NOTTINGHAM KNIGHT WRITER 5Th Grade 2012-2013

NOTTINGHAM KNIGHT WRITER 5th Grade 2012-2013

Art by Charlotte B. and Charlotte P. Art by Maggie D.

An anthology of writing and art

Exemplary Project Nottingham Elementary School Arlington, Virginia

Advising Editor

Jacqueline Jules, Exemplary Project Coordinator

Junior Editors Casey Baxter Olivia Joligard Maggie Davis Kara Kovarovics Anna Goco Vittoria Tripi

Special thanks to the Nottingham PTA for their generous support!

PURPOSE AND VISION: Nottingham's Exemplary Writing Project was carefully designed to develop the writing skills of young authors through the power of publication. When students know their words will be shared with an audience, they are motivated to dot their bes work. At Nottingham, Grades 2‐5 use the Being a Writer curriculum, in which students explore a wide variety of literary genres including poetry, fiction, nonfiction, fantasy, and personal narrative. Students are encouraged to use sensory details and strong vocabulary in their writing. Carefully selected picture books are read aloud for inspiration. Many students enjoy using these picture books as models to create stories with similar patterns or themes. This magazine was created from writing published online at the Nottingham website throughout the 2012‐2013 school year. Each piece was formatted individually, giving students the opportunity to design their own pages. Junior Editors assisted in making decisions regarding the design of the magazine and collected artwork while serving as ambassadors for the publishing program. The Exemplary Project Coordinator, Jacqueline Jules, is an award‐winning children’s author and poet. A valuable resource, Ms. Jules worked with our Knights to revise and polish their stories for publication. As you read, remember this is student work. Please note that imperfections are part of the process and our goal is to celebrate the growth and development of young writers. In our technology dependent society, the ability to communicate thoughts and ideas through writing is an absolutely essential skill. We hope you will help us by applauding our Knights' efforts and encouraging them to reach their full potential.

Mary Beth Pelosky, Principal

Art by Charlotte P.

by Casey B.

Have you ever gone to the amusement park called Kings Dominion? I have. This is my story about my trip. I went to Kings Dominion on June 10, 2012, for my birthday. My birthday is on June 6, but that was on a Wednesday, and I had school, so I had my party on June 10th instead. I invited my friends Allie and Henry. My sister (Charlotte), my mom, and my dad came too. I was glad to have friends to come with me so I could share the experiences. The first ride we went on was called The Dominator which Allie, Charlotte, my dad and I went on. Henry didn’t want to go on it, so Henry waited at the end of the ride with my mom. You’re supposed to be 5’4” to be allowed to go on, and neither Allie, Charlotte, nor I are 5’4,” so we got lucky because we actually went on The Dominator. Anyway, The Dominator had a bunch of loop-de-loop and upside-down parts. It was terrifying because it made my heart jump into my throat. It was also exhilarating because afterwards I could feel my pulse going triple speed. The second ride we went on was my favorite. It’s called The Rebel Yell. The Rebel Yell is the oldest rollercoaster at Kings Dominion. The people who built The Rebel Yell made the path to get there like a spiral. I liked that about The Rebel Yell because that made it unique. On The Rebel Yell, there was this hill that was bigger than all the hills and it led into a tunnel. The tunnel was loud because the sounds of the rollercoaster echoed in the tunnel. The wood in the tunnel was painted white and so was the rest of the rollercoaster. I don’t tend to like white, but I loved every inch of The Rebel Yell. The Ricochet was, unfortunately, my least favorite rollercoaster and we went on it after we went on The Rebel Yell. The Ricochet brought you way up high and it took super sharp turns and you thought you would fall out because the rollercoaster car had absolutely no walls. If there were any sounds that were made by The Ricochet, I didn’t hear them over the sound of my own heartbeat. I was so scared. I don’t know why, but for some reason, I always pair two roller coasters together. The two roller coasters I always pair together are The Hurler and The Grizzly. I think that’s because they’re right next to each other. We went on The Hurler before The Grizzly. The Hurler was bumpy and rickety and has the effect that makes you want to throw up. That’s probably how it got its name. The Grizzly had a HUGE hill! Right after it started I didn’t want to go on The Grizzly but it was too late. Fortunately, The Grizzly was super exciting. Both The Hurler and The Grizzly were brown because of the wood and they both creaked! After we went on The Grizzly, we went to the water park on the other side of Kings Dominion. The first thing we did at the water park was go on The Tornado. My dad loved it. Then we went to the wave pool. The waves went splish splash and kept pushing me back. Eventually we had to go home, but I had a great time, and I can’t wait to go again!

by Anne B.

The light down the hall woke me up. It was time to go to the Easter Egg Roll at the White House. I put on my long brown dress and went downstairs. We were waiting for my brother. He was always the last one down. He finally came down and we left. I rushed out into the cold air that was being blown into my face. My dad turned on the car and warmed it up. I put on my seat belt and the car started. We were halfway there when a traffic jam started. It was so boring! It lasted just about half an hour! When we arrived at the White House, we went to the front lawn and split up. My mom and I walked around and found a bean bag throwing game and played it for a while. Then we met up with my dad and brother. We went to a picture booth and took a picture with a white Easter Bunny with pink ears. After, we found a section with food and ate breakfast. I had a donut and some fruit. Soon we had to stop eating and sit. After we ate, we went to the beehive and got to taste some homemade honey made by the president’s family. Then it was about 11:00. We had been there since eight o’clock in the morning. Soon we had to talk about when we were going to leave. Before we decided to go, we listened to a band play. Then we left. On our way out, we got a purple egg with Obama’s signature. It was sad when we left but I was happy I got to go, since not many people were picked to go. We were one out of many people that got picked out of a raffle. Now the egg is on my shelf. I look at it every week and remember that exact day.

by Matt B.

When I went to Universal Studios in Florida a year ago over summer break, it was awesome. My favorite part was the Harry Potter part. I will tell you more about that later.

Well, when my mom told me I was going, I freaked out. See, at the studios they have 3 parks. I went to two of them. Simpsons’ Wonderland was awesome. The best ride was Alaska, based on the Simpsons’ movie. I like the

Simpsons’ cartoon and that’s why I went there.

The Harry Potter part was 3 rides. They even had the Hogwarts School where you had to go through to get to a ride. It looked exactly like the castle in the movie. They had butterbeer and chocolate frogs. It was awesome!!!

We had an excellent stay at a Universal Studios hotel. They had a water park in the hotel. It had a big slide into the pool.

That was my trip to Universal Studios!!!

by Sam B.

The sandcastle exploded. The last thing I could destroy in the game that I was playing before my dad and I got into the car and drove off to the soccer game. When I got there, my team was doing a drill where everyone made a circle around the goalie who would roll the ball to someone and it would be kicked back to him. After warm ups were over, the game started, but sadly our best dribbler wasn’t there. I was still convinced we would win, given that we had beaten the opposing team last week. I started the game at my favorite possession: defense. The ball kept going back and forth. After the first half, no one had scored anything but we were still sure we would win again because last time we slaughtered them. Sadly, we were incorrect. We had barely scored anything!!! They were up about five to probably one (I forgot the real score) so by the end we had lost. I was really angry because I felt like I was the only one actually playing defense. I was also angry because our best goalie was never in goal for the whole game. Later, my dad took me to McDonalds and I forgot about the whole thing.

7 by Rosemary C.

Once I got close enough to see the ocean, my mouth gaped open; the waves were massive! I’m not talking about wave pool waves, I’m talking about Mavericks waves; at least twenty footers. But, being the kind of person I am, I braved the riptides and hammerheads and stepped into the swirling waters of doom (okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a little) but you get the point, the waves were pretty big. For a while, I was too scared to get in the ocean until I realized that this was going to be a boring beach trip if I refused to go swimming. So I finally get into the surf and guess what happens, I swallow tons of saltwater, can barely breathe, and have trouble swimming to shore! Lucky me! I’m scared. Really scared. All I see is dark, swirling water. All I smell is scum and seaweed. All I hear is the rush of currents and my own gargled cry. Every breath I take is a burning sensation in my lungs. Every time I open my eyes, they sting so badly, so badly… Every time my head breaks the surface I think, “I’m going to be okay.” Then everything is dark again. And, oh, how dark it is, this is the worst part; the dark. An evil dark, a daring dark. Seconds pass and I wish that I had never come here… All the drama you see above these words is about me being unintelligent and deciding to open my mouth when waves came towards me. I was in the ocean when my mouth flew open and a great deal of saltwater came rushing in. This process repeated again and again until I could barely breathe and was being sucked under the surf. Swirling blue-green water engulfed my hope of surviving in its giant mouth. I felt the silver scale of a fish brush against my cheek. My ears heard the water chanting for my body. I felt the sunlight trying to pull me up so I could live. Water churned and I tried to swim toward the sunlight above my soon-to-be grave. Lucky for me, my brother was swimming nearby and could drag me to the sand. Once on shore, I ran up to my parents and grabbed a water bottle. The only problem with the water bottle was that I had gotten so much saltwater in my system that I couldn’t drink the regular water. My body couldn’t handle the saltwater so it came right back up and I threw-up all over the sand. I was humiliated but I wasn’t going to let that stop me from going back in the water. An hour later, I went to the beach with my cousin Laney and Uncle Pat. Through my stay at Emerald Isle, I had noticed my relatives going out to a sandbar about half-a-mile from the beach. Since sandbars are raised areas of land in the ocean, the waves were breaking over it pretty hard. I didn’t really want to look like I was afraid of big waves, but I didn’t want to figure out how the human body reacts if it swallows too much saltwater again. Finally, I made up my mind and decided that I wanted to go out to the sandbar. Laney and Uncle Pat were already headed out to the sandbar on boogie boards, so I grabbed my favorite board and paddled out to join them. “Rosemary!” they called, “What are you doing here?” “Coming with you,” I replied. “You know the waves get pretty big out here.” “I know that the waves are big. I can handle it. I mean, I’m already ten,” I said, rolling my eyes exasperatedly. It was settled, I was coming with them. After about five minutes of paddling, my feet hit solid sand. It was amazing! I was standing in the middle of the ocean (not quite the middle of the ocean). Suddenly, a giant wave started coming towards me. Turn and close your eyes!” I heard Laney yell, “Grab onto your boogie board and don’t let go!” I followed her instructions and my knuckles turned white because I was holding onto the boogie board extremely tightly. I could feel the wave rolling over my head and my boogie board started shaking. Just like that, it was over and the only damage the wave did was causing my hands to tremble. It was remarkable how the water didn’t touch my face. All I felt was a giant wave going over me, it was as if I was wearing a waterproof shield. On that day I learned that you just have to get up, dust yourself off, and keep going, and, maybe you’ll even find yourself having a great time. A much better time than if you had just taken the safe path and not dared yourself to go farther than expected.

by Zillia D.

The zombutterfly only comes out at night. As it soars, you can hear its beating wings as it sucks the nectar of almost every flower in sight. He drinks only from the sweetest flowers. He also harvests the brains of people who have caused pain in other people’s lives. When he has had his fill, he sleeps.

The zombutterfly hobbles on the ground. His long green legs are barely attached to his body. His long slimy, green arms stretch out like slithery snakes. He may not walk that well but his beautiful wings carry him through the air when he flies.

The zombutterfly watches with all his zillion eyes for crops to be harvested under the golden moon. He blesses the crops to make the people healthy. Nobody knows him, nobody's seen him under the golden moon. One thing I’ve learned is, if you’re good, he will be nice to you.

by Elliot E.

Once I was in Michigan for Thanksgiving and then we went to Detroit one day. I knew why. We were going to run the Turkey Trot. I was very excited because it was my first time. I also was excited by the route we would take. The route we would be taking would take us past Lake Erie and the inner harbor. By the time we got there the building was packed with people. Some of them wore costumes. One even took his shirt off and had a turkey hat. But soon I had to make my way to the starting line. All of a sudden I heard the words, “On your mark, get ready, go!” I was off. It was so windy and cold. I passed my cousins and even Aunt Sherell, but I just kept on going and going. Next thing I see is the finish line. It was all over. Maybe I didn’t come in first place but I still had fun. My favorite part was running with the crowd and how I kept up with them. At the finish line I could see a giant moon bounce that looked like a turkey. My uncle Joe bought us donuts after the race at a Dunkin Donuts. I didn’t go inside. But when my cousin Autumn came out she was stunned. When they were inside, the guy in front of them got the last star spangled banner donut. Anyways, we started back and stopped at my Aunt Rachel’s house. When we were there, I got to see my baby cousin Emma. Emma was only three but she was my favorite cousin. I also like to play with Emma. When we got back to Grandma’s house she asked, "Was it fun?" and I said, “Yes, it was.” That night we celebrated Thanksgiving and I talked about my experiences running the Turkey Trot.

by Eva G.

Why did my dad’s cousin, Brian, and his fiancé, Adrian have to plan their wedding rehearsal for September 20th? Of all the days of the year, we had to spend the night in a lousy hotel in Maryland on my birthday. Even though it’s the day I was born NOT Brian, my birthday wasn’t going to be special. It wouldn’t be MY special day to spend time with MY family opening MY presents. I know it sounds selfish, but it’s true. The gravel crackled like popcorn under the car tires as we pulled into the Comfort Inn parking lot. The hotel was small and looked just a little bit bigger than my house. I sighed and tugged the car door open. As I walked inside, I imagined what our room would be like. Tan walls, two beds, wooden dressers, small TV, matching white sheets and pillows, white bathroom, and dim lighting. It was a little bit cold so we jogged inside. A nice lady at the front desk smiled at me as we checked in. She handed my mom the key card and my mom passed it to me. In my family, it is always a privilege to open the door first because they get the first look. Mom led me to the elevator and Celeste, my younger sister, pushed the button. As the elevator lifted up to our floor, I turned the key card in my palm. When the silver doors opened, we stepped out. Walking in the hall to the hotel room gave me a strange feeling—a sad feeling. I wished I were back on my couch, watching home videos of me as baby, drinking a warm cup of hot cocoa. I was homesick. Once we stood in front of the door, I whipped the key card out of its case and slipped it through the key hole. A red light flashed to let me know it was still locked. I tried again and succeeded. The door clicked as I pushed it open. I was right about the room. Tan walls, two beds, wooden dressers, small TV, matching white sheets and pillows, white bathroom, dim lighting, birthday cake—wait a minute! I dashed over to the shelf and next to the TV were a vanilla birthday cake, a birthday card, and a butterscotch colored teddy bear! I opened the card and 5 dollars slipped out! The card read:

Here are some ones for the vending machine down the hall. Happy birthday and enjoy your stay! Love, Troy Smith: Comfort Inn manager.

I was so surprised the manager had wished me a happy birthday! I turned to my parents. “Did you know about this?” They shook their heads. It was a great birthday thanks to him so that is what I named the teddy bear—

Troy Smith

by Emma G.

BEEP!! ALARM!! RING!! “Well, that didn’t turn out well,” said Captain Clink. Captain Clink is a retired military officer. He now makes a living protecting some 10 little bronze whale statues. His co-worker Doe Tattler helps him. He doesn’t like the name, Doe, so everybody just calls him Tattler. They have another co-worker named Lenny. He used to be an accountant but he got bored with it. “Everybody hide! They’re coming for you, Clink,’’ Tattler said. Clink jumped into a sack of flour. Outside, a group of Llama Land people came inside and looked around. “They must have left,” said the head of the group of Llama Land people. Later on at lunch when everything was safe, Lenny joined Clink at the table. Clink said, “Lenny where’s my salad?” “I don’t know,” Lenny said. “Or do I...” Lenny said. BEEP!! ALARM!! RING!! “Oh no! Someone knocked over the first little whale!” Tattler said. “We need to find the culprit and save those whale statues. And fast,” Clink added. They ran to the A.T.V. in the shack next to the building. In the A.T.V… VROOM, VROOM, VROOM!! Away Tattler and Clink rode knocking down everyone and everything in their way including, a plastic trash can, a plastic book, and you guessed it, an old lady. In the rush, Clink and Tattler made a wrong turn and ended up in a desert. “Wow! Come on Tattler what was that for!’’ Clink complained. “You were the one driving,” Tattler protested. “Hey, let’s not play the blame game Tattler. Let’s just get on the road,” Clink argued. VROOM, VROOM!! Away they went. In a nearby store a man was holding a small bronze whale statue. Clink and Tattler were dumb founded. Then they saw the statue and quickly threw the net over the man holding the statue. The man’s name was Tim Corkscrew and he was a bad man. From this day on Captain Clink and Doe Tattler were heroes. BEEP!! ALARM!! RING!! The entire ruckus in my dream woke me up. I must have been sleeping through the alarm clock. “Why do I taste dust?” I asked myself. So many questions. Somewhere in my head I could hear a maniacal laugh and someone with a deep voice like Tim Corkscrew plotting his evil escape from jail. “Hmmmm.” I wonder.

by Kevin G.

The Time Criminals were chasing me. That’s a bit of a problem for Time Agents like me. You see, Time Criminals are a group or groups of people who try to destroy important historical events in time by traveling into the past to destroy someone’s ancestors to kill them in the future. That means you have to know what they look like; they wear all black and a black eye patch. Why they make themselves noticed, I’ll never know. Anyways, Time Agents try to stop them. It’s kind of our job. My only choice was to jump into the time vortex. The time vortex is just a vortex of a time. If you jump into it, you will land in any place, any time. We, the Time People, criminal or not, have better ways of traveling. We can now control the Time Vortex, and where and what time we go to. Our time machines are disguised as a watch, with a GPS built in, but it’s helpful to have a real watch on, too. The GPS is, of course, for the destination we would like to travel to. I unfortunately left mine in ancient Pompeii. Luckily for me, it wasn’t Volcano Day. On with the story! I could either choose my death with the Time Criminals or a life stuck in a random place at a random time. I would have to wait about 20 years to get to another Time Vortex. And then I would be stuck there for about 20 years. I made my decision. Just as the Time Criminals were about to reach for me, I felt the warmth of the Time Vortex swirl around me as it disappeared. I thumped against the ground, but I was alright. I heard the laughter and talking of people. I smelled… sweetness. There was no other word for it. It was just sweetness. I took a good look around and realized that my surroundings were familiar. It was Ancient Pompeii, but had I been there yet? Am I there now? My questions were answered when I heard something rumbling. It couldn’t be an earthquake, because it seemed to be coming from one particular spot. My eyes led me to a tall, blurry mountain. I shook my head and my vision was better. Mt. Vesuvius was erupting with hot red lava. I tried to think of where I last left my time machine. I remembered being in a tour shop above an alley. I dropped my watch when the Time Criminals came after me. I jumped out of that vision and ran to the alley. That was when the problem came. I was in the middle of the alley when the Time Criminals appeared out of thin air. The lava seemed to come out of nowhere on the opposite side of the alley. The ground started to tremble. A few things were falling out of the window above; a pear, a watch, a cage, a—there was a watch! I dug it out of the pile. Sure enough it was mine. I put it on. Now I just needed to have my timing right. I knew the Time Criminals wouldn’t leave without me, and the lava didn’t look like it was going to stop, either. I stood straight, hiding my watch so the Time Criminals wouldn’t know. They thought that they could catch me and leave, obviously, because they started running toward me. Just when the lava washed towards my feet and the Time Criminals reached out for me, I disappeared into 2012. If my plan had gone right, the Time Criminals should have disappeared into the lava. Meanwhile, I was back at home, where I was safe, at last.

by Tess H.

Two years ago I was waiting for my dad and brother to get home from boy scouts so

we could watch a movie and that’s when the fire happened. Let's rewind so I can explain. So as I said, I was waiting for Graham, my brother, and my dad to get home from boy scouts. I got cold so I asked my mom if we could start a fire. She said, "No."

So I went and stood in front of the gas fireplace that has lit candles on the sides of it. Then all of a sudden my side started to hurt in a burning way, like really hot. I looked at

my side. My sweater had caught on fire from the candle. I screamed, “MOM!!!!!!” And she said, “What?” in an annoyed voice. So I said, “I’m on FIRE!! ” Now she started to listen.

When I got to her in the kitchen she said, “Why didn’t you stop, drop and roll?” I

forgot. She took off my sweater and threw it in the sink. Then she started to pat me down

with a blanket.

Once we both knew that I was no longer on fire or burned, we looked in the sink. My sweater was just flames. So my mom turned on the faucet. Then I heard the hiss of the fire going out. On that day I learned always to stop, drop, and roll.

by Henry H.

I am the green grass, the wind blows me apart, the water runs within me, I am the green grass.

Moist and clear, clinging to blades of green, I am the morning dew.

Fur, feathers and flight. Hunting and foraging, pushing through the foliage, I am the animals.

The sun warms me, animals lounge on me, sleeping the warm day away, I am the sunbathed rock.

Strong, sturdy and tall, life passes slowly. With green luscious hair, above my wooden face, I am the oak.

My warm wind blows, the animals hunt and eat in the forest of dreams, I am the summer breeze.

I am everything. I am the green grass; I am the morning dew, I am the animals; I am the sunbathed rock, I am the oak, I am the summer breeze. I am Nature.

by Olivia J.

I hear footsteps here and there. I hear footsteps everywhere. Wherever I go, it seems to follow me. But whenever I look back, nothing is behind me. I feel shaky in every moment but my parents don’t know why because they have never heard the footsteps. I hear the footsteps bang to the ground, through the doors and all around. It sounds like thunder whenever it passes me all around. I will be scared for the rest of my life. I will never get to know who or what is following me. I seem to be the only one who can hear those loud footsteps. I imagine a huge ghost two times the size of me. It looks like my worst nightmare! His feet are as big as a beach ball. They can smoosh you in one second. Everyone thought that I was crazy when I told them about the footsteps. One day they will be sorry. If you hear footsteps and you are alone, you will be haunted forever. So beware, or it will catch you. When it sees you, don't expect to be back with your family. Bye-Bye!

16 by Ashley K.

If you had a spinneret like a spider, you would be able to spin a web for a volley ball or tennis net.

If you had a shell like a turtle, you wouldn’t have to make your bed or clean your room.

If you had a long neck like an ostrich, you would have to use a backscratcher to scratch your head.

If you had a magical power like a unicorn, you would be able to heal a wound without putting a bandage on it.

If you could scream as loudly as a monkey, you would be able to scream and someone a mile away could hear you.

If you had an itchy fur coat like a bear, you would not have to wear a blanket in bed or a coat in the winter.

If you had sticky, slimy, suction cups on your hands like an octopus, you could climb up the walls in your bedroom.

If you had gills like a fish, you could breathe under water and beat all your friends in under-water-holding-your-breath contests.

If you had a long gray trunk like an elephant, you could suck up as many candies as you want on Halloween (if your parents let you).

If you had a nose like a dog, you could smell a piece of candy, a bomb, and many other things from a mile away.

If you had a tail like a dolphin, you could swim twice as fast as you did with legs, feet, and hands.

If you had colorful wings like a butterfly, you could fly up into the sky and touch the clouds.

If you had a jaw like a snake, you could eat a sausage twice the size of a telephone pole.

If you had legs like a flea, you could jump up and land on the top of the Washington Monument.

If you had a heart like a human, you could produce enough love to surround the world and all the other planets in the universe.

by Dorin K.

In the land of Atlanta, Georgia, there was a pencil. He was very joyful and his name was Chris. He was used by a kid named Alan. One day Alan was walking around with Chris and he fell down a shoot because Alan tripped on a big book. He was in the vent for a long time. Then one day when the school was being torn down, footsteps finally echoed under the vent, and then someone picked Chris up. The person was very strong. Chris got scared because he saw two glittering eyes staring down at him. He soon learned that a builder named Joe was his new owner and he didn’t need to be scared. Chris stayed with Joe for ten years. Then one day Joe was building the foundation for a house and Chris fell right into a cement bowl. Thankfully, he escaped because a bird carried him away. The bird buried him in a nest, this time for 18 years, until a human carried him away. When he was walking home with his mystery owner he found out his new owner was a wood sander. When they got home he was put on a top shelf. He rolled off the top shelf and Chris was taken out by a dog named Ben. Well Chris did die. He was crushed under Ben’s monstrous jaws and all of his outer layer was crushed. He was yellow under his outer layer because he was a multiple layer pencil. His owner took Chris to the copy corner and got 1,000 copies of him because his owner was very upset that Ben hurt him. And his owner sold the copies. The original Chris is now in a museum. That is the story of Chris and that is also why pencils are yellow.

by Jeremy L.

Swimming around in the deep dark blue ocean Eating fish with a big loud CHOMP! Its colors are red, white, and blue It has stars on it, too A beautiful sight to see.

Swimming around in the deep blue sea All scaly, sleek and nice But BEWARE, they are patriotic killers Their smell is like sugar That’s how they attract their prey.

If anything gets too close It will rip it to pieces.

So the next time you swim in the deep blue ocean Watch out for… AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

The Flag Shark

19 by Jack N.

I have been here since the beginning. I am stone.

I saw the first of the jellyfish. I am stone.

I experienced the first spined creature. I am stone.

I viewed the first amphibians to crawl the land. I am stone.

I sat as a T-Rex fought his prey. I am stone.

I watched as Pangaea broke apart, forming continents. I am stone.

I endured as the first rat sat on me. I am stone.

I was tortured as I watched the last of the dinosaurs burn. I am stone.

I was a bed for Lucy, one of the first humans. I am stone.

I was used to make the first spear. I am stone.

I saw the first gun. I am stone.

I was a part of the Underground Railroad. I am stone.

I saw the first Smartphone. I am stone.

From mountain to boulder to rock to pebble to sand, I have seen it all. Because I am stone.

by Brenna N.

“EEEEEWWWWWWWW!!! That’s disgusting!” Those were the only words I seemed to hear from the beginning of June until November 2nd. That was when I had my Baby Snake. My Baby Snake was a little bump on my tongue. It was sometimes pink, sometimes white, and sometimes black. It was named my Baby Snake when I showed my friend Emma and she thought it looked like a baby snake growing on my tongue. It wasn’t anything like a snake though—it was not alive, it didn’t have teeth, and it was not venomous. Don’t ask me what it was, because we went to my doctor to find out, but he had no idea what it could be. Since my doctor did not know what it was, he thought it would be best for me to have surgery so he could take it off and then send it to the lab. It was November 2nd, the day of the surgery. I was so nervous! I had never had surgery before. I didn’t know what it would feel like or what I was supposed to do. I was also REALLY hungry because I was getting anesthesia today and I was not allowed to eat breakfast that morning. My mom checked me in while I, my sister, and my dad sat down in the waiting area at the hospital. I played on my dad’s iPad to try and get myself to calm down. It didn’t work. It was finally time for me to go into my hospital room. I sat down on the bed which was a light tan color with uncomfortable thin sheets. I looked around and spotted a TV. I turned it right on to Four Weddings and even though that is one of my favorite shows I couldn’t concentrate on it. I was too busy looking at a weird little cart next to me. It was a metal cart about six feet tall with metal swirls at the top of it. I asked my mom what it was. She said it was an IV cart. She told me that an IV shot was a shot for anesthesia that goes into your hand throughout the surgery. I suddenly got really nervous. I absolutely HATE shots. Not that they hurt so much, but I do not like the idea of a really pointy needle going into me. “Ok,” said one of the many nurses in the room. “We will give her the anesthesia now. Then we will take her to the operating room and start! Now let’s just make sure she is completely out of it.” My hand started to feel numb and cold. I started to get really dizzy. To test, they asked me to name one of the seven dwarfs, I said the fat one. When I look back I think I should of just said Grumpy, or Sleepy or something but I felt like I was about to faint. It felt like my brain had just gone to sleep. I started to close my eyes. I heard the faint voices of the doctors in the back ground. It reminded me of the movie Soul Surfer, after Bethany has her arm bitten off and is in the hospital she is seeing things really blurry and she is hearing everybody all talking to her at once. It was so confusing. I woke in a smaller room with just one nurse. I had not even realized that I had fallen asleep. Once I got settled in the bed and had the IV taken out of my hand, I got two popsicles and one can of ginger ale. That was one of the best parts even though it really hurt to open my mouth. Back at home, I went to bed. My stomach hurt a lot but I was ok. I just tried not to concentrate on that. I tried to think happy thoughts like now the baby snake is gone. It seemed to work because the next morning I was as good as new! When we went back to the doctor later, he said it was just inflated tissue. I don’t know what that means but he also said that it could happen to anybody at any time. It better not happen to me again!

by Gabriela Q.

My name is Sampson. I am a Dog. All I do is eat, sleep and play. My owner hasn’t taken me out for a walk yet, but that’s fine because I just happened to get FOUR treats today! (And I just happened to sneak a little bit of my food, but SHHH!!) It’s been a good day except that STUPID CAT keeps on tugging on my tail! When I try playing with her she just hisses with her tail all puffed up! She is such a KILLJOY! “SAMPSON!” Whoops! Gotta go! I think my owner just saw what I did on the basement carpet! (If you know what I mean. . .)

My name is Chelsea. I am a Cat. All I do is eat and sleep. My owner loves me BEST because I ALWAYS listen. My life is good except that STUPID DOG is always doing his business all over the basement carpet and he stinks it up! (Just in case I didn’t mention it, that is where I sleep!) I want to go to sleep now, but that STUPID DOG isn’t letting me go to sleep! Now the house stinks, so I will try my best to fall asleep with this HORRIBLE SMELL!

by Emma S.

I have to do my homework It’s waiting just for me. I have to do my homework I should stop procrastinating.

In math I have to subtract Multiply and add. In history, I have to know What Abe Lincoln had.

In writing I have to write A poem about a dove. In reading I have to read About a duck who found true love.

In science I have to write A paper on dino bones. Now I would do my homework But I forgot to bring it home!

by Joe S.

I gleam way up in the cold dark air shining, making pictures in the sky. I am the stars.

I am friends with night. Some people think I am cheese. I change my shape from time to time. I am the moon.

I bring warmth and light to the Earth. I come in the day but not night. Don’t get too close or you will get fried like bacon. I am the sun.

Many people think I have life. Water was found on my land. People think I look hot because I am fiery red, but I am actually very cold. I am Mars.

I am always being left out because I am small. I have even been declared a dwarf. Luckily, people still think I am a kind of planet. I am Pluto.

I am one of the hottest and smallest planets. I am the closest planet to the sun. I look like the moon. I am Mercury.

I have giant rings that surround me. They are every possible color you can think of. They look like rainbows surrounding me. I am Saturn.

I am the home of the brave. Animals and humans roam my land. I have seven continents and five oceans, all of them have names. You can call me Earth but my real name is home!

24 by Allie S.

I’m looking around the store and my eyes lock on one spot, one item that I’ve wanted since I was 7. Walkie Talkies. I can already hear the static in my ear. I’ve wanted that static for so long. There’s always been two walkie talkies in a pack and if I had gotten it then there would be one person in our trio that no one would be able to reach. I look again and realize that there are three! My eyes bounce back and forth from the five dollar bill in my hand back to the walkie talkies that cost three dollars. Then I finally come to my senses and realize that I’ve made a decision. I grab a pack of walkie talkies, go to the cashier, and walk out of the store with a smile on my face. I hold the walkie talkies under my arm as if I'll never let go. As I walk up to the front steps of my house I hide the walkie talkies in my jacket. I want them to be a surprise until I call Jackson and Jason in my room where I put our clubhouse. We’re a trio of mischief makers and I’m our ring leader (or at least that’s what I like to think). I look around the corner, only letting part of my head be visible. I hear Andy talking on the phone but it sounds distant; it’s all clear. I charge up the steps as quiet as anyone can be when they’re in a hurry, not to mention that these steps are so creepy that you would think that they were here when George Washington was alive. I live in a really big family. The kids are 23 David, 20 Amelia, 16 Andy (girl), 13 (me) Leo, 10 Jackson and Jason, 7 Megan, 3 Lea. I have a lot of opportunities to play tricks and I take every single one. I love playing tricks on Andy. For example when I was 10 and she was 13, I put a stink bomb in her room. As she breathed in the fumes of the rotten eggs, she screamed my name so loud I could have heard her from a mile away! Just a few days ago I played the best trick of all. It was Saturday and every Saturday Andy has sugar and chocolate covered strawberries in one. So, I got up at 9 am (1 hour before Andy gets up) and I started to make my plan. Instead of chocolate I put vinegar, milk, and brown food coloring. Instead of sugar, I put salt. That took an hour to make and luckily Andy got up right on time. “Good morning! Here are your strawberries!” I said as cheerfully as possible. Andy was still groggy so she didn’t question, but man when she took one bite of that I’m surprised that her taste buds didn’t explode! Andy’s eyes widened and this time, I bet I could have heard her from 10 miles away! I ran upstairs hearing angry footsteps on my tail. I sprinted in my room and closed the door quickly. I would have been able to lock it but someone who shall remain unnamed (Mom) said it was not necessary to get a lock. Apparently my mom was woken up by my scream, Andy told her the whole story and now I’m grounded for a week. My punishment is that I have to take out the trash, clean the kitchen, and I had to go get the cheese. Instead I got walkie talkies. Looks like I’ll be grounded for another week! When I got the walkie talkies I couldn’t wait to have help from Jackson and Jason in the next mission. If only I could think of it…..

by Sean S.

I was battling the mean Dr. Evil Moldy Cheese. He is so evil, he knocked my pants off. He used to be my friend in high school but he turned out to be a bully. So it all started when I (Ryan) and my friend/enemy (Sam) were walking in the graveyard. For no apparent reason, the workers made a crack in the nuclear plant which was made of wood. The nuclear waste was like acid. It fell on us and we turned in to superheroes, but Sam turned evil. Sam put a spell on the graves, and the zombies came out of them. The main goal of the zombies is to destroy the town and kill me. We call Sam "Dr." because he likes the human body; "mean" because he is going to destroy the town; "evil" because he brought up the undead; and "moldy cheese" because he is fat. So this is the exciting part because it has the words "zap, screech, bang, and boom." This is so awesome because we battled for two years. Finally I won the battle. Our battle was so exciting because I lured him into the desert so we would not destroy the town. Slam! Ouch! I landed on a cactus. Then we had a sword fight with the cactus. He sent this army of zombies to crush me. Boom! Zap! I hate dog piles. Nooooo! My powers are gone. How did he do it? I think the zombies sucked my powers and now they have my powers. Hey, look a note! It says: You will have your powers back in twelve hours. Why would I be normal in twelve hours? I think Sam is trying to break out of his evil shell. He remembers that we were friends. It has been twelve hours. Now I can go back to being a super hero and defeat Dr. Evil Moldy Cheese.

by Donovan T.

How fierce the Snagon! It can breathe fire up to 100,000,000,000 degrees. It can fly as fast as 600 fighter jets combined.

How fierce the Snagon! It is so scaly it feels like broken glass. The Snagon is a mystery because it flies at light speed. It looks like a blinding line of light. No one knows how big it is …. Except for its victims.

by Eli W.

CHERBEAR A plump maroon colored berry sitting on a tree, With his faint glow, he magnetizes his foe. Every night dropping down and following his pack, growling to his midnight snack. When morning comes, he returns with his pack to his tree and rests on his back.

GRANTHER You cannot see this green, sneaky mammal. His teeth and claws almost too dangerous to look at. The stealthiest animal in the rainforest, The Granther.

CHETALOPE A still melon resting on a bush, With black dots and a tan and yellow shine. Plop! It drops down and bolts Attacking pigaroos, Climbing up tall, tall brown trunks of trees, Sleeping in the shade, The Chetalope

PIGAROO A chubby snorted animal, Hopping around in the outback With its pink fur and its pouch to carry its piglets Jumping in the tall, tall grass, And escaping from the chetalopes' deadly grasp With its strong, strong legs to defend, The Pigaroo

KOAWOTTER The gray thin body With its daring fin-like feet, It’s so fast on both terrains, water and land. But it has many predators, Fuzzy ears, warm fur, The Koawotter

Art by Charlotte P.

by Addie A.

She is small and soft like a newborn lamb, but even softer and much smaller. Her eyes are ruby red like gems and her coat as white as snow. Her name is Tink, short for Tinkerbell. Tink is my pet chinchilla; her heritage is from some mountains in South America. The only part of her that is not covered with fur is her ears, they are pink and veiny, her tail is thick with strangely unsoft fur, unlike the rest of her body. Tink loves to take dust baths, she likes to roll in the dust. She also loves to run around and it keeps me up at night, because chinchillas are nocturnal. I remember the first day I met her. I was in third grade. My dad, my brother, and I were going to my dad’s friend’s house for dinner. When we got there and rang the doorbell, two dogs barking at the sound of the bell, greeted us with their loud howls. The dogs were German Shorthaired Pointers, just like our two dogs. A second later, like on cue, a woman came to the door. She opened the door and welcomed us inside. She showed us to the living room, the two dogs following us. There sat two people. The first was my dad's friend, and the other was his daughter. Their daughter was about 22. She showed us the sun room. That’s when I saw Tink. I went over and looked in her cage. In a tunnel in the corner a big poofey fuzz ball lay. I asked their daughter, Sarah, what was in the big cage. “It is my sister, Kate’s chinchilla, Tinkerbell.” Just then I heard a loud “SQUACK” from behind me. I saw a bird in a cage. “And this is my pet bird, Pico. I love birds. That is why I am a bird scientist. I live in Texas.” About an hour later it was time to eat. We ate goose. It was the best goose ever! My dad’s friend marinated the goose in a good sauce. When we were done and it was time to go I knew I would miss Tink. A week or so later they called us saying Kate could not bring Tink in the dorm at college so I could have her. I was so excited! A month later, we went to get Tink, and bring her home. I love Tink and I know she loves me!

30 by Alice B.

You know that completely outrageous TALL TALE called “Little Bunny Foo-Foo?" I am that Little Bunny Foo-Foo. The reason why I am a “Little Bunny” is because I was the “runt,” as you would call it, of the family. But this story is not about my family, for I lost them many years ago. I am here to chat with you about the real, TRUE story of Little Bunny Foo-Foo. It all started one day when I went outside with my friend Little Mouse riding on my back, looking for some breakfast. When we got across the field of knee-high corn, Little Mouse hopped off and we parted ways, searching for food. A few minutes later, I looked over at Little Mouse to see if he had any food. I realized if we searched together, we’d have a better chance of finding food! So I went over to Little Mouse, but was not looking where I was going, so BONK!!! I bumped into Little Mouse. Meanwhile, the invisible fairy, Flora (who had retired from her Sleeping Beauty job), was watching all of this. She thought I had bonked into Little Mouse on purpose. But you know that I hadn’t. Anyway, she came up to me and she said, “Little Bunny Foo-Foo, I do not want you bopping Little Mouse.” She looked at him with sad eyes, “On the head! I’ll give you two more chances!” With that, she left. I sighed. Little Mouse and I had been best friends since we were wee little lads! I would never do something like that! It would just be plain mean and would break our friendship! So Little Mouse and I continued our difficult search. Soon, I came upon a bean. I shouted, “Little Mouse, Little Mouse! Look what I have!” Apparently I had said it a bit too loud, so Little Mouse got startled and jumped up. “Owww …!” I exclaimed. When he had jumped up, he had hit my chin like a bullet train! For a split second, I made an angry face and immediately, my guardian fairy, Flora, appeared. “LITTLE BUNNY FOO-FOO!!!!” she bellowed, her face as red as a ripe tomato. “What did I tell you about bopping Little Mouse on the head??!!” she said through clenched teeth. “It was an acc--” but I was cut off by her. “NO excuses!” she snapped. “You had two more chances, and you lost one, so you have only one left!” she waggled her finger at me and – POOF – disappeared. I sighed. I was even MORE frustrated now! Any who, we kept on trucking with our search. “Ugh!” I humphed. I couldn’t see any fresh and bea-u-tiful corn. So I got on a stump to see if there was any corn. Hidden in some bright green leaves, was a bea-u-ti-ful and shiny ear of corn! I yelped out. “YES! WOO-HOO!” I started doing my victory dance. “Oh, yeah! Boo-ya!” Then I heard a tiny little yelp. Oh! It must be Little Mouse! Maybe he’s in trouble! So I hopped off my stump to help him and – SQUASH!!!! I landed right on Little Mouse with a hard thump! “Oh, NOOOOOO! WHAT DID I DO-O-OO?!!!” At that moment, Fairy Flora “magically” appeared. She floated towards me, got right up in my face and she said, “Little Bunny Fooooo-Foooooo, that was your third chance! I am completely FURIOUS with you! Little Mouse is now practically dying because of your humongous keister smashing his face!” She concluded with clenched teeth, “So, I’ll finish you off by turning you into a frog!” And poof! I was “magically” turned into a frog. She floated away and disappeared, thankfully. Little Mouse and I headed home and I rested in my bed. Little Mouse told me that he knew all that I had done was an accident and he forgave me. (Oh, he also said that none of his bones were cracked and that he was A-OK!) Little Mouse said he would go collect corn for both of us. He said he would also come back with magic fairy dust from the good fairy to turn me back into a bunny. He came back about 3 hours later with the most corn I’ve ever seen. He also has a tiny sack tied around his waist. It read, “BUNNY.” He sprinkled about a teaspoon of the dust in a cup and poured some water in. I drank it down with 5 glugs. And POOF! I turned back into myself, Little Bunny Foo- Foo, not Little Froggy Foo Foo! “YAY! WA-HOO! It worked, it worked! YES!” We rejoiced. We feasted on the corn and lived happily ever after. (That is until we ran out of corn.)

31 by Maya C.

Have you heard the story Cinderella? Well it’s about time you have! Once upon a time Cinderella was born. As she grew up she became a depressed maid. And now she is a pest and a waste of my time. My name is Drusilla. I am a stepsister to my nasty stepsister Cinderella, and I think Cinderella is so crazy. She talks to mice. At least everyone else thinks she is crazy. “Cinderella, go to the garden and fetch me some nice juicy strawberries,” I said annoyingly. “I am hungry and I want you to make me a strawberry pie.” “But it’s in the morning, Drusilla,” said Cinderella. “I don’t care,” I said. So with that Cinderella went to go fetch some nice juicy strawberries. Back at the castle with Prince Charming everything was so stressful. He had to marry a princess. “How could my father do this to me?” the prince thought. With this terrible feeling, he ran outside. He saw green leaves on brown trees. Mr. Charming smelled the earthy air. He heard birds chirping. While he was walking he saw a maid in her owner’s backyard while picking strawberries. She had golden hair and blue eyes, and a light yellow face. Her face sadly did not have a smile. Then the prince saw her leaving and suddenly he remembered he was mad at his dad for making him go to the ball. So he went home and put on his pajamas and went to bed. In his sleep he was dreaming of the maid he had seen and how she was so pretty with ugly clothing. When he woke up he had breakfast in bed and then started thinking how he could avoid the ball. Then there was a knock. He said, “come in,” and in went his father. “I want you to meet some girls, son,” said his father. “No, Dad I will not,” said the prince. Right after he said that, he heard a knock. “That’s your guest,” the prince’s father said. The prince ran as fast as he could and he ran to the baker’s house and he asked if he could come in. When the baker said, "yes," he said he had someone that wanted to meet the prince. In went a blond girl. The second the prince saw her he knew there was going to be trouble so he ran. Back at my house there was a knock on the door. “It’s for me,” I said. “No it’s for me,” said Griselda. While we were bickering, Cinderella went to go answer the door for herself. When she opened the door she gaped, it was the prince! When the door opened the prince was in shock, it was the maid with the sad face. Before he could even say hello I, Drusilla, appeared instantly and said. “Cinderella go to your room and stay there.” With that Cinderella went up to her room. I shut the door. It was in the evening by the time the prince got home and it was time for bed. So he went up to his room and started sleeping. In the morning, we stepsisters woke up and ordered Cinderella to get some breakfast. When she came up with breakfast and a note, we begged Cinderella to read the note to us. After she was finished we gaped! “It is our first ball!” You can probably guess we made Cinderella make us dresses. By the time we were all ready, the carriage was there, so we got in and went to the ball. Cinderella all by herself was left at home to clean the place up. But this time she heard a knock. “That’s strange,” Cinderella thought. So she answered the door. It was the prince! Before either one of them could say anything a witch came in. She became a gingerbread. Wait no a pumpkin. Wait, no, a witch. “Eek!” Cinderella and the prince said at the same time. They were never seen again. After that wonderful occasion I, Drusilla, married a nice man name Mark. My sister Griselda (who has enormous feet) married a nice mouse named Checkers. We lived happily ever after and the prince and Cinderella were never seen again.

32 by Bennett C.

Hello, I’m the wall that Humpty sat on. It was a hot and sunny day in the kingdom of Egg. All was well until Mr. Dumpty sat on me! How rude! Who said that walls were for sitting on? I politely asked him to get off, and you know what? The old guy looked down sooo far to see who was talking to him that he lost his balance and fell off! “Oof!” he said. At first, I started to laugh, but then when I looked down I saw that Humpty Dumpty was broken into a bazillion pieces! This was an emergency! I called the king with my new Wall-phone 200. The king had gone to egg fixing school, so he was the guy to call. He came with all his horses and all his mice. I wondered why the king brought his horses and mice. I would have brought a team of doctors and an ambulance. The king bent down on the cold cobblestone road to assess the damage. “Horses,” he said, “bring me the ambulance and put Mr. Dumpty in it, so I can properly tape him back together again.” I rolled my eyes and questioned the success of our egg fixing economy. Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that our kingdom survives only as long as we can successfully put together again injured eggs from all over the world. Every king’s job is not only ruling the kingdom, but to also put together helplessly injured eggs. Each king has their own methods, each different from the others. And now, with our new and unimproved king, I fear for the survival of our nation. As I watched the king, he appeared to have been making some progress. “Tada! Now, Humpty, stand up!” the king said with pleasure. Humpty stood up, and... fell back into pieces. Surprise, surprise. “No!” the king cried, “How could my tape technique fail me! Hmmm... maybe I should try to glue him back together again.” I heard a faint moan from the back of the “ambulance.” “Maybe you should back off, and call some actual professionals,” I said under my breath. “Whatever,” the king said. He started to glue Humpty back together again. Suddenly, I came up with the thought of what would happen if this uneducated king were to fail this attempt. What other kinds of foolish efforts to put together Mr. Dumpty—poor Humpty Dumpty. “Well, at least it’s super glue, right?” I said hopefully. “Super glue? Oh right, you mean that stuff that glues together stuff really well? No I never use that stuff,” he answered. “Noooooooo, now our kingdom will surely collapse,” I exclaimed. . Finally, I had to have some idea input. “What about stitching him back together again?” I offered. “Doing what to Humpty Dumpty?” the king responded dully, obviously irritated of his past failure attempts to successfully put together again Mr. Dumpty. “Ugh, I’ll just have to show you.” I called the Egg-medics (paramedics in the kingdom of Egg) with my newly introduced Wall-phone 200. I asked them to bring a stitchbulance: an ambulance with a stitching area inside of it. When they got here they grabbed the pieces of Mr. Dumpty and put them inside the auto-stitcher, and said that they would be done in about five minutes. The king called the press to make a newspaper about how he had just saved another helpless egg single handedly, and a broadcast to be aired all over Fairytale Land. At first, I agreed because people needed to believe that we could still fix eggs. But the next day after Humpty Dumpty was all put together again (correctly), I watched the broadcast on my new wall-TV 2000, and realized that he hadn’t included me, who of course not only had the idea of the stichbulance, but was also the wall that Humpty Dumpty fell off of! The king was so selfish! This story was written to tell you who the true hero was: me, and partly the Egg-medics. The End. Oh, and the true story has a happy ending, not as dark and sad as the modified version, and now you know, that even though you don’t live in the kingdom of Egg and haven’t seen the king’s phony broadcast, I’m the one who deserves the most amount of credit here.

by Maggie D.

If you walk down that tiny little road, you may see children playing. If you come at dawn, you may see the light from the sun trying to squeeze through the branches of the big oak tree. If you come at night, you will see bright lights from the city shining down on top of you. If you walk to the 5th house down the road from the left, you will see my first house, the house where my mother carried me in, one step at a time. It’s also the house where I walked my first steps, had my first bath, and where I made my first friends. Now, if you walk up to this house and open that very small side door, you will see a small girl, only four, with big blue eyes and very straight blonde hair, me. I would then tell you to come in and show you around. Here is my living room. This is where my mom carried me too. She put me down screaming, in a small crib, having no idea what to do. In my living room I held my baby sister, Kate for the first time. This is the very room where my two cats would brush against me while I played. I would then point out my old green patched up couch. I would probably then put on a T.V. show that I liked about a singing turtle and we would watch an episode. After the show ended, I would take you by the hand to my room, where my grandparents, Mama and Papa, would play with me for hours, endless hours of dolls, family, and chef. I would then look at my kitchen set. This is my kitchen; I am a very good chef. My Mama gave my kitchen to me! I would then tell you to sit down on my low, tiny, and pink bed. I would “make” you some food, whatever you may like. I would then lead you down a little hallway to my bathroom. Here in the bathroom is where I brush my teeth and take baths. One time I told my daddy to make my bath water freezing cold. He did. Daddy filled up the whole bathtub with freezing water. I slowly put my little left foot in the icy water. When my toe first met the water, I jumped out, freezing. I did this same motion for about five times until I gave up on trying to take a bath and told Daddy to put the water in the drain, so he did. I would then bring you farther down the hallway to my Mommy’s and Daddy’s room. My mommy and I read books together in here. When I get scared in the midst of the night, I rush to her and she puts me back to sleep. I would then push you out the door and I would take you to my REAL kitchen. This is where I eat. When I get bored, I sit in the pantry and make castles out of cans. When I was really little, I sat in my crib eating mashed potatoes and peas. I didn’t want to eat so I threw them on the wall. My Mama wasn’t very happy about the mess but she did still think that it was funny so she laughed. I would then pull you out the door to my sister Kate’s room. Kate and I play in here all the time. We have a blast! One morning my Papa came over and we painted Kate’s room together. We painted it red, I love it! I would then push you outside. This is where my whole family spends time together. It is such a fun and superb time. Kate and I play tag while Mommy and Daddy eat dinner and drink wine. Before I could finish my tour, you would tell me that you had to go. I sigh, and wave goodbye, hoping that you would come back for another visit. Would you?

by Jonathan D.

I could feel the cool breezy air whipping against my face. I could see the many waves jumping up as if trying to catch something on the boat. I was on a cruise. You may not think that going on a cruise is that big of a deal but it is. The memory of a cruise is like a pencil. When it runs out of lead you feel like you have to get a new one. When you can’t quite remember what it was like, you have to go on one again to refresh the peacefulness and calmness of your mind when you were on it. I went on a cruise two and a half years ago. I still remember what it was like. I still remember when I got lost on the cruise. It was one of the nerve-wrecking experiences on the cruise. My parents went to my cousins’ room without telling me. I was frightened. I ran around with my heart pumping in my ears. I ended up going to a captain and declaring my problem. He thoughtfully comforted me. Then he ended going on to the cruise megaphone so that everyone on the cruise could hear, and announced for my family’s name to come to the captain’s room. My family rushed into the room looking frantic, just to realize that I was lost. Another scary event was when my cousin, Dov, picked me up (he is very strong) and cradled me near the edge of the boat. You may not think that is nerve-wrecking but it is. Being 80 feet above the water and dropping into shark-infested water? Not scary? I have only been telling you about the bad things when there are plenty of good things to tell. My dad and I would go shuffle boarding a lot on the deck of the cruise. I eventually got good enough to beat him. There was also a free, self-serve ice cream dispenser on the pool level of the cruise. I don’t think that I have to go into detail with happened between me and that ice cream dispenser… On cruises, you get to stop at eccentric places. The cruise that I was on went to the Cayman Islands and Haiti. At the Cayman Islands, we went on an on-water park. It was connected to the ground with hooks. We also went snorkeling and got to pet a live stingray! It was very exciting. At Haiti, I got a wooden sword with the name Jonathan carved into it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t use it until I was off the cruise because it was considered to be a “weapon.” Although cruises are sometimes dangerous, Cruises Are Awesome!

by Cynthia D.

“I’m done, I’m done,” I would yell. It was just one story after the next, I couldn’t help but spill my thoughts out onto the page and let everyone know about them. This creative form of art transforms me into a different person every time my pencil touches my paper. My passion for writing is more than you can imagine. I can’t even think about my life without writing, it is as if I breathe and live every day for it. It’s like a part of me that I will never let go of. That’s why it kills me when I’m not writing. I don’t know what is but writing was and still is my passion, my Kryptonite. That is why you are about to read the story of my writing experience. I will tell you this story from as young as I can remember writing. I was around four and I had just written my first story. I had gotten my inspiration from the movie I had just watched at my friend’s house. I got back home and ran up to my room grabbing my writing notebook and jotting down my ideas. From what I can remember it was about two friends and one was moving. She really didn’t want to move so she damaged some of the house so no one would buy it. Now that I think about it, that’s a pretty stupid idea considering even if no one bought it she would live in a wrecked house. Anyway that was my first story so it needed at little work. By the time I was five it wasn’t much different. I had just started kindergarten and we would write short stories, maybe 3 or 4 sentences, so they could never be very detailed. But at my house I would try so hard to really write, since my older sister, even in third grade had amazing things to write about, from stories to poems. They always amazed me. I would sit for hours listening to her read her stories, because I didn’t know how to read. Thinking about it now I laugh because I love writing stories of my own, and have so many ideas.

by Natalie E.

Last summer was the summer of 2012. I was so excited to go to Rehoboth Beach! The drive there was long, and boring, but we made it. We, as in my brother (Will) my dad (self explanatory) and my step mom (Barbara). When we got out of the car, I practically jumped out, and I was first! The first thing I felt was the warm August sunshine on my back, and then the hot sand under my feet. I had my swimsuit on under my clothes, so I peeled off my clothes, got sunscreen on, and Will and I plunged into the cold refreshing water! The water’s coldness startled us at first, but then it seemed to grow warmer. I jumped through, dove under, and body surfed lots and lots of waves. Eventually, my dad came into the water, and we had lots of fun! About an hour later, we went to get pizza on Rehoboth’s! We ordered four pizzas. If I can remember correctly, I ordered a sausage pizza. Will ordered a Hawaiian pizza (pineapple and sausage), Barbara ordered a mixed cheese pizza, and Dad ordered a pepperoni pizza. The pizza was a little disappointing, because after we ordered, it took them an hour to get our pizzas on the table! The pizzas were also soggy, and tasted like cardboard! That pizza place is usually pretty good, though I can’t remember the name of it. We all headed back to the beach, and my brother and I started digging for hermit crabs. We stored about five in each hand when Will finished building the sandcastle he made for them. After that, I went back into the water, followed shortly after by Will. We came out and dug hermit crabs again, but this time, we made mountains with high peaks, and a moat around it. There was a deserted lifeguard stand, and Will, Dad, Barbara, and I went up to it. Will and I climbed up it, and we got a picture there. Dad also got pictures of us jumping off, in mid-air. I can’t get enough of body surfing, so I caught a few good waves, and hustled out of the water. I’d heard that it was time to pack up, and go. We washed sand out of suits, changed into regular clothes, and left. We all had a great time, and I hope we go back soon!!

by Jacob H.

Hi, I’m Mittens, Grammy’s cat. Everyone says that cats do not talk, even if it’s the most insane reason like someone calling them a bad name. I think that is baloney. Anyways, do you want to hear the real story of the gingerbread man? Well, everybody thought the gingerbread man was a little innocent cookie. That is slightly inaccurate. It all began on a bright sunny day when I was giving myself a licking treatment and I smelled something baking. I was curious. I roamed around the house searching for the smell. I finally came upon Grammy making something in the kitchen. From my view, I could see a spoon, sugar, and eggs – it was hard to tell, but I guessed that it was a cookie. I thought this was too boring to watch so I decided to sunbathe. Just a few minutes later, I thought that I saw a door close. That meant that Grammy was going to work in the garden. This wasn’t a new routine – I’ve been here for seven years. An hour later, Grammy still hadn’t come back inside. I was very worried. I went out my little cat door to find that Grammy had fainted. At first, I was confused, but then I noticed a rattlesnake right next to her. I hissed at the snake and it slithered off. Grammy thanked me for my bravery and gave me a biscuit. Suddenly, I realized that Grammy had left the cookie baking in the oven and I purred near her to alert her. She ignored me, of course. Finally, I got her attention. I think that she could read my mind because just then she ran inside. She ran right back out of the house looking terrified. A giant gingerbread man pushed off the roof of the house, stood up straight, then roared so loud that I flew backwards! Grammy reached for her phone to call 9‐1‐1. The swat team eventually arrived. They finally shot the gingerbread man down. I was relieved. That night, the swat team, Grammy, and I finished off eating the giant dead gingerbread cookie. I don’t mean to brag, but it was delicious! In all, a giant mutant cookie turned into an unexpected surprise.

by Dylan H.

There was a kid named Jacob who went to town one day. When he was there, he traded his potato laying chicken for some corn seeds. Apparently the seeds were magical but everyone laughed at him for believing the hoax. He still went home to plant them. So then he went to sleep and next morning a corn stalk had grown. He looked up and it seemed to go on and go on to space and well it did. Jacob climbed up the corn stalk not knowing were it would lead. He climbed so high he could not breathe that well but then he saw what looked to be a castle so he pushed on. When he got to the top he was on the MOON! Jacob tried to keep his feet on the ground but he could not. So he did a breast stroke kind of movement. When he got there he opened the bulky door. When Jacob got in, the first thing that caught his eye was that everything was giant size. Although when he was looking around he saw a goose lay a golden egg! Then Jacob made a move for the goose, but when he got his hands on it he heard big foot steps. So he took the goose and made a run for it. Then the giant saw him and started chasing and swiping at him for the goose. The giant got the goose but not him. Jacob made a dash for the corn stalk. Then he saw the giant coming out of the castle with flint and steel. Now Jacob understood that the giant was going to burn down the corn stalk. So he rushed down the stalk. Jacob was ¾ the way down when the fire the giant lit started to catch up to him. When Jacob got to 20 feet above ground he jumped right into a pond in his backyard. That was when tragedy hit. One single ember fell on to his straw roof and caught his house ablaze. Jacob started to weep for all of his belongings and everything that was on fire. Then he started to walk and walk until he got to the town farthest away from his old one to start a new life. That was the end of Jacob and the corn stalk.

by Alyson L.

I see the waves crashing down! I see the sand blowing over my feet! I hear the umbrellas rustling. It’s the beach, my favorite place to be. The way the children play. Building sand castles on the beach. I see the fish jumping out of the water. It’s the beach, what could go wrong. It’s a nice relaxing place that’s like no other place in the world. I open my book, looking at the words of the page. As the wind blows around, I feel the sting of sand hitting my face. I hear the waves crashing down onto the beach. I hear the way the seagulls squawk. It makes the beach complete. I can not forget the way we always bring lunch from the beach house. I smell the jelly on my sandwich, the tangy smell of apples, oranges, bananas, and strawberries. I remember the way my grandmother’s fresh baked cookies smell so sweet in the lunch bag. The boogie boarders and sometimes surfers are out in the ocean. When I play in the sand, I sometimes build moats around sand castles. Sometimes I bury my brother. Or maybe I dig with my baby cousins. Maybe I even play with my dad. This is the beach to me, the beach in North Carolina, in the city of Duck. It’s the Outer Banks, my favorite place to be.

by Ethan L.

The day was a warm, hot and sunny morning. It was the day after school ended and it was the day I was going paint balling for the first time. My dad picked me up at 10:30. We were the first people at Aidan’s house. Then a bunch of my friends arrived. First it was Ricardo, then Graham, then Bennett. And then other people we did not invite but heard about the event and just showed up. Then at 11:30 we left for Pev’s Paintball. When we got there and got set up, the teams were divided: Aidan, Ethan, Ricardo, Graham, and Bennett and then the dads were on one team. The kids and I got into position and the game began. I shot two adults, then Ricardo got shot in the chest. Aidan got shot in the arm and I, on the other hand, got shot in the eye. Well, I was wearing a face mask with goggles so I did not get hurt. The pellet from the paint ball gun hits your face mask and it splatters all over your face. Then the teams were divided for round two. It was Ethan, Ethan’s dad, Aidan, Aidan’s dad, Ricardo, Ricardo’s dad. On team two: Graham, Graham’s dad, Bennett, Bennett’s dad. The game began. Ricardo got shot in the arm. “Surrender!” Graham’s dad said. “No!” I said. Poof, Poof, Poof, Poof. We were using red paint so I thought I was bleeding. I got shot in the leg four times. I got so wounded I was not allowed to play anymore. Final round. Even though I was not able to play anymore I watched. I saw five people get out from a paintball grenade. I could not see through the paintball masks everyone was wearing so I could not be sure who was who. So I think I saw Aidan win. After all the rounds, we went to the paintball lobby. We ate pizza with soda. Then for dessert we had chips with cookies and lemonade. After that, we, meaning Aidan and I, went to the paintball store there. We looked at some really cool guns. And then we went home. Until next time, this is Ethan saying good night and paintball! Wait no! It is not the end yet. When I got home, I threw away my paint balled jumpsuit away, and I played b-ball for a few minutes. Now it is the end—wait, still no. SIX MONTHS LATER, I went to Aidan’s house and I found my not used paintball grenade at his house but I did not have room to take it home in my back pack. Number one, I did not want it to explode in my back pack. Number two, it did not fit. Alright this is Ethan saying good night and paintball! And I loved paintball and I can not wait to do it again!

by Wesley L.

Dear Mom and Dad, I am starting my first water cycle. I am with all of my friends and having lots of fun. I hear the water cycle never ends! Love, Drip

Dear Mom and Dad, I am in the clouds. I got here when it got really hot in the lake and I started to rise into the clouds. Love, Drip P.S. That’s called evaporation.

Dear Mom and Dad, It’s getting cold! Some of my buddies and I are turning into liquid. Love, Drip P.S. That’s called condensation.

Dear Mom and Dad, Some new raindrops came into our cloud. They said that they were from trees. Love, Drip P.S. That’s called transpiration.

Dear Mom and Dad, I am falling. I am a small drop of water. When I hit the ground I am going to make a big splash! Love, Drip P.S. That’s called precipitation.

Dear Mom and Dad, I am in a stream. The stream is flowing fast toward an ocean. Love, Drip

P.S. That’s call surface run off. P.P.S. This is my last letter!

by Maggie L.

His fur is shiny brown and his helmet is as neon blue as it can be. There are three bears, Baby Bear, Papa Bear, and Mama Bear. One day they go on a bike ride. When they get their bikes out, the sun has gone up. Then they get on their bikes and ride into the deep dark forest. A fourth of the way in the deep dark forest Papa Bear falls off his bike. Papa Bear gets up and right back on his bike. Later they stop for lunch at Baby Bear's cousin's house. When they leave, one of Baby Bear's cousins leaves with them. When they get three fourths of the way through the deep dark forest, Baby Bear falls off his bike and hurts his ankle. The four walk until they see a small cottage. No one is home, so they go in through the window. When they get inside they sit down in the living room. Later Baby Bear finds a pillow but it is too hard. Then he finds another pillow, but it is too soft. Then he finds another pillow and it is just right. When he gets tired he goes upstairs. Baby Bear goes into the first room. He lies down on the bed but it is too soft. Then he goes into the next room. He lies down on the bed but it is too hard. Then he goes into the next room. He lies down on the bed and it is just right. About an hour later, Baby Bear wakes up from faint screams. He gets up and goes downstairs to see why he heard screams. When he gets downstairs his cousin is stuck in a chair and can't get out because Papa Bear and Mama Bear are sitting there too. There also is a girl with shiny golden brown hair and ice blue eyes. She wants them out of her house. Baby Bear tells the girl that if she will stop scaring his family, they will leave. The girl stops screaming and the bears leave. They ride into the deep dark woods wondering why the girl was screaming so much.

43 by Marion L.

The queen asked her son, the hunter, to find Snow White, kill her, and take out her heart. “Ok, I’m off to find Snow White,” replied the hunter. The hunter was walking in a deep dark forest and it was getting late. The forest was full of bats. You could see the bats' eyes looking around. You could hear them tearing at your clothes. The hunter did not get a good night’s sleep. When he woke up from his nightmarish sleep, he felt grouchy. Then when he was fully awake, he set off at a fast pace, deeper into the forest. After an hour of walking, he came to a clearing. There, standing before him, was the prettiest girl he had ever met. She had bright blue eyes, short black curly hair, with a red headband to hold the hair out of her face, and pale skin that was soft to the touch. He loved her the minute he saw her. “Hello, call me the hunter,” said the hunter in his manly voice. “Hello, my name is Snow White,” said Snow White daintily. “No!” the hunter yelled, as he started sobbing, not so manly anymore. “Why are you crying? There is no need to cry,” Snow White said anxiously. “I…I came here to kill a girl named Snow White and your name is Snow White. So go, run, run away,” sobbed the hunter. Snow White ran; she ran for all she was worth. After a while, the hunter was ready to find the queen and tell her that he was not up for the job. The only answer he got was, “I don’t care, kill her anyway.” So, as he set off into the forest, he started thinking of a plan. He could not kill a pig and take its heart out because the queen would notice that it was a pig’s heart. Wait a minute; he could ask a witch to make the pig’s heart, or any animal’s heart, look like Snow White’s heart. Since he was in a forest with lots of bats, he decided to kill a bat and take its heart out. That was much easier than he expected. Now all he had to do was find a witch, and that was the hard part. He had not been walking that long when he heard footsteps behind him. Every time he stopped, they stopped. It gave him the creeps. He slowly turned around, and out of the corner of his eye he could see the wicked witch of the west. He had to be brave if he wanted to save Snow White. He bravely walked up to the witch. “Will you help me with my evil plan?” “What do you mean? I am all about evil plans!” exclaimed the wicked witch. “Ok, I was wondering if you would make this bat’s heart look like Snow White’s heart,” explained the hunter. “Of course, because you are going to trick the queen into thinking that Snow White is dead,” replied the wicked witch of the west. “Ok, give me the heart.” “My, that was easy,” muttered the hunter. The hunter ran all the way home because he was really excited and scared about turning his mother into a bat. When he went into the house he screamed, “Mother, Mother! I did it!” It worked; his mother came running into the room, snatched the heart out of his hand and accidentally turned herself into a bat. He ran out of the house and into the forest to find Snow White. When he found Snow White, he asked her to marry him. She would have to marry him after all he had done for her to keep her from dying. She said she could not because she was already married. The hunter lived sadly ever after!

44 by Liam M.

Jack’s family was very poor so his Mom told him to sell the cow. On the way to the market he met a strange man yelling, “Magic Beans for sale.” OK, let’s stop there. Here’s where I come in. Those beans were mine. How did they get there you ask? I’ll tell you. I was on a walk. I put the beans in my pocket. Unluckily for me, the pocket snagged on a tree and the beans fell out. They bounced off a cloud and landed in the strange man’s rain bucket. I did not know my beans were missing until around the time Jack got up here. That is why I was yelling and screaming and then little did I know that Jack stole my bag of gold! MY BAG OF GOLD! Do you know what I did to get over my bag of gold? Well, I have millions of piles of gold and gems so I do not care about one small bag of gold. I was still upset about losing my magic beans. So I went to my room to listen to soothing music from my harp. When I was listening to my magic harp, I fell asleep. I woke with a start. My magic harp was gone! I was grumpy so I started running and yelling so loudly I sounded like thunder. Jack was so scared. He was so scared that he jumped down a dark and deep mouse hole in the hallway of my castle. There were rats, giants rats. I hoped he was all right. He still had my magic harp. I left to go to the witch’s house in the forest and yes she was human size, not giant size. When I got there, I boomed, “I need a new harp.” I waited for her to come out. She asked very calmly, “Gold or Silver.” “Silver,” I replied. Off she went. I waited for a half an hour until I looked through the curtain and saw her casting a spell on a silver harp. It started playing all by itself. I took a step back and leaned forward but I leaned a little too far and I fell THUMP! I got back up and the witch handed me the harp. I took it and left. When I got back to my castle, I saw Jack exit the mouse hole and run out the front door towards the beanstalk. I stepped on a tack. I looked at it closely. It was Jack’s pocket knife. I wanted to give it back so I started running to the beanstalk. I knew Jack had my goose that lays golden eggs. I had to give Jack’s knife back. I started to call his name. “Jack, Jack,” I called. Now he must have thought that I meant to eat him. I looked down and saw him climbing down quickly. Little Jack must have been so scared, he must have used an ax to chop down the beanstalk. The beanstalk groaned as it fell. As I fell down, I dropped Jack’s knife. As I watched it fall, I hoped he found it. When I landed, it made a crater that was so deep today we call it Hell’s Canyon. Do you know what I did? I died. So this story is called The True Story of Jack and the Beanstalk. For me the story ended unhappily, but Jack and his mom lived happily ever after in their new castle made of stone.

by Makenzie P.

I got three new special objects from my mom's wedding. One is an iPad. Ever since I was nine years old, I have always wanted an iPad. My cousin also wanted an iPad, so we both worked very hard on getting enough money to buy one. Every time my family and I go to the beach, I do a massaging business with my cousin. We get about sixty dollars when we go to the beach. To get money, I sell things I no longer like any more. Sometimes I have a lemonade stand in the summer. About a few months later in July my mom's wedding was coming up and we drove to Hotel Monaco in Washington D.C. The hotel was a beautiful place with really good breakfast and huge rooms to sleep in. After we got there we hung around for about two and a half hours or so. After we hung out with everybody we went upstairs to our room and got dressed into our rehearsal dinner clothes and went to dinner. When everybody got there and ate their dinner my mom and my step dad started giving out presents. When it was my turn to open my presents I got an angel that my mom gave me, and an iPad that my mom and step dad got me. When everyone was done with dinner, most people took a taxi to the hotel and went to bed. The next morning before my mom woke up, I got my iPad out and I set it up for me to use. I was so excited that I almost screeched, but I didn’t because I didn’t want to wake up my mom. I set it up, got Wi-Fi, and got some games. (Good thing the hotel had free Wi-Fi). An hour or two later, my mom woke up and started getting ready for her wedding. First we went to a hair salon and got our hair really pretty. Than we put make-up on, finally we put our dresses on. The only make-up I put on was a little blush, lipstick, and mascara. My dress was a yellow noodle strap with flowers at the top. During the wedding I got another special gift. The gift I got was a diamond necklace. The chain was made out of white gold. I loved it so much. My new step dad and mom got it for me. After the wedding, the photographer took pictures of everybody. When we all went back to our rooms we redid our make-up for the reception dinner. At the reception dinner after all the food was served and all of the speeches were said a lot of people started dancing. Everybody said I was a dancing machine that night. That night somebody got a limbo stick and a lot of people played limbo. My new uncle Tim had a dance off with me and I beat him.  That night was so fun, I wish I could do it all over again and again. I love my new step dad and especially my mom. That was the story of the things that are special to me.

by Charlotte P.

Once upon a time there was a little house in New Jersey and that little house was in the woods. Now let’s cut to the chase. I am a wolf and I am going to tell you about everything that happened that day. Ok? Ok and this how it all happened. I was taking my daily stroll in the woods when I saw a plump little girl skipping along a path. I knew it would be rude if I just kept walking so I decided to go up to her and say hi …. But she just started running away, so of course I followed her. I looked behind me to see if anyone was following us but all I saw was a girl lying down on a bed with a bunch of lawn gnomes or dwarfs. She was obviously not scared of them, but I kept running just in case. After awhile, I came upon a little house on a hill. The house was called Granny’s Place. It looked like a little restaurant. Before I knew it Little Red was gone. But of course again I walked in. I didn’t really care about Little Red because she was really annoying. Anyway I walked in to the restaurant. I heard some movement in the kitchen. I looked around and saw grandma running away into the closet, SLAM! Just then I saw a white wig and glasses so I put them on. I thought it would be a good disguise just in case Little Red came in. Then I heard, "Granny, Granny, are you there?" I quickly hid under the table. I know what you're thinking, but it was the first thing next to me. Anyway back to the story…. I was sitting down under the table as I heard her little feet clatter along the wooden planks. I felt a quick little shiver go up and down my back. "Hi, Granny! Oh what big nose you have. Oh and what big ears you have. Oh and it looks as if you are turning in to some sort of monkey," said Little Red. "Well that’s not very nice, little girl," I said. "Sorry Granny," said Little Red. "Wait a goose bounding minute you’re not Granny. You’re the wolf." "But come on, stay for lunch," I said. "Ahhhhhhhh!" Little Red screamed. I know, I know, I should have said come and eat lunch with me. "Well Mr. Wolf, who are you and who are you working for?" said Little Red. "Wait, you have a little pest problem." "Really," I said. "What’s the pest?" "These little lawn gnome things," said Little Red. Anyway, back to the scene. That’s when I got caught for locking Granny up in the closet. "WHAT?" Little Red said. "Well let me show you. Let me open the door. Ah Ha! Say that to the fact that Granny is right there in the closet." "What no!" I said. "Say that to the court house," said Little Red. "Bang Bang!" went the gavel. "I declare you guilty Mr. umm" said the Judge. "Wolf" I said. "You know what, you are going to be banished to The Three Little Pigs. Again, bye Mr. Wolf," said the judge. BOOM! Well that’s it, the end of the story. The truth is I am not such a big bad wolf after all. I did get framed and this all teaches you a valuable lesson. Do not under any circumstances; do not buy store bought books. They are not true and good bye. You can come by and see my action in the story, The Three Little Pigs.

47 by Luke R.

“Yay, we’re there,” I said, sounding happy. We had just driven for two full hours to a vineyard with a white building all by itself outside of Charlottesville, Virginia for my aunt’s wedding. It was June 12, 2010. We were all dressed up nice. My dad was wearing a suit, along with me and my younger brothers, Chase and Jack. My mom was wearing a nice dress and a pretty sun hat. When we got out, we could hear some talking from behind the building. That was where we went. When we got to the back of the building, there were tables set up and there were cookies and lemonade being served. We were told not to eat too many of the cookies. Pretty far from the back of the building, there were a lot of chairs divided into two sections, with a walkway right down the center. There was an arch of branches with flowers on them a couple of yards from the end of the chair sections. After about 20 minutes, a woman assigned me, my brothers, and my cousin Gareth the job of handing out wedding programs inside the building as guests made their way to their seats. We acted a lot like people at a concession stand at a professional sports match. “Come get your information sheets,” we’d say. We did that for about half an hour. After that, I ushered a couple of people to their seats and the wedding began. I got a front row seat, so I could see everything. My aunt’s dress was as white as snow, and the neat part was that she was wearing my mom’s wedding dress. I don’t remember much of the ceremony of the wedding, seeing how long ago it was. After the ceremony, everybody got something to eat and drink, and people took pictures. I met a lot of people that I had never seen before. Today, my mom and dad will talk about people I am related to from the wedding. I didn’t even realize we were related. I haven’t had the chance to meet these people again, but I hope that I will some time.

by Eamon S.

One day, I, the scariest and ugliest witch, was strolling in the woods around where my candy cottage was. That day I saw these two little kids munching on bread and they were getting it all over the place while yelling and screeching. I went over to them and they just started screaming and ran off. The next day they were still out there and I was just going to settle this now! I invited them to my candy cottage. The two little misfits followed me back to my candy cottage and let me tell you these kids were crazy! They were jumping, screaming and yelling so loud that if you were on the moon you could hear them. The worst was that Hansel. The boy was a candy-eating machine. He was eating my cottage like there was no tomorrow. I just got so mad that I thought I was going to blow up. Then I started pushing them and they ended up in the oven by accident. They were furious at me, so I jumped on my broomstick and left. Then the police department made up this lie that I was trying to eat them. All I was trying to do was get them out of my cottage but they didn’t believe me. So now I am in the slammer for it and no one believes I am innocent.

49 by Primo S.

Hi! I’m the neighbor of the three little pigs and the Bad Wolf. I am a big bright yellow lizard. Ok, well nobody knows the story like I do of The Three Little Pigs and the Bad Wolf. The story starts like this. I was at my house making some toast for breakfast when I heard a loud annoying noise outside my house. Then I went outside to see what it was and it was that annoying old wolf playing the trumpet and it was giving me a huge headache. I screamed at him and I said, “You better stop Wolf or I will do something really bad to you.” All he did was turn around and say, “Whatever,” and walked away. I felt pretty good about that. So I went inside because it was getting pretty late. I made myself some hot chocolate and headed upstairs to watch some TV for a while. Eventually I fell asleep to the weird TV show, SpongeBob. When I woke up, I made myself my favorite breakfast of roasted crickets. After I ate, I went outside to see if it was nice out. It was nice so I figured I would wear some shorts and a t-shirt. When I was putting on my clothes I heard that loud, annoying noise again and it gave me a huge headache. So I went outside and that dumb wolf and I got into a huge fight. After that I went to my garden to check on my flowers and I heard the Bad Wolf talking to the three little pigs about a plan to annoy me so much that I would leave the neighborhood. But the pigs yelled, “NO! We love Mr. Lizard!” The Bad Wolf said, “No, he stinks!” That’s when the killing happened. Just kidding! But this IS when the pigs get hurt. So then they got into a fight and the wolf threatened to burn down their house with them in it. They all screamed, “You wouldn’t do that!” And the wolf said, “Oh yea, watch me!” The wolf pulled up his pickup truck in front of the house so they could not get out. The mean old wolf lit the house on fire with all the pigs in it. When I was watching, I was thinking about going to save them but I am too slow and I would never make it. I heard the pigs screaming. Just then I saw the three little pigs. The first one was climbing out of the downstairs window with a burnt spot on his leg. The second pig was walking out of the back door with a burnt spot on his right arm. The third pig had gone up onto the roof and jumped off and this pig was fine but when he jumped off the roof he broke his foot. I ran outside and put them in my car and took them to the hospital. The first pig with the burnt leg got a wheelchair, the second pig with the burnt arm got a cast, and the third pig with the hurt foot got crutches. When we drove home from the hospital we saw a sign on my door that said the Bad Wolf had gone to jail. So we got back into the car and drove to the jail to talk to the wolf. When we got there the wolf said, “Oh pigs, I am so sorry.” The pigs said, “It’s okay as long as you promise to never hurt us again.” They became friends again and from this day on the three little pigs and the Bad Wolf still thank me, the little lizard, for saving their friendship.

by Sophie S.

Who would have known that a princess would raise the dead? I wouldn’t have.

Oct.24 I am a witch; I am the one who kidnapped Rapunzel. And no, I am not the “bad guy.” You see, I saw the neighbors steal my herbs and I had to do something. But I didn’t mean to be evil because I am not. I’m only twelve, but one of my potions spilled on me, so I looked older, and people thought I looked ugly but I really wasn’t, so I stayed away from the crowds and grew my own food.

Oct.25 It’s almost Halloween, and Rapunzel and the prince, Henry, have really ugly costumes. They’re dressed as socks. Ugly, right? My angel costume is sparkly and glows in the dark.

Oct.26 Today Rapunzel started using my spell and potions. She transformed my beautiful black cat into a disease spreading armadillo.

Oct.27 The newspaper came in today and most of the townspeople have been turned into zombies. The remaining people are locked up in their houses.

Oct.28 Bam! Bam! Bam! Zombies were circling my huge tower and slamming their heads on the door. Henry and Rapunzel were nowhere in sight.

Oct.29 I found out that Rapunzel and Henry were zombies. I hid in my bedroom.

Oct 30. And so you can see that I am not the “bad guy.”

by Allison S.

Hi I’m Allison and I’m about to tell you about the scariest experience of my life. Oh, did I mention I am a rain droplet. I recently graduated from little droplet school. It all happened on a wonderful Monday with no school. Smart Sally, Cloud Charlotte, Water Vapor Vittoria, Precipitation Paule, and I were in Niagara Falls and I started feeling like I was boiling. I know it sounds weird but I started flying and then I thought this must be a dream so I pinched myself. It hurt but I didn’t wake up. Then I looked down not seeing any of my friends. Smart Sally then flew up beside me. She paid way too much attention in school but now I was glad. She said, “Wheeeeeeee! We’re evaporating!” I saw WVVittoria (Water Vapor Vittoria) and she said, “We’re turning into water vapor.” As we got higher in the sky it suddenly got extremely cold and I felt myself turning white and fluffy. Smart Sally came over and said “We’re condensing,” and Cloud Charlotte said, “We’re turning into clouds.” We all got blown away to what I thought was the Gulf of México. I suddenly started falling from the sky and I yelled “eyyyyy” but Smart Sally said, “It’s ok, we are precipitating.” Then Precipitation Paule said, “We’re raining! Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!” We fell into the Gulf of México and started down a waterfall into the ocean. It started getting hot again and we evaporated –again. Now I have been through the water cycle 32 times: 15 snowing, 12 raining, and 5 hailing. Now it is not so scary but kind of annoying because now that I’m out of school I’m stuck in the water cycle forever. I wish I could retire. I mean, it was fun a few times but it’s quite tiring so I hope you never have to join the endless cycle of water. Bye!

by Madelyn T.

It was an attractive fall morning, and colorful leaves crunched under my feet as I collected juicy red berries. I am Georgia Trop, but you might know me best as Grammy from Little Red Riding Hood. I was collecting berries to decorate my miniature white cottage outside of Wolf Wolf Woods. The name of the woods was misleading – until today. There had never been a wolf in these woods – as far as I knew - so I decided to stroll into what they call the “haunted circle.” That was a HUGE mistake, for as soon as I stepped into the spooky scenery, I heard deep growling noises. Then, drawing no attention to myself, I started to run. I was no match for the wolf. Even though I was going as fast as my old legs could take me, I stumbled on a tree branch and he caught me, dragging me to my house. “Is the cottage here your place?” He grunted and I nodded. The wolf dragged me inside and threw me on my bed. I was petrified to move any more. The wolf rummaged through my closet until he found a ball of string, and he tied me up, nice and tight. Then, surprise, surprise, he threw me in my closet and locked the door. “Let me out!” I cried. I was starting to get impatient when I heard, “Grandma, Grandma! Let me in!” It was Red, my beloved granddaughter. I banged on the door and screamed with all my might, yet no answer. I heard the wolf speak. “Come in,” the wolf said in a high pitched voice. “My, Grandma, what big eyes you have.” “The better to see you with.” I was stuck in the closet, starting to get angry. “My, Grandma, what big ears you have.” “The better to hear you with.” I was a volcano, ready to explode. “My, Grandma, what big teeth you have.” “The better to eat you with.” I broke the door with my petite fists and stopped to stare. He was wearing my night gown and I could tell Red wasn’t fooled. “Grandma!” Her eyes came alive in fear. The wolf opened his mouth. Before I could protest, I was gobbled up, gone, swallowed. Even though I didn’t get to live, I’m glad I told my story. For the wolf, someday he will get my revenge.

by Vittoria T.

“Who could have thought that a simple good deed could get you in jail?” Hi, it’s me, the supposedly Big Bad Wolf. Yes, I am alive. I did not get cut open by the butcher. That is just all that fairytale nonsense. This is how the story of Little Red Riding Hood really happened. I was in the deep, dark woods, just getting ready to have some bunny on toast for breakfast when my bunny ran away into the shadows of the trees. I started chasing the bunny trying not to trip on the vines when it crossed a path. Walking on this path was a young girl wearing a bright red cape with a large hood. She stopped and asked me what was the fastest way to get to her grandmother’s cottage. I had no idea there even was a cottage near the woods, so I just told her to keep on the path she was taking. I went back to finding my breakfast, which had now become my lunch. I walked and walked, until I came to a cottage. I knocked on the door, but it just opened on the first knock. I walked inside and the smell of old lady perfume almost knocked me over. I found an old lady lying on the bed. Figures. “This must be the little girl’s grandma,” I thought. I tripped on her slippers and accidentally fell on the bed, waking her up. She screeched and fell on the floor, hitting her head. I did not want the little girl to come and see her dear old granny just lying in her bed unconscious. Therefore, I opened the closet and took some of the grandmother’s old lady clothes. When I put them on, I looked just like her. I threw grandma in the closet. (She landed with a thump.) I got into her bed. It was soft and cushiony. I acted like a dear old granny lying sick. When the girl came in, I tried my best to act like a sweet old grandmother, but my pantyhose were getting really itchy so I started squirming a little. Plus, my disguise must’ve not worked well because she started asking these questions such as: Why were my teeth so big? Why did my breath smell weird? In the end, I decided to just give up and I spilled the beans. I told her that I was a wolf and that her grandmother was in the closet. She started screaming her head off and by the time the whole town got there, of course I was trying to eat her because her yelling was giving me a headache. They put me in fairytale jail and wrote a story about the scene in the press which was totally out of context. Well, at least you know what really happened in the story of Little Red Riding Hood. Unfortunately though, this story will end with an unhappily ever after for me.

54 Art by Charlotte P.

by Charlotte B.

My Uncle Bryan, Aunt Barb, and little two year-old Parker, her face stained with tears, piled into our living room. “Parker was a little upset about getting up for her nap,” Aunt Barb told me. “Give her a few minutes and she’ll be good as new.” As we sat down in the dining room, I couldn’t wait for dinner. No, scratch that, I couldn’t wait for dessert. For some strange reason, my family eats the least on Thanksgiving, as far as dinners go. Partly because the kids don’t like turkey, or green beans, or cranberry sauce, and partly because we save room so we can stuff our faces with pie. Nana makes the best pie in the world. I love her pumpkin pie with the flaky crust and the delicious homemade whipped cream. She also makes chocolate pie for Casey which is ok but too rich for me. This Thanksgiving, I asked for extra whipped cream on my pie, which is somewhat unheard of. (Nana never lets you have extra.) Surprisingly, she let me. After I finished that, Nana saw me eyeing the whipped cream and gave me a big spoonful. It was amazing! Later I asked my mom if I could have more pie. She said if I ate ten more green beans I could have another slice with whipped cream. I choked the beans down. After that, Nana saw me eyeing the whipped cream bowl again and let me lick the spoon! As you can see, my favorite part of Thanksgiving is the whipped cream. I love the sweet, fluffy taste, and how you can never have enough. I’m already thinking about next year’s!

by Charlie B.

It was May 27th 2011. I was riding my scooter around my driveway before we left to go to a family friend’s house for a pool party. My mom asked my sister to close her car trunk when we were getting ready to go. I was riding my scooter close to the trunk and I turned to the left. My sister closed my mom’s car trunk right on my head. I screamed. Blood was on the ground. My head was as red as lipstick. My sister rushed me inside my house. My parents wasted a whole roll of paper towels to clean my head. My parents rushed me to the hospital and my mom and I waited until the doctor told us to come to his room. He said for me to sit down and wait for a second and he came back and said, “This won’t hurt a bit.” He showed me a stapler and shot a staple in my head. Ouch! That staple was right in the center of my head. My mom called my dad and said for him to come pick us up. After I came out, I begged my dad to take me to Baskin Robbins and he said, “Yes.” So my dad and I walked in and I asked my dad if I could have a large smoothie and he said, “Yes.” I walked out with a cold smoothie and we headed off to the pool party. But the bad thing was I could not even put my whole body under the water, and if I did go under water I would get bacteria in my head. So instead I just sat there until the party was over. Once the party was over I went home and got ready for school. The next day I went to school with a staple in my head and ready to learn.

by Jacob C.

September 6, 1803. Two boys raced up the narrow path winding up the mountainside in the rain, lightning flashing around them. Wind blew pebbles and leaves and sticks across the path. The trees bent and groaned. In a few minutes they had reached the castle on the top of the mountain. Their way was blocked by a stout, oak door. The oldest boy took a large key from his brother and fitted it in the lock. In no time, the door had swung open and the boys made their way into the rocky courtyard. Grasses and other plants and bushes had sprouted up on the high walls, cobblestones, and crags. One of the boys brought out a box about eighteen inches long. A harsh light glowed from under the clasped lid. As rain and wind pounded them, they set out to find a place to bury the box. But the whole courtyard seemed rocky and desolate. As they were about to give up hope, there was a terrific clap of thunder and a blinding light and both boys were blasted backwards. When the spots cleared from their eyes, they saw before them a small crack in the ground just big enough for the box. The boys wedged the box into the crack, and covered it with a flattish stone and pushed wet dirt in around the edges so the stone looked as if it had always been there. Just then did they realize the crack had been blasted by lightning and had nearly killed them. With the next crack of thunder they crossed the courtyard and began their trip down the mountainside. As they were about halfway down, a bellowing roar pierced the storm. The boys turned slowly. In the sky above the castle, the shimmering form of a bull appeared. Its red eyes glowed with hate. It opened its mouth, and blasted a column of white hot flames at the cliffs. Fire swirled around a ledge of rock, about the size of a church. The fire dissipated, and the ledge seemed unharmed. The boys stumbled in terror. They began to wonder why the bull had blasted fire at the rock. Then there was a sound like a thousand gunshots ringing out across the cliffs. It made such a din, that it probably could be heard in the valley below. Splinters of rock began raining down at the velocity of bullets, and cracking against the rocks around them. Then the ledge of rock silently calved off the cliff and as it fell towards them, the sound hit them. It was a terrible grinding and hungry sound, but the boys barely had time to register what was happening before darkness closed in around them and, clutching one another, they sank into a mound of black rubble. This was the first time the cursed stone struck but it would not be the last.

by Ricardo C.

A long time ago, I wrote a story about my hamster Fluffy, but then she died. I know sad, sad, sad. But then I got another hamster named Fluffy, the Second. And I decided to make a new story, so let’s get this started. But one thing you need to know is that this is a dream, so it’s a true story. One stupid Thursday afternoon a storm was coming, and it was the year of the hamster. Every first storm of the year of the hamster, every dead hamster returns from the dead and attacks their owners. Some of my friends were coming over to my house to play a new Xbox game called Halo 4 and all my friends have had hamsters. We turned on the game and Fluffy the Second came and she seemed scared. Then my previous hamster, Fluffy the First, walked in front of one of my friends. He got scared and ran away. After, my other friend and I got scared and ran up to my room. A couple of minutes later, we got some Nerf guns and came out of my room. We started to shoot Fluffy with the foam bullets. It gave us enough time to run away. We ran downstairs and grabbed Fluffy the Second. We got on our bikes and biked away until we got too tired. An hour later we biked back ready to fight Fluffy the First. When we got back, there were a lot of ghost hamsters all over my house. We opened the door. We started shooting all the hamsters with Nerf bullets, but it didn’t work at all. So we got some pans and started smashing the ghost hamsters. It was working, but then the hamsters formed into one big ghost hamster. Every time we hit the giant hamster it would get a bit smaller. After five minutes, the giant hamster stopped moving and all the hamsters died… again. We had won the epic battle against the ghost hamsters. “Ricardo…wake up! Time to go to school!” said my mother. “What? That was a dream?” I said. “Nooooooooooooooo” “You should really stop saying no,” said Mom. “Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

by Grace C.

Ella was just a normal girl, living in a normal world with a normal life. But maybe not just a normal house. Ella was sound asleep in her bed when her mom yelled, “Ella come down for breakfast, you're going to be late for school!” She woke up, rubbed her eyes, and looked at the clock. It said 8:00. She jumped out of bed, got dressed, and ran downstairs. While she was running downstairs she stepped on a loose floor board that activated a secret door. She did not know she did something or what she did. When she got downstairs and in the kitchen, she gobbled up her waffles, slurped up her milk, and ran to school. After school she was walking up to her room and saw a door in the hallway, a door that she had not seen before. Ella opened the door and lights flickered on. She stepped inside and the door slammed close. Walking slowly she crept down the hall. The walls of the hall had one wooden plank every two feet and wooden planks placed on top of them. There were spider webs where the planks met. The floor was made of lots of red bricks that were cracked. Suddenly she remembered she was going to her friend’s house to play at 4:00. Ella leaned against the wall and looked at her watch. It said 4:00. It was time to go! She ran down the hall that she thought was the way back but it was not. She was running in the other direction. She found a door, opened it, and stepped out. It was Lauren’s room. She was in her friend’s room! Lauren looked up. “Ella, how did you get here without my mom knowing?” she exclaimed. “I went through this door,” Ella replied. “Cool,” Lauren said. Ella closed the door and it disappeared. Ella ended up walking home. She found out that the door could go wherever she wanted but when she closed it, it would disappear. So that lead to the conclusion that the door was only at Ella’s house in her hallway. That is the story of Ella and the mysterious secret passage.

by Lily D.

Laughter of happily fed people who wisely packed lunch from the cafeteria reached my ears as I trudged into the deserted lunch line. “You want some lunch?” asked a squeaky voice with a thick accent from behind me. My stomach growled as I quickly turned to face a hopeful looking lunch lady. I saw what was for lunch. Creamed frog legs were something I certainly did not want for lunch. Without waiting for an answer, she dove for the “food” and started spritzing it with some sort of liquid. I hoped it was only seasoning. She then plunked three big spoonfuls on the tray and handed it to me. I also bought an apple and some water. I thought I’d be spending more time rinsing out my mouth than eating that junk. I slid my tray onto a table and scooted into a chair. “Eww! Creamed frog legs! Gross!” The snottiest girl in the class, Julia, was again making a disgusting comment on my lunch. “It’s only the meat! It’s not like I’m eating the foot!” I only said that to make her be quiet. As I was poking around, I found a big, webbed foot. “Dare you to eat it,” challenged Duane of the Dweebs, the grossest boy in school. “Don’t worry, you can do whatever you want with it,” said a kind voice from across the table. Ellie, the nicest girl in school, was of course taking the hopeless side of the argument. Everyone sitting at the table was now chanting, "Eat it! Eat it!" lead by none other than Duane the Dweeb. I lost my temper. “EVERYBODY, BE QUIET!” I shouted. Everyone looked at me. I glared back. “If you all be quiet, I’ll eat one spoonful. No more.” Everyone was silent as the grave. I guess that meant that they agreed. I picked up my spoon. As soon as the legs were on, they slid off like Jello. After I went and got a fork, I stabbed the legs. They stayed put. Trying not to look, I shoved it in. I didn’t even have time to swallow. It slid down my throat like water. I could feel it sliding around in my stomach. I got up and left the lunch room with the rest of my class, feeling queasy. When I woke up the next morning, golden sunlight was streaming through my window, which looked ginormous, compared to last night. Even my bed felt huge. I looked up and saw my cat, Tigger staring down at me. What was going on? I tried to stand up, and instead I found myself launched across my bedroom in front of my mirror. That was when I saw myself. I was now pine green, squatted, and slimy. I made a noise like a croak and saw myself swell like a bullfrog. I was a bullfrog! This was bad. My whole life flashed in front of my eyes. My parents, my cat, my friends, and my education were all gone. I knew exactly what happened. That evil lunch lady poisoned me! I would make her change me back! I would turn her into a toad! I let out a big, croaky sigh, and hopped onto Tigger’s back. Tigger started running around in distressed circles, afraid to have a frog on his back. I gained control and rode Tigger to the open door, green knight on plump horse, ready to show that old hag who was boss. Evil lunch witch, here I come!

by Fiffy D.

Once upon a time, in a land called Maryland, two towns stood on the same patch of farmland. The first town lived an absolutely normal life. That town is called Clarksville. The other town lived differently; for one thing, the people of this town, Vipersville, weren’t exactly human. They were vampires, gods and goddesses, and magicians, but not those phony ones you see at the cinemas, real magicians. But I never said these immortals were mean. That’s practically what they were trying to prove: they are not evil. So they do this annual festival called the Boo Extravaganza every Halloween night. The festival had candy clothing like marshmallow vests, and cotton candy hats, using a simple spell of magic, so that every time you eat some of the candy, it immediately re-grows. It was the night before Boo Extravaganza. A brand new magician sat inside his old mansion with his young daughter, Zatanna, and wife. He was scheduled to do magic at Boo Extravaganza tomorrow. Of course he was overjoyed, and a bit overwhelmed, but now, very nervous. “But Daddy, you have too!” wailed Zatanna after the young magician had told them he might not actually do it. “The Boo Extravaganza depends on it.” He knew why. Usually, if there was bad weather coming towards the towns, the magician was to cast it away. There just happened to be bad weather on its way this Halloween, and if no magician, no Boo Extravaganza. The magician went through a sleepless night thinking about how incredibly nervous he was. What if he made a mistake? Or his magic failed to cooperate? The next morning, he ate his breakfast and thought about it. He went to the park, thought about it, sat in his big chair, and thought about it. By the time the Boo Extravaganza was going to start, he had come up with a decision; he was not going to do magic at the festival. As Zatanna and his wife left the house to go, Zatanna looked at her father with a sad look on her small face. A lurch of guilt rung in his stomach as it curled into a knot. Soon, thunder rang out across the sky. The magician remembered his daughter’s face. They needed him now. He pulled on his tux and put on his hat. Grabbing his wand, he was out the door. A tornado was whipping around the festival. He waved his wand and said a couple words, “Evada Cornasoa!” The tornado froze in place. It disappeared instantly. The moon which had been covered in a blanket of clouds emerged, sending a white glow, washing the large tents with light. The Boo Extravaganza was saved! The rest of time the young magician entertained at the fair. He made it, by far, the best Boo Extravaganza ever. All along, he was scared to step out and now he was that person people would always remember for saving the fair.

by Anna G.

One day at a pet store, a rabbit named Hoppers’ cage was left open. So he hopped out. Hoppers hopped and hopped and hopped all the way out the pet shop door. While Hoppers was roaming around he smelled carrots. Hoppers followed the scent into a building with a science lab. He found a beaker of an orange carrot flavored liquid in the science lab. Hoppers drank it until it was all gone. After Hoppers drank it he felt weird. Suddenly he felt a jolt of energy in his legs. It was so powerful that he jumped. Hoppers was confused. So Hoppers decided to leave the science lab. Hoppers hopped towards the door. After his hop, he was floating in mid air. Hoppers could fly. Hoppers had no idea what happened. He was very excited. Since Hoppers could fly he decided to fly around the city. He went past City Hall, the bank, the post office, and the pet shop. When he went past the pet shop, it reminded him that he was hungry. Since he loved the liquid at the science lab so much he decided to go back to the science lab. While he was there he found a green glowing liquid. It looked so cool he was drawn to it like he was hypnotized. He decided to drink it. After he finished the green liquid, he hopped and went back down to the ground. Hoppers couldn’t fly anymore. He tried and he tried but he wasn’t able to fly. When Hoppers realized he couldn’t fly, he was sad. Hoppers had loved flying around the city. He decided to go back to his friends and tell them about his adventure. When he got to the pet shop after he got in his cage, a worker came in. Right when the worker realized the cage was open, he closed it and said, “I’m glad none of the rabbits got out.” Hoppers had a little smirk on his face

by Chris H.

My tenth birthday was one of my favorites. I invited four of my friends: Sean, Cathy, Emma W., Jena, and my brother Dylan. We went to Dave & Buster's. Dave & Buster's is a huge arcade where you can get tickets that you can trade in for prizes. My favorite game is the wheel of tickets. I love all the games they have. My friends love Dave & Buster's, too. It takes a long time to get there because it is in Maryland, but it is worth it! The game wheel of tickets is this big wheel with numbers on it and if you land on a number you get that many tickets. The bigger the number is, the harder that number is to get. This game is good for getting a lot of tickets so that you can turn in for prizes like candy, stuffed animals and electronics. Another game my friends play a lot is skee ball. Skee ball is where you are given 10 balls and you try and get the ball in the highest point tube. If you miss, you only get 10 points. You want to get the ball in the 500 tube which is the highest tube. We try to see who can get the most points and we have records of who has the most points. My brother Dylan has the record of 456 points. My absolute favorite part of Dave & Buster's is how much fun you can have. But the best thing was being with my friends and showing them around and telling them what my favorite games were. My opinion is that this place is great for birthday parties and events.

by Emma J.

Ann sat on her bed and didn’t move a muscle. She was looking outside her window at the New York City skyline. She did this often and always thought about one subject very hard. Today it was gardening. Ann’s entire family agreed that Ann had a green thumb. Until last year, she had lived in Georgia her entire life. To Ann, Georgia was like her own world, everything she could ever want—friends, family, and a huge garden all to herself. It was filled with beautiful flowers and interesting herbs. That garden had held her pride and joy. The most beautiful peach colored rose anyone had ever seen. Ann was completely devastated when her parents told her they were moving to New York City and they couldn’t take the rose. That’s how Ann had moved from beautiful Georgia to big, dirty, confusing New York City. Ann and her family lived in a miniscule apartment in the middle of it all. With four younger siblings it was always as if the apartment was way too crowded. “What am I doing without a garden?” said Ann, thinking aloud. She suddenly felt like crying. She so desperately wanted to move back to Georgia. “Stop it!” she scolded herself. Ann glanced around the room and her eyes rested on the sheet that was supposed to be her birthday wish list. Ann walked over and snatched it up. It was still there. In huge, neat, letters Ann had written: 1. MOVE BACK TO GEORGIA Ann had written her only wish. She shrugged. Nobody would look at the list anyway. Nobody ever did. She got up, walked quietly down the hall, and slipped it under her parents' door, hoping that her wish would be granted. Since Ann had no friends yet in New York, she decided to have a quiet, family party. “So, don’t you want to open your presents?” Ann’s father asked. “What? I actually have presents?” said Ann without thinking. “Of course you do!” replied Ann’s mom, looking a little hurt. Ann trudged up the stairs with her family following nervously behind her. She opened her bedroom door and her jaw dropped. Anything and everything that Ann could want was in a neat pile of presents in the center of her small space. Which, of course, were all things to do with gardening. Watering cans, seed packets, new rich soil, but best of all, sitting right on top of the pile was a large box, with no name on it. “Open it,” whispered Ann’s little sister, Janie. Ann quietly walked toward the box, as if it were a bomb about to explode. Then, she jumped on it and ripped off the wrapping paper. Inside was a garden box to go on her New York City windows. Her heart exploded in happiness as she stared at the garden box. "When can I use it?" she asked her family. "Now is a good a time as any!" said her dad. Ann grinned.

by Jena K.

This story takes place in Florida. My grandma’s friend wanted to take James and me to the aquarium. When we got there, it looked like a big warehouse. But when we walked in, it felt like I was in the big bubbly blue. There was a sheet of glass that looked like the water. Then we went to see the dolphins. There were two dolphins. Each dolphin was found on the beach in Mexico. Then James and I went to the next room. It had beautiful jellyfish bobbing in the water. Then we saw baby sea turtles floating at the top of the water. It all happened at once. The funniest part was when the manatees bumped into the glass and little bubbles floated to the top. Then we saw some fish. The biggest one was the tiger shark and the smallest one was the blue moon. Then James and I got to touch a shark. It was a baby and its skin felt like sand paper. It was a Bamboo shark and it was a foot long. James and I got to touch the tip of the nose and the tail and the bottom of the mouth. I love fish and how they shimmer in the light and give me those little fishy faces. I am amazed at all the fish that live in the sea. I love going to aquariums to see the colorful, gleaming fish. When I get older, I want to work in an aquarium.

by Kara K.

One day there was a milkshake. It looked normal from the outside, but it was truly a perfect, one of a kind milkshake in the inside. This milkshake somehow had a name. Its name was Amy. Amy was a chocolate milkshake, with about a pound of whip cream on top. She had a metal spoon in her cup and a bright orange plastic straw. A girl named Meredith ordered a chocolate milkshake at a restaurant called The North Forest Tavern and she ended up getting Amy. Meredith thought it looked soooo delicious. When she was about to take a drink something startled her, so she decided against that previous idea of taking a drink. Meredith was startled because she saw that the milkshake had little eyes and a mouth on top of all that whip cream. Also Amy’s mouth was moving. She was singing a song. Immediately Meredith got some pictures and a video on her iPhone, so she would have proof when she told her friends. Meredith soon said goodbye to Amy. She then asked the waiter for a new milkshake. When she received her new milkshake she drank it all up. Amy was left un-drunk, and that means she got poured down the sink, face, mountain of whip cream, and all the rest, except the spoon and the straw. That was the end of beautiful and mysterious Amy.

by Noah L.

Hi, I’m Gary the water droplet. I’m about to tell you the weirdest story ever. Here we go. So there I was, flowing with the tide with my friend Phil. It was a mighty hot day in the Indian Ocean. “Hey, Gary! I feel really weird! Do you know what’s happening?” Phil questioned. “Uh…” I was stumped. “You might be evaporating! Do you feel light headed?” “Yeah, maybe so. Looks like you’re floating just like me!” “Hey! You’re disappearing!” “So are you!” “Cool!” we said in unison. We were flying. Oh what a marvelous sight. We saw trees and farms, lakes and rivers, and people. We traveled miles and miles from home. When it was getting colder, we started turning into clouds. We were all puffy and white. “Hey! Wa, Ter, Fall! How’s it going?” I shouted. They are my cousins. Isn’t it pretty funny if you put their names together you get the word, "Waterfall?" Anyway, we were pretty much a huge, white puffy cloud. When other clouds joined us, we created one huge cloud. We were squished and squeezed, pushed, and cluttered. I hated being a cloud. Suddenly, it started to get extremely warm again. “Uh, Gary, what will happen next?!?” Phil nervously asked. “Let’s see, my parents taught me this song: evaporation, condensation, precipitation… that’s what’s next. Precipitation,” I said. That’s when I felt heavy. “Uh oh!” I yelled. I fell really fast. “AHHHHHHHHH!” After I heard some more “AHHHH” from other droplets, I heard “Gary! Lookout for the ground!” Splat! I hit the ground. Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! “Gary!” yelled Phil. “Phil!” I screamed. Off we sped. As my father said, we were on a surface runoff. It was raining hard. I saw more of my friends like Oc, Ean, Sew, Er, and many more. Finally, after about 15 minutes, we reached the Gulf of Mexico. That’s where I am now. I rather like it here because I can swim freely. It’s also fairly warm and I can’t wait to move again because I’d like to see the whole world.

by Cathy M.

Boom! Boom! The sound was getting louder and louder. Boom! “Aaaaaaaaaahhhhh,” a potato yelled. “Help meeeeeeee!” The yelling was getting softer and softer……… “Honey wake up, you were screaming and waking the whole grocery store,” Mrs. Potato said to me as I sat up in my bed. “Oh sorry, Mom, I was just having a bad dream. It was about Dad.” Wait! Hold up, I need to tell you my name before going on. I am Potato Jr. When I was young, my dad got picked up by a monster and was taken forever. Now we can get back to the story. “It's okay honey, just go back to sleep,” Mom said. The next day I was walking across the potato bin on my way to football practice. My friends and I were all athletes. John was a basketball player, Greg was a baseball player, and Katie was on the swim team. As we walked toward the football field, we heard a scream. It was the football coach. He was getting lifted out of the football field by a giant hand. We all ran and grabbed his ankles. We were all getting lifted into the air. Then we were brought to the cash registers and were taken out of the store. “Why did you kids come and try to save me? You all know a potato like me will have to go some day. Now all of your parents will miss you,” said the coach. “We know, Coach, but we did not want another coach, because you led us to championships and you led the swim team to the finals,” Katie said as she brushed the dirt off of her swim suit. While we sat in the bag we were praying for a miracle. Then there was a huge bump and the bag flew open and we all landed in the parking lot of the grocery store. We were saved and now we could all go home. But the worst was yet to come. We were still a long way from home and we could get smashed by a passing car. We walked and walked and walked but the passing cars and puddles of water would blow us away from the grocery store. But finally we got to the front steps of the grocery store. We were just inches away from the safety of the door when it swung opened and we were in. When we arrived at the potato bin, we all promised each other that we would never leave the potato bin again. After all that adventure I just sat in front of the TV for the rest of the day. Coach stayed being the sports coach and later led the football team to victory in the state finals. Katie, John, and Greg all stayed friends and never forgot that day.

69 Switching Skills with Lionel Messi by Gavin M.

There once was a boy named Gavin. He loved the soccer team, Barcelona. He had posters, jerseys, shorts, and etcetera. He especially loved the players Lionel Messi, David Villa, Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Fabregas and even more players. He would even dress up like Messi. Gavin would put on a brown straight haired wig and put on a Barcelona uniform. Then he would talk in Spanish. He wanted to be on the team, Barcelona, when he grew up. He would play soccer like Messi too. So this is where the story starts.

On April 7, 2011, Gavin went to a Barcelona and Manchester United game. It was at halftime. His dad was about to get ice cream, but somehow the halftime announcer said Gavin was chosen to shoot a ball from half field and if he made it he would be able to talk to… Lionel Messi! Gavin was excited and nervous. So when it was time, he shot the ball. The ball flew through the air like a bird. The ball went in the upper corner of the goal. Gavin was so excited to meet Lionel Messi. Then he came out. Gavin got him to sign his gear. Then Messi said, “Take this soccer ball.” Messi and Gavin touched the ball at the same time and just then Gavin got a weird feeling. Gavin just ignored it. When he got home he was so proud of himself. Gavin went outside and he started playing soccer. He seemed so much better at soccer. Next weekend Barcelona was playing. Messi seemed terrible at soccer. He was missing shots, making mistakes, and making bad passes. Then every other weekend they played, he seemed terrible. One day Gavin went to his soccer game and he scored 37 goals. Messi was actually at the game. He told Gavin to switch back powers by touching the ball again. He gave Gavin one million dollars. So, they switched back powers and Gavin became fabulously wealthy.

by Karl N.

Okay, first off my name is Jason, and the number one thing you need to know is death is never the end. I was blown up, went kablooey and I was reborn. Not a bit hurt exactly one month after I died, in the exact same spot I died, at the exact same height, and weight. I’m 16 and now I’m hunting down Jack Sparrdow. Did you ever hear of him? He’s a villain and he does small stuff. No one notices if a bank loses a dollar a year or if someone rich loses 100,000 dollars a generation (except maybe them.) Anyways, Jack is behind it. He is behind 1/3 of this world’s terrorism. He has stopped at nothing to blow me up. Why? Because my evil uncle is paying him $999,999,999,999 U.S. dollars. Why? Well that’s between my uncle and me. Jack chopped me up with a poisoned sword, blow torched me, threw my body to the sharks, and blew up the remains. Then to be sure he put the ash in a zip lock baggie and put it in a time capsule which was tossed into space. Clearly I am blessed. Did I mention I have a superpower and I can survive anything? I can feel pain alright but I’m immortal. I can be blown up but I’ll just appear a day later in the same spot. First I will go after Jack, 2nd I’ll dispose of my uncle. Currently Jack is: location=3,210 feet below the surface. Activity=making a metal detector so good if you were holding a piece of iron 50 ft away it would find you. His grand/impossible purpose: to make a tower that reaches the moon and make people climb down the outside, and then fight gravity. If they made it to the bottom, then they would become his servants. Sparrdow had told me this while I was being destroyed, before I came back to hunt him so now I am going to Uganda in an all terrain vehicle. It can even fly (with metal wings) and dig at 15 miles per hour with a diamond drill, and I aimed it directly at his underground lab. Within 2 minutes he sensed our diamond drill and came towards me. I armed myself with a rifle (I always keep one with me at all times) and shot a bullet at him. I, of course, missed but it did what it was meant to. It distracted him right before I plowed straight passed him. Killing him at the moment was not as important as destroying his machine. I flipped the switch that turned the drill into turbo and loaded my rifle. I aimed the drill at the machine, turned the speed dial to its maximum, and jumped off. I was 50 yards away from the now being torn to bits machine, and 5 miles away from Jack. I knew he would be here soon. So I shot his machine in the fuel tank then shot the main gas pipe on the drill. The explosion made it all the way to where I was. It caused a cave-in and probably an earthquake up at the surface. By then, Jack had arrived. He took one look at his machine and fired at me. He hit me but it didn’t matter as the cave-in crashed around us. Jack, of course, died but my superpower kept me alive. Now I am hunting my uncle and I will not give up.

by Max P.

First of all, just to get things straight, this isn’t a book or guide about how to do tricks in national events like in the Olympics. It’s simply about how a kid named Max learns to leap off jumps, ski ramps, and go down a half pipe. It all started at Park City, Utah. My mom had signed me up for a stunt camp. We went to the camp lodge by the mountain base to meet the counselors and fellow students. I was so excited (that I was finally learning something other than skiing which I’ve known how to do for years.). My only other brother doing it was my older one named Fed (Federico). After my mom had left Fed and me, the counselors took us and the others up to the mountain ski lifts. We started with a few different and new trails. Then they took us to the stunt trail. The trail is not so wide but large enough for a truck pulling a trailer to turn completely sideways. If you move over to the side, you have a huge view of the mountain base. What makes it scary is that when you look down the side, the mountain goes straight down. On the trail, there were two main types of stunts. First there were three enormously large humps if you will. They were so big that they could scare the stroodles out of a 12- year-old. What made it scary was that the counselors kept on telling you that you had to jump off or you’ll get flung in any direction. After those, there were all types of ramps. The main types were simple. One type would dig into the ground at the beginning which I preferred since it was easier. The other would be completely balanced and you had to leap onto. On the last day, we did a little of the course and then moved down to the more advanced stunts. We didn’t actually go down all of the stunts but we went down the half pipe. The thing was huge, like the size of a house. No scratch that, three houses. We practiced going down to one side. When we started to go up, we would jump and turn the other way and start to go the other way and do the same thing again. Once we got to the bottom we would take a lift to the top again. After doing that a bunch of times we went to the camp lodge. Before we got there we stopped at the stunt stairs. One of the counselors dared us to ski down the stairs. Only two of us were foolish enough to accept, a teenager and an eleven year old. The sight of them flipping out was hilarious. The eleven year old went first. He started but then one of his skis went right, causing him to flip out and over. His brother was the teenager who was determined to not look like a chicken compared to his brother. After he started he immediately flung his arms out to the rail for balance, but his skis went on and he fell on his back and slid down. After a storm of laughs we went to the camp lodge beside the mountain. We started to build a video of us skiing. Then we spent the next hour eating pizza and drinking soda at the main lodge. And that was the end of camp. My family and I went home and after a few weeks two copies of the video came for Fed and me. After we watched the video, Fed and I were pleased and my family impressed. Now I know more on how to ski stunts, and to never ever even get close to stunt stairs. 

72 by Will P.

There are many scary roller coasters in Disney World, like Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain, but the scariest one of all is the Tower of Terror, and I had to learn that the hard way. At first, I thought that it would be a wimpy drop tower, and wasn’t scared at all, but as soon as I got in line, I regretted my decision. The wait was the worst part. First, I walked into a creepy, deserted, lobby with a statue of an eagle on the desk. Oh, and I forgot to mention all the cobwebs that covered everything. Then I walked into a waiting room, and when about 10 people were inside, the lights went out, the door closed (mysteriously without anyone pushing it), and the TV crackled on. Rod Sterling popped onto the TV and started talking about an elevator that took a family to the, “twilight zone.” He said that we would all be going on that elevator, and to have a “nice” ride. Next, we walked into what looked like a basement, because of the pipes coming out of the ceiling and the floor. Now I was really worried. I could see and hear the screaming voices coming from the ride, and the doors to the elevators were getting closer. The man standing in front of us in line turned around and told us not to worry, because this was his second time, and he loved it. That comforted me a bit. We were next in line. Then the person controlling the ride told us to go on. The elevator was very big, with rows of seats going to the back. My sister, dad and I chose seats in the very back, next to each other. When I saw that all I had to put over myself was a little belt, I knew that it couldn’t be too rough. Then the elevator doors started to close. The elevator jerked forward. A giant screen turned on. Rod Sterling’s voice said, “Welcome to the twilight zone.” The screen went black and showed a white swirl spinning with creepy clown faces, broken windows, and clocks with their hands spinning fast. Then it looked like we were in a hotel corridor. The silhouette of a family with their suitcases appeared in the hallway. Suddenly, the dad raised his finger and lightning zoomed through his body and into through the rest of the family’s bodies. Then, all of a sudden, we went straight up. Some windows opened to show us how high we were, and then we dropped. Aaahhhhhhhhhh! It was so scary! I was literally flying an inch off of my seat! Then it slowed down. That’s better, I thought to myself. But then we went back up again! Aaaaahhhhhhhh! Up, down, up, down. Then, finally, it stopped. The lights turned on, leading us to the path that took us back outside. As I was taking off my seat belt, I noticed that there were two handles that I could’ve held onto. Aaaauuugggg! Why didn’t I see those!? As we walked out, I decided that I would not do it again, but that it was still fun. Even though I wouldn’t do it again, I would still recommend it to any thrill ride seeker, and give it a 6 out of 10 for roughness.

73 by Graham P-L.

Today was a normal day, but it was my first flag football game. I was very excited because I was going to meet my team. I got my cleats on, put my mouth guard in, and went to my game. When I got there, there were a lot of other games. I found my coach and he gave me my jersey. It was white and blue on one side and black and blue on the other. We got ready to play. The other team had the ball first and I was the captain of the defense. I was supposed to blitz. That is when you run at the quarterback and try to take his flag. When the quarterback yelled “hike,” I ran for his flag and I grabbed it and pulled. The flag immediately popped off. The referee blew his whistle and I handed the quarterback his flag. It was 2nd down and this time, I wasn’t supposed to blitz. The quarterback threw it to someone on the right, and I moved over to help, but Brendon, someone on my team, had already pulled his flag. It was 3rd down and if we could keep them from crossing the 1st down line we would get the ball. Aidan got the flag when he blitzed, we got the turnover, and I took a break. We gained some yards, and I went back in as wide receiver. We got the first down on the next play, but on the next one they got an interception. Then they got a touchdown and we had the ball. We got a few yards on the second down but it was a turnover. Then they scored another touchdown. The referee called halftime and we took a break. After that, we started to play again. This time, the quarterback passed to me. The defense tipped it, but I caught it anyways. I ran as fast as I could, and I scored a touchdown. I felt exhilarated because I thought someone would pull my flag off before I could score the touchdown. The other team had the ball, and they made a deep pass, but they didn’t score a touchdown or on the next play. On the next play though, they did score. The referee called last play, and we didn’t gain any yards, so we lost. I was disappointed that we lost, but I was glad that I scored a touchdown in the game.

by Joseph P.

As Dave the owl was enjoying life he heard a "Pow!" His life was over. Then not more then a few days later, he woke up. He felt strange. He looked at his stomach and he saw that he was a mechanical machine. He was a robot! Dave was in a weird lab with no one but him. Wait, scratch that! No one but a weird robo scientist! “What do you want and what did you do to me?" Dave said. “You mean, what I did for you,” the scientist replied. “What did you do with me?” The owl said. “I saved you,” the scientist said. “You’re going to have to do some tests.” “All right,” Dave said. “You’re faster and stronger, Dave the owl. You are reborn so you may go on a mission.” “Wait,” Dave said. “I have something to ask. Why did you bring me back to life?” “Because I want the jungle to be safe again,” the scientist said. “There are poachers in the jungle. They take endangered animals and sell them for an unfair price. Some of the animals are owls and chinchillas. These poachers are blood thirsty and no good giants.” “I will do it for you,” Dave said. “That’s what I can do for you for making me alive again.” “So I have calculated where I think the poachers are located,” the scientist said. “I’m sending you the coordinates to your brain.” Dave scoured for the poachers. He found them on the far side of the jungle in the middle of a hunt. Then as he swooped in as fast as an eagle, he hit them so hard they were knocked out. When they recovered, he made them swear to stop hunting animals. From that day forward, Dave kept the jungle safe.

by Alec R.

Hi, my name is Alec, and this my first season of flag football. I want to play tackle football, but I don’t because of the risk of broken bones or concussions. Tackle football is way more physical but with flag football there is no contact. For flag football you wear a belt with flags on it. To tackle someone you need you to pull one of the flags off the belt. There are still yard lines and there are still touchdowns. There are no field goals in flag football and there is no kickoff. You start at the twenty yard line. With tackle football you have to wear all this equipment. I think flag football is a lot safer. In tackle football you sweat in all that padding. In flag football you’re just wearing a t-shirt and your jersey. You are more comfortable. I kept asking my parents over and over about flag football. Finally they signed me up for flag football. Sadly, days later, my mom said I had been put on a waiting list so probably no flag football. A couple days later my mom said I had been put on my friend’s flag football team. I was so excited. A couple of practices went by. They were all so fun. My favorite part was doing scrimmage. It is just a regular game except you play against your teammates. My favorite position was wide receiver. It was finally time for my first game. I got there really early. My team was the Carolina Panthers. Not my favorite pro team. We got our jerseys. They were so cool. Our colors were black and blue. The game started. We were playing the Ravens. It was even in the first half. In the start of the second half they scored a touchdown. One of my teammates got an interception and scored a touchdown. Everybody thought that we were going to win. Then the Ravens scored two more times and the game was over. Even though my team lost I still had fun. I was really glad I finally got to play flag football.

by Brook S. Once in the town of Crystal Creek there was a girl named Jade. She was very shy. Jade had jet black hair that was almost dark purple, and she had blue eyes that were almost gray. Her parents were killed by a dragon and she had to live in an orphanage. The people at the orphanage would always yell at her and make her do unneeded work. She hated it. When she turned fifteen she had to attend the academy of wizardry. Jade didn’t have very many friends, only a few from the orphanage. On her first day at the academy she was reading a book that had been passed down for many generations in her family. She was reading a spell that seemed interesting and had to use multiple people to cast it. The book said that the more people that were casting the spell, the stronger it would be. She was very intrigued and wanted to read more but all of a sudden she heard a loud roar and fire blasted through the walls. She gathered some friends and they hurried to the top of the highest tower. They saw a dragon down on the ground. The dragon was breathing fire everywhere and they had to think fast. She decided to use the spell from the book. She told them the spell from the book and they began to cast it. When they finished the spell the dragon fell to the ground with an agonizing bellow. She saw the green scales disappear as the dust made a giant cloud in front of her. She hurried down the tower and ran into the room to see if anybody was hurt. A few people were slightly injured but it was all ok. She ran outside and it was very misty and cold and creepy. She saw someone she vaguely remembered. She saw a woman and a man. It was her mom and dad. Jade didn’t know what to do. She ran up to them and just gave them a hug. From then on she was known as the hero of Crystal Creek.

by Emily S.

If I could go on an adventure tomorrow, I would head to Alaska to see the Northern Lights. This would be an amazing adventure because I have always wanted to see them. Since this is an adventure, I would want to have the best experience. That means that the way I get to Alaska would have to be out of this world! I would tie helium balloons to my chimney so that eventually, my house would be lifted into the air. Then, I would attach sails to the sides of my house so that I would be able to change the direction I am going in. I would have to fly North-West to get from Virginia to Alaska. Before I could go though, I would have to get a few supplies to put in my house. I would have to get extra helium and extra balloons in case some pop or run out of air. I would also have to get some large needles in case I get too high up in the air. A few other things I would need is some money, food, water, a large rock, rope, games, and lots of warm clothes and blankets because it gets VERY cold in Alaska. Once I get to Alaska, I’ll pick the best place to view the Northern Lights. When I do, I will tie a rope to a heavy rock and throw it out the window to the ground so that my house will not blow away or move. Then I will wait until it gets dark and the Northern Lights come out. The Northern Lights are like colorful ribbons of light that are hard to see unless you are in an area with high elevation. When you see them it is like they are dancing in the sky! After the Northern Lights fade away, I will go to sleep and spend the rest of the night in Alaska, and leave the next morning. I have seen pictures of the Northern Lights, but I think it would be really cool to see them in person.

by Aidan T-P.

Parents vs. kids in paintball—not the best idea! My friends and I thought it would be cool to go paintballing. We set up a time and got our dads to do it. We searched online for a paintball park. Then we found one, “Peev’s Paintball Park.” We all got in our cars and left. On the ride there we talked about what we were going to do and what our plan of attack was. At the park, we decided to do parents against kids. The parents thought it wasn’t the best idea, but the kids did. We got our paintball guns, grenades, masks, and protection (which was a thin layer of cloth so our clothes did not get dirty). After that we got to our positions and started to play. The instructor said, “THREE, TWO, ONE, GO!” We ran behind some houses and started to fire. Then seconds later all the kids had been shot and we were all walking over to the safe zone. We were clobbered. All the parents were a lot bigger and had some experience. All the kids were questioning why we thought that parents vs. kids was a good idea. The dads were laughing and saying, “I told you so.” The next match we split up the teams by having the dads and kids together. That worked out fine and it was really fair. This time the parents were right but maybe not next time.

by Abby T.

One Saturday afternoon, I was watching cartoons, doing what I do every regular day. I was watching a cartoon about animals when I had a thought about getting my own. It sounded like a great idea at the time. I started thinking about asking my parents for a pet so I just went ahead and asked, “Mom can I get a pet please?” I asked. She said that she was going to wait until my birthday, but she decided to get my pet now. She grabbed the car keys and we headed out the door. Five minutes later we got to the pet store. There were so many cute little puppies! One little group of puppies caught my eye. I walked over and looked at them. They were all wagging their tails except for one puppy hidden in the way back corner. I asked to see him. The guy took the puppy out of the pen. I felt his soft coat of fur. It felt like cotton. I wanted him. I asked why he was in the corner. They said everyone kept on bringing him back. I told my mom that I wanted HIM. She finally considered getting my puppy. She signed a few papers and we headed out the door with the puppy. I was thinking for a name and I had the perfect one, Cooper. We got home and we all started playing with Cooper. We played so much my family got tired and left me alone with Cooper. I looked at the dog for a moment and he was turning into this flying dragon lizard dog thing. I was so scared but then I remembered what that guy said at the shelter— everyone kept bringing him back. Now I felt so sorry for Cooper. That’s why he was whining and hiding in the corner. I would never do that to him. I had to keep the secret hidden. For the next five years his secret was hidden until one day my parents were eating dinner in the living room and Cooper walked in and changed into the freaky lizard thing. My parents were shocked. They screamed so loud. I tried to explain but they didn’t get it. I told them everything. Then they realized if they took him away I would be devastated. They agreed to keep his secret from everyone and we ended up keeping him. For all the many years we have been hiding his secret. Then all of a sudden I heard a strange voice in my head. “Abby, wake up! Time for school!” Then I realized this was all just a strange dream. I was so relieved. I wondered how a dream could feel so real. I do hope that some day I will get a flying dog dragon lizard!!

by William T.

One night in summer of 2012, I had a dream about a fighting tournament. The dream started when I was on a tour in this museum/aquarium. Soon I lost the group and ended up in front of a huge door with light beaming out of it. When I entered the door I was in front of a humongous gate. I also looked different. I had extremely blond hair, black clothing on, and I had a sword and shield in the shape of a lightning bolt. I knew who I was. I was my made-up character, PRINCE LIGHTNING KID. In the large balcony, I saw Calypso, the Zanian goddess of battle. Horns roared and a dragon squire announced before the games began. “These games are for the honor of the Zanian goddess Calypso and I announce Gumball, Darwin, and Anise representing Elmore.” I knew them from my favorite TV show, Amazing World of Gumball. “Then there are the sons of our Queen Zunu—Prince, Zana, Slash, and Blue Dragon,” said the Dragon Squire. While the squire continued, an Elf archer whispered to me. “I’m definitely going to win against you,” the elf bragged. Then the squire announced the rules of round one and the battle strategies and said, “Let the fighting begin.” We all ran into the arena and began fighting. I drew my sword and began fighting. BOOM, POW, SLICE, BAM. The fight went on and on until horns blew so loud it made your ears bleed. OK, back to the story. There were eight people. I was one of them. Then girl dragons came and put 4 ropes in the center of the arena. Each of us grabbed an end and pulled. The duels were chosen. Slash vs. Darwin, Zana vs. Anise, Blue vs. Gumball, and me vs. the stuck up elf. We fought until Darwin got beaten and was destroyed. It was easy to defeat that elf and win. But Zana lost and Gumball won. The third round went by so fast and on the final round it was me vs. Gumball but he found the ancient chest and got a robot armor power up. The fight was epic but a blast took both of us by surprise. We were both badly hurt but Gumball fell down first and I fell second. 1, 2, 3 and Gumball was pinned. I won. The dream ended.

by Bella V.

It was not a normal night. There was snow that covered the ground and there was snow flakes falling from the gray sky. The night was finally here. It was Christmas Eve! I was sitting on my white leather couch in the living room. My legs were swinging because I could not touch the floor yet. The coldness of the leather couch covered my legs intently with goose bumps. My eyes were glued to the top of the Christmas tree, like there was a magnetic force. On the top of the tree was a star that shone so brightly it looked like the lights that surrounded the Rome Coliseum at night. I tried to reach for the star that was on the top of the tree, but it was too high up. So I reached for something that was lower than my height. The PRESENTS! I grabbed a pink present with my name on it. On my way to freedom with the present I was caught red handed. "Ah ah ah." My dad made me put it back under the decorated tree. “Dinner is ready,” Mom called as she walked back into the dining room. “Okay,” I shouted down the narrow hallway. “What is for dinner?” I continued shouting down that hallway. “Come here and you will find out.” I walked into the dining room and sat down on a black leather seat. I was waiting to get my plate with food on it. Finally the plate reached the table. We were having lasagna. When we were done with dinner my mom cleared the table and washed the dishes. My feet were tapping until my mom was done. I ran to the tree, sat down, and grabbed my pink present. I chanted “presents” over and over in my head. Finally we were all sitting in the living room area. “I want to go first please!” I shouted. “Okay.” They responded to my excitement that was oozing out of me. I tore the pink wrapping paper off the box. I lifted a big old bunny that was brown and had a red ribbon tied around its neck. I hugged it with all my might.

by Emma W.

Did you know that there are people in your TV? Well if you do not, this story is for you. If you look very closely inside your TV you will find super tiny people. Some will be on camera. Some will be on computers making commercials. The engineers will be looking everywhere to see if anything is broken or cut. There are TV stars inside putting their makeup on and choosing an outfit. Even when your TV is off, the people are still working. But there are still people you need to know about like the constructers. They construct all of the sets, stadiums and everything else. There are players for all the sports shows. They like playing with each other but they also fight a lot, especially if they think someone cheated. The next time you turn on your TV, you will know the truth about how it works.