told the guy who was riding it, “That’s my bike!” But he just goes fast on my bike to get away from me. I got a scooter, and lock it, so no one will ever steal my things again. I also went to a fair and had fun.

“The Scariest Day Of My Life” By: Bryan HC. On November 3, 2014, I was in my bedroom. I was home alone because my parents were gone shopping, and I decided to stay. While in my bed, I heard some noise on my back porch. So I quickly locked my bedroom door and called my mom. She said, “It’s ok.” So I got under my bed. I heard my back door open, and I almost had a heart attack because I never thought this would ever happen. Next, I heard another room door open, and I was really scared. For some reason, my mom never called 911, so they could check on me. That was weird. Then I heard all the

“4th Grade Times” By: Eduardo RE. Hi, my name is Eduardo. I gonna write about times I had in fourth grade. The class I was in was so bad, and the teacher’s name was Ms. Horn. She was a nice teacher, but the students were so bad. I was half mean. That means that my behavior was good and bad. We didn’t do much homework. Well, she did pass work out. But the whole class didn’t do it. I think she didn’t care, because when the whole class said , “We left our homework at home,” she said, “Okay.” The whole class was bad. They kicked the door hard and my friend, Jason, was there, too. I think students were behaving badly because she never did nothing about it. They threw paper around the room, and she saw them, but didn’t say anything to them. When the class was over, the room was all dirty, with a lot of trash. Students made fun of her name because it was Ms. Horn, and they call her Ms. Horing. I liked that class and I

JW Neal Middle School, Durham, NC. Explorers Core Classes 1, 2, 3, 4 20152016 School Year Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline, Fairway Printing Inc., and Durham Arts Council’s CAPS Program PAGE 66 Volume Eight Ms. Putt’s 6th Grade Core Explorers Students March 79, 2016, 2016 Stories Come to Life! Literary Residency with Mrs. Anita Woodley didn’t like it. One reason I liked it was because it was fun in that class, and we had it a lot of time to talk with our friends. The other reason I didn’t like it was because it was so bad, and too many bad words were being used. One time, there were, like, five people with phones out in class. And Ms. Horn said, “Put the phones away.” And they did listen, that time. I think she's quit, because when I was in fifth grade, I didn't see her in the fourth grade class she taught. If I see Ms. Horn today, I am just going to say, “Sorry”, and just walk away, or just run away from her. And if she was still there at the school, I would write her a letter about all the bad things I did, and say, “Sorry”. There were good and bad times. But mostly it was bad. When the bad students were not there in the class, it was good. But when the bad students was there, it was so bad. There was a fourth grade teacher, but they moved her, and all her students came to Ms. Horn’s class. So there were a lot of students. That why I think it was so bad in her class, and so boring, too. It was boring because we never played games, and we always had to walk laps. Well, I didn’t because I would skip the laps when I went to play outside. And Ms. Horn never told me to walk, because I was good. In that class, I was bad, but it never got me in trouble, because I was cool. Ms. Horn use to give me candy for the work I did. Half of the class didn’t do nothing, and she still passed them to the fifth grade.

“Police” By: ChristopherR. My name is ChristopherRichardson, and I want to be a Police Officer (Cop). I want to be a Police Officer because I will have a gun, and they are awesome. And I can chase people. Also, I can drive a police car fast, and people will have to pull over. So it's just going to be me and the open road. I like the sound of sirens on the police car. And when the police car goes fast, the sound says, “ Rrrrr... Rrrr... Uuuuuu... Mmm.” I know I like them because, when I see them on the

“The Comment Fight” By: Destiny W. One time I got into a fight. The reason I got into the fight was because of my boyfriend. This girl named Aaliyah kept commenting under his Instagram pictures. I warned her to go away and stop. Then she did it for the third time, and that’s when we wanted to meet up. When we did, she didn't want to

“My First Time Playing The Xbox One” By: Emileo CR. Have you ever played a Xbox One before? I have played an Xbox One. My first time playing a Xbox One was hard, because that was my first time having an experiencing with a Microsoft product. Also, I did not know how to snap, to do two things at once. But I really wanted to know how to do that. The game me and my friends played, was Grand Theft Auto 5. To begin with, I had a hard time getting used to playing on the Microsoft product, because I was more of a Sony brand person. So I knew how to work Sony products more than I did Microsoft. My experience with Microsoft was a little hard at first. I just want to say, Sony is so much better than Microsoft. I kept at it because I just did not want to give up, because I like the Xbox One for the games, and the Sony Playstation for the graphics, and my friends that I get to play

“Minecraft, Terraria, and 3DS” By: Isaiah P. On my twelfth birthday, it was the first time I got a game for my birthday. I went to Gamestop to buy Minecraft. Then the man said, “We don't have Minecraft.” So they shipped it to my house. I was so happy, that I wanted to jump off the walls. Then I put the game into my PS3, and it turned out it was broken! I was so disappointed that I cried. Since they gave me a broken game, I had to go back to Gamestop for a refund, and I rebought Minecraft. On my thirteenth birthday, on March 25, 2016, my parents will get me a new Game called, “Terraria,” because I asked for it. When I get it, I will try to beat the Expert mode. I like Terraria because it has over ten Bosses and onehundred weapons, while Minecraft only has two Bosses. I also want a 3DS because it has Pokemon X/Y, Omega Ruby, Alpha Sapphire, and Sun and Moon. Also, I want to make videos on the 3DS.

“The Day I Got GTA 5” By: JasonZ. The day I got the GTA 5, was the best day of my life when I played this game. You can have a job in GTA 5. There is the cool part about the game where you can play online with friends. The best part about the game is that the game is freeroam. And the second best part about GTA5 is that it is just like real life, and that’s cool. You can even create your very own charter in the game, and that is so, so, Cool! You also can buy your own house and safe house to take showers, eat food, change your clothing. And you can even drink wine, just like real life. You can use any vehicle like cars, planes, boats, helicopters. And the best of all, jets with guns on them. You can even have your very own phone. And that’s how you buy stuff in GTA 5. Also, you can call people on your phone. The reason I got this game is because it was Christmas day and we were passing out gifts. My brother got me a shirt and GTA5 for gifts. I went to my room and put the disc in my PS4. I had to wait a long time, and it was worth it. I had a rocket launcher, and that was cool. GTA 5 was the coolest game I ever bought, and that is the end of that story.

“Leticia, My Best Friend” By: Jenny HV. How did I meet my best friend, Leticia? Well, I met her in Spanish class on ~8.27.15~❤ It was actually very fun because we became best friends in that class, and we really had fun. We got to know each other more and everything. That day was the best day. She is an amazing friend, really. Like, I was happy that we are best friends. We’ve been best friends now for seven months (82715 to 32716). We’ve almost been best friends for eight months. And that's good. I like spending time with Leticia, even though when I met her we had no classes together. However, we talked at lunch and in Spanish class. When the semester went by, we changed electives, but we had gym together. It was fun until

JW Neal Middle School, Durham, NC. Explorers Core Classes 1, 2, 3, 4 20152016 School Year Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline, Fairway Printing Inc., and Durham Arts Council’s CAPS Program PAGE 71 Volume Eight Ms. Putt’s 6th Grade Core Explorers Students March 79, 2016, 2016 Stories Come to Life! Literary Residency with Mrs. Anita Woodley she had to move. I was sad because I could not see her anymore. But we text and call each other. One day she texted me and said, “I might come back to Neal.” I was so happy because everything was fun with her, since she was my best friend. We do so much together. Leticia is really funny, smart and pretty. The best part is that we have so much more to do in life together. I hope we can always be best friends. We are both so weird, like, we laugh at everything, and we both hate when when we get mad. I like to see her happy, just like she likes to see me happy. Also, I am really happy that we are close friends. I hope Leticia really does come back to Neal because I miss having my best friend there to do everything fun with. We play a lot, like, we have so many fun times. One day, I hope y'all can find a good best friend, just like I did. Leticia is also one of my favorite people because she makes me laugh and be happy, just like I make her happy and laugh. Leticia, if you don't come back to Neal, I hope you’re having fun at your new school, and that nothing is happening to you. And you know that whenever you feel sad, you have me to tell. But yeah, we also have the funny convos on kik But yeah...love you. And also, if you don't come back, know that I will miss you so much. You’re a very amazing friend. Leticia is the best person she could be. Really.

“Moving Schools” By: Cheese It was the beginning of the year, and I missed about a week of going to the Brogden Middle School Dragons. It is a kind of small school, but I knew no one at all there, and none of them knew me. Believe me, I tried, but I couldn't fit in. At the same time, I was still a new and confused student because it was my first week in middle school. I thought I should’ve just moved schools, so I asked my mom and dad if I could. They weren't mad or anything like that, but they didn't disagree. They knew how hard middle school could be, and a week later, I did move schools.

I moved to Neal Middle School, home of the Eagles. I was worried that I was not going to know anybody, again. But surprisingly, I knew a bunch of people. Mostly everybody that was from my elementary school was there. But some of them were new friends that I made. I liked the electives, teachers, and, also, that they had teams here at Neal. There's the Trailblazers, Explorers, and Pioneers. I am with the Explorers, and we’re a good team. I believe were the best team and the smartest team. Actually, not long ago, we got an award when the sixth grade principal told all the teams, “The most quiet team in the cafeteria, gets to go outside.” And we won, yes!!! I thought Neal was going to be a bad school, because my siblings went here. But no, it's a really good school. I haven't seen any bullying yet, and that's a really good sign. There were a couple of angry, strict, substitutes, but it's fine. I love this school.

“Skyzone” By: Tyquan H. On March 3rd, my little cousin had his birthday. It was my cousins, aunts, and my little cousin’s dad, at the place called Skyzone. They filled in the information sheet so we could go in and play. And they gave us the socks to wear while we jumped. When we were jumping, my little cousin was doing backflips. But me and my other cousins, were playing dodgeball. When we got there, a sign said, “Kids 9 and under.” So we asked, “Is there another one we could go into?” And they said, “Yes, over there at the beginning.” When we got over there, there were all big kids inside. But me and my cousins did not care. We walked in and started playing dodgeball. But the crazy thing that happened was, I hit this girl by accident, because I tried to hit this boy, but he moved. When I threw the ball, and the boy jumped, the girl got hit in the face with the ball. The boy looked like he was about nineteen year old, though. When she got hit, she started

“GTA 5” By: Waverly S. When I play GTA 5 on my Xbox360, I’m usually stressed out or mad. But when I start playing, it releases stress out about the people who have been mean to me. I feel better when I play GTA 5. And I feel less angry. I like to play GTA 5 because it’s my favorite game. I can bond with people that I don’t know. GTA 5 is the best thing that ever happened to me. I can play online with others, and by myself. I also love the game because you can steal cars and get money. I play the game in my living room, but mostly in my room. And that’s why I love playing GTA 5.

“5th Crazy Times” By: Cristian BS. My story is about crazy things I did in fifth grade. The things I did in fifth grade were the best times and the best things I've ever done. Me and my old friends created many games to play at school, since they didn't let us play soccer any more. My friends are Erik, Pablo, and Sebastian. It was just four of us and we had the best times ever. Pablo used to get jealous when I did better than him. He would always try his hardest to beat me. But nobody could beat me in the game of soccer. The game we played was called Soccer Ball Destroyer. We had so much fun playing that game. Erik wasn't that good at kicking the ball high. But then I

JW Neal Middle School, Durham, NC. Explorers Core Classes 1, 2, 3, 4 20152016 School Year Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline, Fairway Printing Inc., and Durham Arts Council’s CAPS Program PAGE 74 Volume Eight Ms. Putt’s 6th Grade Core Explorers Students March 79, 2016, 2016 Stories Come to Life! Literary Residency with Mrs. Anita Woodley trained him a little on what angle to keep the ball at. I also told him “You need to put more power in your leg when you kick”. The point of the game was to see who could kick the ball on the roof, or who could kick it the highest. When we kicked it on the roof, we would run from the teachers because they would be mad at us. When the teachers were mad at us, we ran in front of the school and waited for class to be over. Then we’d go back. Sometimes the ball would be stuck on the roof. That is when we got in big trouble because the ball would stay up there. But, usually, we would kick the ball up there and it would keep bouncing across the whole school. We’d be, like, “Wow.” I was the best one back then, and Sebastian, he would just kick the ball high. The best moment I’ve ever had was when I kicked the ball so high that it bounced, like, four times on the roof, fell down, and then my friends jumped on me. I said, “It's ok, man! I know... I saw the ball!” Then my other friends, that were not playing, said, “That was a beast.” I know that I was a good soccer player. But when I grew up, I didn't know what I wanted to be. I thought, I still had a long time to think about what I'm gonna to do with my life. There's no point of thinking about it now. I wanted to know how to be a real soccer player because I'm young still. I am not that old. When I played with my friends on the playground, we would play soccer. I don't know why, but people would get hit with balls and they would blame it on us, which was not fair. I know what I did is crazy, but it's my life because I love my life. The way I lived life in fifth grade was amazing life. My name is Cristian, and my friends said, “You are the best one that plays Soccer Destroyer. In the best game I ever played, I was having so much fun. My

JW Neal Middle School, Durham, NC. Explorers Core Classes 1, 2, 3, 4 20152016 School Year Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline, Fairway Printing Inc., and Durham Arts Council’s CAPS Program PAGE 75 Volume Eight Ms. Putt’s 6th Grade Core Explorers Students March 79, 2016, 2016 Stories Come to Life! Literary Residency with Mrs. Anita Woodley friends said, “Whoever created the game was a smart dude.” Sebastian said, “I am the best.” But none of us believed him. I said, “I am the best.” But they said, “You aren’t the best.” But I said, “Clearly, I am the best.” Maybe they didn’t believe me because they were jealous too much. Then people said, “You are the best.” And some girls said, “You are good.” So I said, “Thanks.” Every moment I had with my friends in fifth grade, I enjoyed it the best that I could. When we played, I loved doing everything in the world with them. I didn't care what was happening in my life, I just kept enjoying life. My other friend, Erik, said, “I try my hardest everyday to kick the hardest.” Fifth grade times were the crazy times I had. I’ve never done crazy things, like Soccer Ball Destroyer. I skipped class, but we never got caught, so we were lucky. Soccer Ball Destroyer is a fun game to play when you are bored or when you are outside. The teachers were just, like, “Wow, those kids are great at playing soccer.” One of my teachers, named Ms. Ricks, was my favorite teacher out of them all. Ms.Ricks is also the nicest teacher I’ve ever meet. Well, at least the best teacher, I’ve ever met. Mr. George was my second favorite teacher. He was nice to me, sometimes, when he wanted to be. My life, so far, is the best. I have a girlfriend named Jessica. I love her. I love my parents who bought me video games. I also have a PS4, and I play it because my parents waste their money on me. And I love that they care about me so much. I really can't thank them enough for everything they’ve done for me. My big brother sometimes can be mean to me. But I go with it, because I know he is trying to help me. My life was the craziest in fifth grade. People might say, “Their life is

URBANESE DICTIONARY By: 6th Grade Students of Neal Middle School

Welcome to the Urbanese Dictionary created by Neal Middle School 6th Graders! Every sixth grade English Language Arts (ELA) student was encouraged to not let spelling or context of a given word hang them up in their writing.

The goal was to have students write their stories freely, without judgment. Instead, they were asked to simply spell the words as they normally speak or say the words. Because I fluently speak and write what I refer to as “Urbanese”, I assured them that I could translate their biggest words into standard English. But I would also highlight the words on their papers, so they could use this dictionary to sharpen their awareness of and benefit of using standard English spelling. Here you will find word spellings that students used in their handwritten story drafts, and listed on 11x17 paper for inclusion here.

As you will see, these words are uniquely spelled from spoken, heard, experienced, texted, written sources and

Thank you in advance for having an open mind & heart, Anita Woodley CAPS Literary Theatre Teaching Artist

* = Spelling used by multiple students. 1. A lot = *alot 2. Address = adrees 1. About = ‘bout 2. Abandoned = abanned 3. About = bout, for 4. Academy = Acadamy 5. Accent = Atcent 6. Accident = Acident 7. Accidently = acidently, accedently 8. Accomplish = acomplish 9. Acknowledge = egnowledge 10. Acrylics = acyrics, acrylicse 11. Actually = Actly, actsully 12. Advice = Advise 13. Affected = effected 14. After = afther 15. Again = *agin, *agian, angin 16. Ahead = Head 17. Always = aways, all ways 18. And = *N, In, *An, at 19. All the way = Allway 20. Almost = All most, all must 21. Already = All ready, Already had 22. Although = All though 23. Always = Alway, *allways 24. Am = ame 25. Ambulance = ambles 26. Angry = angrey, angery

27. Anniversary = aneversery 28. Another = anther 29. Answer = Awncer 30. Anxiety = anxioty 31. Anyone = no one 32. Any = *No 33. Any more = no more 34. Anyone = no one 35. Anywhere = nowere 36. Anywho = Anyhow, Anyway 37. Apparently = aperently 38. Appointments = oppointemnt 39. Apologizing = apoligizing 40. Aquarium = Acquarium 41. Are = *Was, *Is 42. Arrived = arived 43. asf = As F**k 44. Ask = *Asked 45. Asked = *Ask 46. Asks = *Askes 47. Asleep = sleep 48. Assuring = asuring 49. Atlanta = Alanta 50. Attached = attatched 51. Attack = attac 52. Attitude = additude 53. Away = alway 54. Baby = Baee, bae 55. Badly = Bad 56. Bacon = baconn 57. Bagels = bangles 58. Balcony = *bowcunty, *bowcounty 59. Basically = Basicly 60. Beat = Bit, bet 61. Beating = Beaten, Breathing 62. Beautiful = Beatiful

63. Because = *‘cause, bc, cause, beacuse, cuz, becuase, Becase, becaus, *b/c, beacuse, becace, becuz, couse, becuse, becausse, beacuase, beacaues 64. Becoming = becomeing 65. Before = Befor, befour 66. Beginning = begenning 67. Being = beggining, bieng 68. Believe = belive 69. Believing = beleaving, beliving 70. Bet = beated 71. Between = from 72. BFFs = Best Friends Forever 73. Beginner = Begginer 74. Bleach = Bliich 75. Bleeding = Bleading 76. Boo boo = bobo 77. Bored = bord 78. Bought = buy 79. Boy = Boi 80. Bowl = Ball 81. Brakes = breaks 82. Break = Breack, brak 83. Breakfast = brefest, breackfast 84. Breathe = breath 85. Breathing = Brething 86. Brittish = brittish 87. Broken = brocken 88. Brother = Bruh, Bra, Brah, bother 89. Brought = brung 90. Brushed = brush 91. Bruised = Brusied 92. Brushed = Brushtied 93. BTFO = Back the f**k off 94. BTW = By The Way 95. Building = buildn 96. Bullied = bullyed 97. Buried = burried 98. Bushes = Bushess

99. Business = Buniess, buisness 100.Butt = butte 101.Buy = bye 102.By = Be, Bye 103.California = califona 104.Calms = colmos 105.Calling = callin 106.Came = Camed, cam 107.Camera = camara 108.Can = can’t 109.Candies = candys 110.Caring = Careing 111.Career = carrer 112.Cast = Caste 113.Casual = casul 114.Cereal = ceral 115.Celebration = celerbchan, cellabran 116.Celebrity = celeberty 117.Ceremony = ceromony 118.Characters = charcters 119.Cheering = cherrin 120.ChickfilA = chicfala 121.Chicken = *chiken 122.Chilling = chillin 123.Chocolate = Choclate 124.Choice = Choose 125.Chose = choiced, choose 126.Church = chruch 127.Clapped = claped 128.Clapping = claping 129.Class = klass 130.Cleaned = clane 131.Climbed = Climed 132.Clogged = cloaks 133.Closer = clowser 134.Clothes = chlothes, *cloths 135.College = colledge, collage, colage 136.Comes = Come

137.Coming = comin 138.Competition = *compatition 139.Conniving = Kiniving 140.Continue = *Continu, contuiens 141.Continually = contuinly 142.Cost = Costed 143.Couldn’t = *can’t, *coulden’t, *could’nt 144.Counter = conter 145.Cousin = *cusin, *cuzin, cuizin 146.Cousins = *cussins, *cusins, *cuzins 147.Court = Cout 148.Cracked = craked 149.Cream = creme 150.Create = cerate, 151.Creator = cerater 152.Creepy = Crepy 153.Cried = cryed, cry 154.Crutches = cruches 155.Crowd = crod 156.Crowded = crouded 157.Crying = craying 158.Curse = cus 159.Cursed = cured 160.Cursing = Cussin 161.Cushion = cushin 162.Damn = Dammm 163.Dammit = Damit 164.Dance = dace 165.Dangerous = Dangeroos, dangeruos 166.Dark = Door 167.Day = Dayy 168.Deal = Delt 169.Dealer = delar 170.Dear = der 171.Decay = decade 172.Decided = disited, decited 173.Decision = desicion 174.Deejay = DJ

175.Defend = defind 176.Definitely = defenetly, deffinetly, diffily 177.Deleted = dealted 178.Dentistry = dintistry 179.Depressed = Deperrssd 180.Desserts = Deserts 181.Details = Deatails 182.Devastated = devictad 183.Diagnosed = dienosgs 184.Diamonds = Dimens Died = Die 185.Didn’t = dide’t, did’it, did’t 186.Difference = diffrence 187.Different = diffrent, diffent, diffirent 188.Dirty = Derty 189.Disappointed = dissapointed 190.Discovered Decoverd 191.Disgusting = Discusting 192.Dizzy = dissey 193.DM = Direct Message 194.Doctor = docter 195.Doctors = Dacters, docture, docters 196.Does = Dose 197.Doesn’t = Don’t 198.Dollars = dollers 199.Down = Drown 200.Downloaded = donloaded 201.Dream = Dreamt 202.Dress = Derss 203.Dressed = dreesed 204.Dribbling = Dribbleing 205.Dropped = Drop 206.Drug = drug 207.Dumb = Dum 208.Durham = Darhum 209.Duty = Dudy 210.Dying = dieing 211.Each other = eacher 212.Easily = easliy

213.Eating = eatinh, eat 214.Education = Educution 215.Effect = affecting 216.Electives = Eletives 217.Ended = eadin 218.Entire = inter 219.Entrepreneur = entreprenuer 220.Episode = Episod 221.Every since = Ever since 222.Ecstatic = extatic 223.Ever since = Eversins 224.Everybody = eveybody 225.Everything = evey thing 226.Everywhere = ever where 227.Excited = * exited 228.Excuse = escuss 229.Exercise = Exrises 230.Extreme = Extrem 231.Explaining = explaning 232.Fair = fiar 233.Family = familey 234.Facts = Faccts 235.Fastest = fastes 236.Favorite = * favorit, *fovorite, * favrite, *fractrite, *favite, *favoraite, *favart, *favorte, faviorte 237.Fayetteville = Fayitville 238.Felt = *Feelt, *Feel, *fealt, *feelt, feld 239.Fell = fail, falt, feel 240.Field = Feild 241.Filled = felled 242.Finally = *Finnaly, *finley, *finaly 243.Fine = finnee 244.Finish = finsh 245.Finished = *Fin, *had got done, *finsh, was finished 246.Flavors = flaver 247.Flipped = Fliped 248.Florida = Florda 249.Forgot = Forget

250.Fought = farted 251.Fourth = forth 252.Found = fiond, faind 253.Fountains = foutains 254.Freedom = fredoion, fredom 255.Friends = * freinds, *freinds 256.Friend = Freind 257.First = frist 258.From = Form, for 259.F**k = Fuk 260.F**king Sexy = Fexy, fexxy, fexyy 261.Funniest = funnyest 262.Gatorade = gadorades 263.Get = got get 264.Getting = Geting 265.Girl = Guur, gurl, gurr 266.Goes = *go, gose, goose 267.Going = gone, finna 268.Got = *Has, was 269.Gotten = got 270.Good = Goog 271.Gospel = Gospal 272.Grade = Gread, gread 273.Grandad = Gradaddy 274.Grandparents = gandparents 275.Graduation = grgerchan 276.Great = grate 277.Grease = greese 278.Ground = Grown, groun 279.Guitar = Gutar 280. Had = hade, got 281.Had (These words go beyond spelling, the use of them together is a misunderstanding of verb form, specifically grammar/syntax) = *had took, *had visited, *had said, *had got, *had did, *had called, *had been, *had found, *had met, *had broke, *had woke, *had heard, *had went, *had left, *had ate, *had came, *had told, *had sung, *had made, *had

remembered, had unlocked, had bought, had let, *had seen, had missed, had prevented, had changed, had fought, had stop, had lied, had watched, had done, had ever, had created 282.Hairdo = Hair do 283.Halloween = Haloween 284.Happened = Had happened, *Happend, hapend 285.Hardly = harley 286.Hateful = Hatefull 287.Have = Had 288.Haven’t = havnt 289.Having = Haveing 290.Headshot = Head shotted 291.Healthy = Healty, heath 292.Heard = * Hear, * heared 293.Heartbroken = heartboken, heartbrocken 294.Heaven = haven 295.Held = holded 296.Helicopters = Helocopters 297.Here = Hear 298.Hid = Hide 299.Hilarious = Halarious 300.Him = hime 301.Honda = Handa 302.Hole = whole 303.Holes = wholes 304.Hope = Hoped 305.Hospital = Hostipital, Hospitle, hospiltal, hotptle, hosipital, hospotlie, hotpelltaizs, hoptills 306.Hospitalized = hotpelltaizes 307.However = Although 308.How = House 309.Hugged = huged 310.Hung = hanged 311.Hurt = Hurted 312.I = *i (not capitalized) 313.I’d = i’d 314.Idgaf = I don’t give a f**k

315.Ignored = igored 316.Imagine = imaing 317.Immediately = immediatley 318.Impressed = inpresied 319.Incidents = incodents 320.Influences = influents 321.Injuries = ingeries, injurys 322.Instead = Insted 323.Interesting = intresting 324.Internet = internent 325.Into = * In 326.I don’t = ION 327.I.S.S = InSchool Suspension 328.In = *On, Into 329.I am = I be 330.I’m =I be, i’m (not capitalized) 331.I’ma = *I’mma, *Ima 332.I’m going to = Ima 333.Is = ar 334.It’s = its’s, its 335.Itchy = itchey 336.I’ve = i 337.Interviewed = Interveude 338.Instagram = instagrame 339.Intrigued = Entreiged 340.Jammed = jamed 341.Jaw = Jawl 342.Jealous = Jelous, jeleous, jealouse 343.Jersey = Jersy 344.Judge = gouge 345.Juice = jucie 346.Juiciest = juicy 347.Just = Justed, Just Was, Jus, jest 348.Just Felt like = Just feel like 349.Karate = karte 350.Keeps = Kepts 351.Kennel = Chicilen 352.Kept = Keep

353.Kik = A chat only smartphone app 354.Knee = nee 355.Knew = New, know 356.Knock = noke 357.Knocking = knoking 358.Know kow, *no 359.Knows = nows 360.Labrador = Labordor 361.Laid = layed 362.Lately = latlety 363.Latest = lastest 364.Lasagna = Lazzaina, lazaina 365.Launcher = locker 366.Lawyer = Lawer 367.League = Leauge 368.Least = Less, lease 369.Leave = leve 370.Left = lift 371.Licking = luking 372.Lie = *Lay 373.Lighter = Lieter 374.Like = Likes, likee, liek 375.Listen = lisean 376.Literally = Liturally, litterly 377.Little = lilttle, lil 378.LML = Laughing Mad Loud 379.Looks = Looked 380.Losing = loseing 381.Lost = Lose 382.Loudly = LODULE 383.Luckily = *Luckely, *Luckly 384.Lunches = luches 385.Luxurious = luxshurious 386.Make = Made 387.Makes = Make 388.Management = managment 389.Married = mairred 390.Massachusetts = Massichuttesets

391.Mates = Meets 392.Me = meh, my 393.Meant = ment 394.Medicine = Medicene, mediacen 395.Meh = Me, I don’t care, Indifferen 396.Members = menbers 397.Mess = miss 398.Messed = mest 399.Met = *Meet, *meant, meat 400.Metal = medal 401.Middle = Middel 402.Millionaire = millionair 403.Mine = miness, mines 404.Minute = Mint it, minunt, minuet 405.Minutes = minuts, mins 406.Miracle = Miricile 407.Mischiefs = mischevients 408.Month = moth, mothe 409.Months = Munts. mounths 410.Morning(s) = Morining, Moring, Morings 411.Most = must 412.Muscles = muscels, muscules 413.Musician = musiction 414.My = Me 415.Names = named 416.Named = Name 417.Naming = nameing 418.Neal = Neil 419.Necklace = neckalece, neckalence 420.Neighbor = neighboir 421.Neglected = nuggleted, nugleted 422.Nervous = *nervouse, neries 423.Nicer = nicer 424.Niece = neice 425.No = Na, any 426.No Day = Not one day 427.Normal = nomenl 428.Nothing = *Nun, nonthing, *nunthing

429.Noticed = Noitced 430.Now = Know 431.Nowhere = No were, no where 432.Numb = Num 433.Nun = Nothing 434.Nurse = Nersis 435.O’clock = old clock 436.Obsessive = *obsesive 437.Obviously = oviously 438.October = Ocotober 439.Of = Off 440.Off = *Of 441.Offensive = Offencing 442.Oh = O 443.Old = Olds 444.Omgosh = OMG 445.On = from, at 446.Once = onece 447.Oovoo = An online video chat commonly used amongst teenagers. 448.Opened = oppend, opean 449.Opinion = open 450.Ordered = orderd 451.Our = Ours, *Are 452.Ourselves = Are Self’s 453.Parent = perent 454.Parole = Parol 455.Passed = pass, past 456.Patriots = Padrus 457.Pellets = pelits 458.People = peopl, pepole 459.Perfect = perfuct, perfict 460.Personalities = personalityes 461.Personally = Personaly 462.Persuasion = persuation 463.Pervert = pervet 464.Philly = Philie 465.Playing = plain of

466.Pleasant = pleasent 467.Point Guard = Point garde 468.Poison = poisen 469.Police = polices 470.Popped = pope 471.Possums = possims 472.Praying = parying 473.Pregnant = *pregnate, *pregnat, *prenet 474.Principal = principle 475.Probably = proberly, probibly 476.Problem = proplem 477.Puerto Rican = Purter Rican 478.Pull = Pulled 479.Punched = pounched 480.Punishment = Punnishment, punichment 481.Puppies = puppys 482.Quarter = quater 483.Questions = questen 484.Quickly = quicly 485.Quietly = queitly 486.Quit = quite, quiet 487.Own = qwen 488.Racing = raceing 489.Racist = racies 490.Ramen = Romen 491.Raunchiest = raunchest 492.Razor = Racer 493.Ready = Raedy 494.Realize = *relize, relies 495.Recess = Recese, Recese, recses, resecess 496.Recommend = recommend 497.Referee = Referre 498.Regeneration = regenaration 499.Relief = Relive 500.Relieved = Releved 501.Reminds = remmined 502.Remember = Rememeber, remeber, rember 503.Remembered = Remmbered, remebered

504.Rest = Reast 505.Restaurant = restraunt 506.Ribbs = ribs 507.Right = Rite 508.Rubix’s = Rubic 509.Running = runing 510.Russell = Russle 511.Said = *Had said, *sayed, *sad, *say 512.Saw = Seen 513.Say = She 514.Says = Say 515.Second = secound 516.Sentence = sentnce 517.Scan = sacn 518.Scans = sacns 519.Scared = scarded 520.Scariest = scaryest 521.School = skool 522.Schools = school 523.Scissors = Sisors 524.Scratched = scrached 525.Scratching = scraching 526.Screamed = screemed 527.Screaming = screaning 528.Security = securyty 529.Saw = See 530.Seek = seeck 531.Semester = smester 532.Send = Sent 533.Sent = Send 534.Sentenced = sentencd 535.Scalp = scaples 536.Scared = Scarded 537.Scary = scare 538.School = skool 539.Screenshot = Screen shotted 540.Screamed = Skreamed, sceramed 541.Sculpture = Sclpture

542.Seen = *Saw 543.Send = Sent 544.Shipped = shiped 545.Shot = sote, shoot 546.Shoot = shot 547.Shooting = shouting 548.Shook = shookee, shaked 549.Should = sould 550.Sign = Singh 551.Signature = signiture 552.Since = Sense, sence, sins 553.Sings = singes 554.Sip = slprip 555.Sitting = Siting 556.Skipped Skiped 557.Sleep = sleepp 558.Snatched = snach 559.Social = socail 560.Some = sum 561.Someone = soone 562.Something = Somthing, soming, somthing 563.Sometimes = sometims 564.Special = Speacial, speacil 565.Spilled = spilld 566.Split = spilt 567.Sprinkles = Sprikles 568.Stairs = stares 569.Standing = standind 570.Start = Started 571.Started = *Starde, *stated, *sated, *strated, *starte 572.States = Stats 573.Stitches = stiches 574.Stepped = Setp 575.Step Brother = Stepbro 576.Stole = Stoll 577.Stomach = Stumach 578.Stood = Stud 579.Stopped = *stoped, *stop

580.Stoop = stopp 581.Stoops = stopps 582.Store = Story 583.Stories = Storys 584.Story = stroy 585.Straight = strght 586.Strange strang 587.Stress = stressed 588.Struck = Striked 589.Stupid = stuipd, stupied 590.Stung = Stug 591.Suddenly suddendly 592.Sugar = suger 593.Supposed = supose, suposed 594.Super = Supa 595.Suppress = Suppres 596.Surprise = Surprize 597.Surgeon = Sergion 598.Surprised = *Surpise, *suprised 599.Sweetest = sweeties 600.Switched = Swicth, swiched 601.Swore = swear 602.Tables = tabes 603.Taking = Takeing 604.Talk = take 605.Talking = Taking 606.Tang = Tange 607.Tasted = taset 608.Teacher = taecher 609.Teaching = teachin 610.Technician = technichian 611.Tell = till 612.Tests = test’s 613.Texted = texted 614.Texting = *Texing 615.Than = Then 616.That = dat 617.That’s = thaats, thats

618.The = *da 619.Their = *there 620.Theft = thefe 621.Themselves = There self 622.Then = Than 623.Themselves = There self 624.They/I said = Then I/They was like 625.Things = Thing’s 626.Think = Thing, thought 627.Third = thired 628.This = Thiss, dis, diss 629.Though = *tho, know 630.Thought = Tho, thougt, thinked 631.Through = Though, Thoug, *threw, thru 632.Them = Theme, dem 633.Than = Then 634.Then = Than, Den 635.They’re = Their 636.Threw = through 637.Time = tim 638.To be honest = tbh 639.Together = Togethier, togeather 640.To = and, too 641.Too = *To 642.Took = Toke, tought 643.Topping = toping 644.Told = Tolded, toetd 645.Touching = tuching 646.Toxic = Tonic 647.Tragedy = tragity 648.Traveling = traveling 649.Tried = *Tryed, *Try 650.Tries = *Trys, try 651.Trifling = Trifeling 652.Trouble = *Troble 653.True = tru 654.Try = tryed 655.Trying = Tryna, Tryin, Try’in, Try, tryen

656.Tumor = Tumear 657.Turkey = turkay, turay 658.Turn = trun 659.Uncle = Uncole, 660.Uncle’s = Ouncls 661.Unclogged = uncloug 662.Uncontrollably = uncontrallaby 663.Us = USe 664.Used = Use 665.Usually = Usally 666.Umm = Um 667.Unless = in lest 668.Until = Unto, Teal, intil, intell, into, intill, into 669.Usually = Usely, usally, usuly 670.Vacation = vacation 671.Vanilla = vanlia 672.Vehicle = viecole 673.Very = vary 674.Violence = violents 675.Voice = Vioce 676.Waist = Waste 677.Waiver = waver 678.Walked = write 679.Walmart = Walamart, Wallmart 680.Want = whant 681.Wanted = Whatt, was wanting, wan’t 682.Warning = warin 683.Was = * Were, *Is, *would, *wis, wuz, waz 684.Was like = *Said 685.Wasn’t = wesnot, want, was’nt 686.Watch = whatch 687.Watching = Whatching, wathing 688.We are = We be/We is 689.We were = We was 690.Wednesday = Wensidy, Wensday 691.Weeks = weekes 692.Well = will 693.Went = when

694.Were = * Was, *Where 695.We’re = *where 696.Weird = Wired 697.Weird Homie = Womie/wifi wifey 698.What = *Wat, Wut 699.Whatever = waterer 700.When = Wen, wane, where 701.Which = *wich 702.Whine = Wine 703.Whipping = wopping 704.Whispered = whisperd 705.Whistle = whilste, whiste 706.Win = Won 707.With = Wiff, Wit 708.Would = will 709.Would not = was not 710.Worse = worst 711.Wear = where 712.We’re = we was 713.Were = *where, are 714.Well = Will 715.Went = want 716.Whole = a hole, hole 717.With = To, withe 718.Won = one 719.Wondering = Wonderind, wondenng 720.Won’t = *Want 721.Work = woke 722.Worse = worst 723.Would = will, whould 724.Wouldn’t = won’t 725.Write = *right, *wright 726.Writes = Wrights 727.Yeah = Yea, yeh 728.Young = yonger, yong 729.You’re = *Your 730.$5.00 = *5$ 731.$30.00 = *30$

732.$40.00 = *40$ 733.$100.00 = *100$ 734.$1000.00 = *1000$ 735.$25,000 = *25,000$$

JW Neal Middle School, Durham, NC. Explorers Core Classes 1, 2, 3, 4 20152016 School Year Sponsored by Grants from GlaxoSmithKline, Fairway Printing Inc., and Durham Arts Council’s CAPS Program