Short Stories by the 8Th Graders of PVC 2012

Gr8 Ideas, Themes and Characters Short Stories by the 8th Graders of PVC 2012 Gr8 Ideas, Themes and Characters is the literary magazine published by the 8th Grade students of Pierre Van Cortlandt Middle School.

Cover Art Design by Dillon O’Keefe

Pierre Van Cortlandt Middle School

Superintendent: Dr. Edward R. Fuhrman, Jr.

Principal: Dr. Barbara Ulm

Assistant Principal: Mr. Michael Plotkin

Contents Jasper Rogal 76 Alison Garbarini 211 Jesus Steenwerth 226 Amelia Glickman 107 Johnny Pauta 134 Amy Clerkin 90 Justin Bell 244 Andre Dvorak 42 Justin Crowe 104 Andrew Kane 24 Kailey Tichenor 221 Angelica Gaines 98 Kristine Rojas 75 Armand Pappas 36 Laura Rodriguez 252 August Perry 14 Leanne Macaione 178 Benton Baltich-Schecter 206 Madelynn Seruya 54 Blake Walther 30 Maggie Rothberg 261 Brandon Ferguson 175 Malinka Drabek 140 Carly Livingston 86 Marissa Lewis 17 Caroline Anson 62 Maya Leveen 144 Charlotte Brodie 110 Maya Nolan 199 David Carullo 186 Melanie Sanchez 184 David Luntz 48 Mike Bello 215 Declan McManus 94 Mollie Matzkin 137 Delphine Bussiere 113 Natalie Danett 234 Dillon O’Keefe 32 Niki Lam 146 Duncan McManus 116 Noah Gordon 150 Edith Neidhart 122 Nora Cleary 193 Emily Riedel 247 Ollie Shaw 153 Emma Cheshire 44 Saskia Lane 158 Emma Pound 172 Susan Rykowski 265 Erin Noel 21 Tom Urbanowski 204 Forest Balemian-Spencer 228 Tyler Cammann 163 Frank Addeo 59 William Rickett 166 Giuiliano Duce 196 Will Sheng 168 Xavier Yozwiak 240 Hannah Elsner 128 Hannah Stydahar 78 Hannah Wolland 132 Ijangmarie Abam-DePass 9 Isabel Anzani 81 Iza Solarz 50 Jack Carullo 68 Jack O’Connell 224 Jamie Koultukis 5 Jared Douglas 26 We Are Watching You Jamie Koultukis

A young attractive lady in her early twenties was driving down the highway in East Hampton N.Y. She had the music blasting, the sun was shining, and suddenly an old thrift shop caught her eye. She pulled over to the side of the road to explore the little enchanted shop. She spotted two old arm chairs situated right next to each other as if they were old close friends. She tilted her head and examined them. There were stains scattered all over them, their fabric was a faded chocolate brown, their buttons were hanging by a frayed thread, the fabric was ripped and torn as if a cat did some kitty claw needle point. They made her feel as if they have been around forever. “Excuse me can you tell me how much those chairs cost?” Skye asked. An old creature of a man peeked out from the door in the back. “Uh - uh …. Those chairs? They're - um - um 10 dollars… and their both yours!” He screeched. He was so old that the lines on his face look liked dried up river beds. His teeth looked like mustard colored popcorn kernels. He looked like a deep fried prune on a stick. As she was rummaging through her bag, he somehow managed to get those chairs inside the back of her SUV. “Did you put those chairs into the back of my car?” Skye inquired. Yepperoni, they’re yours…..now!” He said with a stained yellow smile. Skye drove home, happy as a young woman could be who just scored a great shopping deal. When she arrived at her house she noticed that her friend Lelia was waiting for her on her door step. “Where have you been? You said you would be her at 4:00!” Lelia barked. “I know, I know I’m sorry Leila I got side tracked by these really cool chairs that I

5 PB spotted at this thrift shop. And I just had to take them home. They were calling my name! Come on help me carry them in.” Skye said kindly. Lelia and Skye headed over to the back of the SUV. “You take the front and I’ll take the back.” Skye said. As Lelia picked up the front of the chair she noticed that they had an unpleasant smell, then she noticed that they had strange buttons that were right were their eyes would be… if chairs had eyes. It gave Lelia the creeps so she did not look at them. After they got both chairs in the house and put them in a nice cozy spot in the living room of Skye’s apartment, they went over into the kitchen for a cup of coffee. “Lelia do you want some sugar?” asked Skye. “Yes, two teaspoons, and I don’t like my coffee too light so just a drop of cream and I can’t drink it if it’s not the right temperature, so please make sure it’s not sitting too long before you put the cream in.” Lelia demanded. “Lelia that’s a tall order I’ll do my best.” Skye responded. “I was listening to the radio on the way home. They were talking about the origin of certain woman's names, and did you know that your name means loyalty?” Skye asked. “Oh my name!?” Leila asked as if taken off guard. “Of course I knew that! My mother told me when I was born everyone in the hospital thought that there was a light coming off me, and I was so special that she just had to name me after my true nature.” Lelia babbled. “Really? That’s pretty cool my name mea -- --” Skye tried to speak. “And did I mention to you that the whole lineage of my family comes from honest and hard-working people and that’s why I am who I am today.” Lelia rattled on. “Oh and one more thing, those chairs smell extremely unpleasant. I can’t imagine anyone who “Really I kind of like their scent, it gives them character.” Skye said sweetly. Meanwhile in the living room… “Whata wind bag that Leila is. We smell? Didn’t we taka showa the otha day.” Beans said. “Beans ….. we are chairs remember? We don’t take showers.” Replied Snap . “Oh right. But I’ll tell ya boss I gotta strong feelin this Lelia smells if ya know whata mean.” Beans whispered. “Listen Beans, we got a real head case here, let’s keep both our eyes wide open.” Snap mumbled. Skye needed to run to the store to get more cream. While she was gone, Lelia started snooping around the living room. She looked in the draws of the cabinet, opened up a jar

6 PB “Hey Boss getta load of this one, she’s snoopy Sally. What’s she looking for?” Beans inquired. “I got a feeling we have Patty pockets over here,” replied Snap. At that moment Lelia dumped half the jar of quarters into her pocketbook and then peeked out the window to make sure Skye wasn’t coming home yet. “WHOOOOO WHOOOO-WEEEE, Patty pockets gone wild. Now look she’s headin for the liquor cabinet, WHOOOOOO she’s clipped’a bottle a wine, Yikes..... Now she’s goin for the chocolate easta bunny. Whoooo Waoh WOW!!!!” Beans shouted. “Let’s take care of this one,” Snap said. Beans and Snap started inching their way towards Lelia while she was busy as a bee rummaging through Skye’s bookshelf. “Beans... Beans slow down and watch where you’re going. You’re on my foot and you might break my leg,” Snap pleaded. had backed her into the book shelf. Now they were staring her down big time. The chairs started to rock back and forth. It made the coins and wine in Lelia’s bag rattle like the chatter of teeth. Suddenly Skye walked in. Her eyes were getting wider by the minute. “WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON HERE!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?” Skye screeched. “These, these, these ….. chairs they, they -- they … backed me into into a – a corner – I can’t move I can’t move!!! They’re over there freaking me out!!” Lelia cried with horror. A queer feeling began to grow in the pit of her stomach. “What are you talking about, your hallucinating! The chairs are nowhere near you Lelia.” Skye said with disgust. The chairs were in their original cozy spot that Skye had placed them in. “What is that… in your bag there Lelia, it that the… bottle of wine that I brought back from my trip to France?” Skye said enraged. from my change jar? Wait.... yes ..... those are my quarters!! The jar is empty! Skye said screaming.

"DING -- DING -- DING-- BINGO -- BOSS WE SCORED. YIPPY!!!" Chuckled Beans.

7 PB "What else is in that bag of yours? Is that my gruyere cheese from my refrigerator!?" Skye yelled. You are stealing my cheese too?! I think your mother named you the wrong name, she should have named you liar not Lelia." Skye said with eyebrows tilted down- ward. "Skye b-but let me.....me j-just explain!!!" Lelia moaned. "What's there to explain, how are you going to talk yourself out of this one Lelia?" Said Skye As Skye was pointing Lelia out the door, Beans and Snap inched slowly behind her, making Lelia hyperventilate. Lelia ran out the door and drove away with a cloud of smoke behind her wheels. both the chairs, her head on Beans’ arm and her feet on Snaps’ stomach. She peacefully sunk into them. “I think I am going to like these chairs.” Skye said to herself. One might say that the wrinkles on the fabric of the chairs looked as though the chairs were indeed smiling.

8 PB Patience Ijangmarie Abam-DePass

Faith Meredith Connelly had always been a very smart girl. Since the age of three, she had constantly shown potential. She was a comfortable reader at four, an expert Because of her success, gliding through middle school and high school was no problem. In the eighth grade, she persuaded her school administrators to advance her into the ninth grade. The principal and all of her teachers knew very well of her intelligence. There was no doubt that she would score as high on a test as the high school valedicto- rian! However, they feared she would be at a disadvantage if she abandoned the virtues learned at her age. This thought was soon forgotten, and papers were processed to move Faith into high school. Faith spent her ninth grade year in solitude. She was a very social child, involved in sports, music and theater. In fact, she was so well rounded that people often forgot she was just fourteen. Freshman, Juniors and Seniors were all cordial towards her, but she missed her friends and their daring personalities. She spent time to herself in thought, Faith and Mark were engaged to be married since the second grade—well, so they thought as they spent their days re-enacting Romeo and Juliet in the playground. Mark, like Faith, came from a very prestigious family. His great-great-grandfather came to America from Ireland in the late 1800’s, having saved enough money to buy a plot of land in Woodbridge, Connecticut. He sent his eldest son, Mark’s great grandfather, to Yale. Like Faith, this became tradition for each member of their family, though with Faith, the college ancestry ran through Dartmouth University. Life was pleasurable in Woodbridge; not lush and glamorous like a wealthy Californian suburb, but more modest in its publicity. Nevertheless, the residents had exquisite amounts of money. Many lived in oversized colonial mansions, others in modern looking condominiums. There were many ranches, with each acre beautiful and unique in its own way. Faith lived on a large estate, complete with three gardens, six acres of extensive grounds, a pool house and horses, stables, an outdoor basketball court and an indoor pool. Both families were high ranking in status and had been close friends and allies for three generations, none as fond of each other as Mark and Faith were. Mark was also very intelligent, and though he was not as outstanding as Faith, he would have adapted better than she did. Mark knew this, in fact, these were his thoughts when the idea was proposed at a McCourt and Connelly family dinner, the night before

9 PB Faith’s parents sent in the request to her school board. The two were quiet at the table, their ritual, they would proceed to Mark’s room and give their own thoughts on the conversation after dessert and coffee was served. “Mark”, said Faith. She could tell he hadn’t heard her, so she got up from the edge felt nice and cool on her legs. “Mark”, she tried again. This time he looked up, surprised that she was suddenly next to him. “Hey Faith” he said, still in thought. “Would you hate me if I wanted to stay? In the eighth grade, I mean? We’d still be best friends of course, it’s just that now that I’ve started, I really like it, and I don’t want to just leave everyone and everything now”. He looked at her expectantly. Faith knew he was always the patient one, and after all, how could she expect him to get up and leave now that he’s started the eighth grade? He had assumed the position of “popular” and all of the girls were crazy about him. She didn’t “Markie, we’ve been friends since we were born, do you honestly think I’ll hate you, after all of these years of mayhem and memories, because you wanted to stay in the eighth grade? Well, I thought you knew me better!” She nudged him. He smiled, laughed and surprised both of them when he kissed her. How could he resist? She did call him by his childhood name. Tenth and eleventh grade went by too quickly for Faith. She and Mark grew to be inseparable, and in twelfth grade, she was regretting her choice of jumping into high senior year in high school. Mark too was distraught, but he wished he had taken the risk and gone to high school with the girl of his dreams. By February of her senior year, Faith had heard good news. She had been accepted to both Dartmouth and Yale! A few weeks later, she heard more news, debatable between good and bad—she had been accepted into Harvard University as well. Despite her family line, Faith secretly wanted to go to Har- vard, a school many only dream about! She deemed it as a job opportunity, a challenge, and a school well respected (which was the winning key to convincing her parents). But because Mark would already be a year behind her when she graduated college, she wanted to attend the same university. She explained her love crisis to her parents who then undeniably agreed. Everyone always had high hopes for Faith. She was still extremely intelligent. Yale, thrilled by her admission, tried their best to ease their way to the hearts of the a company they co-owned, after three more years of course work. They offered her a

10 PB - By this time Mark had received his acceptance letters to Dartmouth, Yale and unexpectedly, Oxford. Like Faith, Mark had a rebellious hope of breaking his heritage and the country. After his parents agreed, he told Faith, who was absolutely heartbroken. She had mapped out their lives so perfectly, already abandoning two of her dreams, and now he wouldn’t even be in dorm’s reach! Mark made them promise each other to keep alive their second grade dreams, but if another comes their way, they might take him or her into their hearts. But both knew that was probably not going to happen.

Faith continued waiting, going into her second year. She constantly emailed and called Mark and the McCourts, visiting him on Christmas, mailing him on his birthday. Mark constantly emailed and called Faith and the Connellys, visiting her on Thanksgiv- ing, and once, visiting her on her birthday. They were both busy in their third year, and called each other minimally. Still, they were on each other’s minds. Faith was so distracted she hadn’t realized she had grown fond of a classmate of hers. Then she met him formally as James Sheldon after forming her group of friends. James was often invited and would tag along during social events as would she. He was athletic, smart, and came from a wealthy family in Boston. She noted his sense of humor as unique, and unconsciously fell in love with his quirky characteristics. Into her fourth year, she and James were a couple and as close (and in odd ways closer) than she and Mark Their parents met whenever they visited their children. Both the families and the couples were very happy, and all but Faith expected what was to come. and it was a beautiful ceremony to the visitors at the Yale campus. Shocked, thrilled, forgetting Mark, who, being the perfect man he was, most likely hadn’t spoken to a single female besides herself and his mother. She called him as soon as she got to her dorm, to tell him how much she missed him and about her disloyalty towards him. “Hello?” “Markie! I miss you so much! I have so much to tell you, I’m so sorry for not keeping in touch but I—” “Faith,” he started, “I’m married”.

11 PB Bad Memory

Will woke up; completely unaware of his surroundings, the world, through his eyes at that moment was a complete blur and the only thing he could take in was what he was hearing. Two men talking quietly and rapidly to each other. “What happened to him?” one man asked. “Bullet to the head,” the other man replied “he’s incredibly lucky to have survived. Do you know how this might have happened?” “I’m sorry but I can’t answer that. Look doctor I know that he’s in critical condition but we need to debrief him, what he was doing was a very important matter and we need to take him in for questioning as soon as possible.” “Sir, I don’t think you’ll be able to get anything out of him, the bullet didn’t hit his brain but the tremors caused by it affected the part of his brain where the memory is stored he hasn’t gotten up fully yet but from what we saw in the latest scan we think that he might have amnesia.” “Oh wonderful just wonderful, look doctor...” Will didn’t hear the rest as he nodded off. Will woke up again, this time fully and took in his surroundings completely. He was in a hospital bed, but the room he was in was far from a hospital. It was incredibly sterile and slightly too cold just like a hospital but it was barren and there were three grey walls, a grey ceiling, and one wall that went a quarter way up until it became a large, blacked out window. He didn’t realize that there was a door until it clicked open and a man walked in. “Where am I?” Will asked, sitting up. “Ah, up and alert I see, well I think that the correct question to be asking is who are you?” Will recognized the man’s voice from the hospital. He thought on the question, but couldn’t come up with an answer so he stayed silent. The man took out a manila envelope, held it up, and threw it onto Will’s lap. “Read through that and see if it refreshes your memory.” So Will began to read what he assumed was about him but read it instead as if reading another man’s story. He was surprised and impressed by this man but somehow couldn’t recognize him as himself. He didn’t understand what kept him from this but also couldn’t bring himself to believe that the man he saw in this picture, the man he read about in this folder was him. “So?” the man asked.

12 PB Will looked up at him blankly “Do you remember?” “Remember what?” “Remember yourself; remember what happened two days ago.” Will shook his head vigorously “hm,” the man said, obviously peeved. “What should I be remembering?” “You were doing something important two days ago; you were bringing some very important things to us. Somewhere during the night we lost contact with you and when a shock but I need you to think really hard so that you can tell me what happened.” “I really can’t remember anything. I’m sorry but I can’t.” The man put his face in his hands and sighed loudly “think on it, I’ll be back in a while, read over the envelope a few more times and see if it helps you remember.” He walked out the door without another word. “Wake up Will, time for answers!” The man yelled as he walked in, startling Will. He could see that the man was now taking a very different approach for answers. Will was saddened by this; he could see that the man was desperate for what he wanted and Will felt that he had nothing that he could tell him. He knew that the memories must be somewhere, but for some strange reason he couldn’t access them. “I’m sorry, once again, but I don’t have any answers for you.” Will said, in a truly apologetic voice “Will I know that you have the answers.” The man said impatiently. This annoyed Will because to him it seemed that this man had brought him here and that Will was the he looked down he realized that he was handcuffed to the bed “you have to tell me or there’ll be trouble.” This infuriated Will “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” he yelled. “Oh but you do, you’ve known this whole time but have been keeping yourself from remembering.” “What do you mean?” Will asked but as he did he began to feel uncomfortable. “I mean you don’t want to remember.” The man said and as it dawned on Will that this was true the wall keeping the memory out broke down and he began to shake as the memory of the terrible ordeal began to come back to him. He lay back on the bed and let the memory take him, in a full onslaught of imagery.

13 PB A Move of Hate August Perry

“Dwayne, I got a great job offer in Hot Springs.” She said when she walked in to our house. I muted the television and turned around. “So where in the city is that place?” I asked. I am sixteen years old and am in my sophomore year of high school. We were living in Harlem at the time. I remember this conversation with my mom, when she told me we were going to move I knew my life would change. “It’s in another state, it’s in Wyoming, “she said. “We are NOT moving there!!!! Mom, that’s in the middle of nowhere and I have friends and school here!” I shouted.” “Yes but my payment for work will be so much more there than it would be here!” she said. Later as I looked out our plane window all I saw was farm land, what else I saw that was a little odd was that everyone that I saw since landing in Iowa, was white. I did not pay much attention to that. Once we landed we got our baggage. We stepped outside to get a take cab to our house. I saw a nice cab a little ways over. “Hey there! Can we get a ride?” I shouted. He did not even move of the hood, we was dressed in jeans and a collared shirt and spit out some tobacco he was chewing on, and then he readjusted his sun glasses. He looked like a farmer boy that was now a taxi man. The Wyoming heat, might have made me a little hot headed but I had a feeling there was more too it. “I said CAN WE GET A RIDE!!!!! Yeah you! Look at me!” I screamed. The man walked over. “My cab doesn’t take your kind it, you colored people. I think it is better if you get back on that plane,” he said in a slow drawl. I looked him up to down, he was about 6’6 and 256 pounds, and he was all muscle. I decided not to take a swing at him. Not knowing what to do I walk back to my mother. “So can we get a ride Dwayne?” she said. “Sorry mom but he already has someone.” I lied. I did not want her to know about what just happened. We later found a cabby that took us to our home on Baker Street. We drove through my new town it was a typical suburban town. All the houses were lined up; there were big front lawns and a garage on the right side of the house.

14 PB As we neared our house I saw what it looked like. It was white with blue detail, there also was a white picket fence surrounding our property. It was very big for the two of us, I am not used to the nice quiet life out here. I am used to the hustle and bustle of city life in New York City. We got things out of The back of the cab and I carried them over to the house. I set it down with a plop. I decide to unpack my things later and go look around, saw a basketball court near here so I took my ball and set off. I dribble down a sidewalk as I see a kid shooting hoops. I Dribbled over to the other side of the court and took and I shot. Money, nothing but net. I continued to shoot around until the kid broke the silence of pounding basketballs. “Want to play some one on one?” He said. His accent surprised me; there was no weird accent about it. “Sure. Are you from the city?” I said. He replied. “Yeah I am from Manhattan. I moved here about two years ago. You’re new here I can tell.” I nodded and checked the ball with him. “Nice game.” I said wiping the sweat from my face. “You too, it’s too hot out here why don’t you come over to my house? I live on Baker Street.” He said. “Baker Street! I live there too.” I exclaimed. “Cool, come on let’s go,” he said. As we walked we talked about random things, he was a huge Knicks fan, and he had tons of jerseys. His name was James; he grew up in an apartment near Grand Central. His dad was the head of a big company and they job required him here so they all moved. We walked up to his house which was not that far from mine, we walked past the Kitchen where he his mom was. “Hi honey!” She said “Who is your friend?’ “This is Dwayne, we are going downstairs.” He said. His mom gave me a warm smile as we walked down stairs, we played Xbox and talked. After a while I had to go and that was when I realized I had school tomorrow. I said goodbye and hurried home. I dug all of my school books and backpack and prepared them for the next day. I had a simple dinner of mac and cheese and then went to make my bed. After I made my bed I decided to get some sleep for the next day. I woke up to my alarm; I rolled over and smacked the alarm clock. I slowly got out

15 PB of bed and grabbed my shower supplies and got in the shower. The warm water drizzled down my body; I washed myself and got out. I dressed myself in cargo shorts and in a polo shirt. I walked down stairs and saw my mom frying some eggs. “Morning mom!” I said. She smiled and said. “Good morning honey, are you ready for school?” I grunted as I devoured the eggs without a prejudice. I hugged my mom and set off for school. I was to meet a guidance counselor who would give me my schedule and show me around. She did this because I came in the middle of the year. I continued to walk until I saw the school; it was a large high school. I walked through the front doors and was greeted by a welcome center attendant. “Hello, you must be the new student here, I am Ms. Sharps, and I am the guidance counselor here.” She said in a cheery voice. We shake hands and I said. “Thank you.” “Here is you schedule, all the rooms numbers that begin with four are on the fourth second period so you have.” She paused as she checks her schedule. “Mr. McClanahan, he is the math teacher here, I will walk you to his class. I assume you have all the necessary supplies for his class?” She said in a matter-of-fact like voice. I nodded and we walked down the wide passage way. We walked up the stairs and I see rows of rectangle blue lockers. She told me my locker and gave me my combination and we then set off for Mr. McClanahan class. I walk in and suddenly it is quiet in the class room. As soon as Ms. Sharps leaves Mr. McClanahan stares at me and says. “Well don’t you look out of place here? Take a seat in the back, where I don’t have to look at you,” He sneered. The class gave him an awkward look and I saw James giving me a nod. I don’t know what to say but I take a seat in the back row next to a preppy looking girl. He went on to talk about things I had no idea about; everyone was taking notes so I decided to do the same. After a while I was very confused so I cautiously raise my hand. “Oh, you have a question, would ya look at that,” he said like he was jeering me. “Sir, what segment of math are we studying?” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “We are studying calculus. And maybe you should pay attention, whatever your I nodded and took some more notes. I kept sighed as he kept talking. This was my life.

16 PB ZERO Marissa Lewis

“Are you ready?” I looked over at John, annoyed. Would I ever be ready? “No I am not, and I never will be,” I replied. “What about you? Are you ready to - sphere?” The only thing that I did not like about my spaceship-to-the-moon trip was John. He always had to be so obvious about things, like saying,” We’re here” or “Feel better after that bathroom trip?” It truly irritated me, and I turned to glare at him through the thick plastic of my helmet. Weeks of training together had not improved our relationship; to the contrary, it had only made it worse. Cameron quickly interrupted us, telling us to cool it down, and that we needed to work together and become friends with each other for this mission. “There are only three of us, Eden, and we all need to get along. It doesn’t matter if you don’t like each other now, because you better like him well up in space.” I sighed, and told John that I was sorry for being a smart-aleck. He took my apology, but sneered as he turned away; showing that he did not believe that it was genuine. would not see them again until I came back down to Earth, 6 days later; hopefully. My helmet moved with my head as I turned, and I now knew why all the astronauts that I had talked to in the weeks before said that the helmet was more annoying than actually leaving the Earth itself. When I heard a movement, I turned to see Cameron trying to move over to where I

17 PB and queen over a kingdom.” He took a pause as he, too, glanced out the window. “It is the sun?’ “Ready as spaghetti,” I replied, the answer slipping off of my tongue as if I had been saying the phrase for my whole life. I gave Cameron a short but warm hug as I gathered go, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how I came to be here.

“Eden! Class is about to start!” I look up to see Alexi, Molly, and Cara standing over me. “Stop reading your swim magazine and let’s get to class!” says Cara. “We’re gonna be late unless you get up off your little Gucci-clad butt.” As I get up to sling my Coach bag over my shoulder I shove my magazine in the bag. All around me, kids in fashionable clothes are rushing to their classes, drinking chai lattes and coffee. But then I stop when I see The Callies walking towards me. They are the meanest and most cliquey group of girls in the school, but they all seem to be out to get me now, since I decided to create my own rivaling clique. All I did was ruin a surprise party; spill drinks on all of them, and teepee their houses in toilet paper on their birth- days. The leader of the Callie clique, Calla, steps up right in front of me, and out of the corner of my eye I see Molly, Cara, Alexi, Fai, and Gemma all trying to hide behind me. We, Calla and I, are the Girls who rule this middle school. We don’t always get along, though, as explained by how I ruined her 11th birthday “surprise” party (that she actually knew about). “Do you really think that everyone is going to vote for you to go on the trip up to the moon, and not me?’ she hisses. “You are a fool to think that you are better, and I am going to show you how wrong you are.” “Yea,” echoes her posse, while I stand there with a smirk on my face, growing wider by the second. “Do you really think that you pose a threat,” I taunt her back with. “I am not even worried about you.” And with that, I turn my back to her, and I walk away, sashaying my hips from side to side, as the students walking along the hall melt to the side to allow me a clear path to walk through. I am almost to the classroom, followed by everyone, when Jason walks up out of nowhere, and gives me a kiss. Right there in the hallway. My friends all keep walking, knowing by now that I like to not have an audience with Jason; I like to feel as if I am the only one there with him, though that will never be true: there will always be people, surrounding us, following us, meeting us: the privileged children.

18 PB “Where were you this morning?” he whispers, his breath hot against my cheek as he holds me to him. “I was changing my shirt,” I reply back. “One of the girls at the Star- bucks accidentally poured my latte on the other one. I’ve got to get to class, you know.” I struggle to get out of his arms so that I can walk inside. “I know. Good luck! Have fun without me,” he says before melting into the crowd that is slowly thinning around me. I once asked why he doesn’t want to go to class, and walking into the classroom and claiming my seat in the third row on the right. “. . . and justice for all,’ everyone recites before taking their seats again. But the announcements are not over yet: “Now, it is time for us to announce the person who will Jonathon Handers.’ My hands grip the edge of the desk tightly, and everyone in the room, and possibly the whole school, is silent with anticipation. It all comes down to this: who wanted it more? “. . . . And the winner is . . . Eden Sass. Congratulations Eden! Please come down to smile on my face. I can hear everyone congratulating me, but all I can think about is that “Go Eden,’ Gemma practically yells in my ear. “It’s your time to shine.” We both know, though, that since she was here since the beginning for me with my rise to popularity, we are all going to shine, because we are now the U-Populars. The girls that decide everything: what is cool and what is not for everyone, where you should shop, even what sport you should play. If I wore a stole, by the next week, everyone would be wearing one, because I was. In a daze, I stand up, and amidst lots of clapping, I walk out of the classroom and interesting than which earrings I should wear to the mall with Jason.

I clamber out of the van, almost on the heels of John. Whereas before I could not hear anything, now I can hear a dull roar of sound, and I can see the bleachers of people in the distance. I smile quickly: I can see colorful banners declaring my name across the tops of them. “Those must be made by the girls,” I think quickly, and I smile even wider. “Let’s go, little birdie,” says Cameron, and I look up to see him smiling down at me, a little bit amused by my obvious enjoyment of seeing people hanging banners of our

19 PB names and cheering for us. “It’s time for us to depart from this world, to go and see a different one.” With that said, I turned my head, and craned to see the top of the spaceship, where and because of the glare, I could not see it. Then I pulled my head back down to see Mr. “Ready, Eden?’ he says in that gruff voice of his. “Now, you gotta remember, keep your head back, seat belt on, along with yer helmet; then you can go on and take ‘em off once you gets into orbit. Got it?” I nod, still a little stunned that I am actually going to go and do this. “That’s a good girl,” he says and gives me a punch on the shoulder before he walks over to a go-cart, pulls himself in, and speeds off so that he can get a good distance away before the rocket goes off. We all walk over to the small elevator by the side of the spaceship locks. And then we press the only button that there is: UP. Up the shaft we go, and I stare out of the window in silence, watching everything on the ground get smaller and smaller, like ants as if you are lying down then you stand up. It is possible that this could be the last time I see Earth; sometimes there are malfunc- tions - up in space, on the platform, even inside the cabin – that could end the lives of the astronauts. But I refuse to think about it like this, because I know that I will make it. Finally the elevator stops, and IknowthatIamgoingtobesick . . . I shake my head and I take a deep breath to try to clear my head and slow my heart rate. Then I turn to see John opening the capsule, with a hiss of air releasing as the door comes out of its rubber and plastic seal. First John gets in, then Cameron. Then it is my turn. I take a deep breath, grab his outstretched hand, and swing myself into the capsule. The door shuts itself behind me, with a ringing metal clang, and I remind myself not to be scared. This is my dream, and it is about to happen. The countdown begins on the clock: “Three.” I am breathing very deeply, but I start to sweat a little. “Two” I start to breathe fast and I am getting a tad scared. “One” I can barely breathe because I am so nervous, but I know that I cannot faint now; I need to be awake to see everything. “Zero”

20 PB Dear Diary… Erin Noel

Dear Diary, His eyes…they are a beautiful ocean blue that I could get lost in forever. His hair is a shaggy golden color and his skin is a perfect tan. Today in English, he came over to me and asked for a pencil. My heart skipped multiple beats as I handed him the first pencil in sight. He said thank you in his smooth, heart melting voice, then sauntered off to his desk.

DANIELLE - - ery heartfelt page…Carson Barnum. Carson is every girl’s dream. He has looks, personal- ity, and is athletic. What could be better? He goofs off, but manages to stay a “straight A” student. He is also our middle schools star basketball and lacrosse player. I’ve had a crush on Carson since the 5th grade and started my journal in 7th. I, Danielle, am now in the 8th grade with my feelings for him shining brighter than the sun. Whenever he walks by me, my heart seems to melt and then, he’ll do “the smile”. That smile makes my knees go weak and my legs wobble. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone so perfect. I get to my locker, greeting Kaitlyn as she arrives at hers. As I turn around to tell her about my magical moment with Carson in English, someone collides with me. My me, everyone stops and stares. The moment I see, my heart freezes and my eyes bulge.

21 PB Right in front of me on the ground with a puzzled expression on his face was Carson. Too in shock, I just sat there for a moment, then jumped up and grabbed my books from in front of me. Carson collected his then walked away awkwardly saying, “Sorry”. I looked at Kaitlyn with wide eyes, and then packed up to go home.

CARSON I walked up to my room, throwing my backpack on the old black bean bag chair I’ve had since the 3rd grade. I sat at my desk and turned on my computer, watching it come to life. I thought about Danielle (or Dani, as I like to call her in my mind if she were my girlfriend) and our encounter in the hall. I felt my face blush as I hit her and my homework. As I grabbed my books from my bag, I noticed an unfamiliar book, how my question is answered.

“Property of Danielle Morgensteen”

was written in neat, bubbly handwriting. I starred in awe at the words in front of me. Danielle. How could this be? Maybe I grabbed her book accidently instead of mine! Not

Now, I could read her like an open book. DANIELLE I dialed Kaitlyn’s number as quickly as I could. My heart beat at a fast pace, one that sped up by the minute. “Kaitlyn…the journal…it’s…” I couldn’t get the rest out of my mouth. My tongue was tied in knots, but Kaitlyn got the message. “How? You protect that thing like it’s your own child! Maybe Carson took it by accident when you two were collecting your books.” Once Kaitlyn said that last part, my heart stopped. I had never considered that maybe Carson took my journal. I was struck with chills as I imagined him reading my journal my undying love for him. I closed my eyes, inhaling deep, and then exhaling fast, hoping everything would be okay. He won’t read it, I thought to myself. He’s a nice guy.

22 PB CARSON A few days later, I walked into school anxiously. I debated whether or not to give Dani her journal back. Because I read and re-read every page describing her love for me, I concluded that I would give her back the notebook and tell her what I’ve been dying to tell her…that I love her too. My heart started to beat fast as I saw Dani come down the hall. Her chestnut hair was up in a slick ponytail and she was wearing her favorite dress. I couldn’t help but Dani. My whole body went hot as I approached her. “Hi Carson.” she said in her sweet, innocent voice. I didn’t know what to say, so I faintly pulled out the journal and handed it to her. Dani’s eyes went to the journal, then back to me and her mouth formed a small “O”. I felt my cheeks turning red. Her hands were calm as she took the journal. Before she could say a word, I awkwardly turned around and walked to my next class. DANIELLE Did that really just happen? Carson Barnum, my crush since the 5th grade, handed me my missing journal with entries all about him? My body was still in shock, and I pages he may have torn out to laugh about with his friends. Everything looked good, until I saw an unfamiliar handwriting on a blank page. Four short, sweet words were written down. “I love you too.”

23 PB The Competition Andrew Kane

throw discus and do pole vault. The reigning champion is Jonathan he has won three years in a row. He is going for the record four years in a row. There are 200 contestants that entered in this tournament this year. And Jonathan is one. There are 10 new comers and one is so small I don’t know why he even bothered to come and his name is Sam. “Alright let’s get started” said the announcer. Sam is pulling his Arm across his body with his other arm and he is pulling his arm behind his head with his other arm. Jonathan is stretching too, “I can’t wait to win again” he said. All are practicing for pole-vault. They are now taking their practice jumps. They make it over easily. They land on their feet. The announcer calls everybody over to the the height is 6 foot and Jonathan makes it over easily some more people go and all that’s left is Sam and Sam does not make it over as expected. Now it is the second round and only 3 people have strikes and Sam is one. Now the bar is at 6 ½ feet. When he is waiting Sam sits on the ground biting his nails and he mumbles to himself “get ready” over and over. Now it is Sam’s turn to jump Sam makes it over and Jonathan says “you won’t be doing that for long”. Sam runs and puts his pole in and jumps and barely makes it over. Then the whole order goes through, except for Jonathan. Now Jonathan goes and clips the bar and

24 PB knocks it over. He gets a strike. Now Jonathan is very mad. He thinks to himself, “How did I knock the bar over?” It is Sam’s turn again. The bar is now at 7 and a half feet. Sam jumps and knocks the bar off. He has two strikes now. One more and he loses the pole vault. The whole group goes again, except for Jonathan. Jonathan makes it over easily. Later, there are only three competitors left, Sam, Jonathan and one that no one knows. Jonathan goes and knocks the bar over. He has two strikes now. Sam goes and makes it, barely. The stranger goes and knocks the bar over. He is done and he walks off the The order changes again, as there are only two people left. Sam makes it over. Jona- than goes and clips the bar. The bar falls. Sam wins the pole vault, unexpectedly. “I cannot believe this! Sam Kane wins the pole vault event! I am astonished!” says the announcer. Now it is time for discus. is very happy. He jumps up in the air and screams, “Yeah!!” The groups run through, except for Sam. Jonathan has thrown the farthest by twenty feet. Sam goes up and throws the discus one hundred and eighty-six feet. Now Jonathan takes his second (out of three) turns. Jonathan throws it two hundred and forty feet! Sam has to catch up. Sam throws it two hundred and sixty feet. Every- one is amazed, even Sam. Breath-taken, Jonathan is surprised. He can’t believe that he still has the lead by only Jonathan takes his turn and throws the discus two hundred and sixty feet. Now it is Sam’s turn Sam spins and throws and it is two hundred and sixty four feet. Sam loses and only by one foot. Unexpectedly Sam has made it so far but he has lost.

25 PB The Seals Jared Douglas

The SEALS, that’s what they call us. We’re an elite force of the navy, a global force for good. It took years for me to become a seal. I started off as a CWO2 and worked my way up in the Navy. One day FADM Andy Action (the CQC) the highest rank and the strongest who is in charge asked me to join his team of seals were I became a VADM becoming an assault men. “VADM Alex Ecuteu, I now pronounce you as Navy Seal of force 12811.” That was in 2015 and the best day of my life and those were the exact words Andy said. Two years later we were asked a favor, to our allies. We had to stop Iran It was a scorching day in Iran and we could see the miles and miles of desert. We dove off ship Acadia into the waters of the Persian sea. The water cooled our skin. Our Scuba diving gear was very hefty with all our gear on our backs. “Stay down, and don’t put your heads above water.” “That’s in order captain,” screamed FADM Action. Capt. Joe Huntsman is one of our best men. He is the sniper. Always on target always ready to go. cover some ground if the Iranian’s don’t spot us before then,” said Andy. “Yes, sir,” screamed Capt. Huntsman. We swam and swam closer to the shore. “Will, keep swimming and stay strong,” I said. CWO2 Will Killyah was our youngest a seal. He’s a gunner and we pray he can get our backs with Capt. Huntsman. We were almost at the shore until, bam. A bullet passed right through the water just clipping my shoulder. They had spotted us. My shoulder was stinging but it wasn’t a direct hit so it could’ve been worse. Blood above water. I rose above the water and I swam as fast as I could to shore. I pulled my AK out and shot my enemies. I darted through the sand and an Iranian jumped out of nowhere. He pulled out his gun and pointed it right at me. The man said something to me. It must’ve been Persian. I was astounded. A bullet whizzed pass my face piercing the man’s forehead. “I always got your back soldier,” repeated Capt. Huntsman over the talkie. I took down a few Iranians and hid behind a building. FADM Action and CWO2 Killah jumped out of the water and darted towards me.

26 PB “Bloody hell Executeu what’s wrong with you. You could’ve got us all killed,” Will said. “I couldn’t take it down there. They were going to shoot at us either way. What mat- was a relief. All the weight off the gear toppled on the ground. I put my vest on and put set your browning up and Alex stick with me.” “Lock and load boys.” It was game time. We were in a small village in the middle of a desert. “Alex, I’ll go in for some kills and just try to cover me,” said Andy. “Now men don’t forget who we are. Comrades voice was getting much louder almost ringing our ears. “To the last ship, to the last man, “Ooh rah,” we yelled. Andy darted down to the next building shooting three men. Iranians were shooting at us. “Knock em’ dead, Will.” Buzzuzuzuzz, the sound of the machine gun was so loud. Capt. Huntsman shot some men down many feet away. I didn’t know where Joe was especially with his ghillie suit. I popped a frag out of my belt and ripped the pin out. “Grenade,” I screamed. I chucked no response I ran to the roof where he set up. There was blood everywhere. He was dead. “Man down.” I ripped Will’s dog tag and threw it in my bag. I wasn’t shocked. I had seen many people die on ships in the Navy. Like I said CWO2 Will Killyah was our There were huge hills behind the village in the vast desert. I ran through the desert up the hills slipping through the sand. I came to the top of the hill and looked around. There it was the nuclear facility. I looked above me and planes zoomed over us leaving a stream of exhaust behind it. It was the US Air force. “You call a C4, Alex” Andy said. “I never did, I just said we found the Iranian’s nuclear place.” I responded. The stealth bomber planes dropped some bombs. The military talked about these new under- device. Andy and I ducked down and he took his drone plane out too help. He turned it on would destroy a bit of the facility. We had to go on foot.

27 PB Andy and I knew this was the place by the security and the turrets. Tons of Iranian men surround a huge base with buildings so we knew the bomb was somewhere underground. “Where’s Killyah,” Andy said. “He was KIA (killed in action),” I replied “Damn it.” “Capt. Huntsman meet us down here,” said Andy over the radio. I killed about ten Ira- nians. I heard shooting of a P90. Andy, I thought he already went down. A bunch of shots me and dove past a building. I barely saw Joe by a house near some barrels full of oil. “Joe get out of there,” I yelled. He sniped down a few men. “I’m dry, cover me.” No more real weapons just a pistol and an Uzi. I looked passed another house and saw a rocket launcher just in the corner. I dove into the sand and grasped the weapon. I aimed it at a herd of Iranians gaining on me. It made a huge blast- Bullets were bouncing hitting something metal. I saw Huntsman out of the corner of my eye. “No,” I screamed. He was hiding still behind the barrel. “Remember what I did for my country,” he said. I turned around and covered myself. Flames shot up in a massive explosion. Dust rolled over my shoulder and smoke was everywhere. Two men down two to go. I had to get to the bomb. I couldn’t think about FADM Action. He was probably shooting men down with my pistol. The head of the Navy gave us some coordinates to where the actual nuke was. I was in an alleyway and saw a man with a sniper. I slid straight onto the ground dodging the bullet and the shot was off. I army crawled into a room. Then I saw a piece of glass on the other side and stared at it searching for the orb with tons of Iranians. I chucked a smoke bomb into the room and just waited for the moment to end. My hands were trembling and I couldn’t get a grip on my pistol. I put my gas mask on. “Now I thought,” I went into the house and feeling very paranoid as if another sniper was zooming right at my head. I pointed my gun at the sniper. He was unconscious, the smoke must’ve got him. I looked behind me and two men were coming at me with loaded arms. I ducked behind a table. Pieces of wood were chipping and falling on to my head. Action. The bullets bounced off several times and hit the Iranian man in the face. All of a

28 PB sudden the other troop jumped over the table knocking me down. He was suffocating me and I was useless. I tried everything and he was still choking me. I tried one last time to roll over and it worked. His head was on my injured shoulder. “Awww,” I screamed. My shoulder was stinging from the bullet I took earlier. I had to shoot collateral. I pointed the gun to my shoulder and pulled the trigger. The bullet dug into my shoulder piecing the man’s head. My shoulder was torn apart causing so much pain. I got up and headed down to the on the ground. I pulled the pistil out of my holster. The room was full of metal devices. I must have been at least half a mile in the ground. The underground bombs destroyed most of the place and then I saw it. There were blueprints just lying out on a table. The title read NUCLEAR BOMB. I heard coughing. I looked under the table and saw FADM Action. He was alive. There was blood all over his chest. His breaths were getting slower by the second. There was a long tunnel going underground with a truck. That was the truck transport- ing the nuke to Israel and the engine was on. Andy took the men down. I sat down next the air landing lifeless on the ground. “Stay with me, Andy,” I said. “I’ve lost two men and I’m not losing you.” Bullet wounds were all over his chest. “Alex, our job was to diffuse the bomb before they bring The army will be waiting for you,” Andy whispered. I could only hear a faint breath and then I heard silence. “Forget the past,” I told myself. I got up and opened the front of the Nuke. I opened the U235 bullet and slid it out carefully. I took out the explosion charge. “Seven years of work and I am destroying this,” I thought. It was for Israel. I was now holding the charge in my hand. I had a red wire and blue wire. If I didn’t cut the right one a quarter of the country would blow off the map. I cut the blue wire and I was safe. I heard the chin hook helicopters outside. CWO2 Will Killah, CAPT. Joe Huntsman, FADM Andy Action were all-dead. The mission was complete. I would see my family. My future was decided.

29 PB The Friendship That Was Lost Blake Walther

When my brother and I were little, we would be like normal brothers with sibling left the room, all hell would break loose again and I would get blamed. Being the oldest always meant that I was the problem; Anthony would always complain too, it was probably his age because at the time he was 8 and I was 13. He would whine “Mom, Josh hit me”. In his small voice he used to show he was hurt; even though he started it by walking over while I’m sleeping on the couch to punch me in the face. Some wake up, huh? That’s what I had to deal with for 3 years, but then as he was getting older so was I; and - ing. Anthony came to me while I was in bed one morning and slightly nudged me to wake up, “Go away”. I grumbled and then I felt it, the heat made a horrible sting, and I felt the sizzle on my skin as I got up to swing at Anthony but got another burn to my arm. I “What the hell- are, are you branding me”? He saw the anger in my eyes- this was too far for him and he knew it; he turned to run but I grabbed him by the collar; I took the spick from his hands and held him down “I should burn my initials into you, you little twerp”. I brought the hot steel close to his chest but then threw it away; Anthony started breathing heavily, “You’re weak”! He spat at me, “No I’m just stronger than you I could’ve burned you until there was nothing left to burn, if anything I’m ten times stronger than you”. I left him with that thought and got off put what was left out and that was it. I didn’t see Anthony for two days after the incident and I didn’t rat on him or anything for leaving me with blisters or burn scars. I guess he was up in his room thinking because he didn’t come down for three days; mom gave him his food upstairs because he was afraid to even look at me, let alone talk, he knew I was still pissed, and I was. When he came down the grease in his hair was so shiny it was glimmering in the sunlight through the window, and his body was stiff because he hadn’t moved much for three

30 PB days; he said a lonesome, “I’m sorry”. And I thought that was the end of it; I was incredibly wrong… The days went by smoothly from then, I went to the high school and Anthony went to the middle school, I would only see him at home when he was doing his homework and at dinner but even sitting across from me was uncomfortable for him because of my gaze. I still didn’t forgive him, what he did was completely uncalled for, but I know I’m better than that. I still looked for motives though to see why he must’ve done that; what did I do? I kept wondering and the question ate at me for days on end. Pretty soon I forgot all about what happened, well sort of, it was still in the back of my mind; branded into my brain like when Anthony branded my leg. It burned there and wanted to get out but I couldn’t shake it, it was there and it wasn’t leaving for a while. I started noticing Anthony less and less; he wouldn’t talk to me and he could hardly look at me; I realized that I needed to get him to do something interactive. I tried to get him to play video games with me, I tried to play his favorite game, chess, with him, and “Anthony you haven’t said anything in days, you won’t interact with anybody, what’s “I was waiting for you to come and say it was ok for me to talk to you again. I was afraid you would never want to talk to me ever”. I did nothing but looked at the boy with pity. “Anthony, you shouldn’t wait for me, I wasn’t the one who did something wrong, the best thing you could’ve done was to come to me and try to talk about it. One way or another, you’re still my little brother and I have to deal with you and you have to deal with me until I go to college. And when I come back, you’ll be going too, but all we can do now is get along, well sort of until that day comes”. He came over and hugged me, I could feel him shaking, and the tears rolling down his cheeks into my shirt. I realize now that if I hadn’t said anything, I would’ve lost my brother, I guess I never thought of it, but now looking back to 10 years ago, I stopped what would have been the end of a friendship that will never die.

31 PB The Boy Dillon O’Keefe

A tall stalky boy trumped down the hall. Eyes staring blankly ahead, ignoring all the pushing and screaming, only focused only on his destination. He never spoke, never cared. He was ignored, as if he was an alien from a foreign planet, people just didn’t acknowledge him He walked further down the hall until a cute blonde girl ran giggling past, only making contact by bumping into his shoulder. He paused, and she paused. He didn’t say anything; she didn’t say anything and they both continued to walk in the opposite ways down the hall. No one spoke to him, no one cared for him. An ear piercing ring startled the boy, he ignored it and continued on. There it was room 114 AP social studies. He arrived into the classroom and took a seat in the back. The teacher; brown hair, hazel eyes, and seemed fairly young stood up in front of the chalk board. A series of chalky grinds burned his ears and the words Ms. Lancaster were printed on the board. She began talking, about the pyramids or something. The boy grew tired so he drowned out the sounds with daydreams as she blabbered on. He saw children playing outside on the playground equipment, one little girl was on the swings, her mother pushing her as she laughed and played, the mother paused and reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone, she stopped pushing the girl and went to take the phone call. The little girl must have gotten bored of her mother not pushing her so she hopped off the swings and jogged over to a tall oak tree. She climbed, and she climbed until she reached the top branch she waved to her mother and slipped her hand grasping on to the branch but barely. The mother didn’t even notice! The boy continued to stare waiting to see what happened to this little girl. She started to slip, then scream, the mother noticed and started coming over. But would she be fast enough?! The girl was slipping and just when she was about to drop FWOOSH the shades dropped cutting him off from this riveting story. Ms. Lancaster stared at him, she seemed very angry. The boy concluded this from the way she shouted his name. The boy didn’t respond he just got sat down buttoned his lips and nodded. The teacher grunted straightened her skirt and waltzed over to the board to continue teaching. The boy started doodling. She was blabbering on about the pyramids, the boy knew this information so he eventually became board and weary of the subject until he heard something interesting, the teacher paused, and noticed the boy was paying attention, she smiled for she knew she had him interested. She continued on. “The pyramids were constructed by the ancient Egyptian times

32 PB but there are theory’s saying that the Egyptians were assisted… by aliens!” the boy didn’t say anything, didn’t do anything. Many of the students started complaining how she was wrong how aliens weren’t real. The boy sat still put his head on his desk and waited for the class to be over. Arny walked down the halls happy and smiling. He didn’t care if people thought he was weird for doing this because people’s opinion didn’t matter to him. He glanced down the hall and saw a few girls chattering on the left and on the right he saw Reggie and his ‘gang’ pounding on the new kid. The new kid barely even seemed to care. Most though. Arny was contemplating whether or not he should stand up for this kid or let him walking over. His mind was a blurry of thoughts. What if Reggie then goes for me? What if this new kid latches on to me thinking I’m his best friend? What am I going to tell people if I get beat up? What the hell am I doing? But at this point it didn’t matter he was already over where they were getting the boy. “What’d ya want booger?” he barked. “How about you stop bullying… um… what’s your name kid?” Arny said pointing at the boy. He didn’t respond and just stood there, water from the drinking fountain dripping down from his face. Reggie smiled, then he and his friends continued to beat this strange He grabbed the boy and pushed him to the side. Reggie grunted, and then he wobbled over to Arny. He spit at his feet and turned to leave. Arny knew this trick but right before he could say something Reggie swung his arm around trying to sock Arny. Arny to the ground. Everyone burst into cheers and surrounded Arny but within all the chaos Arny only chose to search out this boy. But he couldn’t until he saw the boy walking out the door, no one cared, no one noticed. him Arny said something “hey dude what was up with that?” the boy showed no emotion reaction and just kept walking. “HEY! ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING!?!?” Arny was getting fed up, this kid wasn’t even listening! He pushed the boy, he did nothing, no reaction, he barely even moved. Arny just didn’t what to do; he decided he just missed my bus so now I’m going to go home with you, since you made me miss my

33 PB the boy’s back. It was his initials W.E.R. stitched on the back of his backpack in green. name by trial and error. “Wade? Waldo? Walden? Warren, Watson, Wesley, Wilbur, Walter?” “Ugh! I bet it’s something stupid like Wallace!” The boy turned. YES! Finally I got his attention! Arny thought. He responded; “Yes?” The boy was so monotone it shocked Arny. “YES!?” now he was sounded aggravated. “Hey I was just wondering why you ran off like that?” Now Arny was sounded angry. “What kind of a name is Wallace anyway?” The boy stopped walking and turned towards Arny. “It means ‘a stranger’” and with that he turned left up the drive of a blue house; number 136 and went in. Arny needed to know about this kid, he needed to know what was his problem, why is he so quiet, why so secretive? So he built up the guts and snuck through the white picket gateway door and tiptoed around back to investigate “Wallace”. The back yard was like his, a swing set sat alone in the corner and a tall oak tree stood in the middle. But strangely the grass was burnt and dead. He started to contemplate what the burnt grass was from but he saw movement in a window and he stopped thinking and crept over. Wallace was there sitting on his bed, his head in hands. He mumbled something, stood up and walked over to his dresser. He stopped, and stared at himself in the mirror and said to himself “today was a tough day, but ya got through it” he then crouched down and grinned at a picture of what appeared to be him next to his mom, he stroked her face and got back up. He groaned and pulled off his shirt then his shoes and socks and pants. He got to the point where he was just in his underwear he reached behind his head and parted his brown hair and a zipper appeared, he pulled the zipper down to his hip area and the REAL Wallace came out. A crinkly old man crawled out of Wallace’s skin and groaned as he stretched, Arny made a sound, a sound like a skunk just got ran over by a truck. Wallace looked over, his love handles spun around with him. He spotted Arny peeping in through the window and he huddled over. RUN! Thought Arny, but his body wouldn’t let him. Wallace came over and said in his crinkly rusty voice “Wallace, a stranger to the world” and with that he pulled Arny in and shut the window.

34 PB EPILOGUE * The police searched everywhere for Arny, his mother frantically crying for her little have gone. boy, what’s his name?” “THE BOY’S NAME! WE NEED HIS NAME!” the police shouted into the mega phone. Ms. Lancaster walked up to reply to the shout out. She spoke with her voice choked up with fear. “His name is Wallace, Wallace Exter Resteehal.”

35 PB A War Of Will Armand Pappas Sometimes, my life feels like a game. Games where we are all pieces controlling own But once in a while, a different pawn is set on the board, between the two powers. And that pawn is me. I’m Will Jackson, and I’m stuck in the middle. Let me elaborate. I’m thirteen, and in the middle of middle school. My life has been smooth sailing for as long as I can remember, and problems came and went like leaves in a breeze. My group of friends became closer together as we grew, not fearing the bullies that taunted us. But a few days ago, something occurred that put me in a very awkward place. It started during recess, while my friends and I began to play basketball playfully in the gymnasium. By far I was the best sports player in my little group of friends, but I decided I wouldn’t take advantage of them, because I liked my friends a lot. But today, I felt energized. I felt as if I needed to break out today, to get some real exercise. So I spun and dribbled with authority, making almost every shot. My friends stood in awe, and sadly, I saw jealousy in some of their eyes, and I began to feel bad. As I was about to stop, a voice shouted out from behind me, “Hey, kid!” I turned around quickly, but the excitement from my face faded as I saw James, the well-known bully, approach me with a sly grin stretching to his ear. He was almost a foot taller than I was, but his face was ten times more infested with pimples. To me, he universe. “What do you want with me James?” I asked unenthusiastically, crossing my arms over the basketball. “I’ve been seeing what you’ve been doing on the court, and I’m pretty impressed. So, ah, what d’ you say if after school today, you, some friends and I go down to the park to go ballin?” “No” I said bluntly shaking my head. “But after that I’m holdin’ a party back at my house and all y’ guys are invited, right?” James asked the crowd behind me. with random shouts of ‘yeah!’ and ‘yup!’ Some of my friends looked around nervously, as if they knew that the taunts would only begin shortly. “W… what makes you think I’ll want to come?” I asked nervously, shifting side to side.

36 PB “Obviously, it’s because I want you with us. You’re good at what you do and I like that.” James began as he raised his hands like he was addressing the crowd. “So what d’ you say, just for the heck of it.” The crowd of classmates behind me erupted in their cheers again, just as before. My heart was pounding with nervousness. I turned to my friends in desperation, but they us; we just want them out of here!” My friends gave me their most reassuring look they could, and together mouthed “Leave!” I had no choice. The anger welled up inside, because of how mean these bullies were, causing innocent people to do what their heart tells them to avoid. But reluctantly, I agreed, and the crowd again erupted into those same mindless shouts of ‘yeah!’ and ‘yup!’ James then pulled me aside and took me into the hallway. I didn’t see why, but again, incident, like my mind was done taking orders from itself. As if taking orders from other people were the right thing to do; and the only thing to do. “Hey, man. I know that was hard for you, with all your friends standing there. But I wasn’t out for them, you see. I was out to get you. I want you with us, like I said before because you are what we’ve been looking for.” James explained. “I understand, but why?” I replied, half-listening. “You’re the perfect mix, in our eyes, of athleticism, calmness and acceptability.” James replied in a soothing tone. “What?” “Don’t worry; I’ve already talked about it with my other friends. All you have to do is have fun on the ride. Meet me after school out back.” And with that, he walked away. My world was more confusing than it’s ever been. Was this some plan to get me away from my friends? Was it a plot to humiliate me? I don’t know. But I’ll go with it. After the last bell rang, I gathered my books in a hurry, not to make James mad. But while I was swiftly walking toward the back entrance, Henry, my longtime friend, stepped out from behind a corner and stared me in the face and grabbed my shoulders “Will, c’mon. Why are you doing this? You know it’s the wrong decision. I know that there’s still the Will I know in there, somewhere. It’s just not…” Henry urgently began. involved in this situation. But I didn’t want to seem mean. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to hurt him. I knew it was wrong.

37 PB I pushed out through the back doors and almost immediately, James stepped in front of me, stopping me in my tracks. He put his right arm around my shoulder and began walking me down the stairs and toward the street. “So here’s what we’re gonna do, w…” James stated. I shrugged his arm off and turned around “Do you really think that whatever you’re going to say to me is really going to persuade me to join your little group of friends?” I asked annoyingly. “Will, y’ really have to try and give us a chance here, because believe it or not, we’re having tons more fun than I bet you’ve ever experienced in one day. We don’t even have to go to the court today if you don’t want to. C’mon let’s go,” he said, not fazed by what I just explained. At this point, my mind was working overtime. I’d never had to deal with a situation such as the one without the help of my friends. I kept wondering what I was going to say next, but nothing came, for once I was stuck. The next thing that came out might have been one of the worst mistakes I’ve ever made. “All right… let’s go.” where the few guests that had come early just told jokes and had snacks. But the farther the sun went down in the sky, the crazier the party began to seem. The modest jokes became rap battles where the winner would get to dunk the loser in a tub of freezing water; melt into my surroundings; I even got myself in one of the rap battles. Of course, I lost due to lack of experience. But at that time, it all was worth it. I’d never felt that alive before, and at that moment, I promised myself that I would never go back to where and whom I was with before. The next day was Saturday. I woke up to the smell of cheese and pepperoni draped like curtains all over the wall, and a steady quick beat of the stereo throbbing in the basement below. Some people were awake, drinking something out of a plastic cup, looking dazed as they slouched on the chairs around the living room. Some were clutching their and couches. I probably would’ve screamed or ran out of that house, if I didn’t feel exactly like they looked. My face ached from being dunked in the tub of water, and from a But then, when I started lifting myself up from the couch, James stumbled up from the basement and almost fell as he sat down next to me and leaned heavily on my shoulder.

38 PB “Hey, Will,” he began slowly. “What?” I replied at the same speed. “I think we should probably get out of this place.” “W...Why? I... thought this was your house.” I asked, very confused “Nah... This is my friend Mike’s house, I just said I was hosting it so people would come here. He’s off on some family holiday with his folks. I’m sure he won’t mind.” And with that, James grabbed my arm and we blasted out the back door into the woods beyond.

The next couple of days were a blast for James, his friends and I. After we ran into the woods, we found a few of his friends waiting patiently on some decaying picnic out in the “Will, let me introduce you to what I call ‘the core’. These are my most valuable friends, and I want you to be one of them. What you see here is our meeting spot, where we plan all of the parties, and all of the people we want at those parties. You see, you don’t only have to possess the cool factor, but also have that little extra behind it in order to be successful.” James began to explain, moving his arms in various directions as he talked. “These guys act as a shield for me, to hide my tired looks from the cops if they’re looking around for suspects. But of course, it doesn’t mean that you won’t go with me on my ‘runs’ as we like to call them. We run on a cycle where one or two of you come with me to the party, and the rest will cover us up...” James continued. I stood in awe at the plan, how interestingly convoluted it was, and how smart one had to be to come up with the idea. James went further into the explanation, and all I James, his friends and I walking down the hall in school, like kings. But James brought me back when he asked “So what d’ you say?” My answer way quick and short. “Yes.” The rest of Saturday and all of Sunday went by in a blur. I was dazed throughout, but my new friends were covering me so well, it didn’t matter what shape I was in. The only problem with that weekend was when I came home. But James had previously told me that my parents would be angry and gave me a plan. My parents were mad, but as soon as I had told them I was hanging out with my friends with no distractions and it was a necessary step in a developing teen, they let me be.

39 PB I went to bed that night thinking of all the possibilities that James and I could have together, what trouble we could squirm in and out of and what not. Monday seemed like the beginning of a new school year for me. It had only taken me two days to develop an entirely new way of thinking. And it was far better than what alongside James and his friends, not worrying if I was about to get bullied or harassed. And the best part was, this group of friends that I was in weren’t just a bunch of jocks walking around the school like kings, we were smart jocks walking around the school like kings. Everyone wanted to be near to us, like we were a bright light and they were hungry moths. I instantly became popular with practically everyone. Girls and guys that might not have known I existed before were starting conversations with me. It was amazing to say the least. Then, there came lunch and recess. It was my time to shine on the court. As our group of friends walked calmly toward the far end of the court, I couldn’t help but notice my old friends having fun fumbling the ball amongst themselves, and laughing hysterically. I should’ve felt guilt or regret, but I was a different person now. I didn’t feel any emotion anymore, because that was seen as a weakness according to James. James picked up one of the basketballs off the ground and turned around to face us. “O.K., how about Jack, Chris, Will and I versus you four?” “Sounds good James.” Someone replied from behind me. “Cool. Let’s go then.” James exclaimed excitedly. I was a forward and a three point specialist, it made me look even better when I scored from that long of a range. It also turns out that James was a decent shooting point guard. from. My old friend Henry came jogging across the court to get his ball back, but James decided he wanted it for his own. “This ball is ten times better than the one we’ve been using, and besides, you guys aren’t really playing with it...” James began. doesn’t give you the right to take that ball...” Henry replied reaching for the ball. All of a sudden, there was a physical struggle for the ball, both Henry and James try- away and pushed Henry to the ground forcefully. The whole gym erupted in a cheer and a

40 PB where it was before. I was beyond angry with James. And now, I needed to make my own decision. Without hesitation, I quickly walked toward James, holding the ball high like a trophy, and snatched it right out or his hands, said a few words, and tossed it back to Henry. Then I turned back to James, who stood there in shock. Before he could say anything, I began. plan that you guys thought was so clever and fool-proof. So, considering how smart you are, I think you know what I’d do with that if you ever lay a hand or say a word to my friends again.” James bowed his head in shame. “Let’s get out of here boys,” he said disappointingly. The cronies then left with their tails between their legs, and with one less member.

41 PB Gold Medal Andre Dvorak

I was going to get my gym shoes and shirt so I ran into my house. Bang! The front door slammed behind me. “Going to the gym?” asked my maid as she ironed my shirts. “Yeah I’ll be back around 7.” I shouted back as I hurried into my bedroom. I opened my closet door throwing my newly hung clothes around and got my shoes, I then turned around to get my shirt and I noticed something was wrong. My gold Olym- pics medal was missing. I ran downstairs past my kitchen and ran out of the back door. I jumped into my car and immediately started the engine. The car hummed loudly as I went off to my friend’s house. I got to my friend’s house and I saw my friend’s car in his driveway. It looked like he just got back home. “Rob open up, I need to talk to you.” I said as I banged on his door. “Coming!” Rob yelled back. “Come in,” he said as he opened the door. I followed him through the vestibule and to the living room on the right. “Have a seat,” he gestured to the chair. “Thanks, remember when I won he Olympics and I got the gold medal. Well I was just home and it was missing.” “Really, when did you last see it?” “This morning.” I answered. “Have you been to my house today?” I questioned. “No but QUICK look outside there is a man with a gold medal!!” shouted Rob as he pointed outside. “That guy is from the gym! I know him!” I replied. I quickly ran out of the front door sprinting at full speed, the wind blowing in my face as I sprinted. Leaves blew left and right the man started to vamoose.

42 PB “Stop, stop running!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. The man started slowing down and came to a stop. When I got close to him I realized he wasn’t holding a gold medal he was holding a gold colored water bottle. “Sorry I thought you were someone else,” I prevaricated. When I got back to my friend’s house I said bye. I started my engine and went back home. When I got home I noticed my maid was still at my house. Maybe she took the gold medal, I thought to myself. “Did you notice anyone that came by the house today?” I asked her. “Well your friend came by, he said he forgot something. He was here about 15 minutes before you got back home. Why?” she questioned. “Rob said he wasn’t at my house today but it looked like he just got back from somewhere,” I replied. “Maybe my friend took the gold medal.”\ I stormed off grabbing my keys and drove over to my friend’s house. I walked up to the front door. The door was unlocked. I quietly opened the door and walked through the living room to the dining room. There was my medal on the table. I quickly grabbed it. Then something touched my shoulder. It was Rob! “What are you doing here!” he shouted. “Can you explain this?” I asked him, holding up the gold medal. I was so mad I ran out of the house and drove away. “Wait come back I can explain… sort of!” he shouted. I never saw Rob again.

43 PB David Emma Cheshire

I ran out of the house. Dad was already waiting for me; I quickly stepped into the car and shut the door behind me. Everyday, since the 6th grade, my dad has driven me to school. I barely get time with him over the weekends, or breaks. I’m usually with my Mom. She’s remarried to a guy named David. He has a temper – he’s lazy too. Always has to get what he wants. David had another wife in the past. My Mom and I have no idea why they split. “Hey, Joe! Ready for high school?” he said as I gave him a big hug. “I’m excited!” Anything to get out of the house is exciting for me. “That’s great.” He started the engine and we drove away. I looked back and saw Da- vid running out of the house, noticing that I already left. reminded me of home. Of course he still drives it. Even though my Dad might have little money, I liked being with him more than with Mom and David. “How was your summer? I heard you and the family went on vacation, anywhere to talk about. “We went to California.” “That sounds fun!” I knew he was obviously just trying to make me feel better. He knows any trip with David is not a good one. “Not really. David kept on arguing with us. All he wanted to do was sit in the hotel and watch TV.” I knew what really happened. The only reason we went is so we could meet his friends. They were all the same, tough, lazy, and cold-hearted. Just like David. Even thinking of that trip makes me want to cringe. “Oh. How’d mom like that? I remember the one thing she always loved was explor- ing new places. Did she get to do that?” He always asked about mom. “Let’s just say it just wasn’t the best trip for her.” And trust me, it wasn’t. “How’s she doing? Is she talking to you more? Are you and David getting along better? talk often anymore, but I know it’s not her fault. “David? He hasn’t changed a bit.” “Joe… you know you can talk to me about anything, right? I’m your father.” “Of course I can. It’s just…” I started to lose my train of thought. “If you know you can trust me, tell me what had been happening between you and

44 PB David,” he demanded. “I really don’t want to talk about it right now, Dad.” He was quiet. “Is something wrong?” Suddenly he made a big turn and stopped the car. “What are you doing?! I can’t be late for school!” “You are not leaving his car until you tell me what is going on.” We were stopped at the side of the highway. My pulse was racing. I thought about the past few years. I remembered things that I thought I never would remember. It all started last year. David and Rose were screaming at each other. Rose, my step sister and I, aren’t blood related, but I felt like we were. I would do anything for her. I assumed something big. Tears were rolling down Rose’s face. David was bright red and his veins were bulging out of his neck. It looked like he was on the verge of hitting her. “Go to your room, Joe,” he said. “Just stay out of it.” “But…” I couldn’t speak I had so much to say in so little time. I hated for Rose to be this upset. “Go to your room, now.” He turned back around to Rose. I was furious. He was not going to do this to me anymore. “No,” I said. The room was silent. Then he turned back around. deserve to be yelled at.” He was quiet. Then, he stood up, starring right into my eyes. He slowly walked over to me, with a disgusted look on his face. Then he smacked me, right across the face. It felt like I was going numb. I was shaking with fear. “Don’t ever talk to me like that again. Or you and your mom… are dead.” His disgusted look turned into a wide grin. Something I’ve never seen before. Ever since then he has taken his anger out on me and my mom, physically. We can’t do anything about it, though. If he gets caught we will have to pay the price. there would be consequences, but I ran out the door as fast as I could.” He looked confused. “What do you mean by consequences?” “I don’t know. But I am scared.” He knew I was hiding something.

45 PB telling the police.” A tear rolled down my check. I didn’t answer. I was just starring out the window. “Has he been hurting you?” I still didn’t answer. He turned his head and banged his “When did this start happening Joe? Why did you never tell me?” It looked like he was about to scream. “I didn’t want you to worry, Dad! These past few years you have had a lot going on.” “Past few years? This has been going on for a few years?” I could tell he has so devastated, and hurt that I didn’t tell him. “Yes Dad, it has. I’m sorry I never told you. He threatened to kill us if we told anyone!” I don’t know what got into him. Suddenly he just started to… and he wouldn’t stop! I lied again. He was about to cry as well. Suddenly I heard a loud honk from outside. We both turned to see where it was coming from. A huge car was coming from behind us, and it didn’t look like it was stopping. I couldn’t speak. My body was trembling. He quickly scrambled for the car keys. I looked back to see who was in the car, but the windows were tinted. The engine rumbled. But it was too late. The car made a huge turn and hit us from the side, sending us and the My eyes opened. I was somewhere unfamiliar. There was a women right beside me. She noticed I was awake and stood up. “Hi Mr. Parker. I’m Mrs. Emerson your nurse. You’re in the hospital. I’m sorry to say that you were in a car crash this morning. Surprisingly you have no broken bones, just some cuts and bruises.” I started to remember where I was at the time. Then I got nervous. “Was I with my Dad? Is he okay? Can I see to him please?” I started to get up. Her eyes got wide. “No, no, Mr. Parker you need to stay here. You’re not allowed to walk around the hospital.” She explained to me what happened. I swear my heart cracked a little. Then it started to beat faster and faster. Tears pouring town my cheeks once more. “I am so sorry, Joe.” There was a knock on the door. A woman stepped inside. I couldn’t believe my eyes. “Mom?” this couldn’t be happening. She ran over to give me a hug. “Joe! I am so glad to see you awake. I was so worried! Are you okay?” she said. uniform stepped inside. “Hello I’m Kyle Gore. I am the investigator for this case. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

46 PB He walked over and shook my hand. “Lucky for you the accident happened right in front a crime. From what we can see, it looked like the man in the car meant to hit you.” “The man? Do you know who hit them?” Mom asked. plate and his information, here.” He handed me a sheet of paper. The man’s name was Peter Fitz. sheet carefully. I couldn’t believe my eyes. “Um, Mom? I think you should look at this. I gave her the piece of paper, and pointed at the picture. That very same day my mom was able to drive me home. We hadn’t been alone together in a while. I could tell she was scared, so was I. I don’t think me or Mom knew what to do. We parked in front of the house. Neither of us wanted to go inside, but we “Are you ready?” she asked me. I laughed. “Not at all,” we walked up the steps together. She took my hand. “Whatever happens, just know that I love you, ok?” I don’t think she knew how much that meant to me. “Ok mom, I love you too.” She smiled, and opened the door. We stepped inside. “Da- vid?” there was no answer. “Rose? Hello?” we walked down the hall and into the kitchen. There was no sign of either of them. We both ran around the house, searching for them. “Rose?” I shouted. Without even knocking I banged open the door. Sure enough, Rose was sitting in the bath tub, sobbing. There was dry blood under her eye. “Oh my God Rose! What happened? Did David do this to you?” She was still sob- “David’s gone, gone for good.”

47 PB S. Pettersson David Luntz

He woke up in the hospital. His eyes opened, he looked to see his aunt, sobbing. Then he remembered the blast, the blast that left him with no hearing, with an in- His arm. It was all coming back to him, rigging the dynamite, then as he was walking away the accidental explosion got his arm stuck under a steel beam. In the seconds after the explosion he felt all the bones in his forearm get crushed into dust. The pain was excruciating, it felt as if his arm had become a pancake. Then he passed out. He opened his eyes for a second time. He then looked at his arm; his right arm was amputated from the elbow down. He wasn’t very surprised, he actually considered himself lucky he still has any part of his arm left. Then he remembered it was his dominant arm Does this mean I have stop playing tennis? outside, it was dark. He remembered that it was light when the explosion occurred. It was then that his aunt noticed him. “Sven…Sven how do you feel?” She sounded nervous. “What time is it?” Sven snapped back, without even answering her. He paused for a second, not sure what to say. “Okay, I guess… can I have some water?” Several months pass… After the physical therapy was over he tried getting back into tennis. It was impossible. Without his dominant arm he had to switch his feet and that just felt awkward, then, to serve, he would have to balance the ball on the racket and launch it up into the air before he knocked it over the net. But, he was still extremely talented, and once he got more used to serving the ball, he could still beat everyone that came to the park. The players at the park were just not at the level he was used to. He began to get depressed again. “I probably will never be that good again” he thought to himself. His frustration began to build and he became angry once again. Was everything he was doing; working out, playing everyday with one arm, was it all useless? But for some reason he kept going back. Every day he kept working at it and his skill

48 PB new dominant arm. He still had bad days. Days when he wanted to give up. Days when he was sure his dream would never come true. But the good days were starting to outnumber the bad ones. Those were the days when he knew that somehow he would make it. That somehow he would be back on top of his game. What he didn’t know was that he was being watched. Everyday another person came to the park just to see Sven play. They came to watch as Sven slowly began to get stronger and stronger, less and less frustrated and most importantly, very skilled! One day a man Sven had never seen there before came to watch him. Sven didn’t notice the man. He was focused on the game. Later, after everyone left, the man was still there. The man approached Sven as was wiping the sweat from his forehead. “That was quite a game.” The man said. “Yea thanks!” Sven said not looking up. “I have been watching you. I remember you. My acquaintance told me about you after he saw you in a school match before you had to drop out and before… the accident… he said you were working your way to the top.“ Sven looked up and was amazed. It was John Myers speaking. John Myers was one of the best pro tennis trainers in the country. Sven knew his face from articles in Tennis Pro Magazine and from articles in the newspaper. He did not know what to say. “Uh, wow, thanks” he stuttered “You know, I would be interested in giving you some tips to help your game. I could meet you here every week” Myers said. Sven smiled. Little did he know that this would be the beginning of something huge.

49 PB Things Will Never Be the Same

I woke up to a bright morning, the sun shone through the periwinkle curtains that hung over my window. The house was dead silent, Mom, Dad and Joey were at a lacrosse tournament out of town. On a day like today a year ago, I would of called Silvana to go get pizza, or watch a movie. Now, things were just different. Things had changed. I rolled out of bed and walked to the top of the staircase. I fumbled with the railing. I stumbled down the stairs, and into the kitchen. I found a note on the grey granite counter. Dear Annelise, Dad, Joey and I are in Amherst for a lacrosse tournament. We will be back Monday. There’s money on the counter for dinner and food in the fridge. Love you and be safe! Mom This meant I had 3 days with the house to myself. But who could I call? Not Silvana. I tried to think of where it all began, where my best friend and I started to grow apart. We had always been best friends, since the day I moved onto this street. We would play in the rain, swim in her pool and have mud baths. We would do literally everything together. Then I met Stefan. Stefan was tall and strong, and he knew all the right things to say to make a girl fall in love with him. I thought for sure he would go for Silvana, all the boys did. She was an average height, and she had long, wavy black hair that went below her shoulders. She had bright blue eyes and a smile that made every girl envious of her. But me, with my straight brown hair cut choppily at my shoulders, and my plain brown eyes, I didn’t think I stood a chance. I was tall and awkward, and I had never talked to boys except for when Silvana had dragged me along to parties. At the age of 15, I had never had a boyfriend, never held hands with a boy, never kissed one, or even hugged one. But I felt something for Stefan, something I had never felt before. Apparently Stefan felt it back because he asked me out on a date. Things went amaz-

50 PB so happy. Silvana seemed happy for me too. Dating Stefan made me so excited to go makeup, wear my best clothes and douse myself in perfume just to impress him. Appar- ently it worked because we started to hang out more and more. I guess you could say I loved him. I was head over heels for Stefan. Silvana and I started to grow apart slowly, it’s just I didn’t notice until the day I found out she was having a birthday party, without me. She was turning 15, and we had planned this party together! We even made the invitations together! Alyssa, one of our other friends came up to me. “Annelise! Good job on the invitations this year! You and Silvana did a really good job! I’m so excited it seems so fun!” Alyssa hopped from foot to foot excitedly. “Wait, what are you talking about?!” I grabbed the piece of paper from her hand, and saw the invitation that Silvana and I had made months before, the invitation to her birthday party, the same invitation I didn’t get. I felt crushed, I felt like I had been betrayed. I handed her back the invitation, “Yeah..thanks.” I mumbled as a quick response and I walked as fast as I could towards Silvana’s locker. hall, laughing with Erica, Alexis and Taylor. Sure enough, in all of their hands, was the invitation Silvana and I had made together. Silvana separated from the rest of them, and strutted over to her locker, where I was standing. She noticed I was there the second she touched her locker. “Oh my gosh! You scared me!” she screeched, as she bent over with laughter. I gig- laughing she looked at me and said, “Hey, Annee what’s up?” “Hey ‘Silvee’”, I said, mocking her obnoxious tone. She rolled her eyes slightly at me. I realized how rude it was of me, maybe she just hadn’t gotten the invitation to me yet. “So, when are you planning on having the party we planned?” I inquired, trying to sound innocent, like I didn’t know she was already planning on it. “Oh, I don’t think I’m having that…like I don’t think my parents want that many girls at my house…and it would cost a lot and I just don’t thi-“ she was cut off by the sound of Fifth period. Fifth period I have math, with Stefan. It was my worst subject, I couldn’t even fathom equations, or solve anything. Stefan though, made math 20 times more bearable. We sat at different tables, but were close enough we could exchange notes or help each other with math. Except, I couldn’t focus. Silvana had handed out the invitations, I had seen one my-

51 PB self. Yet, when I asked her when she was going to have the party, she told me she wasn’t even going to have it. What had I done wrong to make her so mad that I didn’t even get an invitation to the party we planned together? Things like this went on for weeks…she would lie to me. She wouldn’t invite me to parties or sleepovers. She wouldn’t even talk to me, or even ask me to hangout. What had I done? Stefan was rude about it though, he would tell me she didn’t matter, that we had each other. Why couldn’t Stefan understand, Silvana had been my best friend for as long as I could remember, and I absolutely did not want to lose her. So, I decided to talk to her. I didn’t have a chance to talk to her in person, so I chatted her on Facebook. Me: “Hey Silvee, can we talk?” I stared impatiently at the screen. Finally after what seemed like eternity it said “Silvana is typing…” Silvana: “ Yeahhh, what’s the matter?” Me: ”I feel like you’ve been mad at me, but I’m not sure what I did, I just don’t want to lose you as a friend.” I hoped she wouldn’t think what I said was weird, or clingy. I just wanted to get my point across. Silvana: “ Not mad, just like, you kinda put Stefan before all your friends…” That message crushed me, but also made me so angry I could just scream at her! The only reason we had been growing apart was because SHE had been ignoring ME. She had encouraged me to hang out with Stefan, but now somehow it was wrong. I didn’t want to answer. We left it at that. I would hang out with Stefan almost every day, I wouldn’t ever talk to her. My parents asked me where Silvana was almost every day. They would sit at the dinner table with fork and knife in hand, elbows on the table, and inquire about Silvana and why we hadn’t been hanging out. How could I possibly answer that? I would stuff mashed potatoes in my mouth and just nod my head back so lonely. Stefan ended up not being good for me. He started to get really rude and pushed me around. I had bruises on my legs, stomach and arms. He was malevolent towards me, he would shove me, punch me, and call me the rudest names. When my mother and father saw the bruises, and found out their origin, they took care of it. They told his parents, and forced me to break up with him. But I didn’t complain, I was happy to be able to get away from him, but I didn’t have the guts to break up with him myself. I tried to talk to Silvana, kind of like a redemption for me. I called her numerous times on her cell phone, to no avail. I decided to call her house phone. Her mother, Ari- elle picked up. She sounded surprised to hear me calling the house phone, or maybe even

52 PB calling at all. She told me Silvana was taking a nap, and that I could come over and talk to her. Her voice sounded sweet and sincere, I told her I would be over in 10 minutes, and I sprang up from my bed, and pulled on my light brown Uggs. walked speedily towards Silvana’s house. When I got there, I knocked 3 times on the huge mahogany door. Silvana opened it, and immediately I opened my arms for a hug, and she rushed into them. Although both decided to be friends, but things were never the same. We were never the best friends we had been just months before. It was a big change, for the both of us. I had changed, become more mature, and she had changed too. Suddenly, I heard the shrill ringing of the phone, which made me snap back to reality. It was Silvana. I picked up the phone. “Hello?” I said. “Hey, it’s Silvana, do you wanna hangout and maybe like watch a movie?” I smiled, because maybe things could be the same after all.

53 PB Truly Alone Prologue Someone like me has to make an armor, and let no one in. You have to take every mean thing those girls have ever said and you shove it all inside and hide any pain you feel. You become cold almost heartless, almost. You will still feel the burning pain but now it’s only simmering instead of boiling. You walk with your head high and hope that you can hold out till the end of the day, because you can’t let anyone see that chink in your armor. Then you leave school and you run to a place that is safe and let all the emotions come raining down on you. Now I hadn’t done this in a long time. I had learned how to control myself, make me seem emotionless to others, but one day that all changed.

I walked through the halls with my head down, not wanting to see who was pointing all the noises and the mean comments; I couldn’t understand how people could be so mean. I had just learned the true evils of high school girls and their twisted ways. How- ever I had never known the true evils of boys and their twisted ways. I soon learned how to handle the hallways, walk with your head down, shoulders hunched and just let all the things people are doing around you, all the noise become one big buzzing bee. Then mentally swat the bee until it’s dead, then all the noise goes away, and you can be at peace… for the time being. My name is Katherine, and I’m going to be blunt here about everything including my- black person at this school. I was also the only girl who didn’t wear designer clothes and here didn’t like about me is well I have really curly hair and I don’t bother trying to tame it. To them this is preposterous. Now these girls that I’m talking about, they are perfect in every way, the girl everyone wants to be. They look like perfect Barbie dolls that every little girl wants for Christmas. I had learned how to deal with their backhanded comments and all the remarks about the way I looked. I knew how to protect myself from them, it’s something every girl learns when they are young. Girls are mean to each other plain and simple. They all want a place in the top and will stomp all over anyone who gets in their way, so the only way to survive is to either get out of peoples way or try to tear them all down yourself. Fortu- nately for me I was someone who was lucky enough not to be in their way, but unfortunately not lucky enough for them to leave me alone. I was their play toy, someone they

54 PB into the woodwork, they could not be noticed and have friends who are just like them. about people trying to ruin any glimmer of happiness in their lives. These girls had it easy there was no one for them to fend off. Someone like me has to make an armor, and let no one in. You have to take every mean thing those girls have ever said and you shove it all inside and hide any pain you feel. You become cold almost heartless, almost. You will still feel the burning pain but now it’s only simmering instead of boiling. You walk with your head high and hope that you can hold out until the end of the day, because you can’t let anyone see that chink in your armor. Then you leave school and you run to a place that is safe and let all the emotions come raining down on you. Now I hadn’t done this in a long time. I had learned how to control myself, seem emotionless to others, but one day that all changed. One boy changed everything in my life, he made everything go wrong in every possible way. Boys had never been a problem for me, they didn’t like me and I didn’t like them. To be really honest I didn’t like anyone, I pretty much hated everyone except my parents. They were the only people I could really count on besides myself… but now I am getting off topic, we were talking about boys, ugh. So this boy who ruined everything will not be named for the sake of my wellbeing. I try not to think about him too much, and too much is ever. So this is the only time you will get to hear about him… so listen closely, I will not repeat myself. I met the boy at school. He just came up to me in the hallway. Usually when this happens I get ready for some snide comment or even a slap, and not a friendly one. Instead he came up behind me and said, “Hey sweet thang, how you doin?’” punch him in the face and break his nose. When I turned around I went berserk. I saw nothing but his eyes they were these deep dark brow with gold specks. All I could do to stop myself from falling over was hold on to my locker door. He smiled at me like he knew what was going on in my head, I hoped to keep my dignity intact, he didn’t. I quickly turned back around to my locker and ignored him hoping he would go away, apparently that wasn’t happening. He grabbed my shoulder and turned me around to face him. He was so close our noses were practically touching. Then he said, “You wanna play it that way, alright but you’re in for a bumpy ride.” He then smiled slyly and sauntered off. I was left speechless, staring after him with my jaw open. He turned around to look at me saw my face and seemed amused, I was

55 PB not. No guy had ever done anything like this and I was rather suspicious. I was going - cially this guy would want to “play’ any game with me unless they were looking to get punched. The next few days he kept his distance, with the occasional glance and a sinister actually wanting to date me. God was I really being this stupid, obviously it was some kind of sick joke. Although I didn’t understand how someone could get a kick out of this, it didn’t seem funny to me just weird. Eventually he stopped with all the weird smiles and things went back to normal, but I kind of missed it. Later that day I saw him walking in the hallway and it hit me, I am so stupid. Not only had I let a hot guy slip from my grip I let a hot guy who actually LIKED ME slip from my grip. How stupid does that make me? When I looked back at him I saw him smiling at me and the whole world just melted away and it was just the two of us in a high school hallway. I started to walk over to him but I didn’t realize how, I didn’t think that I had instructed my legs to walk so I tried to stop myself and I couldn’t. I was very he was still there, waiting for me. Once I got to him I had no clue what to say, I opened my mouth then closed it several times. I could feel my face morphing into a scowl, never before had I been short for words and the one time I could really use my wits they have seemed to disappear along with all types of speech. I tried to say hi but all that came out started pulling me towards my next class which conveniently he had with me. All I could do was look up at him and let him drag me. When we entered the classroom we were greeted with mumbled questions, disgusted comments and people pretending to stick then maybe this wasn’t a joke, maybe this was for real. The next couple of days all I wanted to do was walk the halls with him, he was all I could think about. Soon I let my armor down and let him inside to see the real me. He was always very kind and never seemed bored or irritated by my lack of speech. Some- times all I did was sit there and stare at him. Soon I started to talk I shared lots of per- cruel. He never judged though he just listened, I liked that. I was at home sitting at the kitchen table when I got a call from him; he said that we should hang out. I yelled bye to my mother, grabbed my bag and practically jumped out the front door. I met him at the coffee shop a few blocks from my house. The shop was

56 PB very quiet and dark. There was a chalkboard with all of the things you could get and lots of comfy chairs and cushioned booths, it was nice and homey. He was sitting at the booth all the way in the back I slowly made my way towards him and sat across from him. He stayed quiet for a while just staring at me, then I asked why he had wanted to come here. All he did was stare at me as though in a trance. His head snapped to the side and he spoke the words I had hoped would never come out of his mouth, “we’re over.” Then he got up and left, leaving me to stare at the place where he had just been, so close yet so far. I soon felt a tear trickling down my cheek. How, how could he do this to me? Better yet why, what had I done? I started to think about everything that had happened between us, but nothing I thought I had done seemed strange to me. I racked my brain for hours just sitting at in that booth watching other couples trying to see where I had gone wrong. Eventually I looked at the clock across from me on the wall. It had been I woke up the next morning with a killer headache and my eyes were itchy from all the crying that had started at dinner and proceeded until I had fallen asleep. I went me of him and the way his breath always smelled minty fresh. I couldn’t go through anything without his haunting presence; it was like a veil on my head clouding my vision. I trudged into school looking more of a mess than usual. All the girls snickered and pointed at me, come to think of it now everyone was pointing at me. I wondered what new name or rumor had been concocted for me. I saw him in the hall and my heart sank, not only did he look amazing like always he had his arm hooked around another girls waist and he looked genuinely happy. She was blond and pretty that was all I had to see to know not only that I had been replaced but that I had been beaten; her looks trumped mine hands down. He saw me but he didn’t really look at me which made me feel even worse. Not only was he going to dump me, he was not going to acknowledge my presence either. Later that day I went out into the courtyard to have some peace and quiet. I sat down at one of the tables in the center. It was so beautiful here; everything was so bright and colorful. I closed my eyes and tried to soak up everything around me, letting all the smells of greenery engulf me and take me away from this horrible place. All of a sudden I - rounding me, all with phones in hand. Then one of them looked up from reading something on their phone, pointed at me and started hysterically laughing. Then another kid did the same thing, then another. This process repeated itself until the whole mob of them were pointing and laughing. I closed my eyes and tried to make all of the noise the sound of one big buzzing bee like I did in the hallway, but when I tried to swat it I would always

57 PB miss by a little and the bee would live on buzzing in my face, mocking me. Getting frustrated I tried to stand but my foot got caught in the table and I fell on my face. The laughing grew louder, booming in my ears. Now not only did I have horrible hand eye coordination in my mind I also did in my physical form? Never before had I been so humiliated and not only that but I had no idea why. With that thought in mind I picked myself up, spit out a wad of dirt and walked out of there, angry at myself for letting me endure that torture for as long as I had. As I reached my locker I could hear the loud cackles coming from people who I it even if it was the last thing I did at this god awful school. After I was sure that all the people had left the courtyard I went back there. I sat back down in the same place, feeling even worse than before. I again tried to clear my mind but something on the table had glinted in the light and had distracted me. It was a phone, whose it was I had no idea but I was sure that this person had received this message that had made me the laughing stock of the entire school. I picked up the phone and luckily for me there was no lock. I rummaged around until I found the message. I read the whole entire thing, every private word I had ever said to the one person I had trusted with everything. The only person I had ever opened up to in my life had betrayed me. It was Damon the name of the boy I swore to you that I would never name again for my own sanity, but now it’s clear that he is not the problem, I am. I let someone get under my skin and uncover my truths, reveal my world for everyone to see just because I was sick of feeling alone. I would never forgive myself for this because I had always told myself that I was the one person in this whole world who I could trust, that would never let me down, but I had. I would never forgive myself for letting my guard down, never.

Epilogue I had always thought that I would have been defeated by my outer demons, not my inner. I had destroyed myself by thinking that with him I would no longer be alone. I am demolished from the inside out because I let the chink in my armor become a gaping hole. Only now, not being able to trust myself, am I truly alone.

58 PB Gone Frank Addeo

Jim hid behind the door and heard his parents argue. They exchanged harsh words and disagreed about everything. Then Jim peered around the corner and saw his father with all of his bags packed. Jim could tell his father was about to leave, for good. A tear dripped off of Jims face and then he began to cry. Jim considered telling his siblings Rick and Megan, but then he realized they would be too devastated by the news. So Jim kept it to himself. He kept listening to what his parents were saying. They were using words that Jim had never heard of before. Then Jim heard the door open and he looked around the corner and saw his dad walk out the door. Jim knew that this moment would be with him went and joined her. Jim woke up to the loud screech that rang out of his alarm clock. It was a red alarm clock that Jim’s dad had given to him when Jim was three years old. But in a way Jim hated the alarm clock because later that year Jim’s dad walked out on his family. Jim was now seventeen years old and he still held a grudge against his own father. Jim sometimes wondered where his father is but overall he doesn’t want anything to do with the man. Jim waltzed down the stairs and sat down next to his mother. “Mornin’ Jim, want some eggs? “ Jim’s mom Martha asked. “No thanks ma I’m going to the gym.” Jim walked out the door and stepped outside. Jim and his family lived in the Bronx New York. He loved living in the Bronx, because he can get anywhere he wants from wherever he is. He walked down one street and made a left onto Reynolds Avenue, the street that the gym was on. He strutted over to the front door and opened it. “Wussup Ronaldo?” Jim asked. “Nothin’ Jim,” Ronaldo replied. Ronaldo is Jim’s trainer, he is a short man that lives right next door to the gym. Jim had known Ronaldo since the day that Ronaldo started working at the gym, 5 years ago. Then Jim went over to the bench press. This was the way that Jim got all of his anger and pushed upwards. Jim was surprised how much he could lift. He kept lifting and he was counting in his head. to twenty.

59 PB “Alright, Jim looks like you are ready to take it up a notch, two hundred pounds,” Ronaldo said. “Sure Ronaldo,” Jim replied. Jim is now seventeen, six feet and two inches and could bench press two hundred pounds. He and Ronaldo put on the new weights. Then Jim prepared himself for this next set. He gripped the bar and pushed upward. Immediately he became bright red, a vein started to bulge out of his forehead and he began to sweat. He was pushing with full force and it wasn’t enough. He pushed harder. But he still couldn’t lift the bar up all the way. Then he ran out of energy. His arms gave out and the bar collapsed onto him with tons of force. Jim woke; he glanced around and noticed that he was in a hospital. A tall blonde nurse stood next to him. “That set of weights broke one of your ribs, how are you feeling?” The nurse asked. “Fine thank you, does my mother know I’m hurt? Jim replied. “Yes, she is on her way up,” the nurse added. Just then Ronaldo walked through the door with Jim’s mom. “Jim are you okay?” Jim’s mom asked. “Jim will have to stay in bed here for a few days,” The nurse said. “Okay as long as my son is okay. I’ll go get you some water Jim.” Jim’s mom said. Everyone left the room leaving Jim alone to rest. He sat and wondered about the day that his dad had left him. All the memories came to Jim clearer than ever. He couldn’t quite understand what drove him to walk out on Jim’s family like that. Then Jim saw his mom from down the hall. She was coming with water for Jim. She entered the room. “Jim your father is here in the hospital. He wants to talk to you.” Jim’s mom said. “What I never want to see him AGAIN!” Jim yelled with all the energy he could use. “Jim he has to talk to you it’s important.” She said. Without warning Jims father took a quick gander into the room and then stepped inside. Jim looked at his father. He appeared a lot differently than Jim remembered him. Then he spoke. “Jim, the year I left our family I was diagnosed with lung cancer, I decided that I would leave without warning, I didn’t want you, your mom and your brother and sister to worry about me. Jim, I did it for you. The doctor told me I only have one month to live. They have tried to resolve the problem but they have come to a conclusion that they really can’t help me anymore.” Suddenly Jim was not angry at his father anymore. How could he be? Then he burst

60 PB into tears. He wondered why he had to be the person that had to suffer living without a father; he wanted to know who to blame this on. Two weeks later Jim found himself at his father’s funeral. Saddened, Jim was upset that he didn’t have time to share with his father. He was just happy that he got one last chance to speak with his father. He stared blankly at his father’s casket; he wondered what could’ve been.

61 PB Guardian Angel Caroline Anson

I walked into the hospital, the horrible lights illuminated everything in a sickly yellow glow. Arch was walking next to me as we strode to view the nursery; he was in charge of assignments. We reached the nursery in the middle of a terribly long hallway. All the babies were howling as nurses ran frantically to calm them. One baby made no sound; he silently peered around looking at his noisy companions. “Chase Williams; August 3, 2020.” Arch looked dead on at the silent baby, “He’s your problem now.” I nodded slowly once and watched, observing every movement Chase made. It seems odd but no one could see me, the ability to be invisible gave quite the advantage. Arch left walking away like he owned the place. He wouldn’t have listened even if I had said something. He wasn’t in charge of what happened to the kid. Chase was my problem just like he said. It’s simple though I’ve been though the routine before; became friends, gain trust, watch over and solve their biggest mistakes. That’s what it’s like being a guardian angel. case, only this was my hardest. I’d be in Chase’s life for 11 years but, I’d know who he was for 17 years. Chase will make three enemies, Gaelle, Lache and Caden. First Lache who tried to drown Chase for no reason. Chase’s reaction- punch his face. Chase snapped right back at him. Then Caden who fought for the girl he loved, the same one Chase loved they stopped being friends. Finally Gaelle who changes his appearance so Chase won’t recognize him as if he’s a stranger. He bullied Chase. Just Chase’s luck all of them could hold a grudge, and eventually they met only to plot against Chase. They planned to destroy his life; which is why I had to step in take the role as problem solving, lifesaving, guardian angel. You can thank me now. -I sat in my room freezing- why did February have to be so cold? Finally I was going to meet Chase; he lived across the street from me. I heard the door hinges creak open. “Hello Mr. and Mrs. Williams oh hi Chase, come in, come in!” They’re here I raced melting in his brown hair. His green eyes looked around and took in everything, his orange shirt matched the room perfectly. I skipped over to introduce myself. “’Ello I’m Chase, I’m six.” His eyes avoided mine; his guarded tone pierced the air. “Are you excited for the Superbowl?” I tried to make conversation even though I hated football.

62 PB “Um not really,” he whispered, “I don’t like football.” “That’s great!” He looked at me confused, “I don’t like it either. Do you want to see my baseball card collection, it’s vintage.” “Vintage? That means old right?” His confused expression came back. “That’s right it’s not very old though, but it’s older than us! C’mon I’ll show you!” I hate social studies; luckily my desk was next Chase’s, who was falling asleep- again. I tapped his shin with my foot; he shot up like a rocket. “Oops, a bit too hard?” he nodded but smiled brightly, “Sorry.” I grinned; Chase had been my best friend since I was 5. Now I’m 16, eleven years! Holy- “Ana, class is over…” now it was my turn to jump like a rocket I sprang towards the door. “Anastasia?” “It’s the LAST day of school!” “I know, wait its summer!” Wow we were slow. “This school isn’t really helping us much.” I laughed “I know, right? Meet you outside!” we ran off laughing. I kicked my locker and pulled on the lock so it swung open. I slung my bag over on shoulder and walked to the 10 minutes later with a black eye and dry blood around his nose. He had made his 3rd mistake, “Oh my gosh- CHASE! What happened? Do you need ice?” - fortlessly pulled one from my pocket and wiped up all his blood, “Thanks.” “No problem do you still want to go into town?” “Nah can we just get home, I’ll drive.” “Ok just know I’m always there for you.” “I’ll remember that.” His mouth twitched in a bit of a smile but he was in pain. We didn’t talk on the way home, just listened to the radio. I wished we had talked, after all this was my last summer here. Dumb Gaelle Smart had to ruin it for me. We pulled into my driveway. The sun was killing us, plus the AC was broken in the car. “Help! I need,” Chase sucked in a huge gulp of air, ”water!” Chase dragged himself towards the kitchen just at the right angle so no one could see his eye. “Here you go!” My mom placed a glass of water next to Chase. He rolled onto his back and poured the icy water on his face. Just like a hawk my mom zeroed in on his black eye. “Who punched you?”

63 PB “Um nothing- nobody… my locker hit my face!” Well that didn’t convince my mother at all. “Are you sure...?” “Positive thanks Mrs. Kinley.” “How about you two go outside it’s awfully nice out.” With that she turned to the phone to call the Williams. We took the opportunity and left for my backyard. We went straight into the woods so the sun couldn’t get us; we sat in the end looking down at the steep hill. “Who punched you?” I knew the answer but asked anyway. “…Gaelle Smart…” “I know, don’t worry about a thing, k?” I smiled politely and continued to stare at my feet. “What are you talking about?” “You’ll see… oh by the way Lache and Caden are gonna stop by. Sorry.” I leaned back to watch the clouds. Out of the corner of my eye Chase sat staring at me like I had yet I feared the next moves I’d have to make. The idea of using all my energy and power against three boys that were huge compared to my 5’6” scared me. Chase was 5’10, the rest of the boys were past 6 feet. All I could do was wait and it killed me. I masked my pain and kept doing the average things. Just until August 15. I was walking out of the movie theater with a bag of popcorn munching happily. My popcorn into the garbage can and nudged the door open. I shielded my eyes from the sun and walked towards my dad’s car. The rusty door doesn’t open so I slid in through the window. I started up the engine hoping it would work. Just my luck it did, this was a great day! My phone started to ring as I pulled next to my house. It was an unknown number. “Anastasia speaking.” “Archard speaking.” Well that was Arch for you always mocking. “Great to hear from you, what’s up?” “Well aren’t you helpful.” “Ha yeah I try, bye Ana.” With that the line went dead, and all I knew was that I was out of time. I sped home going through back roads to avoid other cars. When I got to my road I jumped over the curb and my car spun around, if I do say so myself it was the greatest parallel park in history. I ran across the street and jumped over the hedges. “CHASE- WHERE ARE YOU?” I was about to kick down the door until it opened.

64 PB His parents were out on business and it wasn’t Chase. I tripped, that’s right I tripped! “What do you think you’re doing?” I heard three voices in unison. I didn’t reply, “What do you think you’re doing?” they were angry now. “Oh you know the usual…” I didn’t see Chase, “So Lache, Caden and Gaelle why wasn’t I… informed of this get together?” I stood up and wiped off my shorts. I took a step towards them just to see what they would do. They stepped back right into the wall. “Tell me where Chase is.” I spat the last words right in their face, I was just as grossed out as they were. “Chase ain’t here so I’ll make you a deal- get out.” Lache stood a complete head taller then me maybe more. I shoved him back and turned invisible running towards Chase’s room. “WHAT JUST HAPPENED?” their footsteps boomed as they ran around the house. I ran into Chase’s room returning to normal. “Chase?” I whispered and peered around… “AHA GOT YOU THEIF!” suddenly a net was over my head I spun on my heels to “Shush! They’re going to get us!” “Who? Anastasia tell me what’s going on!” “Lache, Caden, Gaelle back to get you, probably ruining your house, joined up together et cetera et cetera…” I slammed the door as loudly as I could. “Why did you just do that?” his anger sounded in my ear as he hissed. “Go behind your bookshelf, moving means they get you, don’t and I get them and call the police!” I shoved past him into his closet, I found the trapdoor we found when we Suddenly my ankle was stuck in the dim light. I saw a jump rope and grabbed it. I arrived in his parent’s room and sprang into action. Caden was looking under the bed as though I’d be there. I laughed and took a lunging step to the door. Swinging it closed, I grabbed the jump rope tying this door to the bathroom. Apparently Lache was That left Gaelle. I did a 360 spinning fast on my heels. Slow enough so it wasn’t all a blur. My heart was ready to burst as I tiptoed downstairs. Suddenly every noise became thunder to my ears. The living room was empty then I heard it, someone tiptoeing around the kitchen. I crouched down and looked in the kitchen, there he was. Turning away from the sink something shone in the light. A knife. Gaelle had an intense crazy gleam in his eye. -

65 PB pounding as I looked right at him. Slowly his eye caught mine as I patiently watched for the understanding to settle in. The police were in front of the house. “It’s over Gaelle, stop now.” I slowly stood acting as though he were a bird. I didn’t want to startle him. “Please.” The splintering sound of wood came from the front door; suddenly I was showered with bits of wood. Jabbing into my skin I instantly covered my head and fell to the ground. “YOU’RE UNDER ARREST-YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT!” the house was under attack. It was like a swarm of wasps, people starting running through the house, I was almost squashed. “Chief this one’s got a knife.” “Take him to the car,” he looked around the house, “hey kid! You’re Anastasia?” “Yes sir, I also know where the other two men are.” in charge, I never caught his name, Then I looked at all the damage. “Wait excuse me sir! Could you possibly call tomorrow at about 7?” “You want me to explain to the parents? Sure thing… by the way good thinking with that jump rope thing.” “Thank you sir.” I knocked on Chase’s door, “Hey! You can come out it’s all clear!” The door was yanked open and my lungs were being crushed. I gasped for air. “Sorry! Are you all right? That was amazing- how’d you know? They’re all gone right? I can’t believe you did that!” He babbled on and on but I had to make him stop. They were all gone, that meant me too. My job was done the longest job I’ve ever had, 11 years of friendship all… over. I frowned this was it. How could something end so quickly? “What is it? You look like you’re gonna cry.” His hands were on my shoulders as he looked down at me. “Chase I gotta go…” “Home? Why?” “Not home, away… my jobs over.” Now he was confused, “Chase you know those stories I have from being a kid, about guardian angels…” “Yeah you were crazy about them you made me remember them.” “I’m you’re guardian angel and my job was protect you from them. I’ve known all along about everything.” He was stunned, then confused, then disappointed. “I’m so sorry Chase but I have to go.” I left. It must seem nasty just walking out like that but I couldn’t bear it. That was the last time I was supposed to see Chase. Walking

66 PB out like that broke my heart, especially when I heard him whisper those three murder- ous words. I couldn’t believe it could get any worse, but boy was I wrong because I all I could think was, “I love you too.” Thinking that made the tears I thought were strong enough to stay hidden pour down my face. I ran and I didn’t look back. “Dude we’re graduating college! I didn’t think I’d make it through high school!” Mitch was laughing as we took our seats on stage. Dumb gowns I looked like I was wearing a dress. I watched my parents take their seats as the principal got up to speak, it felt people so proud to be there walking up. I hated waiting, I waited and waited, and I was the last name to be called. “Chase Williams.” I walked to center stage and shook everyone’s hands. They handed me diplomas and congratulated me. I felt like I wasn’t there maybe this was all a dream. I sat down, Mitch laughing at the expression on my face. “May I present to you the class of 2042!” We were yelling, cheering ourselves on as confetti began raining down on us, when I looked to the door. Everything felt like it was in slow motion. I looked out into the crowd and one person stood out. She looked so familiar, the blonde hair, major tan look. She stood motionless smiling her teeth match- ing the sparkling white dress. Deep in my head I heard something, Ana… Anastasia the and I did what any lovesick, graduating fool did, I ran towards her dodging the people in my way. Soon they parted for me clapping as I reached her. My friends started chanting my name. I had no clue what I was doing but I reached her. “Miss me? I told you I’d always be there.”

67 PB Heart of a Campion

Sunday. The sun was beating down on the local park. The 83 degree temperature was just right for baseball. Leo DiPietro was on the bench yet again batting ninth at his normal Leo wasn’t the most athletic player on the Falcons, or the whole town. The frail look- spring. Since then the Falcons remained the best team next to the Titians, who led the viral. Of course some people thought that this was all hype about Tyrell. They denied al these rumors and statements and argued that John DiPietro was the best. Leo’s brother. He had been recruited by the Philadelphia Phillies, and played in their farm system for with his family, watching his younger brother’s baseball game. chest, even though his had a substantial lead. He dug in at the plate. There was one out, runner on second. The Blue Jay’s pitcher was in his wind-up. In a split second the ball was out of the pitchers hand and into the catcher’s mitt for a strike. The pitcher led in the swing. He made contact but the ball bounced foul. He cursed himself out in his mind, that wasn’t very good plate discipline. The count was now 0-2. Leo stepped out of the batters

68 PB box to calm himself down. He dug-in yet again. His hand gripped around the bat tightly, ready to kill the next pitch, but instead the pitcher caught him off guard and threw an off- speed pitch. He swung way too early and struck out. John sighed as he saw his younger brother strike out. He watched as Leo’s teammates tried to cheer him up, and pat him on the back saying, “Don’t worry you’ll get another shot.” John felt obligated to help his brother in some way. He had seen Leo struggle at the plate since the beginning of the season. It had been three games since Leo had gotten his had perseverance and a heart of a champion. All Leo needed was the athleticism. - ers choice. He began to gather his equipment and put it into his bag. “Everyone has a bad game Leo, that’s baseball,” John told him. He was standing in the entrance to the dugout. “Yeah, I know. I just want to get out of this slump,” explained Leo. He didn’t want to just watch as his team won and got the championship game. He wanted to help get them there. Hitting as many RBI’s as possible. He aspired to be like his brother, John. Leo wanted to be the best baseball player he could be, and John would help get him there. The DiPietros got home after the game. It was a Sunday afternoon at 3:00. There were roughly two hour until the family ate dinner. So Leo and John decided to play each other in basketball. Even though Leo knew he was going to lose, he played anyway. John had seven inches on Leo, so he just drove to the right side the entire game. He occasionally popped a jump shot and made it. John was obviously victorious. Still Leo held his own was dinner time. The DiPietro’s were eating pasta for dinner. There were also meatballs. The dinner table was usually very talkative, but tonight it was quiet. John put a fork full of food in his mouth, chewed, and then swallowed. He broke the silence by saying, “When is your next baseball game Leo,” then took a swig of soda. “It’s on Friday, why?” asked Leo. “Well I was thinking that you and I can practice together. You know, go to the batting cages. You got to practice before that championship game,” explained John. “If they get there,” reminded their mother as she stabbed some macaroni with her fork, trying not to get Leo’s hopes up. Leo immediately lit up with excitement. He thought this was an amazing idea. There was no better way to play ball like John, then to learn from him. “When can we start?” exclaimed Leo.

69 PB “How about tomorrow after school? I’ll pick you up,” remarked John. “Sounds great,” Leo responded with excitement in his voice. The family continued to It was Monday, and the only thought that made it enjoyable was that he was going to be going to the batting cages with his brother. The morning turned into the afternoon surprisingly fast but halted at the end of seventh period, where he had to persevere through two more periods. One of which was his least favorite class, which happened to be social studies. The reason Leo didn’t like social studies class wasn’t because of the subject. It was because of the teacher, Mrs. Reynolds. She was the absolute meanest and nasty teacher there ever was. Her eyes would pierce through you like lasers. In her class you were required to complete endless upon endless work. Leo hoped that he would breeze through these last two periods. Unfortunately in social studies class he had to write an essay on World War I, that would be due two days later. Leo was able to bear through the rest of the day, and started to gather his things form his locker. Leo was ecstatic as rolled up in front of the school, its green paint job gleaming in the sun. “Your bat is in the trunk,” John explained as he rolled down the window. “Hop in.” Leo opened the door without question, sat down next to John and they drove off. They arrived a few minutes later at the batting cages. John parked the car in an open spot and turned off the engine. The two brother’s stepped out of the car to a loud noise. It the ball so hard; you would have thought that he knocked off its stitching. Sure enough it was Tyrell Jackson. He made explosive contact with the pitch every pitch. Leo and John got the equipment out of the car and headed over. “There is an open cage over here,” said John as he opened the chain link door. Leo stepped inside put on his helmet and grabbed his bat. The sun shone on Leo’s helmet pitch blew by Leo. “Yeah what’s the problem?” responded Leo as John stopped the machine. “First of all your feet are crooked and second you’re a little too low in the batter’s box,” replied John as he approached. “You also need to keep your front foot closed, and keep your weight on your back leg when you’re prepared to hit the baseball,” he told Leo. Leo took the advice that his brother had given him. John had left the cage and restarted the machine. It took a couple of pitches for the new technique to kick in but when it did extreme distance.

70 PB “You’re doing excellent,” John said as he switched a dial on the machine. The next pitch Leo saw made him swing way too early. John had switched the speed dial on the machine and put it way down. “You need to able to make the transition from swinging at fastballs to change-ups or other breaking pitches,” explained John. It seemed that Tyrell had mastered this only two cages down and hit a rocket every time. Leo needed to master this too if he wanted to become the best ball player he could become. It began to get dark and John suggested that the head home. “Tomorrow we need to work on breaking pitches,” he told Leo as he watched the silhouette of Tyrell Jackson, who continued to stay in the cage. Going to the batting cages had become a routine between the boys. Every day John would pick up Leo at the end of school in his Jeep, the sun gleaming on its green paint job. Leo felt the training paying off. He felt himself getting better every day. Come game time the ball was exploding off his bat as his team continued to win games. On Fridays he had gotten two monster doubles with three RBI’s. The next few games seemed identical and the plate, nothing but phenomenal hitting. His team and coaches began to notice. Soon other players and other coaches realized. And all of a sudden, the whole town realized. As the Falcons continued to win, Leo became better and better. 6-0, 7-0, 8-0, 9-0, 10-0. The Falcons continued to grow higher in the standings. It seemed the everyone on Jackson and the Titans. They had a perfect record at 10-0. The Falcons and Titans were from different divisions, the rules stated that the best team in each division would qualify for the championship. This meant all roads led to the championship game. “Leo, we need to get a couple of practices in before the big game on Sunday night,” explained John on Friday morning as Leo ate Frosted Flakes on the counter. “Alright we can go after school, I don’t have any plans. So what do you want to work on?” Leo responded. “I was thinking we should work on reading the pitch. We’ve already worked on the transition from fastballs to breaking balls, so you need to know how to recognize them,” replied John. Leo nodded. He thought it was an excellent idea. He just wondered if any of his teammates, even the opposing players were having the same conversations. At the Jackson residence just a few blocks down, Tyrell and his father were having an almost identical conversation. “You’ve worked extremely hard all season Tyrell; you can’t let this slip through your - ter. Tyrell nodded with a mean look on his face. “And what are you going to do about this Leo kid?” asked Nick with a hint of anger in his voice. Tyrell looked up and said,

71 PB “He’s a sucker for breaking pitches.” or go home as Leo’s coach stated. Leo intended to go hard. Giving a 110% effort every play. There was no way Leo and the Falcons had come this far to lose. The Titans had the same mentality. So there was only one thing left to do. And that was to play ball. The Falcons coach had put up the lineup on the dugout wall. Leo went over to see. He had been penciled in at designated hitter, batting ninth, despite his amazing performances throughout the last couple of weeks. This didn’t bother Leo. He was going to be productive no matter where he was in the lineup. The Falcons were the home team, so Leo Grandparents, aunts and uncles all cheered as the game was about to begin. Then the umpire yelled, “Play ball.” rolled down the third baseline. The Falcon’s third baseman, Mike Perez, scooped up the count went to 2-2 before he hit the ball fair. It was a line drive to second base. Patrick O’Leary caught it with ease. There were two out and no runners on base. The Titans were getting into the meat of their order. Still, Anthony Luca was able to make the Titians three the Titians next inning. It was now the Falcon’s chance to produce some runs. The Falcons lack of hits made - ning to get into the heart of the batting order, with their power hitters coming up. Unfor- stolen base. His teammates were able to pick him up and score him from third, but those were the only runs scored that inning. The Falcons responded by a double from their clean-up hitter, and another double scoring the runner on second. They were only able to match the Titians one run. The score at the end of two innings was 1-1. Leo would be leading off for the Falcons next inning ready to produce a big hit for his team. By it was time for Leo to get his at-bat; the Titans had scored two runs. Tyrell Jackson leading off for them next inning, but now it was Leo’s turn. He stepped up to the plate taught him. He took a deep breath and watched the pitcher. The pitch fell outside of the zone for a ball. Leo would wait for his pitch, and worked a 2-1. Suddenly the pitch came in slow and waist level. Leo hit it in the gap for a double. The crowd cheered as Leo

72 PB made his to second base. The next batter got out for the Falcons, but the next couple were able to be very productive scoring Leo and two more runs. The Falcon’s had a one run lead the score 4-3, heading into the fourth. The game turned out to be an offensive battle the entire game until the seventh inning when things started to change. The game looked as if the Titans were going to come away with the victory the score 10-7, the Titans with a three run lead. The Falcons showed signs of frustration, but Leo kept his composure. Their coach game them and extremely the ninth inning a miracle happened. Things were looking very grim for the Falcons. It was their last chance to win. The score still 10-7 in favor of the Titians. The words “go hard or go home kept” repeating in Leo’s head. He knew they only had three outs to make something magical happen. The Titans meant business and put in their closing pitcher, Tyrell Jackson. The Falcons had he was a champion, and he would certainly get his chance. Tyrell Jackson grinned behind his baseball glove. He had struck out the Falcons four the league champions. He wiped the grin off his face as he went into his wind-up. Strike one. Strike two. Now he knew it was over. He adjusted his hand to a four-seam fastball ninth. Leo felt something special was going to happen. John was in the stands with his covering his mouth. He couldn’t stay still. Two outs, watched as Tyrell hurled another strike. 0-2 count. Suddenly there was another crack of time. If Phil got a hit, it would be his turn to continue the rally. He watched the at-bat hit. It was Leo’s turn now. himself in a major jam. The bases were loaded for a kid everyone was talking about. This game could have been over ten minutes ago, he thought. Instead he had to watch as he son underestimated Leo DiPietro. Tyrell stood on the pitchers mound with extreme frustration. He needed to get this

73 PB out. Or the Falcons would be threatening with the meat of their order. He saw Leo step up the plate. Tyrell lightened up he knew his weakness. All he had to do was throw breaking balls and he would win the game. Leo dug-in at the plate for potentially his last time that season. He got into his stance, keeping all the weight on his back leg and his front foot closed as John had taught him. Tyrell went into his wind-up. Leo made slight contact and the ball bounced foul. Tyrell led in the count 0-1. the next pitch was outside for a ball, and next one too. Suddenly Leo led in the count 2-1. The next pitch was a breaking ball that Leo sliced foul. A 2-2 count. Tyrell then threw a fastball that whizzed out of the zone for a ball. Leo had worked a full count with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth. The words repeated in his head yet again “go hard or go home.” He stepped outside of the batter’s box and took a deep breath, and went back in. He looked at Tyrell piercing through him just like Mrs. Reynolds. Tyrell adjusted the ball inside his glove and went into his wind-up, and then released. Leo located the pitch and determined that it was a breaking-ball. Tyrell hung it right over the plate. Leo made explosive contact with the ball. The ball shot into the air like a bullet, and then left the park in seconds. The crowd went wild as Tyrell Jack- son and his father hung their heads in shame.

Leo couldn’t believe what just happened. He began to trot around in glory. As he rounded third base he made his way toward home plate, where his teammates crowded around him as the jumped with joy. He had done the unthinkable.

John DiPietro watched as he felt an enormous amount of pride in younger brother for believing in himself and persevering through tough times. John always knew Leo had the heart of a champion. There was one thing that John didn’t know. That one day, that frail the New York Yankees. All because he believed.

74 PB Mean Kristine Rojas

I had what everybody would dream of having as a teenager. I was athletic, smart, and popular. In school and at a home I was always in a good mood and everyone treated me some kids hated coming to school? My friends and I were all very close and friendly to each other. We never kept secrets from each other, we were like sisters. The only problem with us is we were bullies. But we didn’t even notice how badly we were hurting people, especially Rachel McDonald. very chubby. My friends and I decided to shut her up by making fun of her weight. By saying fatty shut-up, during snack time. That was when the teacher wasn’t really paying attention to what was happening. It was snack time, and we waited for her to take her snack out and sit down. Then it started “Fatty shut u-up, fatty shut u-up”, this went on up with tears, then she grabbed her snack threw it in the garbage and ran out of the room, tears rolling down her face. From that day and until today she never talks in school. This is how all the bullying started. Now that we are older the jokes about her have changed but they were so much more hurtful. But it seemed like getting trashed and punched by all these words, were a habit for her and us. She would walk through the halls with her head down and each step was faster, as she tried to escape this loud overplayed song. - chel McDonald, when the news got to me that she had committed suicide, I felt terrible, I couldn’t believe it. She was dead and she was never coming back. I wish I would have been the brave one and stop all the bullying. She could have been here with us right now. Now that I am an adult and have a family of my own it still haunts me. I know what it feels like to lose something you love so much and so precious. Now I make sure my kids don’t treat anyone like I did. This is my story, about Rachel McDonald.

75 PB Learning Lessons on Listening Jasper Rogal

In a school in New York City, there was a boy named Heed. It was not that Heed would fool around in class. He simply refused to listen in class. Heed was not by any means an insensate boy. On the contrary, Heed was actually quite adroit. Heed had a best friend named Carl. Carl always listened in class, and never fooled around in class. Carl always got slightly better test grades than Heed, because Carl listened in class. It greatly surprised his teachers that Heed would always get such good grades on their tests. What his teachers and most of his classmates did not know was that both of Heed’s parents were teachers, and he learned very much from them. That is why Heed never felt obligated to pay attention during class. One might say that they were opposites of each other, but both Heed and Carl had a very high level of perspicacity. One day in class, Heed’s teacher Mr. Adams was giving a very boring lecture up at the front of the classroom. Heed was sitting at his desk along with every other student. The only difference between Heed and the other kids was that Heed neglected to listen, just like every other day. Every student at least tried to make an effort to pay attention to the teacher, but not Heed. Heed was making it very palpable that he did not really care about what the teacher was saying. “Heed! Get your head up and at least pretend to be interested!” yelled Mr. Adams. “No thank you, Mr. Adams,” replied Heed. Mr. Adams sighed at the front of the classroom. “Anyway, back to that court case I was talking about…” Around this time, Heed tuned out again. He did not really need to know about any of this. As the end of the period came, he recalled something about a test in science. “Hopefully everything that’s going to be on the test I already know,” Heed said to Carl. “I don’t think there was anything outside the curriculum on this one,” replied Carl, having already taken the test. “Thanks,” Heed said sincerely. “Do you want to go meet up in Times Square after school?” “Sure thing.” Heed walked into the science room, and found his seat. His teacher walked around teacher graded his test. He got a 100%, which bewildered his teacher very much.

76 PB Later that day, Heed found himself about to leave a pizza parlor with Carl. They had just gotten outside when Carl abruptly stopped. “Hold up for a few minutes would you? I’ve got to go to the bathroom,” Carl requested. “Alright. I’ll be right here.” A few minutes passed by, and a very perplexed Carl came out of the pizza parlor car- “This strange man came up to me and gave me this money,” Carl said upon seeing the inquiring expression on Heed’s face. “I guessed as much,” Heed said with a bit of annoyance in his voice. “I would like to know why.” “Well, the man said he was a lawyer, and he needed information on an old court case because he thought it would help him win his. I told him and he gave me $40. Pretty good deal right?” Carl replied quite smugly. “When did you learn about this court case?” Heed asked. “Earlier today during social studies.” “Ah,” was all Heed replied with. Not wanting to admit to not knowing something. Later that night, Heed was thinking about what happened outside the pizza parlor. He should have known about that court case. But he did not, because he did not listen during Heed, always did well on tests, but good grades on report cards were not something his parents were used to, due to his behavior in the classroom. So, when Heed’s parents received the next report card, to say they were astounded was an understatement. “I learned a lesson on listening,” Heed said to them upon seeing their shocked faces.

77 PB Just Three Things

I never thought my life would be touched by Brian O’Hanlon. Ever since kinder- garten he never had friends. He was the weird kid, the one no one really knew. The one even the teachers didn’t pay much attention to. We never said a single word to each other. Not that I didn’t like him or anything, I guess as we went through school he was always pushed to the sidelines. We’re seventeen now, in our junior year of high school. We only have one class together, math. Or at least when he bothers to show up. I sat next to him in the beginning of the year and from what I could tell he was pretty smart. Whenever we got any quizzes or tests back I would always see anywhere from a 95% to a 102% circled on the top of his paper. But, whenever class was over he would crum- ble up the test and toss it into the recycling bin. Sometimes I would see him talking to Mrs. Cooper, our math teacher, after class. She would be saying things to Brian like, “If you just applied yourself…”, or “If you ever need to talk…”. Although I don’t think he ever took it in. He would always storm off, run into the parking lot, hop on his motorcycle and ride off. I was the captain of the volleyball and soccer team, and a straight A student who ful- be brought together. April 1st was the day it happened. I was expecting someone to shout out “April Fools!” during the whole ordeal. All that I remember is the pair of lights in my peripheral vision, getting closer and closer. Until the huge pain in the whole left side of my body let itself be heard – loudly. I had been driving home from soccer practice. My normal way from school to home was blocked off so I had to take the back way. Ever since I can remember Crane Road – the road the back way was on- was known as the “death trap”. Filled with it blind turns, bad pavement job, thin width, and me just learning how to drive multiply the danger times 100. If you had told me this morning that my life would have a meeting with Brian O’Hanlon, at 6:17 pm on Crane Road I would’ve looked at you like you were off your rocker. How could it be true when you told me that your crazy prediction would become my reality?

I wake up to an immense sharp pain in the whole left side of my body. I’m in a hospi-

78 PB tal bed. The beeping of the heart monitor goes off at a steady beat behind me. I see the other blinking lights keeping track of my blood pressure, temperature, and other medical things around me. The sun is shining out outside and I see my mom and dad on either side of my bed sleeping. I try to say “Hi”, but it comes out more of like a mix between whine and a moan. They quickly wake up, both looking startled as ever. The sight of me being awake brings tears to both of their eyes. While my dad yells “Doctor!” my mom just cries tears of joy while looking at me. I still have no idea what’s going on. That day my parents explained to me what happened, but they gave it to me short. Here’s exactly what they said: “While you were driving down Crane Road on Thursday night, a drunk driver blind- sided you, your car got totaled.” Fantastic. Three days later I could go home. Being an only child, the all-eyes-on-me-all-the- time-by-my-parents feeling was multiplied by 100. The second I even looked like I was in pain my parents would stop whatever they were doing and be at my side in a second. The only thing I wanted to do was get back to school. My house was boring and frankly driving me crazy. With the constant “do you need anything Caitlyn?” or the “Are you feeling OK Caitlyn?” I needed to go back. My teachers had been emailing the work that I had been missing, so I wouldn’t be behind in any work or anything. I really just - could say my grade never really got through the eighth grade rumor phase. My friend Lauren who I had been texting the whole duration of my being out of school was saying people thought I was dead--great. I had accepted the accident, honestly I didn’t care. I know that sounds crazy but I wasn’t hurt that badly, it was a nice week off, and it made me realize how lucky I was to even be alive. Although I was in pain occasionally this “mini-vacation” was somewhat relaxing. The next week I went back to school. There were locker notes, a personal message from the principal and sympathetic looks from all of my teachers. Since I couldn’t play soccer at practice that night they put me in the position of “assistant manager”, but considering the fact that we didn’t have a manager I could quickly see past their act. I wasn’t mad or anything, I just didn’t see the point of staying there when I could be home doing homework.

79 PB I called my mom to pick me up from school since I couldn’t drive till I was completely healed. In 5 minutes she was there. I had thought a lot about the accident when we passed by the turn off for Crane Road, it had such poor lighting I was surprised I even saw it. I then started to think, that could have been the place where I died, the place where everything could’ve been over. I started to think about the amazement in that I was saved. I began to get curious, “Who found me that night?” I questioned. My mom starting tapping her thumbs against the steering wheel – she did that when she was nervous, “who?” I repeated. “A boy named Brian”, she squeaked out. “O’Hanlon?!” I yelled. She looked straight ahead- I was shocked, amazed, I didn’t know what to think. There were so many thoughts going through my head. Crane Road that late anyway? The questions continued to whirl as me and my mom pulled into the drive way. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked her. would just let the police take care of it, and that was that.” “Did he go to jail or something?” I bellowed, my voice getting higher in sound each time I spoke, “was he punished?” My mother looked at me confused, “Why would he go to jail? He saved your life.” My head hurt now, I felt weird. I wanted to get in touch with him, to thank him for saving me. I didn’t have his phone number, so I texted all of my friends asking. They all replied with “why would you want his phone number?” or, “are you guys dating or something?!” I didn’t reply to anyone, I wanted to talk to Brian- and only Brian. He hadn’t been in school for days- was it because of me? Did he feel guilty? He shouldn’t, he saved my life. I probably would be dead if he wasn’t there that night. The following weeks I desperately looked for him every day in math. He never showed up. I then decided to ask Mrs. Cooper if he had any idea as to where Brian was. I never told Brian O’Hanlon three things: 1.) Thank You 2.) You matter 3.) I love you

80 PB Through This Alone Isabel Anzani

‘I had given up. The hasty wrapping of my battle scars was there as proof of all of - ting help. I had to teach the world a lesson. Some lives, including mine, would be lost today, but it was worth it. I’m going to show the world where it messed up, especially my father.’ knew and to everyone who said they loved me. I closed my eyes. I slid my hand down - tion and found the trigger. I felt a surge of readiness form inside my core. I undid the safety lock. I thrust open the door and started shooting. on. The distant screaming awoke the whole neighborhood, house by house. The clock read 2:10 AM when Beth heard it. She recognized the voice, pleading for help, and that motivated her intentions. She ripped off her blanket and rushed to open the window. The soft summer breeze felt good on her bare shoulders, but she didn’t let that distract her. Her eyes scanned below her. ‘How do I climb out?’ she pondered. She went to her bedside table, and got the belt from her robe. It wasn’t that long, but she had little options available. She tied the hot pink, fuzzy piece of fabric to a piece of the window. She She jumped up to the windowsill, held onto the belt, and jumped. She hung from the - tics, so she landed on her feet with ease. She didn’t stand in her year a second longer, and sprinted off. Beth was also on the track team, so once she began running she was virtually impossible to stop. However, it was past 2:00 AM, and she was barefoot and tired, so she stopped after about 500 yards. She didn’t dawdle, even though she wasn’t running. She had a purpose and kept a consistent pace of a speed walk. The screaming had died down to a steady wail and crying, which was slightly relieving because she wasn’t in as much agony as she had been. Sarah needed Beth, and Beth felt it inside her. She began to run, then sprint. The pavement dug little grooves into the soles of her feet. She felt relieved as she stepped on the grass of her friend’s yard. She was pain stricken when she heard the glass shattering and Sarah’s crying. Beth felt such a sorrow for Sarah. Sarah’s parents were divorced, and Sarah’s father won full custody of Sarah. Over the last few

81 PB months, Sarah’s father had been binge drinking and sometimes beat Sarah. The police called ‘law enforcers’ didn’t do so well at enforcing the law. go in and help, she knew it was far too dangerous. She sat on the cold, dewy grass. Mixed with the warm summery air, it was an interesting sensation. She lost her train of thought when the front door creaked open. Sarah limped out, crying so hard. Beth rushed to her assistance. Sarah had a black eye and a bloody lip and a few cuts. As Sarah came over, Beth cradled her in her arms. Sarah was seven or so inches taller than Beth, but neither girl minded. For a few minutes they sat in the grass, Sarah crying, Beth soothing. Beth was the closest thing Sarah had to family, since her mother was long gone now. They sat there a few more moments, before they spoke. “Sarah, we need to report this. Now,” Beth sighed. “I can’t let you suffer like this.” mind the beating. “All he did was give my dad a warning. I want more than that.” She looked Beth in the eye, searching her soul. “Well, I can talk to the guidance counselor. Perhaps that will help?” “No Beth. Thanks for all of your help thus far in my life, but you should go home, it’s late. Your parents don’t know you’re out and I don’t want your involvement anymore. I need to deal with this on my own. I can’t let you suffer because of me. Don’t take this the wrong way, because you’re my best friend, my sister until the end. I have a solution, but I don’t need your help.” Beth looked at Sarah, confused. at Beth, and then stared at the grass. “Goodnight, Beth,” Sarah muttered. She walked swiftly with purpose across the misty grass to her smooth stone steps. She glanced back at where Beth once stood. Beth was gone, as she should have been as far as she was concerned. Sarah closed her eyes and saw Beth, hot tears streaming down her face. Sarah opened her eyes. “I don’t care,” she muttered. She didn’t care how close they had once been. She remembered all the previous hot summers they shared and all the Saturdays they spent doing each other’s nails and hair and makeup. None of that meant a thing to her now, even though it was once the highlight of her life.

82 PB Sarah thrust open the door. She would have once feared coming into the house, but she had been pushed around so much by her father, she didn’t care. She heard the garage door open and a car speed out. She guessed her father was headed out to the downtown bar. She climbed up the stairs to the attic. She crept to the back corner. It was there that she had the answer to all of her problems, she thought. She held the jet-black handle. The name of her weapon choice was encrypted in small writing on the side. She stroked its side with a hunger for pain she didn’t understand. She wanted others to feel her pain. She grabbed some magazines, already loaded with bullets. She took the gun that would end her life, and retreated to her bedroom. ‘I had given up. The nasty wrapping of my battle scars was there as proof of all of - ting help. I had to teach the world a lesson. Some lives, including mine, would be lost today, but it was worth it. I’m going to show the world where it messed up, especially my father.’ knew and to everyone who said they loved me. I closed my eyes. I slid my hand down - tion and found the trigger. I felt a surge of readiness form inside my core. I undid the safety lock. I thrust open the door and started shooting. I aimed all over my biology class. I was just so angry at the world. The bullets hit in the room took cover. I assumed the rest were still quite confused with the situation I had created. I pointed the gun at the teacher, kill shot, directly at the heart. The teacher looked fearful and regretful as I pulled the trigger. Lucky for her, she turned, but I got her in the arm. Two shots left. I scanned the room for more victims to pursue. That’s when the door opened. I tried to conceal the weapon, but the person at the door saw it shot left. She moaned after I shot her, and I didn’t know why. I didn’t have time to care, - alized that the intruder they spoke of was me. I suddenly felt the fear of being killed ma- lignantly, as I had probably done to many. I felt the sorrow of all the families that would get the call that their child had been shot, and possibly killed. No, not killed, murdered. Murdered relentlessly by one of their peers. It was now the end. She felt a surge of regret, and wished she had never turned to this

83 PB idea. She closed her eyes and remembered the previous night, when she had turned down Beth’s offer of getting a guidance counselor. She felt a surge of regret. If only she hadn’t turned to this violence. She wished she could go back and change her decision, but it was far too late. She jumped at the sudden movement behind her. Her teacher that she had shot was coming at her. Sarah glanced at the teacher’s arms. The teacher had only a mere bruise, nothing close to a bullet hole in her arm. kind tone, although she felt a livid hole on the inside. She concealed her true feelings to neutralize the situation. “Wait. I shot you. Where’s the blood?” Sarah questioned. “Sarah, you may have meant to kill all of these students and myself today, but your now has bruises.” Sarah was familiar with the general structure of blanks. The gunpowder would explode in the cartridge, making an explosive sound that led Sarah to believe that she actually shot all of her targeted peers. She was also familiar that if you shot a blank right next to your head the cap would hit you in the head and most likely also kill you. The accidental death of the actor Jon-Erik Hexum proved her point. Sarah’s remorse turned to anger with herself. She didn’t care now, for her time on this earth was far into overtime. “Sarah, what you did was wrong, but the whole world forgives you. Beth told me of all of your troubles with your father. Just know that you aren’t alone …” Mrs. Anderson was wasting her time now. She was in too deep. She looked Mrs. Anderson in the eyes as she found the trigger. She slowly drew the gun up closer, while staring into the hazel eyes of her teacher. She then quickly pulled the gun to her head and reached for the trigger. want it. She had a hunger for her life again. She saw the horror in her teacher’s eyes. She knew she was in trouble, and was probably going to jail, but maybe all of this was worth it, to see the importance in her life. She threw down the gun and went gladly into the embrace of her teacher. She suddenly understood the lesson behind all her pain and sorrow. She didn’t need to go through this all alone. She had those who loved her and respected her, and would stand by her when she needed the support the most. I glanced out the windowpane. I had been expelled. I was having a hearing to de-

84 PB termine if I would go to juvenile detention. I’m OK with whatever happens now. I will probably never see any of my school friends again, not even Beth. It all depends on my hearing. The only thing that is certain is that my father will be put in jail for what he has done. Beth was a prime witness, and made it possible for my father to be rightfully found guilty. After my hearing I will go to juvenile detention or live with my Aunt Mallory and Uncle Steven. I am accepting my errors that day, and I’m willing to pay for my mistakes and move on. I’ve also learned the biggest life lesson ever, and it will impact me forever. the worst can teach anyone a lesson. I am saddened I must leave my school and friends, but I feel it is better to start over, on a fresh new page.

85 PB Not Coming Home Carly Livingston

The school bus came to my stop. “Thank you, ma’am!” I thanked the driver and started hopping down the steps. The bus driver chuckled. “Any time sweetie, anytime.” She pulled her lever and the glass doors closed behind me. I skipped up to my front door to meet my Mom. The wobbly stone that has always been there jumped as I did. “Hi Mommy!” I wrapped my arms around her waist. “Hi Julie.” Her voice had a dull tone to it. I looked up at her. Her eyes were splotched with red. Has my mother been crying? Could mothers cry? “Mommy…” I said hesitantly, “Are you okay?” she escaped my little arms to wipe her eyes. followed close behind her. She walked into the kitchen and sat down. Not doing anything. - ing my pink and white checkered dress with my right hand. I walked into the living room. My daddy was napping on the couch. “Silly Daddy!” I thought to myself. “He must not know that I just got home!” I ran at full speed ahead towards the couch and jumped so I landed in a sitting position on his stomach. “DADDDYYY!” I yelled. “DADDY! GET UP! I’M HOMEEEE!” His body turned shaking him by the shoulders. “DADDY! DADDDDYY!” I shouted once again. “Shhh. Darling. Daddy isn’t in a very good mood right now. I’ll get up later.” His voice was in a hush tone. I trudged out of the room and stomped up the stairs.

86 PB “No one wants me.” I thought, with a frown on my face. I reached my room and jumped onto my bed. My teddy bear, Brownie, was on all fours. I picked him up and cradled him like a baby. My Daddy had gotten Brownie for me from a business trip he made to Chicago. He had a picture of a big silver bean on his shirt. The rest of him was furry and brown. It had come with a name on a tag, Beanie. I didn’t like it, so I came accustomed to calling him Brownie. I sat up on my bed, holding Brownie. “Please. Can you just be reasonable?” I heard my parents bickering down stairs. I sat by my door, with my ear pressed against it. “NO. I can’t do this anymore.” My Daddy’s voice had cracked. He must have woken up! “What about Julie!? She’s Only six!” My mom screamed after him. A door slammed. I didn’t understand. What was going on? I clutched Brownie and crawled under my covers. “What about me?” I thought. Soon tears welled up in my bright blue eyes. “Why had there been screaming? Were Mommy and Daddy okay?” I squeezed Brownie tighter. His head was peaking up from my shoulder and his neck was being strangled by my forearm. Knock, knock, knock. There was someone at my door. I dropped my teddy bear and wiped my eyes with the arm I was holding him with. I got out of bed, and walked towards the door. “Come in!” I said, just loud enough so they could hear me. My mom walked in. What was a tired, worn out version of her though. “Hi sweetie.” She was hesitant. She sat at the edge of my bed. I had already gotten back under the covers. “Mommy, is everything okay?” I almost whispered. I had no idea what was going on. Yelling had become more of a frequent thing in my house. hand and walked out my bedroom door, and down the stairs. You had to walk through the living room to get to the kitchen in my house, and those were the only two rooms on our “Where’s Daddy?” I turned around quickly to my mom. She was at the top of the stairs still. “He umm…” She was thinking. “He went on a drive.” She had a fake smile on her face. Like the painted ones on the dolls that I kept in the back of my closet. So perfect, it

87 PB can’t be genuine. She turned around and walked into the closest door to her, which were her and dad’s room. “Oh…Okay...” I sat down on the couch that my dad had been sleeping on before and reached for the remote. I was mesmerized by the bright colors and the high pitched squeaky voices that were being displayed on the screen in front of me. The door creaked open in the middle of movie I was watching. It was my dad. He sat down next to me. “Honey, it’s time to go to bed,” he said in a hush whisper. “Okay Daddy.” He kissed the top of my head and I quickly ran up the stairs. I stopped at the top and sat in the dark, on the top. My dad was taking out a blanket and pillow from a closet and arranging them on the couch. He clicked off the television and all the lights were out. I could see him getting under the covers. Why was Daddy sleeping on the couch? Shouldn’t he be in the room with Mommy?” I thought. I found my way to my room and fell asleep. My mom had given me dinner while I was watching television, and she even joined me at that point, but only for a few minutes. After that she just got up and left. Not one word came from her mouth.

The next morning was a Saturday. The sun was shining brightly through the window and woke me up. I lifted myself out of bed, and unconsciously made my way out of the door. I slowly dragged myself down the stairs and into the kitchen. Neither my mom, nor dad was there. My dad had not been in the living room either. Something was wrong. My parents always were up cooking, or reading the newspaper! I felt more awake now and ran up the stairs. Knock, Knock, Knock. I stood at my parent’s bedroom door. I wanted to see them together, sitting up in bed, dad reading the newspaper and mom! I opened the door, for there was no response from either parent. My mom was still sleeping. She wasn’t moving. The only movement was her heavy breathing. My dad was not there. I jumped on the end of the bed. “MOMMYYY!” I screamed. I shook her shoulders. “MOMMY! WAKE UP!” Her “Julie. Shh.” Her voice sounded hoarse. “Mommy’s sleeping.” She turned around making the covers wrap over her even tighter than they already were. “Where’s Daddy?!” I lowered my voice a little bit. “Daddy’s not here.” Suddenly her voice got louder, and more serious. “Daddy won’t be here ‘til…uh…later. I’ll be down in a minute sweetheart.” I left her room confused. Saturday was usually family day. Where could my dad be on Saturday?! “Well…where is he?” I asked at the door. I wanted to know why my parents had been

88 PB acting so strangely. My mom sat up now. She patted her lap. “Come here sweetie. I need to explain something to you.” I plopped myself down on her lap and listened to her explain what was going on. “Your Father and I…we aren’t happy like we used to be. Your Father isn’t coming back tonight. He found an apartment in the center of town and packed most of his things. Your Father and I are getting a divorce.” She spoke very fast and I had trouble understanding. Divorce? Aren’t happy? What does this mean? “So Daddy isn’t coming back?” I sat still. My feet started swinging nervously beyond my conscience. “Yes. He’s not coming back. He is only coming back to pack up the rest of his belongings sometime this week.” Her voice was plain and bland. She was telling it like a story she had told a million times before. I could feel my face getting red. My eyes started watering. My throat was choked up. I jumped off my mom’s lap and ran out of her door. Not their door anymore. I opened the door to my room and jumped on the bed. Brownie was waiting for me just where I had left him. The door slammed behind me. “What did I do wrong? Why is my Daddy leaving? Is it my fault?” Questions started enough I would get used to him not being there.

89 PB Reasons For Divorce Amy Clerkin

That second my jaw dropped. I couldn’t even believe what I was actually seeing, my dad, with another woman, who looked nothing like my mother. I felt my eyes water. “Annabelle…what’s the matter?” asked Tailor. I couldn’t respond. I didn’t want this to actually be true. I knew right away that I had to keep this a secret, but how will I live with myself and look at mom every morning? She will know I am hiding something. “Dad how could you… after all the things we have been through, after all you and mom have been through….how could you!” I shouted at him the minute he stepped through the front door. His face turned as bright as a tomato. I could sense he was uncomfortable. “I don’t know what you are talking about sweetheart,” he said in a calm unsteady tone. I wanted to explode. How could he just stand there and lie to me? “I saw you this afternoon with her. What were you thinking? How could you do this to us?” I said wiping off a tear that rolled down my face. Dad just stood there motionless and didn’t say a word. “Do you not love mom anymore?” By now tears were pouring down my face. By the way I was looking at him, he knew that I would probably tell mom; he sat me down and talked to me about it. “Sweetheart…” he began “Please understand that I love you very, very much and that will never change. I know that you’re upset at me and I am also. But I am afraid that I’m not in love with your mother any more. I don’t see her the same way that I used to,” Dad said. He seemed nervous, like as if he wanted to get this off his chest. “But dad, you need to tell her because I am sure that I won’t tell her. I won’t be the one to break her heart and see the tears come rolling down her face,” I said. “I know. I would never want to put you through that pain.” Dad got up as if we were done with the conversation. Before I could ask him where he was going he said, “Can we not talk about this now? Your mother is going to be coming home soon,” he said. How could he be hiding something like that, something that could rip our family into shreds? “Can I just ask you one thing?” I said. “Sure, you can ask me anything,” Dad said. “How long has this been going on for?” I asked but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know the answer to that question. “It’s been going on for a few months now. Why don’t you go upstairs and start your homework.” said dad. Reluctantly I went upstairs.

90 PB “Annabelle…dinner’s ready” shouted mom from the kitchen. It felt like a perfectly normal night. I was trying to forget what happened this afternoon. We sat down at the table. My mom looked at me as if something was wrong, “Annabelle, what’s the matter? You look upset,” Mom said. I didn’t know what to say. I want to say yes something is wrong, I saw your husband with another woman. I couldn’t say that thought, not here or right now. else that could hurt her. I looked over at mom, I could tell that she was stilled worried. “Are you sure? You still look upset? Is something bothering you?” she said with worry on her face. “Yes there is but it doesn’t matter. It’s not a big deal.” I said. I wish I could tell her the truth. After dinner was over mom asked if I could help dad clean up in the kitchen. I didn’t want to but I did it anyway. I was dreading talking to dad we haven’t talked since this afternoon. As I walked into the kitchen he looked at me, I scowled at him he could tell I was ashamed at him. As I walked over towards him he looked at me and said, “Look, I’m really sorry…I hope you can forgive me.” I couldn’t forgive him after what he did. “I won’t be able to forgive you until you tell mom, and maybe not even after that.” “I know it will be hard to forgive me after this and that’s why I’m telling your mom. After seeing you like this it breaks my heart into a million pieces.” Dad said. I could tell that he was telling the truth, he leaned in to hug me, and I almost hugged back but then I backed away. Later at night I woke up to the sound of yelling I could have sworn this was my parents, but I wasn’t sure. I looked at the clock it said 12:48 A.M. in bright green letters, I left my room to see what was going on, “How could you?” snarled mom. “Wh-h-y…” she stuttered as if it was suddenly hard to talk. I peeked around the corner and saw tears rolling down her face and dad backing away, when mom got up the courage to speak she blurted out, “Please, leave, I don’t want this for myself I want this for Annabelle, I don’t want her hurt. I think we need Dad just stood there. I wanted to start crying, is the reason this happened my fault? Did I make dad feel so bad about what he did? Did I make too big of a deal over it? Mom turned to walk upstairs when dad grabbed her arm.

91 PB “Look, I know what I did was horrible and I understand if you aren’t able to forgive me or even if you hate me…but please let me stay for just a little longer, just to say goodnight to Annabelle. I don’t want to hurt Annabelle, when she sees I’m not here anymore” I felt a lump in my throat, if I hadn’t been there this afternoon or if I hadn’t look that way this wouldn’t have happened. It was my entire fault. “Even if you say goodbye it will hurt Annabelle. How do you think she would feel about you?” said mom. I wanted to go back to bed but I couldn’t, I just couldn’t not after hearing this conversation. “She will be furious at you and you know what Mike? I am too. How could you make such a horrible mistake?” she said with anger. “Can you please go and say goodnight, now? I don’t want to speak to you.” “Go,” mom said hastily. Quickly I went upstairs trying to be as quiet as I could, tears blurring my eyes I laid down in my bed. A picture caught my eye, it was a picture of my mom, dad, and I. We all looked so happy I remember that day that was one of the best days, we would never have a day like that again. We wouldn’t be the same happy family. I heard a creak as my door swung open, it was dad. “Annabelle, are you awake?” I nodded my head. He came over and kissed me on the forehead, “I love you and your mom too but we think it’s best if we spend some time apart.” “Daddy, why did you tell mom? Why didn’t you just keep it a secret?” I asked. “Is it because of me?” “I told her because it is what’s best for her. It’s better if she knows than if I kept it a secret and I know that it would hurt you if you had to keep the secret. And Annabelle, sweetheart, it’s not your fault, if it’s anyone’s fault its mine, don’t blame what happened on yourself.” “Are you getting divorced?” I asked dreading the answer. Why couldn’t life be “I don’t know, sweetheart. But don’t worry about it. No matter what happens I…” he froze. “We will always love you.” “Can I ask just one more question? Or actually two more?” I stared at him making direct eye contact, I wanted this whole to be a dream. Well this isn’t really I dream it’s more like a nightmare. He nodded, “Will I ever see you again. That might sound silly but when will I be able to spend time with you?” “I don’t know, we have to work that out. What’s your other question?” he said. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to ask this or not “Are you still going to date her after what happened?” he looked surprised and

92 PB My eyes bulged out of my head. “Oh.” I said, I didn’t mean to say it but it slipped. He said goodbye and to call him if I ever needed him for anything or if I wanted to just talk. That night I ended up crying dad with someone else. I woke up to a piercing beeping sound. I shot up out of bed. It was all a dream. It had to have been I don’t remember falling asleep. After I got ready I walked down stairs to have breakfast. I was surprised to see that mom wasn’t in the kitchen making my lunch. I saw her lying on the couch still in her pajamas. I walked up to her and asked what was wrong she just groaned. I wasn’t sure if I should stay or go to school. I sat down next to mom and gave her a big hug and said, “I’m sorry about what happened with dad.” She didn’t respond she just stared out the window. I got up and made her eggs and bacon, her favorite breakfast. “Everything will A few months later my mom and dad got a divorce. It was one of the biggest changes that has ever happened to me. I was getting ready in my room for a Christmas dinner at dad’s and Alexis’ house. since he left that night in November. I’m not sure if I was imagining things but it looked like there was a small baby bump on Alexis’ stomach. I didn’t want to say anything. When we got to the house it was a big forest green house in the suburbs. When I walked into the house my dad gave me a tour. He showed me my room that I would be staying in whenever I came to visit. It was a plain room with just a bed and a dresser but somehow it was perfect. I felt almost at home in this room. I realized that living in two different houses was going to be harder than I thought. And living with my parents separated even harder.

93 PB Religion?

“I don’t see why we can’t just make Max Christian,” my mom would say. “Max hasn’t had a religion his whole life why should we all of a sudden start now? My dad would reply with angrily. “Because we can’t just have him be religion-less,” mom would answer back. Then it would start all over again, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. This is how I woke up every morning for the past ten of my thirteen years of existence for reasons that escapes me. But for some reason that didn’t happen today. I walked down stairs, opened the fridge parents’ individual names written in all caps on individual food products. “Mom, dad, what is going on? Are you…” I said as my heart sank. “Yes, your mother and I are getting a divorce,” said my dad. I ran back up to my room, locked the door and was determined to stay there as long as my religion but I never thought it would go this far. “Max,” said my mom. I didn’t answer. “Max,” she repeated. Once again I stayed still and quiet. “Max you get down here right now! I know this can be hard for you but it is hard for your father and I too so just come down and we’ll talk, the three of us”. Before I answered, I thought about Christianity and Christmas. I never really thought about how weird Christmas was until now. Let me explain, we bring a big wide tree into - ies out so a big jolly fella can come eat them and in return put presents under the deco- reindeers to his home in the North Pole where he and his elves make toys in their giant workshop. “Max are you coming down?” my dad said. “Yeah I’ll be there in a second,” I said after I had dozed off from my little day dream. with pancakes and a glass of orange juice for me. “We thought we should make you a nice big breakfast because of the bad news you received earlier today.”

94 PB “Thanks but I’m not hungry” I said as I shook my head. “You got to eat,” said my dad. I chugged the orange juice and scarfed down my pancakes as fast as I could. “I didn’t mean it that fast,” dad said with laughter. This was going to be a long day. to be horrible. I suddenly came up with an idea. I can be half Christian and half whatever my dad believes in… wait that can’t work because my dad has zero religious beliefs. I went downstairs to look up different religions. Maybe I can make up my own religion! That is an idea! I decided to call my new religion “Christ-atheism” I know that isn’t really that creative but who cares. In my holiday you celebrate whatever you want to and you don’t have to go to church! But how am I going to get both of my parents to follow by the laws of “Christ-atheism”? I know this may sound like I’m a nerd but I’ll just make yeah! Uh oh I just realized today is Monday, good thing I’m showered; but I have to go to school. Whatever I’ll just go to school and work on my presentation during lunch! I’ll research other cultures and possibly get some ideas for this religion and I’ll have it ready “Mom!” I yelled. “What?” she screamed in return. “Yes honey it’s in the drawer!” she yelled. I ran into the kitchen, opened the drawer and sure enough it was laying right there in the right hand corner. I pulled it out. “Thanks mom,” I replied thankfully. “You’re welcome” she said in return. - tion looked pretty good, I did well on my test…I think and it wasn’t like a typical dreadful Monday. After the bus ride home I walked down the hill to get to my house. To my surprise there were police cars and ambulances as if someone dialed 9-11. “Oh my gosh!” I hollered. Cops were all along the house. “What’s going on?” I screamed in confusion. “Your father had a stroke” said my mom. She looked ready to have a stroke herself.

95 PB They placed my dad on a stretcher and put him in the back of the ambulance where they were. They would bring him to the hospital. My mom and I followed. The whole ride there a nurse held a breathing device because she was afraid he wouldn’t be able to show them what I had worked on or most of the school day. Who knows this whole experience may even bring my parents closer together. After waiting for what seemed to be forever my dad was wheeled out of the emergency room into the waiting room where my mom and I have been waiting for what seemed to be hours. The nurse wheeling my dad said that he just had a minor stroke and that he was going to be alright, but they want us to make sure he is alright. I told them that I had a presentation to show them. My parents agreed that they were going to sit through my “boring” presentation. I refused to tell them what my presentation was about because I knew that they wouldn’t let me because they had made up their minds. The ride home was quiet. I guess it was just awkward considering all that was going on. When we got home I ran into the kitchen and got the laptop ready for my new religion presentation. “What the heck, why isn’t it working!” I panicked. “What’s going on?” said my mom. “Nothing,” I replied. my parents. “Mom, Dad I’m ready!” I yelled. “Okay we’re coming down,” she responded. I got everything ready for my new religion and how I’m going to present it to my parents. I heard my mom and dad walk down the large stairway; this was going to be my chance to potentially save my parent‘s marriage. “We’re here, what are you showing us?” said my mom curiously. “Okay,” said my parents simultaneously. I put the PowerPoint presentation on a projector, that my dad recently purchased for meetings he had for his job. “I hope it is okay that I’m using the projector” I said to my dad as I looked down preparing for anger.

96 PB “Thank you,” I replied, shocked by his decision. I got right to the presentation after that. I explained all of the things you need to know about my new religion “Christ-atheism”! I explained that you get freedom to do the daily religious ceremony at home for a short time; I explained that church is unheard-of and that you get to celebrate many holidays where you get countless gifts. This wasn’t as appealing to my parents as it was to me, I guess it’s just because they would have to buy all of the gifts. Before I was able to explain my last thought about Christ-atheism my dad stopped me right in the midst of the explanation. “Sport this religion seems… well interesting and creative but your mother and I are… “I cut him off. “I know. You made up your mind, you’re getting a divorce,” I replied as I cried hysterically. “That’s not what I was going to say, your mother and I have decided that after my accident we aren’t getting a divorce!” my dad said. “Are you serious? I knew that when you had a stroke that it would bring you closer together! I knew it! I just knew it!” I screamed out in excitement. “About your new religion “Christ-atheism”… my dad said. “Oh yeah that was just an effort to get you guys back together but I guess it didn’t matter, you’re already happy without stupid “Christ-atheism”. I said sheepishly. “Who knows maybe we can try it out!” my dad said enthusiastically. “Yeah maybe” I said as my faced widened forming a large smile.

97 PB Behind My Shadow

Are you going to walk or take the bus?” Do I have to think twice about that? She didn’t even give me time to think before she asked her next question. “Bonnie, bus, or do you want me to drive you?” “Mom would you wait, I’ll just walk!” Sometimes I wish I could shut my mother’s mouth with a piece of you don’t want to know what. pushed my legs and then my whole body towards the edge of the bed and quickly got ready for the worst day of all worst days. “Bonnie, are you all ready?” “Yes, mom- would you stop treating me like a baby. I get it; you’re excited for me. Can I just go?” “Ok, I just wanted to let you know that I love you so much and I am excited for you. Yes you can go. Do you have your…” “Yes mom I have my lunch.” I gave Boa, my white Labrador, a quick hug and kiss and headed for the front door. Walking to Bridge High was like walking somewhere where there would be no end. lost. I see Bridge High as this large brick building. It seems very red and plain. All I see are crowds and groups of high school students doing their own thing as Bridge High becomes clearer. “Hey, look guys! There’s a new face in the crowd!” I looked over in curiosity and see a tall thin girl with dirty blonde hair in a mini skirt and a white blouse surrounded with a group of older looking boys. It is as if the meanest girl in school is haunting me with just eye contact. As I turned away, the awkwardness began to fade away. I began walking away feeling unwanted already and feeling stalked. But when I turned back around, there was no sign of the mysterious devil. I began walking into Bridge High feeling relieved when this short, middle-aged lady walks up to me and asked, “You must be Bonnie Garcia, our newest student. “Yup, that’s me.” As we headed closer to the entrance of Bridge High, this stranger explained to me

98 PB how things work around here. “So I’m your new Principal, Mrs. Darcy, but you can call me Principal Darcy. Either’s led me to homeroom and I was left alone in front of a wide door. I can already tell what was to come just by the thunderous sound coming from the door. Before I even dared to walk in, I scanned the room and noticed so many new faces and such boisterous laughter. How was I ever going to get used to this? I found a spot in an empty seat way in the back. As I scanned the room, this tall lanky boy with curly brown hair and light blue eyes approached me. “Is it ok if I take a seat here?” “Um, sure.” I felt as if my voice was echoing over and over, nonstop. “So you must be Bonnie.” “How’d you know?” “I think I may have spotted you in the music camp during the summer, but I have never been sure about it. I saw you talking to Principal Darcy in the hall earlier today and eavesdropped. So did you do anything interesting over summer vacation?” “Nothing really.” I lied; I did plenty of stuff over vacation. I’m often very shy; which has held me back in many things except the nationals, a singing competition, where we myself to ask what Nandi did over his summer vacation, an older man walked in, and grabbed everyone’s attention. We suddenly all turned to him. “Ok class, please settle down.” But no one settled down.” I said settle down! I know class groaning as if none of them wanted to be here. Anyway, my name is Mr. Harsh- barger.” I heard someone in the front row snort a little, and someone else whisper “Now I know why his name is Mr. Harsh—barger.” In home room we didn’t do much but just sat and listened. Just like Principal said, Nandi did guide me through all of my classes. Without him, I’d be lost. During lunch I knew exactly where to go because I had Nandi to guide me. As we mind who exactly I will be sitting with. But that didn’t seem to be a problem for the girl I saw gawking at me this-morning. She was sitting between two older boys in the center of the cafeteria amused by the two older boys. She sluggishly turned around and said, “Hey new girl, gonna hang with us.” This-morning she clearly showed that she didn’t want any part of me by her eye contact. I can’t. I just refuse to hang out with a chick like her.

99 PB “Go on, Bonnie” Nandi said, gently pushing me towards the table of young strangers. “Please, I can’t, wouldn’t it be better if I just hang with you.” Before I could get a few more words out, Nandi was nowhere to be seen. I was face to face with the girl I know call “The Mysterious Devil”. It felt like several minutes just standing there waiting. “What are you waiting for? You gonna sit down or what?” I immediately felt uncomfortable. I took a seat between two twins near the side of the lunch table across from the girl. I barely got the chance to take my seat when she immediately started talking. “So my name is Maura. I like to act. I’ve been in all of the school plays. I also like to model.” This went on for about 10 minutes. “What do you like to do; I’m sorry what’s your name?” “Bonnie, I spend most of my time singing.” “Isn’t that adorable.” Now I knew I really didn’t like this girl. During that whole lunch period I didn’t even budge to reach for my paper lunch bag that had not even a single piece of food. I knew I should have listened to my mother. “Good,” I lied. “That’s it, did you make any friends?” “No,” I also lied. day went at Bridge High. This morning I was right, it was the worst day of all worst days. Soon after that, I fell fast asleep. “Wake up sleepy head,” I could hear my mom roaring and pushing me side to side “What time is it?” I turned toward my clock in curiosity that read 6:23 am. Mom, I slept through dinner last night. Oh man! I know it wasn’t a big deal for her, but I care to have three meals a day. “Yes Bonnie, unfortunately.” Before my mom could say another word, I was already on my way to the bathroom and soon out the front door. - room. I walked in and spotted dozens of kids laughing and, fooling around. I saw Nandi I got straight to work on Mr. Harshbarger’s homework that was incomplete when that girl from lunch came up to me. “So I heard that you’re in nationals this year?”

100 PB “I’m sorry Maura, but Bonnie has a problem talking to chicks like you.” Nandi said in a snotty way. “No Nandi I’m sorry that you’re going to have such great damage to face when I’ m done with you. I was asking the new girl you idiot. Oh, and before you want your face shoved against that board over there, you might want to shut the thing on your face. “Nandi’s chair began to fall back as he raced to his feet but I pulled him down before anyone actually goes near that board. “So I’ve heard that you have a great voice. That’s something we have in common. I’m also in nationals. I was thinking that this year, we should compete in nationals together.” “You just think about it, we would sound great together.” After her short offer, I didn’t know how to respond to it. I just sat there in silence until Nandi broke it. “Bonnie, you know she just wants to make you look like a fool of yourself. “ Every year she does it to someone. Believe me; we used to be best friends in the 5th grade. But something changed about her.” “Well, I don’t want to be mean, but she sounded really nice when she gave me that offer. So maybe I will think about it.” The rest of the day I did think about it, me on stage with one of the most popular girls just the shy girl. I’ve been the shy girl for too long. Part of me wanted to believe Nandi and another wanted to go solo. But how easy would it be if I had a partner by my side the whole time? The following day, I found the sign-up sheet in the center of the hall when I walked in. I saw Maura along with a bunch of other students on the full sheet of paper. Soon after that, I saw Maura walking along with a group of other girls surrounding her. “Did you make your decision or are you going to bail on me like everyone else?” “Well, I thought about it yesterday and I thought that it would be great if we sang together.” I answered that question with another question in mind. What does she mean bale? “That is so fabulous.” So I’m gonna pick the song and do stuff like that. You can just follow along and do whatever. We could meet at the end of school around three at the cafe and work things out. Sounds good?” “Why can’t we just meet at the library?” “Excuse me, I’m talking now. Your mouth is shut. If you want to meet at the library, “Ok.” I could barely think, knowing that my head is bombarded with all of this new

101 PB information. On the way to the library I thought about everything that’s going on at school. How shy I could be, even around the nicest people. When I walked into the library, it was very peaceful and empty. I didn’t see any sign of Maura. It was about 10 minutes when I saw Maura walk in, with a long elegant blue dress with her hair pushed to the side. I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the way she was dressed at school today. “Um, don’t you think?” as soon as I heard myself, I stopped. “What are you staring at? I gotta look the part too. So I decided to go for a more soulful song, because I believe that I’m a soulful singer.” “Don’t all songs have that?” To me, most of the things she says make zero sense. “Would you just listen, all you do is ask questions. How about trying to help me out for once. I did as best as I could. The remainder of the time, it was really just Maura doing most of the talking. I tried to focus on her ideas, but they all sounded wrong and messed up. None of them made sense. That evening, I heard a knock at the patio just outside my bedroom. I slid the door wide open. I automatically recognized the face in the pitch black distance. “Nandi I am so sorry. I should have listened to you. You were right about everything. I cried all night and thought about everything. I don’t want to work with this chick anymore; she’s driving me crazy. I wasn’t expecting you to be here but you’re here. It was a terrible idea and I’m sorry.” “Bonnie, slow down would you? First of all, why would I be mad at you? I warned you, and you didn’t listen but that doesn’t matter. It was your decision. I promise I’ll get you out of this. Together.” The rest of the evening I had Nandi to cool me down. I told Nandi everything that Maura did at the library. I told him how horrible Maura’s ideas were and how none of them make any sense. “She actually wore the dress to the library! She says she wants to look the part.” That whole night all we did was laugh and talk about Maura and her problems. Before he left, Nandi said he had an idea for getting me out of this situation. But he refused to tell me all of the details. At nationals, he said to be there and sing the song with Maura. I didn’t understand, but I trusted him. wasn’t my greatest idea. I realized that 5 months ago. But all I kept thinking about was how excruciating it was waiting backstage. I still didn’t know where Nandi was, but I still

102 PB believe that something good was going to happen. - utes of my life. “Let’s just have fun out there, ok Maura?” “Whatever, I mean fun!” “Next on stage Bonnie Garcia!” “Maura I am so nervous. Aren’t you nervous?” “Oh please, why would I be nervous? I was born to do this. And plus, you’re on your own child.” “What are you talking about?” Wait, next up Bonnie Garcia? Then it came to me. Nandi was right; this was what he was talking about. I’m not surprised that Maura would totally do something like this. - ing in front of hundreds of strangers. All I was thinking about was Nandi. Where was he? The music started to play. Then I heard a soft, yet innocent sound. Someone was singing. But it wasn’t mine. I looked out and saw someone. I’ll tell you this, it wasn’t Maura. I could see a shadow walking towards me from the side of the stage. The only person I could possibly think of was Nandi. How did he know I was singing this song? We both found ourselves singing together. He came up to the stage where I was playing at the piano. When we sang those last words it was like I was being born again. “I told you I wouldn’t let you down.” “I know you wouldn’t let me down.” We both walked away laughing with arms linked and eye to eye, just enjoying the moment we created. All I ever wanted to do was sing. Right about now I didn’t care about winning. I don’t think I ever did. I didn’t feel like the shy girl. For once I felt like me.

103 PB Sticks and Stones Justin Crowe

There was once a boy named Claus, with a very bad disease called Psoriasis. It put crusty patches and red patches all over his skin. It made his skin look disgusting, and everyone picked on him for the ugly patches, all the time. He had almost no friends expect for one. This friend happened to be albino, it made him abnormally white. His name was Benjamin but Claus calls him Ben. They both shared skin problems, it made them perfect for each other. They never picked on one another. It was a dream come true. They are both in the 4th Grade only nine years old. Today they wanted to go to the local candy store but feared embarrassment and harassment. Ben suggested, “Hey Claus, want to go to the candy shop and get some candy?” Claus replied reluctantly, “Fine, but I hate when those store managers watch me. I feel like since I am young they think I am going to steal the candy.” Ben replied sarcastically as he rolled his eyes, “Yeah they think you’re the biggest culprit staring at you for when you rob the joint.” Ben said, “Claus aren’t you worried that the big 5th and 6th graders are going to pick on us for our diseases?” Claus replied, “I don’t care, ignore them let’s go” Ben sighs and follows Claus to the park. While Claus and Ben are going to the park they are both walking in silence ecstatic to go to the park. They are both afraid that maybe the bully will be there, to pick on them. He is worst kid in school and his name is Gerald. He is in the 6th grade and 5 foot 2 inches, has long black hair and probably weighs like 150 pounds. He always wears the same dark t-shirt that says, “Don’t test me” he is the biggest kid in all of 6th grade. He picks on people for their differences he is the meanest person to ever encounter. Whenever Ben and Claus walk by he pushes them down, kneels down and says, “Why aren’t you normal like the rest of us?” We always reply the same way in utter sorrow, “I can’t help who I am.” He then thunders “LOSERS!” and walks away. Claus and Ben always keep their heads down in the halls and speed walk to make sure that they do not have to encounter the bully and quickly get to class before the bully sees them and tries to hurts them. Ben is the one who gets picked on the most for his abnormally white skin and the bully always screams across the hall, “Hey vampire go get some sun!”

104 PB Ben went home and cried almost every day, he didn’t even say hello to his mom when he got home. He went straight up to his room and cried for a while. One day he asked his mom “Mom why am I not normal!” Ben wept. His mom was silent for a bit then she said “God makes everyone different and you just happened to be a little bit more special than the rest. But don’t let anyone ever put you down just remember that you’re worth so much, and that I will always love you” When Ben heard his mom say that, it made his self-esteem go way up and he felt as if he was so much better than he thought he was before. for not being the same as everyone else. Gerald thought he was the toughest kid around (which he was) but he needed everyone to know, it was his natural high to pick on people. So when Ben and Claus approached the park Gerald came up to them and said. “Who said you can be in my park? Little crusty boy and the vampire?” Ben replied quietly, “Sorry we will be going now.” Ben gestured to Claus to go. Claus was sick of being picked on and would not let this happen so he picked his head up and yelled, “Gerald I am sick of you picking on everyone! It just makes me so upset! Do you know what Ben and I do every day? We cry at home because of you! Our lives are miserable! Please just stop!” Gerald replies sarcastically, “Oh little baby Ben and Claus go home and cry to their mommies. Boo-hoo cry me a river. What are you going to do go tell your mommy or the principal?” Ben and Claus look at each other and nod then Ben says, “Yes actually we are going to tell our mom and the principal. Look who’s is on top now” Gerald looks astonished like he had just been shot. Ben and Claus run away as fast as they can, they ran towards Claus’ house and when they got there, they were telling his mom to contact the principal and they want Gerald suspended for harassment and bullying. His mom calls the school and tells them, “You won’t have to worry about Gerald ever again”

Epilogue The next day Gerald is suspended for harassment and bullying, Ben and Claus never to deal with bullying. They got to not worry about people making fun of them for their abnormal skin, people learned more about their disorders, and realized that it is not funny to make fun of someone for something they cannot help.

105 PB Ben and Claus made more friends and became “popular” they had tons of friends and everyone liked them. They taught their friends not to let people bully them and to speak out if they are getting bullied. They were now thought of as inspirations to the whole entire school, everyone looked up to them.

106 PB I’ve Always Loved Him

school clubs and loved the same sports. We told each other everything. I trusted him and a friend like that, and I was so grateful for him. Sadly everything changed last year. Warren was astonishing all around. He was so funny and smart and always knew how to make everyone laugh. He had short dirty blond hair that always stuck up in the front. He had dark brown eyes that always had a little sparkle in them. Whenever I was upset tall, but I am not one to talk. He was an amazing soccer player and was one of the nic- were always together and when he was with her he never texted or called once. I don’t know why but I was jealous that whole summer, it’s not like I liked Warren it was just that I hated that there was another girl in his life. Finally midway through 8th grade they broke up. Deep inside me I was thinking “Alina, you have a chance go for it!” But really, I had no idea what to go for. I couldn’t like Warren, he was my best friend and I would never want to jeopardize that. Plus he would never like me; I wasn’t his kind of girl. I had straight blond hair, green eyes and freckles. He usually went for the tall brown hair interesting girls. And there was nothing interesting about me. Nothing at all. 8th grade passed and I didn’t really think of Warren again like that. As the summer going into 9th grade came around I had my own boyfriend, Jason. He was nice and had blue eyes and brown hair and he was really tall and athletic. But there was something missing. The whole summer I was trying to pin point the reason why Jason and I weren’t the “perfect” couple. One night when I was lying in bed doing my summer reading my phone buzzed. It was Warren, the whole summer I was caught up in Jason, Warren and I barely talked. I opened the text and it said “hey Alina.” I know it was two dumb words, but with those two dumb words I realized why I didn’t “love” Jason. Memories, and friendship, and carefree ways: everything I had with Warren. The great spring nights and the cold winter days, running around in the sprinkler after school in June. And the way he said my name. The way he said my name was what I waited for all day until we walked off the bus together and headed home. And when he texted me those words I remembered all the amazing times we had together. And why I really loved him.

107 PB I knew what I had to do but I couldn’t do it over the phone. I wanted to tell him how I really felt, how I loved him. But summer was almost over and I couldn’t bear if it was awkward between us during school. So reluctantly I closed my phone and went to sleep. As I closed my eyes I wished summer would end faster. scared about starting a new school, of being near older kids. I was so scared to talk to Warren. Ever since the text message two weeks before I was thinking how I was going to tell him that I love him. Sadly, I am a procrastinator, and I kept making up things for myself to do so I wouldn’t have to do the hardest thing of my life. This went on for 6 months, I kept putting it off. I kept telling myself I had too much homework or I don’t feel good today. Deep inside of me I knew none of what I was telling myself was true, but I just kept doing it. Then suddenly something changed. All this time I was too busy thinking about everything that I didn’t notice him and this older girl were “a thing”. They were always to- time I saw it. He still went home on the bus sometimes and we still hung out, but it was different. I knew his mind was always thinking about her, or that’s what I thought. “Alina?” he said one day after school. “Yea,” I said looking down at my biology book. “What do you think of Eliza?” he asked with a small smile on his face Eliza was the girl that Warren had been spending a lot of time with. I didn’t want to tell him I hated her, that she messed up everything, and that he is way too good for her. So instead I just said, “She seems nice,” and left it at that. As time went on he and Eliza started to hang out less and talk less in school. But I knew it couldn’t be true. I didn’t really understand what was going on and whenever I brought up her name in front of Warren he would cringe and shrug his shoulders. I decided to leave the topic alone for a little while to see if Warren would come around and tell me what happened. That night I got a chat from him. Warren: hey Alina Alina: hey what’s up? Warren: I need to ask you something Alina: ask away Warren: how do you tell a girl you love them? Right when he said that my stomach killed. I knew he was talking about Eliza I just knew it. He was acting so weird around her because he wanted to say he loved her to her

108 PB face and he was scared! I was so heartbroken but I wanted` him to be happy and I wanted to help. If I couldn’t be happy then the next best person was him. Alina: Just practice on me and I will tell you if it’s good. but I just want to let you know I will always love you no matter what. Alina: that’s perfect. Now go say it to the one it’s meant for. Warren: I just did.

109 PB Short Story Charlotte Brodie

I was rummaging through the piles on my desk when I heard the phone ring. I where the phone was kept. While running, my hand kept brushing against the deep red paint covering my walls. I grabbed the phone at the last ring, just in time. “Hello?” “Hey Rose, this is Claudia calling to invite you to my house for a sleepover. Abigail and Olivia are going to come too. “ “I was thinking tomorrow, at about 6:00 pm.” All me and my best friend Ashley have been hoping for was the day when a popular asked us to go somewhere. I never thought I would be in this situation, never to believe this day would come. But I was proved wrong, today was the special day I’ve been waiting for my whole life. I went back up to my room and crawled into the covers. I closed my eyes and dreamt of the sleepover yet to come. The sun shined a spotlight on me when I got up that morning. I got up slowly and walked down to the kitchen. I grabbed a bite to eat and then settled in front of the T.V. Later that day, when it was almost 6:00, I grabbed my mom by the wrist and hoisted her out the door. We both jumped into the car and drove up the block to Claudia’s house. As I got out of the car, I saw the door open and Claudia come out. Following close behind, came Abigail and Olivia. I guess I was the one to arrive last. All the girls were basically wearing the same thing; a tight shirt and a short skirt. I’m regretting not taking a little time to tidy up. My dirty blond hair hanging down like a rat’s nest and the baggy jeans and t-shirt I through on aren’t helping with my appearance either. I don’t think they notice though because they don’t make any comments. I left my mom and we three girls went in the house. We gossiped, and talked and had a blast. The only thing bad was that I had to watch what I said. I was so afraid that one slip up would be the end to this friendship. This was the coolest sleepover I’ve ever been to and I wasn’t about to mess that up. It’s not like I didn’t like my other friends, it’s just that I’ve been waiting for this day to come for a while, I’ve never been this happy before. As the sun went down, we decided to go outside to set up our tents. Claudia announced that she didn’t want us messing up her room so we got out some old tents from her basement and headed out the door. Outside, the cool air was refreshing. We set up

110 PB our tents in the moonlight. The stars pierced the sky as the moonlight lit up our tents. If wasn’t going to happen. If I wanted to continue being friends with them, I couldn’t suggest doing a lame thing like that. If anything, one of them had to suggest it. We gossiped some more, playing truth or dare and other typical sleepover games. Claudia brought out some soda, to make our sleepover much better, or so she said. The cans were lined up with plastic rings holding them in place. We threw off the plastic rings like you would rip off wrapping paper on your birthday and drank our soda. Claudia threw her can over her shoulder when she was done. Soon the others fol- Then she picked up her can and rolled it outside. “Sounds good,” Abigail and Olivia replied in unison. What am I going to do? I thought to myself. My family and I have always been against littering. Whenever we see a can on the ground, we always pick it up, no question about it. Should I stand up for what I believe in or should I just go along with it? What if I say something and they say I can’t be their friend anymore? And at that very moment, I recalled a memory. “Mommy, some girls at school asked me to pull a mean prank with them. They said I could think about it overnight but if I don’t do it, they will never speak to me again. What should I do?” “Hun, if they were really your friends, they would respect your opinion and wouldn’t even ask twice. If they threaten you, they are not your friends and you should go off to “I think so. Thanks Mommy.” The next day, I stood up to my friends and I told them that if they wanted to be friends with me, they would have to respect my opinion. To my surprise, they just nodded and we continued to play and talk, like nothing had changed. Ever since then, what my mother said that day stuck with me forever. I came back to reality and decided to listen to my mother. I need to stick up for what I believe in and if they were my true friends, they would care. “Claudia, I really want to be your friend and I was so honored when you invited me to your house, but I need to stick up for what I believe in and I will not litter,” I said in a shaky voice. I then closed my eyes and waited for a response. “Rose,” Claudia said after a while. “Do you really think that we would kick you out of our friend circle just because you stuck up for what you believed in? Have you

111 PB thought that the whole time?” “We are your friends no matter what you decide to do or say,” said Olivia. They all nodded and I felt silly for thinking I had to be careful of what I said around them. “There is a recycling bin in the house, come on, I’ll show you,” said Claudia and we skipped off to the house, with me feeling at the top of the world.

112 PB Short Story Delphine Bussiere

I handed Amanda a pencil. Emily looked up from writing down notes about math and looked at me with this look that said c’mon Stephanie. She said, “Steph when are you going to stop giving out pencils? You know no one ever gives them back.” I gave her this “you’re not my mother” kind of look and began to say “why do you-“then I stopped myself and continued to take down notes. Shortly after that, class was dismissed and it was time for lunch. I waited for Emily locker. Emily took her lunch out and we started to walk down the hallway to the cafeteria. Later that day, Emily and I walked home from school like we did every day. We took our normal route home.We started to walk out of the parking lot when Emily joked “I really think you have a serious trust problem.” “Well I think you have a serious parenting problem.” We both started to laugh. We continued walking down the sidewalk. Emily always complained about walking to and from school every day because it “messed up her hair” but I really didn’t mind it. Except for when it was raining. But today was a beautiful day; the sun was shining so bright and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The little stream sparkled as we walked by. Emily was quiet for most of the walk home; she said she wasn’t feeling well. We kept walking, when all of a sudden a man approached us. He had dark hair, kind of chubby, and was dressed in all black from head to toe. Emily immediately turned the other way and started to walk. “Emily where are you going? Our houses are this way” I yelled. She gave me the evil eye and yelled “Stephanie follow me.” “No.” I called after her. Emily continued walking and by the time I looked over at her, she was gone. I started walking, I couldn’t stop thinking about what just happened, why does she have to be so stubborn? Suddenly a big hand grabbed my shoulder. “Emily?” I said out loud. But it wasn’t her; it was the guy from a couple seconds ago. I wondered why he was still there; it was kind of strange I thought. But I ignored it. The guy looked at me with wide eyes like he was upset. He picked up his head and said “I’ve I hesitated for a moment and then said “sure, let me just call my mom and let her know that I’ll be a little late, she’ll be worried.” He grabbed my phone and said “no. don’t call your mom. Your friend was smart and

113 PB left. You’re coming with me.” mine. “LET GO!” I yelled. “Now now where do you think you’re going?” he grabbed the back of my shirt. I tried and tried but no matter how hard I yanked away he still didn’t let go. He pulled me by my shirt all way to his ugly beaten up Ford pick-up truck. He told me to wait there because he had to go somewhere. I screamed and yelled and stomped my feet but the truth was Emily was right. Maybe sometimes I do give my trust out too easily. Because only now did I realize there was no missing dog and not only that but I had just been kidnapped. As I was sitting in the front seat of his pick-up truck I was shaking and crying. My head was spinning in a million different directions. Was Emily looking for me? Was she even worried? How would I escape? Now that he took my phone and the car was locked I had no way of calling anyone. And to make things worse I was isolated in an old run down gas station. No one was around, and no cars we’re driving by. Meanwhile, I wasn’t the only one scared out of her mind. Emily was at home in her room pacing around worried about me. She had called my house assuming I would pick up the phone but to her surprise my brother answered the phone and said I still hadn’t come home. Now Emily knew she had to do something. She would go back to where we last stood together and look for me. and left a quick note that said “mom, I’m looking for Stephanie if I’m not back in an hour come looking for me xoxo Emily.” Emily ran out the door and sprinted to where we were last. Like she assumed, I was to her mind was the parking lot where all the drop outs hung out. She ran the whole way, but she didn’t see me. Then she ran to the old shopping center where no one really went. And she looked and looked but she didn’t see any sight of me. The last place Emily could think of was the run down gas station. So she ran and ran and at this point she was very nervous that if I wasn’t there, I would be gone forever. Finally, Emily got to the run down gas station. The only thing there besides the old vending machine and gas pumps that no longer worked was a black Ford pick-up truck… I was looking out the window, thinking of an escape plan when all of a sudden I saw Emily out of the back window. I swung the door open as hard as I could and ran in to Em- ily’s arms. At that point I was so thankful for Emily to come looking for me, because no

114 PB one else had. Emily’s eyes widened I could tell she was relieved that she had found me. She grabbed my arm and told me we had no time to lose, I agreed because I said he might come back soon. We started to run and we didn’t stop until we got to Emily’s house. onto her property we were so exhausted. As soon as I caught my breath again, I explained to her everything that had happened. She looked at me and said “don’t ever do something that stupid again, Promise?” “I promise.” I smiled. At that point I was so glad to have a friend like Emily. Some- one who looked out for me and cared about me. And I knew no matter how many times I messed up she would always love me as a friend. A best friend.

115 PB Because of One Man

Sip, click, sip, click. Aiden watched as the man sitting in the massive armchair repeatedly picked up his tea, sipped it, and put it back on the saucer. This man looked fairly normal, he was starting to lose his hair, it was mostly black but with a tiny bit of gray. His skin was white, but not extremely pale; he clearly left the house every now and then. He was a bit overweight, but somehow Aiden wasn’t surprised by that, even though into the room. This man was Aiden’s new employer, Harry Fyre. Harry looked up from his newspaper as a young man walked in. He was obviously nervous, Harry could see from the way he took quick little steps and his eyes kept dart- ing around. The young man had brown hair and was quite tall, but not unusually so. The young man proceeded forward and stood before Harry. It was a like someone standing at attention is the army, but without the salute. Aiden was standing with his body rigid but in a plain, voice without even a hint of emotion. Aiden was momentarily quiet after hearing the man’s cold plain voice. “Uhm... Hey—er—Hello sir.” Aiden stammered. Harry looked Aiden up and down before skipping the pleasantries and saying with a hint of questioning in his voice, “So you’re the new one?” for his previous lack of formality. Harry said without looking up from his newspaper “Familiarize yourself with the estate.” Aiden waited, not sure if anything else was to be said. After an uncomfortable moment, he exited the room. Aiden was overjoyed. He had a job as a well-paid servant, or butler although he didn’t see the difference, in a giant mansion. Despite the fact that that the owner was not the most pleasant person, things looked promising. stepped back as Dughall took a big swing along with the grunt. It was hard to tell but it looked like the ball went right into the distant hole, although in Harry’s mind that was nearly impossible. Dughall was a large man who was also very wealthy. His name is Celtic, Harry had looked at one time and found out it was something about darkness. He

116 PB There was a long pause while they walked to the golf cart until Dughall said “Old like that. “How’s the new one?” He clearly hadn’t needed an answer for whether or not Horace had died. Harry’s old servant had been ancient. “He’s alright. He’s full of… spirit, I guess you would call it. Any new developments on the case?” Harry was referring to a case that Dughall’s company was involved in. although he often employed some questionably unethical business tactics. His company wanted to clear out some land and then build a large industrial factory. Of course, the environmentalists went crazy and were currently opposing this plan. “No. Those people are ruining my plan,” Dughall growled. Harry pulled up his driveway that was the size of a parking lot with his car that was worth more than most peoples’ houses. Harry invested in many things, and they had all just plunged. He was losing money like crazy. It wasn’t too big of a deal, he had enough onto the couch. “Do you want anything?” Aiden asked casually. Over the past 4 weeks Aiden had gotten more comfortable around Harry and had already stopped saying things like sir when he addressed him. Aiden was currently watching one of those nature shows that seem to be everywhere. The camera was following some ants as they gathered materials. “No.” Harry sighed. “You seem very stressed. What I like to do when I feel stressed is to think about my favorite place in the world. For me, it’s Cape Cod. I went there every summer when I was a kid,” Aiden said hopefully. Despite Harry’s seemingly complete lack of caring, Aiden felt that Harry really was a good person who just needed a little help. Harry looked over this man… Aiden Forest was his full name. Even after 4 weeks, his overwhelming enthusiasm to others in him. “I didn’t go on vacations.” Harry said with an almost completely even voice, Aiden thought he heard a hint of something… sadness perhaps? “Never? Surely there must be somewhere you’ve always wanted to go!” exclaimed Aiden. “I was poor as a child. However I was strong and clearly changed that.” Harry spoke like he was trying to convince someone who wasn’t in the room, trying to end a long argument. There was a pause while Harry contemplated whether or not he should tell Aiden something. Finally, he decided to just say it “Once. One vacation. My moth-

117 PB er’s boyfriend took us, it was fantastic. Somewhere in Florida I believe. We had a little place to stay right on the beach. Soon he was gone though, and we didn’t have any more vacations.” Aiden paused, trying to take all that in. So Harry had been poor and it sounded like his father wasn’t around. “I’m sorry…” Aiden said at a bit of a loss of words, when the perfect idea struck him. “Harry, you can go to Florida again! Now! It’ll help you clear your head.” After some days of debate, they found themselves near the end of a plane ride to Florida. Harry was staring out the window and had barely spoken throughout the ride. However, as they went through the airport and were driven to their house Aiden noticed that Harry was in a considerably better mood. Soon they pulled up to their house and for once, Harry was speechless. Aiden had found the house he stayed in when he was a kid right on the beach. Aiden paid the taxi driver who proceeded to leave while Harry walked out to the beach, still stunned. Harry was right at the edge of the water. Aiden approached him and could not have been more surprised by what he saw. A tear was rolling down Harry’s cheek. Aiden was about to ask why, but Harry knew what he was going to say so he simply pointed in front of him, in the shallow water. It was a bird. A bird, covered with a horrible black liquid, like molasses. The bird was dead. The bird wasn’t the only dead animal there. There was another bird, and a crab. But those were just the close by ones. Aiden could see lumps that must be animals all the way down the beach. All seemed to have had the same fate. The water was black and murky. “An oil spill?” Aiden wondered to himself. Harry remained quiet a bit longer before saying, “The water was pure and crystal clear when I was a child… how could this have happened?” “It’s Dughall, that big company that pollutes like crazy.” Aiden replied, an angry look in his eyes. It took Harry a second to realize that this Dughall Company was the one owned by his… acquaintance Dughall, who he played golf with. “Something must be done about this,” Harry declared. wants to turn it into harmful factories. People are doing their best to stop him, but you could just buy the land yourself!” Harry paused, giving it some real thought. How would other wealthy people he knows react to this? Since they are often seen as friends, Harry might be accused of back- stabbing Dughall. Doesn’t matter, thought Harry. This had to stop.

118 PB purchased the land before Dughall Company. That wasn’t all though. He had bought lots of other land and set it as a reserve for nature, and donated lots of money to organizations against things like the Dughall Company. Harry took a left, towards his car. He felt something suddenly grab him from behind as a rag was placed over his face. In no more than 5 seconds, Harry was unconscious and being dragged into a dark alleyway. Aiden was starting to get a bit worried. Harry was supposed to have arrived home yesterday. Not only did he not show up, but he sent Aiden no sort of message and would not answer his calls. Aiden was driving to see if Harry had returned home while he was out. He took a left and gasped. Where Harry’s mansion should have been was a crowd of emergency vehicles. The house was not there. Aiden got out and ran over. “Hold it right there!” shouted some man in a uniform, “Authorized access only.” Aid- en quickly explained who he was. The man said that the distant neighbors had reported smoke, but by the time they arrived the house was burnt down. “Mr. Fyre’s whereabouts are currently unknown, and we fear he was in the house. “Well are you going to launch an investigation?” Aiden demanded. “So you know how it happened?” “No.” Aiden wasn’t sure he had heard right. What was this man thinking? Aiden wasn’t sure why, but he chose not to mention that Harry had been missing recently. Something in the news. There seemed to be no general reaction. Harry had been in the news a lot recently due to his sudden change of heart. The general public loved him. Now, it was like he had never existed. There was a man about 200 yards away from Aiden, on one of the nearby buildings. the ruins of the house. He knew this was the man. He had been trailing him for the past two days. He had been supplied with an exceptional sniper, which he was told to keep, and a large sum of money just to track this man and be prepared to kill him. He didn’t even have to kill him though. Only if he was given the order. He grimly looked down at his radio. He had been given no news since he departed. Harry inhaled a deep breath and groggily opened his eyes. His whole body was swaying. He blinked a couple of times to clear his vision. There was something very close to his face, too close to make out. “Hello, Mr. Fyre,” said a deep, slightly familiar voice from right in front of him. The

119 PB man stepped back so Harry could see the object. It was a gun. Harry tried moving and realized he was in a chair, his arms and legs tied. “I’m so glad you could join me,” the Harry groaned, “Who are you?” The man just chuckled. “You can’t tell?” The man questioned. “I thought I should let you know that you have gone too far, and that you must stop. You will give me that land, and then stay out of my company’s way.” “Dughall.” Harry venomously spat out the name. Dughall chuckled again before saying “I believe it would be in your best interest to cooperate. Your house is gone, you are presumed dead, and with a single word I can kill that servant of yours. That is, not to mention this little toy I have pointed at you.” Harry glared at Dughall. He could not make out Dughall’s face in the gloom of the room. “What do you want me to do?” Harry practically growled. “Simple,” said Dughall, “sell me all of your recently purchased land, and then we go our separate ways. I will handle those pesky organizations you started on my own. You have one week. Good-bye, Mr. Fyre.” It wasn’t until now that Harry realized he still felt his body swaying. Two men came up behind him and cut the bonds that tied him to the chair. They effortlessly lifted him up and carried him out a door. Harry felt wind on his face and realized he was outside. It was pitch black and must have been the middle of the night. He felt the bodyguards stop moving. His struggling was futile. Suddenly Harry was falling. There was a big splash as Harry’s body was suddenly freezing. He bobbed up, gasping for air. He looked around and saw lights. He swam towards the light and was crawling up onto a dock in no time. That wasn’t because Harry was a good swimmer, quite the opposite really. He must have been dropped right by the dock. He shivered and trudged towards the city. He looked over his shoulder but the ship was already gone. to keep an eye on both of them. You will be well compensated.” Harry found Aiden in a guesthouse that had been near the main house before it burned down. This building had rarely been used, as Harry had been a very private man. They one seemed to know.” Harry nodded, still trying to take everything in. He had not yet told Aiden about the ship, although he had told him the demands Dughall made.

120 PB “But by the way, were you planning to attend a cruise? I found something about a boat.” Aiden handed Harry a piece of paper. Harry shook his head and quickly grabbed the paper, knowing what this must be. Scrawled on the paper was the name of a ship and an address. The ships name was The Black Shark and the address was somewhere in Maine. After climbing ashore, Harry had found himself in Massachusetts. He hadn’t known where the ship had come from or where it was going. This information was vital. Harry soon had a full professional team raid the ship. They found tons of evidence of the corruption of The Dughall Company. They even found tons of names, including media had been given the story and Dughall’s business was already crumbling. Harry and Aiden joined the squad on the dock to go over all their information. The scene when a voice came from his radio saying, “Kill them both,” He replied, “They’re surrounded by police, are you crazy?” “Quite possibly,” said the same voice from the radio. However, it did not come from the radio. It came from right behind the man, who was then shot point blank in the head with a silenced pistol. started to say, “Thank you very mu—“but couldn’t complete the sentence because at that very moment, a bullet hit him dead on. He fell to the ground. Aiden was shouting and then tried to say something to him, but he couldn’t make out the words. Two of the police knelt down and lifted Harry up. Another took out his radio, hopefully to call in help. The other seven rushed out, trying to spread out and comb through the area. mercenary, taken the man’s sniper, and shot Harry. Lucky for Harry, Dughall was not a particularly skilled sniper and hit no major organs. He soon recovered. Even better, this event was extremely publicized. Everyone knew about it. To the world, Dughall and everything he did was evil, while Harry was seen as a hero. That gave Harry a very rare opportunity. Everyone would listen to everything he said. It was his opportunity to change the world for the better. And it was all thanks to an innocent young man, just looking for something to do.

121 PB I Will Go On Edith Neidhart

walked into the boy’s locker room. It had the familiar scent of sweat and body spray, dirt between the tiles. I heard someone shouting and others chanting. I ran over to the source of the noise and saw a group of boys beating mercilessly into another boy. I didn’t recognize the boy being beat up but he seemed to be blemished by against him. The captain of the football team, Rick, was supposed to be above that non- minutes, I decided to speak up. “Guys, guys, c’mon!” I yelled over their screaming. I walked over and started to pull them off. They continued to swing but only caught “Stop pounding on this kid!” I shouted at him. The locker room was now silent. I pulled the guys back then shoved them forward. “Get out!” I yelled. lip and a blood running from his nose all the way down to his neck. He looked helpless, almost like he didn’t know what just happened. He looked down, his arms crossed. He seemed ashamed. I approached him slowly, worried that I would scare him. “Hey,” I said delicately. He raised his head, looking me up and down. He slowly uncrossed his arms, letting wiped his nose. “Thank you for, uh… that.” He said not looking at me in the eye. “Yeah, no problem…” I said which was followed by an awkward pause. He looked in the mirror and sighed. He took a paper towel and started wiping the blood off his face. I wanted to help him so badly but we hardly knew each other. “So, are you here for the football game?” I asked. “Actually, yeah. I don’t play but I came here to cheer my team on,” he said, dabbing his grisly lip. “Oh. Well, if you aren’t playing… why did you, um, I mean… why did they…” I stuttered hesitantly.

122 PB “Go on,” he said, smiling with perfect white teeth. “Why did they beat you up like that?” “I don’t really know. Well, I mean, I know, but I don’t know how they know. Did that make any sense?” he said chuckling under his breath. “Yeah, I get it. But what do they know?” I said, trying not to be nosy but it was a clearly an unsuccessful attempt. “I’m gay,” he said guilelessly. I picked at my nails nervously. I didn’t know how to react. Anyone who associated themselves with a boy who was out would immediately be labeled as gay. I smiled at him uncomfortably. “I’m sorry. Are you like a homophobe or something?” he asked, seeming disenchant- ed. “No, I just have never met someone like you,” I said biting my lip. He looked at me, eyes glimmering. He reached in his pocket and took out a pen and a scrap of paper. He then started scribbling something on it. After he was done, he handed it to me. It had a number across it. “That’s my number. Add me if you feel like it,” he said, picking up his backpack. “Wait! What’s your name?” I called as he started to walk away. “Deron. What’s yours?” “Gregory, but you can call me Greg.” “See you at the game, Greg!” he said as he turned around and walked away. I stared after him, watching him stride away with not a stain on his dignity. I felt a tingling feeling in my stomach but shoved it away. “It’s nothing,” I told myself, like I always did. But there was no way I could be more wrong. It was a half hour before the game. A couple of boys slapped my back and wished me good luck. I got in my uniform but was having trouble getting excited. To be honest, them, mainly to be people to like me. But I had started just feeling so despondent, not even getting hyped up for games. Rick started giving us a pep talk to get our endorphins running but again, I just couldn’t get in my zone. out. I waved to the crowd, still not feeling any excitement. I looked along the top row and there, at the very end, squished against a handle to the bleachers, was Deron. It was just for a moment when me and Deron’s eyes locked. A split second. But when they did, I felt that rush that I had been looking for. The feeling where it feels like your

123 PB formed on my arms, under my protection and uniform. That moment seemed to go by far too quickly and I wished that it would happen over and over. The game was a blur of being smashed to the ground, boos from the crowd and the other team scoring. At the end of the game, all the players on my team started cursing and throwing their helmets. I didn’t really care, but I wanted to get out of there fast. . I scurried out of the locker room, which was dead silent as everyone changed. I had a team of sore losers. Defeat was their worst enemy. Deron noticed me and came over. “That was a harsh one,” he said to me, patting me on the back. “Yeah… you win some, you lose some,” I said indifferently. He smiled at me understandingly. Talking to him made my heart race. It was like I didn’t have control over my words; I’d just say random things that I had hardly thought about. I’d never done this for any of had wanted to ask since I met him. “Do you wanna go out sometime or something?” “What?” “I mean like, hang out sometimes… y’know as like, friends,” I said trying to regain “Yeah,” he said, grinning, “That sounds great.” I started my walk home. About ten minutes into my walk my phones buzzed. It was Rick. The text read “Heard Gina likes you again. Do you like her too?” Gina. She was my girlfriend last year for about half of the year and then things turned for the worst during the summer and I broke up with her. But I wasn’t interested in her or many girls in that matter. I just didn’t want to have a relationship with them. But that was normal right? I told myself it was, whether it was or wasn’t. I stared at the screen for awhile. I suddenly had the urge to throw my phone as far as I could; never having to deal with Gina or Rick again. But, knowing that wasn’t an option, I angrily texted back, “No, not interested”. I arrived at my house. I opened the door and threw my bag by the door. My mom was at the kitchen, cleaning a dish. My dad was sitting at the couch, drowning himself in a sports game, beer in hand. I walked into the kitchen where my mom looked at me warmly. “How was the game, honey?” she asked.

124 PB “Fine.” “Didjya win?” “No.” “Oh.” Silence. “Well I’m sorry.” “Hey, mom? I’m just gonna go to bed, if that’s okay,” I said, mentally and physically exhausted. She nodded. - tion that I had a new message. I lazily opened it, but when I saw the name at the bottom meeting you.” I freaked out and without thinking, quickly typed “It was nothing. It was great meeting you too.” Then I waited. I hesitated to press send because I knew there was more I wanted to say. I was waiting for a sign. Something to tell me it was okay to be who I wanted to be, okay to say what I wanted to say so badly. I wanted to tell him that I didn’t know anything about myself anymore; that for months now I had been wondering what was wrong with me; why I wasn’t attracted to girls, why I felt feelings for boys. I wanted to tell him what I had felt since I met him, and how I felt every time I talked to him even though I had only known him for a couple of hours. That’s when I decided that I would tell him. What did I have to lose? He didn’t even go to my school and I doubt he would tell anyone. The message I sent read “I know I just met you but I can’t stop thinking about you. I think I’m gay. I don’t know how else to put it. And you make me feel something that I’ve - sidered telling anyone before. I’m sorry you have to be the one to have this on you.” I clicked the send button, placing my phone on my bed table, my heart racing fast. Al- most immediately after, I my phone buzzed. As I opened the message, my heart fell in my stomach. I felt myself falling, endlessly descending but never hitting a bottom. As I read the message, read who it was from, read who I had just sent the most honest message of my life to, I felt like my life was breaking down slowly in front of me. I still don’t know exactly what happened. I guess in my moment of enthusiasm I had clicked the wrong button. The message read “What?! Dude, you’re gay and like into me or something?!”. Sent from “Rick”. It felt like all feeling had drained from my body, my in my hand, not moving an inch for about twenty minutes. Then he struck again.

125 PB “Oh my god. Greg’s a homo. You realize how many people I’m with? How many have just seen this?” My heart collapsed. I didn’t know who to turn to. My parents would never support me. My school was incredibly homophobic, teachers and all, even my friends. The only with tears. I tried to contain myself but I let out a shrill sob. There was nothing to say, nowhere to turn. That night my phone was ringing off the hook. So many hateful messages. I guess that Rick didn’t delay in telling everyone. I just laid there in disbelief until I fell asleep, hoping my dreams would take me away from this nightmare. The next day I woke up to the low rumble of thunder and the patter of rain on my window. I almost forgot about the terror of the night prior, but when I picked up my phone to check the time I was quickly struck with memory. The screen showed 36 new messages. I quickly skimmed over the names of them. Some were numbers I didn’t even recognize; others were people in my contacts. They all seemed to have the same messages. Gay. Homo. Some with swears. But there was one text from Deron. I opened it. “I heard about it. Let’s meet up today.” We arranged plans to meet at his house. I told my mom that I was going to study to make sure nothing sounded suspicious in case she had heard something. I was just thankful no one had told her yet. When I arrived, he was waiting at the door. I ran up to him. He wrapped his arms around my skinny body and hugged me tight. A tear escape from my eye which I quickly wiped away. “It’ll be okay,” he whispered. He then took my hand and guided me into his house. He seemed to be the only one there but we went in his room anyway. He then asked me if I wanted to explain. I did want to explain, I just didn’t know how but I decided that things wouldn’t get better if I didn’t tell him. As I told him why I sent the message, his expression didn’t seem to change one bit. When I was done explaining I took a deep breath and look at him, embarrassed. He looked deep into my green eyes like he was searching for something. Then, he leaned in and simply kissed me. I looked into his bright blue eyes, which had seemed to found what it was searching for. I looked for words, but was truly speechless. He pushed my brown hair off my forehead and took my hand in his. At that moment, I didn’t care what anyone said about me, what anyone thought. I cared only about Deron and being with him and making him happy. Everything else was irrelevant. I knew that I would have to go to school and face

126 PB everyone but it all seemed possible as long as I had Deron by my side. After we both soaked up the moment enough, we leaned against his bed, discussing how to deal with it at school and with my parents. Even though this wasn’t a joke, he still made me laugh. I never wanted to leave his room. I wanted to stay there forever with him, making him laugh, holding hands but when we looked at the clock and realized it was nearly 8 and that we’d been there for about 5 hours. We also saw that I had about 8 calls from my house. I called back, expecting to hear my mom asking when I was coming home but instead my dad answered. I said hello but the response was not at all antici- pated. “Don’t you dare consider coming home.” “D-dad. Why?” I stuttered. “Don’t act like you don’t know why! Don’t play dumb! I don’t care where you’re going to stay but you damn well better not stay here, or ever come back!” I heard a cry in the background, probably my mother. And with that he hung up the phone. It was clear Deron had heard my father’s screams through the phone because he just looked at my phone, not sure how to react. “You can stay here for as long as you need,” he half whispered. And with that he got up from his seat and hugged me, his head over my shoulder. I hugged back, my arms wrapped around his small torso. I felt a tear fall from his face to my shoulder. I pulled him back and looked into his eyes, speckled with sadness and covered in tears. A piece of his chestnut hair was over his eyes. I placed it back to the rest of his perfectly combed alone. I wanted nothing more than to take that feeling away from him. “I’m so sorry,” he said through tears. “So, so sorry.” I gathered him back into my arms, and shushed him quietly. I kissed the top of his head lovingly. Later that night, he set up a guest room for me and I met his parents. They seemed accepting of me staying there and completely understood my situation. I laid there in bed, what in I guess was my home for the time. And I felt a sensation that I didn’t understand. I felt happy. Why was I happy? I had to go to school in a day, where I would have to face everyone and my parents had just kicked me out of my own house. But I had something to live for, something to get me through each day. And it was crazy, I know. I had known him for two days but for some reason I trusted him more than anyone I had ever met. And best of all, I no longer had to hide behind walls society had made. And there was no way to be sure how people would take it, though I was sure they wouldn’t take it well, but it was okay. Life would go on and it would get better no matter how long that took.

127 PB Short Story Hannah Elsner

My name is Eeva. I am going to tell you my story, but if I am going to tell my story, I am going to tell it right. No lies, just the truth, no matter how hard it might be for you to hear. Here it goes: I walked into the school, ready, or so I thought, for the torrent of insults that would soon follow me. But, it seems, that you can never really be ready to be called a “butch.” When you look at me, you probably wouldn’t think that I was a lesbian, but appearances can be deceiving. I am the type that if I walked into a crowd, people who didn’t know what I was probably wouldn’t see me in the room, I would be obscure, which is kind of astonishing because I am 6 feet 3 inches tall. I am the girl that is imperceptible to most people in the world, but I am wholly and utterly visible to the people that I most want to hide from. My classmates. “Butch,” said the quarterback, Joe Anderson. It seems that the torrent I had been talking about had begun. I got called a “dyke” at least 4 times and a “lesbo” at least 3 by the time I got to my locker, and it wasn’t merely the “popular” people, it was every group. “Goths” and “Theaters” and even “Nerds.” They all took the chance to publicly abuse me without fear of retribution from teachers, or even the principal. Oh, sure, all of the brochures for my school said that they had a zero tolerance policy for bullying, but when it really came down to it, they didn’t care. It seemed like no one did, except for my parents. They cared for me, they loved me and tried to decipher the problems that I came to them with, but, let’s face it, they were oblivious, as all parents of teenagers are, and no one can blame them for it. I was the one that did all of the concealing. The loudspeaker turned on. I had forgotten that it was time to read the winners of Prom Queen and King. I know in most schools they do it at prom, but in my school they do it during school, don’t ask me why, I don’t have an answer for your question. “Now, for the winners of Prom Court, the Queen is….Amber Collins!” Most everyone burst out into applause, except, of course, me. Everyone had seen it coming. She was the most popular girl at school. Her favorite word to call me was “butch.” “And for the King….Eeva Grey!” Either Principal Westport didn’t know that that wasn’t a boy’s name, or he just didn’t care. Immediately, everyone turned to me, bursting with laughter. Tears started streaming down my face. I ran out of the classroom and into the parking lot. I yanked open the door to my car and slammed it behind me. I drove rapidly, tears

128 PB gushing down my face. Calling me names hurt. Throwing gum in my hair and on my clothes hurt even more. But getting elected Prom King was the wickedest thing that had probably ever happened to me. I knew that my classmates were dreadful and merciless, but I never imagined them doing anything like this. Anything that was capable of wound- bed. And then, I thought, and I thought, and this is the conclusion that I came to: I couldn’t handle it. I knew that if I waited a few more years, if I toughed it out until I was in college, I would be okay. I would get on with my life and be happy. Or if I just went to a different school, a school with better enforcement of the rules, I wouldn’t be tortured. Or even if there was someone else like me, some other person who was out, I would get through it with them, but I am all alone in a sea of bigotry. I wouldn’t have to face all of the ignorant discrimination. Yes, my parents would try to help. They knew what I was and they still loved me for it, but there wasn’t much that they could do to make anything better. I knew that if I had the endurance, or if my parents had the money anyone else. I don’t have the patience to deal with my fellow student’s intolerance, and my parents simply do not have the money. I thought that this would be the only way out. The only way to end the pain. I heard my parents come in the house. “Mom, Dad, I am going for a drive, I love you!” I shouted tearfully as I ran down the stairs and passed them to the door. “Okay hun, we love you too. Don’t be out too late,” they shouted back as I ran past them. I got in my car and started driving. It was a horrible day, it just kept raining and raining. I smiled ruefully to myself. It looked like my last day was going to be like the last few years of my life, bleak and gray. I came to a stop at my favorite cliff. It must have been about 48 feet tall. In the sunshine, I used to like to sit on the edge and just look at the ocean below. It was so beautiful. Swirling and swishing around, bright blue with just the right amount of green in it to make it spectacular. It always took my breath away. Now, it is just as beautiful, just in a sort of dark and twisty way. The water was very choppy and dark, dark blue. In that light, which was almost no light, it looked almost black. I got out of my car and stood at the edge, my mind full of reassuring thoughts. It kept - ful to just let go of everything that tied me to this earth, and to be peaceful once more. I wanted so badly to believe my brain, and I almost did. But part of me couldn’t believe.

129 PB Part of me thought that if life was this horrible for me, what chance did I ever have anywhere else. But that thought wasn’t enough to deter me from the path that I had chosen. I was too far gone into my world of despair to give much of a second thought to what I wanted to do. I stepped to the edge, prepared. And then I jumped. And then I heard a crunch. And then it went black. And then I woke up. The light was so bright, it was almost blinding. I tried to stretch, tried to get rid of the ache in my arms and in my legs, and in my, well, actually, everywhere. My parents realized that I was awake and they rushed to my side. “Are you okay, do you need anything? Anything?” and that was the point where my mother burst out crying. She continued, rambling through her tears. “I am so sorry, hun, I didn’t know that it was that bad, that your life was that miserable, I am so sorry, you know that you could have told us, you know that we would have tried to help, you know that we would have done anything, we would have moved, we…we…we would have done something.” “Josie, you should let her catch her breath, let her say something….let her say anything…” and then my tough as nails, rock solid. father, broke down and started to sob. It was at that exact moment that I realized that I never should have done this to them, wanted to do this to them ever again. I realized that I wanted to live. would have been okay. I don’t think that I ever want to do that again.” My voice cracked a grand total of three times in those two sentences. “It is so nice to hear you say that, we will try to do anything that we can to make it better, we love you.” My mom, always the sentimentalist. At that moment, the doctor walked in. “Mr. and Mrs. Grey, I need to talk to you outside for a moment.” “Okay, but about what exactly?” My dad, always the skeptic. “Just the bills and medication and such.” They just about closed the door when the machine started beeping loudly and at a I was already fading. It took a lot of concentration to hear their voices. I freaked out I never should have jumped.

130 PB “Hun, just hang in there, you can do it, you want to live, and we want you to live! WE LOVE YOU!” But that didn’t help, none of it did. My heart seemed to be dying, and I would die That didn’t seem to help either. I was as good as gone. My heart stopped beating, And. Everything. Went. Black.

131 PB Ice-Cream Moustache Hannah Wolland

I should have just bought the fruit pops. Here, let me explain. It was a hot summer day. I was shopping in my local Whole - come my main food group, and anyone who argues against ice cream being a food group is WRONG. You could call me an ice cream supremacist. Anyway, as I arrived at the coveted frozen food aisle, my heart skipped a beat. No ice cream left. I nearly fainted. What was I supposed to do? I turned my head, and my eye caught on a carton that read, “GREAT ICE CREAM SUBSTITUTE” at the bottom. It was a pint of gelato. I pondered for a moment, and then decided to take it. After all, how bad could it be? As it turns out, it can be really bad. One bite is all it took to make me choke and gag. Gelato was in no way, shape or form a “great ice cream substitute”. I got angry, so I did what I always do when I am angry at something. I make a rant online, on YouTube. heard people compare my moustache to many different things, such as Jamie Hyneman from the Mythbusters, the Lorax, or a walrus. I signed on to my account, icecreamTV patience to do so. “I really don’t understand what the deal is with gelato,” I began. “It’s a big copycat and it just wants to be like ice cream, but it is not!” As the video progressed, my anger grew deeper and deeper. “I just want it to disappear off the face of the earth!” Then, I

132 PB made the biggest mistake of my life. I pushed the “Upload” button. It seemed almost immediate. The video received hundreds of thousands of views in just a few hours. It must be my stunning moustache, I thought to myself. After all, it was pretty cool. I didn’t think anyone really cared about whether ice cream or gelato was better. I woke up the next morning with my radio blaring at me, “War has broken out in Italy…” I didn’t really hear much of it, I was too groggy. “83 dead already…viral video…which is better…gelato.” Gelato???? I ran to the computer. The video had received nearly 300 million views, just overnight. I began to wish I had combed my moustache more before making the video. “This man is giving baby Charlie a run for his money,” the radio pressed on. What have I done? Only 3 days after I released that careless, stupid video, 20 countries, including the United States, had gone into war. Already it was earning names such as World War Dairy, the Dairy War, and Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow II. I was under arrest for something, but I couldn’t understand what. I didn’t do anything wrong. I have the right of free speech. However, nobody seemed to care. Already, 52 different people, all gelato shop owners, had attempted to sue me. They claimed my video ruined their business. I didn’t do anything. That was just their customers not coming in because they just maybe weren’t hungry for gelato that day. I had a lot of Supreme Court in my future. I hate mourning. Don’t we all? No, my grandma didn’t die. Neither did my little cousin. My face did. As soon as I was sentenced to 30 years in jail, they made me shave my moustache. I had to cut off my beautiful, Lorax-like moustache that I had been growing for years. I am also broke. I have no money because, of course, all 52 of the gelato store owners still went to court after my insurance offered them money, and they didn’t take it. In other words, I am now several million dollars in debt, and it all started with one purchase. I should have just bought the fruit pops.

133 PB Dog Fighting Johnny Pauta

Pet Store I never knew how much an animal suffered until I met my dog. I named him Anthony because I was a Smosh fan. I always noticed how he strangely he acted and how he never ate. He was shy, and small for a pit-bull. He’s the dog that changed how I thought; he stood out from the others. - Ian (Anthony owner)

It was like I was in jail behind bars. The pet store was huge, so care for me was little. Being separated from my mother was the hardest thing to face. My parents and I were separated when they got sold. Knowing that soon I might be sold was a nightmare, and not knowing how they would be was worse. -Dr. Milson (on what he thinks Anthony was thinking)

Coco was never the same once he was separated from his parents. We wanted Coco to live a happy life and forget his parents but now I know that he will never forget, and never forgive. We sold him to a wonderful family. He was just an innocent dog. -Michael (Pet store manager)

Ian’s House this year we bought him one. Anthony was not the dog Ian thought he would be. Anthony was disobedient and was frighted by other dogs. I wanted Anthony to become strong and he would get bruises from other dogs in the streets. He was acting strongly and barking at everybody. He started to growl at us to obey his commands. We had no choice but to lock him up in a cage. -David (Ian’s dad)

I always wanted a dog and I tried to let Anthony know that my home is his home. At my age everybody wanted a dog, especially since a dog is also a best friend. Anthony was small when my dad got him and then he started changing ever since my dad stopped feed- ing him. Anthony had to search his own food and even started eating his own waste. -Ian

134 PB Mr. Michael seemed to be a good guy and he was. But forgetting to feed his dog is a - pen to Michael.

huge pit-bull but one that you could tell barely got fed. Anthony wasn’t always skinny thought that was a lie but soon nothing could explain Anthony bruises and I wish I done something sooner. -John (David next door neighbor)

cruelty to animals and other forms of interpersonal violence.

Dog Fighting Michael was a regular here. The only difference was that his dog always won. He made thousands of dollars but one night his dog went against a blood hound and they lost. The pit-bull was lucky and survived. I felt sorry for the dog, but I’m just the referee.

paid. The best matches were outside in the parking lot and Anthony would go wild, and once even bit a dog’s ear off. I always bet on Anthony because he was the bloodiest dog there, until it happened. Anthony was strong and all but when I saw the Bloodhound I started to think again. I did end up betting for Anthony and when Anthony lost, all I could think about was the money I lost. The accident

Anthony’s owner was starting to abuse him, and all I did was ignore it. One day when I was going to work I heard noise next door. It was a scream. I ran on next door and I saw one on his neck. David would probably bleed to and there was nothing I could do. The door was locked and the only way I could help would be to break through the glass door

135 PB but Anthony was there circling David and by the look of the thing he was looking ready to kill. -John

Everything was terrifying. My dad was kicking Anthony and there was nothing I could do. Anthony was wounded and with every kick my dad gave him, there would be a growl coming from Anthony. I couldn’t stand it anymore so I ran to my room. I stayed there until I heard my dad scream and a loud growl. I gently opened the door and looked him like a vulture. I had to do something; I had to call the police. –Ian

There were two phone calls about the same thing of there being a wild dog attack. One of the people said that it was an emergency and that the guy looked like he was bleeding to death from a dog bite and that the dog was in the house. Another call was from a kid saying that his dad was bitten and that he didn’t know what to do. I called the animal control service because taking care of animals was none of my business. - Sheriff Tyler Nile

blood print all over and then once David was taken to the hospital we started looking for the dog. Anthony was found 3 days later dead from being hit by a car. Research will be done in this case and if David is found guilty there will be a punishment. -Will (ASPCA worker)

Stop Animal Cruelty Stop Dog Fighting

For information on animal cruelty go to:

136 PB The Power Behind Words Mollie Matzkin

May Belle Reese September 9, 2006 skin. The tension and nerves I am feeling towards the people around me feels like there are knives stabbing into my stomach. I have the feeling that I am not wanted. “Oh my god look at those clothes” snarled Francesca a girl “Why would they let that thing in here?” harshly commented the witch.

Hi, my name is May Belle Reese I am the ‘new girl’ that no one likes. I just happen to my hair in my face, and I knew nothing good was going to come out of this. Personally the way they all looked at me, gave me a creepy feeling. There were whispers all around, I couldn’t make out the words but I knew that they were mean. I honestly hate new schools; the people in them just tear me down. It’s not my fault I look the way I look. “She is such a freak,” someone whispered. I am pretty sure I knew who it was. Yeah that’s me, I am just a freak.

September 21, 2006 Often I have those feelings when all I want to do is curl up and cry. The rude words people say to me just because I am different than them creates a bubble around me that I just want to pop. Those words “ugly, loser, stupid” words like that just make me want to kill myself, but I would never actually do it; even if people won’t miss me at all.

September 26, 2006 Of course just another day in paradise, well the opposite of paradise, another day of being called stupid, worthless and being told I should die, just because I am black. Even if I try to go to my teachers and tell them about how I am being tormented, they won’t care either, it’s like they’re all the same evil person.

I go home every day thinking about what my life would be if I actually went to a school and appreciated myself for who I really am. The thought that runs through my head at night when I am laying in my bed, is all this would be all gone if I could just kill myself. The weeks had gone by and still harsh comments came from people who think that they are so much better than anyone else who gets hurt by their words. People go to

137 PB school with their heads up high, and go home with their heads down low because people basically eat off other people’s fear of school.

October 16, 2006 Today was the day, I went up to Francesca Rinaldi and spoke these words to her “you’re the type of girl who makes me want to kill myself.” I couldn’t handle the hatred any longer, tonight was the real night I was actually going to kill myself, no one will care remember, “I’m ugly, I have no friends I’m such a loser, black people shouldn’t even be on this planet.” I kind of even hate myself too, tonight all of this crap will disappear and so will I.

When I had gotten home, I grabbed my Sunday school clothes and took the worn out rope from the garage, I went to my room and tied the rope to one of my horizontal poles in my closet. I took my stepstool and placed it under my feet, put my head through the hole of the rope and kicked the stool out of the way. All the pain was fading outside my body. Finally my life was over.

Francesca Rinaldi October 18, 2006 When I heard what had happened on October 16, 2006 about May Belle I ran as fast thing is, is that I wasn’t even feeling lonely. I was crying so hard I threw up, I couldn’t breathe at all. What have I done? I thought I was the reason why May Belle actually killed herself, all the words I said to her were terrible and I know that. She took the words directly to heart. I was only doing it for a laugh with my friends, a stupid joke that ended with a family in tears.

There is only a few weeks left of school, I have been so rude to everyone in my grade, but I was the meanest to May Belle just because she was a different color than everyone else, she was black. I thought it would be okay if I was mean to her because no one else did what she did… Kill themselves. With the end of the year right around the corner I am going to say I am sorry for being mean, I’m sorry for being the obnoxious girl that I am. I want to take back all the things I said to May Belle and all the others I was mean to because the words were unnecessary. Nothing should cause someone to kill themself.

Epilogue

138 PB I chose this topic Racism; it’s a big problem in this world. Just because someone is different or their family is from a different country doesn’t mean you can be mean to them. Respect who they are and where they come from. If you were a different color and you got bullied what would you do? Some people just can’t handle the stress anymore so the commit suicide to make it all better. People of all colors back years ago woke up every day wondering if they were going to be harassed by the color they really are. I think that this theme is really important; this shows a different perspective on life. “If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say it at all” “You’re the type of girl who makes me want to kill myself” this quote was once said by a boy named Ryan Halligan who killed himself, not because of racism but because of bullies. When I heard what he had said to that girl I couldn’t get it out of my head. I knew I wanted to do a topic that explains bullying, but also to cover another topic so I chose racism. This girl May Belle took all the words to heart, the words built up so much that the only thing she thought she could do, was to kill herself.

139 PB Princess Soleil and the Bitter Winter Malinka Drabek

“DADDY!!” yelled the little princess. “PLEASE DON’T LEAVE ME!!! DADDY PLEASE!! Daddy, we love you!!” Thunder roared as lightning danced around the dark sky. Little princess Soleil was screaming at the top of her lungs. Her step mommy was taking her daddy away. Maybe forever. “WHY, DADDY? DON’T YOU LOVE US ANY MORE?” she was referring to herself and her sister. Little Princess Soleil’s sister was named Princess Hope because she always looked for a brighter future. This time even she was heartbroken. “Honey, this time I won’t be gone for long. I promise.” “You LIAR! You promise every time! I don’t believe you anymore daddy. How could you do this to me and Hope?” Princess Soleil held her father tightly, then let go as tears streamed down her face. She watched as her father became soaked by the rain as he opened the door of the car- riage for the queen. The king looked back to the window where Soleil was drowning in tears. As soon as she noticed him looking at her, she looked away, making it obvious that she was really hurt. Hope put her arms around her. Soleil was going through a lot for just a 4 year old. Since Hope was the older sister, she now knew that she had to take the role of the mother in the family. “Hope, I don’t think he’s coming back this time.”

“Soleil! Be a darling and pass me that pot.” “Do you need any help cooking dinner?” asked Princess Soleil. “Actually I was thinking I would teach you how to cook. After all, next week is your 13th birthday!”

140 PB know it hasn’t rained since the day that dad left us!” begged Soleil. Hope paused at that thought. “Alright, but remember, when you turn 13, you will be the one cooking for me!” Soleil put on her sun hat and grabbed her basket as she walked out to the back yard. She stopped and glanced at the unending acres of land. She ran straight to her special She put her basket down and walked towards the well in the back of the garden. She walked carefully because her feet ached as she walked barefoot on the decorative white rocks. Once she collected the water from the well, she started to walk down the beautiful were dancing along with her song. The princess would always smile at that. shall check up on everyone tomorrow.”

On what seemed like an average day, 15 year old princess Soleil was in her garden. She was about to water her rose bush, when she heard her sister scream her name. “I have never heard her scream like this. I wonder what is wrong! I better hurry. Sorry Soleil ran as fast as she possibly could in her dress, up the hill to the castle. She slammed open the door and ran straight through the salon, down the staircase, and into the kitchen. “HOPE, WHAT’S WRONG?!” dropped herself, asking her to talk to her, begging her to stand up. Soleil checked Hope’s pulse. Soleil knew what had happened. Hope had always had a weak heart, but she had never expected it to give out. So that was it. Hope was gone. “DON’T LEAVE ME HOPE, not again! Not you! I can’t lose you! I love you!” Hope lay still on the ground, eyes closed, and hands by her side. She looked so peaceful. Hope was really gone. Soleil knew she could never get over this. The sky turned dark. The clouds came out, and it started to rain hard. Soleil stood up in shock. It hasn’t

141 PB big hug, closed all the drapes and walked outside. The rain was falling as hard as her tears were. She looked at her garden. “I HAVE NOTHING!” the rosebush she was supposed to water before. She pricked herself. Now her eyes had the ground screaming “WHY” the whole time. She went on to the tulips and then the darker by the moment. She ran towards the roses and grabbed them. She looked up into the dark sky and wiped her tears away. She took a deep breath, and screamed as loud as she could. She could’ve sworn the people from the next village could hear her.

“Princess Hope, died at age 21” The rain still hadn’t stopped. It was always raining now. The princess felt something her forehead as she tried to whack it off, as if it was a bug. She put her hand up and one landed in her hand. She observed it, and noticed that it was not alive; it melted in front of her eyes. She pulled her hand away, it was so cold! She never felt anything this cold before, because it was always warm in her village. She turned and glanced at the gravestone where her garden once was, one last time, before she turned and walked the other way. The snow was coming down. “Hi there!” said an unfamiliar voice. Princess swung around. No one was in sight. She kept walking. Maybe she was just imagining something. “You have to look up to see me.” “I know things that you don’t know, and I think you should know,” said the sparrow. “Umm, what are you talking about?” “I am a messenger from your father. He has important news for you!” Princess turned her head. “Don’t mention him to me. I don’t want to hear what he has to say.”

142 PB “Princess, it is crucial that you hear this! You must listen! Your father wanted you to know that you control the weather with your emotions. Why do you think it never rained or snowed before?” “I didn’t really realize. I cannot help but feel terrible about Hope. How can I stop this?” “You can brighten your mood. That is all you can do.” “I will never get over this!” One day Princess Soleil was taking her mid-day nap, when she heard something that awoke her. Something was moving outside. “PRINCESS, come out please! I need to talk to you!” What?? She thought to herself. This sounded like a man. Like a prince. Had her “Hello?” She poked her head out the window. There he was. It was her prince. She “My dear princess, you are even more beautiful than in my dreams.” “Are you here to save me?” “I absolutely am,” he said as beamed with pride. “That’s wonderful! But may I ask what you are saving me from?” “Your misery! You have been drowning in your misery for too long! And the bitter winter is sending me chills!” jumped in shock. The prince held her hands in his as he looked into her big black eyes and said: “If you marry me, you shall never be alone. All your pain will disappear and you will live magically with me. You shall never sit by yourself again if you stay with me. Princess, marry me and I will grant you your every wish. We will live an enchanted life together.” “Then I will gladly marry you.”

She sat on the back of his white horse while holding onto him tight. She looked back at the castle once last time. Then she looked to her prince, smiled, and said “I’m ready to go.” The snow started melting away, as the sun hit her face. They rode away and lived happily ever after.

143 PB Betrayed Maya Leveen

As I walked down the street, passing her house, it all came back. How that was the place where for years we hung out. It was the place where we experienced so much, but yet now it was the place where everything changed. She betrayed me, she hurt me. As in she, I mean Alexis, my former best friend. It all changed 2 weeks ago. It was like every other Friday night, I went to Alexis’s house and we had our sleepover. We talked, shared secrets and did typical things that girls do at sleepovers. Nothing seemed different, it felt normal. A couple of days later is when it all changed. As I walked into school, I heard people whispering all around. “Do you think she really did that?” “Could she have done that?” I didn’t think much about it. As the day went on, I realized more and more people whispered and laughed as I walked by. Something felt weird. The next day, it got worse. I didn’t know what people were talking about. That day I went over to Alexis’s. I didn’t know at the time that that would be my last time going over there. Alexis went downstairs to get food. I was alone in her room. I went over to her computer, and opened Facebook. Alexis’s account was open. I know I should have logged out, but I couldn’t. Four new messages came up. I clicked on the four chats. Each one the person had replied saying the same thing “Did she really do that?” and “I I didn’t realize what it was. I scrolled up and saw my name. As I read it, I was shocked… and mad. It all made sense now why people kept whispering. I looked up at the sky. It made me mad just thinking about it. Thinking about how she had done that to me. As I kept walking I replayed those days in my head. I remember how Alexis walked back into her room. I just looked at her, and then walked away. I walked home, and then when I got home I just lay in bed. I didn’t know what to do. My phone kept ringing. I had 3 unheard voicemails. They all were from Alexis. I listened to them and they all said, “Why did you leave?” I just ignored them. The next day when I went to school, the whispering continued, and now that I knew that it was about me I was embarrassed. Alexis had come up to me several times that day. I just walked away. I hadn’t felt like talking to her. That night after school I had decided to say something. I instant messaged her. I knew this wasn’t the right way to talk to her, but I didn’t feel like I could look at her in the face.

144 PB A car horn brought me back to real life. Brought me back out of that memory. I shouldn’t have told her online, I should have told her in person, but I couldn’t. When I had went into school the next day we ignored each other. She acted like she didn’t even care that she had hurt her best friend and that she had betrayed me. Me on the other hand, well I was more than upset. The thing that bothered me then, and still does now, is that, it seems like she didn’t even think to see how this would all affect me. She did it as if it wasn’t a big deal. I remember how I felt those days. In school the whispering and talking continued. Alexis didn’t say anything to me. In school I had felt alone, I didn’t have my best friend with Even though I was scared, I went up to a group of kids who knew the secret. As I went up to them, I tried to deny it. Since I knew that no one besides Alexis knew the truth, no one could prove that it was true. They just laughed and said, “Why would Alexis make that up.” At that point I didn’t know what to do. I just walked away. As I walked away I heard them laughing. I was so angry. Alexis had ruined everything. From then up until now, I’m waiting for an apology from Alexis. She probably won’t apologize, but I still hope she will. These past two weeks has been very weird. As of now, this time, I’m going to wait because I know I didn’t do anything wrong.

145 PB Getting Along Niki Lam

“It’s another snowy day,” I nagged while listening to music in my room. “Carrie!,” mom called. “Can you go get the mail?” “Its frigid outside. Can’t you get it?,” I yelled back. “No. You will get the mail right now, Carrie Ann McCare,” mom demanded. I despised when mom said my full name. Instead of arguing I went downstairs, grabbed my jacket, and slammed the door. As I advanced towards the mailbox, I spotted my best friend, Jeanne Louis. “Hey Jeanne!”, I yelled as I ran across the street. “Hey”, Jeanne replied in a casual tone that sounded like she was provoked. “Do you know who moved into the house that was for sale?” I didn’t even know there was a house for sale. I looked across the street and sure enough I saw a UPS truck and people taking boxes out and bringing them into the house. I also noticed a girl 14 or 15 helping too. “Actually no. I don’t. Let’s go over there and welcome them”, I suggested. I started walking but noticed Lindsay didn’t move a mussel. “Come on Jeanne. Don’t be a chicken”, I said in a persuasive voice. replied. I sighed and walked over to the house. When I got to the house, the girl was just coming out of the house to get another box. She noticed me and looked up. Her appearance shocked me. She was a brunette with the clearest blue eyes I’ve ever seen. “Um… hi”, she said in a reticent tone. “Hi, I’m Carrie and that’s my friend Jeanne over there”, I explained. “Cool. I’m Seriya”, she replied. “That’s such a pretty name. Do you need help moving boxes?”, I asked. “Seriya!” a man called. “Oh that’s my dad. I better go see what’s wrong. Nice meeting you”, she yelled as she darted back into the house. When I went back to Lindsay’s house, she wasn’t there anymore. So I just went back home and got the mail. When I got home, I put the mail on the kitchen counter and went to my room and fell asleep.

146 PB I woke up the next morning, and realized I slept through dinner and forgot to - thing now. I decided to do my homework at school and just get ready for school. I arrived at school and spotted Jeanne. She waved and I walked over to her. “Hey. Where’s Seriya?”, I asked. in an annoyed but sarcastic tone. Tiffany was one of those popular girls who had almost everything. Jeanne and I both hated her guts. She is very arrogant and mean but for some reason, everyone seems to adore her. Tiffany was nice to certain people but when it was us, she would turn into a devil. “Anyway, let’s go to class. I don’t want to be tardy”, Lindsay said. know when Tiffany might throw one of her surprise attacks on her”, I explained. “I like to be early and Seriya is obviously gonna be accepted. Look at her”, Jeanne said as she pointed to Seriya. I glanced over at Seriya and realized Jeanne was right. “Alright. Let’s go”, I said letting her haul me to the staircase. Classes were pretty monotonous today and I just couldn’t wait till lunch. Lunch got my lunch. Spaghetti and meatballs, my favorite. I was about to walk over to my usual table when I noticed Seriya sitting alone. I was about to walk over when someone put a hand on my shoulder to stop me. I turned around and it was Jeanne. “Where are you going? Our table is that way”, she said. “Let’s go sit with Seriya today”, I said and started walking over before Jeanne could stop me. I sat down at Seriya’s table and she looked up. “Why are sitting here alone?”, I asked. “Yeah. Aren’t you hanging out with Tiffany?”, Jeanne asked with annoyance. group and started ignoring me”, Seriya explained. “Tiffany probably thinks you’re gonna steal her spotlight. Jeanne and I are gonna get ice cream after school. Do you want to come?”, I asked. Before Seriya could answer, Jeanne said “She probably has better things to do.” “Actually I would love to come”, Seriya said in a nervous tone. “Come at the ice cream shop at 3:30”, I said picking up my tray and dragging Jeanne

147 PB with me. “What was that about?”, I asked Jeanne. “Nothing.”, Jeanne replied and walked away. At the ice cream shop, Seriya and I had a blast. Jeanne must’ve been upset over something because she didn’t seem very ecstatic the whole time we were there. I came home from school today day and went up to my room to do my homework. see if my mom came back from work yet. Instead I saw Jeanne and Seriya. They looked decided they would make up sooner or later so I just left. The next day at school, I noticed something very peculiar. Seriya has not talked to me all day. It was like she was trying to avoid Jeanne and I. I tried talking to her but she would just got the other way as soon as she saw me approaching. I knew something was wrong. After school, I went straight to Seriya’s house. I knocked on Seriya’s front door and when she opened the door, she was in tears. She just nods her head yes. “Seriya, please tell me what’s wrong. I know something went wrong”, I said. Seriya let me go inside her house and she told me everything. “My dad had a stroke the day we moved in. The hospital called today and said his stroke was quite severe. I’m really worried that he might not recover”, Seriya explained, tears streaming down her face. “I’m so sorry, Seriya. I’m sure he’ll get better”, I said while giving her a hug. “Oh and yesterday I saw you and Jeanne. It seemed like you two were arguing. What happened?”, I asked. “Jeanne has always disliked me from the moment I moved into your neighborhood. She would glare at me every time she saw me. One day she decided to have a talk with me. She said that if I ever got in her way, I would be sorry. I decided not to start anything so I obeyed,” Seriya explained. I was dazed. Out of all the people in this world, Jeanne? She crossed the line this time. I had to set that girl straight. “I’m going to have a little talk with her and you’re coming with me”, I said. “No! Please don’t”, Seriya pleaded “ I have to. I can’t let her keep ruining your life”, I said dragging Seriya to Jeanne’s house. I knocked on Jeanne’s door and sure enough, Jeanne answered it.

148 PB “Oh. Hello”, Jeanne said looking at me then at Seriya. “Hey um.. Right now is not a good time. Come back later,” she said as she was about to close the door. “No I want to talk to you now”, I said stopping the door with my foot. “Why did you do this to her?” “What do you mean? I never did anything to Seriya”, Jeanne replied in an innocent voice. “Stop lying. I know you did it. Why did you do it?” I asked. Jeanne gave in and said “I knew you would get along with her. I knew I wouldn’t matter to you anymore. I knew you would forget about me.” At that moment, I realized something. Jeanne was jealous. “Jeanne? Are you kidding me? I would never forget about you. You’re my best friend. At least have some trust in me”, I said. Lindsay stared at the ground with guilt. There was a moment of silence where all I “Lindsay? Do you have something to say to Seriya?”, I asked. “I’m sorry, Seriya. I really am. Please forgive me”, Jeanne begged. “it’s okay, Jeanne. I forgive you”, Seriya said. Both of them hugged and I just stood there feeling accomplished. After this day forward, we started living life to the fullest.

149 PB The Summer’s Residence Noah Gordon

“DAAAAVVVVVVIIIIIIIIDDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You’re going to be late for I woke up and tip-toed over to the bathroom at the other end of the hallway. I hopped into the shower and quickly hopped out. I brushed my teeth and walked back to my room. I took the clothes my mom had set out for me upon my bed and got changed. After I was changed and ready to go, I went downstairs. My mom was waiting to greet me as I entered the kitchen. As I began to protest my mom stopped me in my tracks, she already knew that I was going to try and weasel my wait out of babysitting. She told me that it was going to be good for me. She said I needed to grow up, and continued to tell me that I was going to like it. I thought to myself I’m just going to have to persevere and try to look at the bright side. Other than the fact that I was making good money there was no bright side. On the car ride over to the Summers house I asked my mom what exactly I was doing at the Summer’s house. All I knew was that I was supposed to watch a six year old kid. She said that I was to babysit their daughter Nicole for 5 hours. I had to feed her dinner and make sure she was in bed by 9:00. On top of that I had to take care of her. I wasn’t ready to take care of a child. I’m practically one myself. At least I had time to prep myself. I would be meeting Nicole and her parents at 11:00 and if they liked me then I would be returning that night to babysit. The only good thing about this is that I’m getting paid $150 each night I babysit. So if I actually end up liking this job I might just keep it for a few years. When we got to the house I rang the bell and waited for an answer. After a half a second the door swung open so hard I thought the door was going to break. Mr. and Mrs. Summers wasted no time; they quickly greeted us and welcomed us inside their home. As we entered their home I noticed they had a lot of family pictures everywhere. They took us into the family room, where we met Nicole. She greeted us with a warm smile. You could obviously tell that she was brought up with manners. She had light blonde hair and bright blue eyes. As I answered the Summers questions I couldn’t help but feel like Nicole was staring at me. After an hour or so it was time to leave and wait for their phone call. As we left the house I shook Mr. and Mrs. Summers hands and they said to listen for a phone call. All I going to make me grow up. When we got home I went straight to my room and sat in

150 PB my chair near my T.V. As I leaned forward to turn on my T.V I heard a clear but distant ringing sound. I shot up so fast I almost tripped over myself. I quickly sprinted down the stairs like an escaped convict. I pulled the phone of the hook and answered it. Hello I said. And a faint little voice could be heard. “I’m calling to tell you that you have been chosen to babysit Nicole for the Summers this evening.” “Okay” I replied and hung up the phone still shocked that I had got the job. I knew - ters that would jump through hoops for the job. After I told my mom she said that we would celebrate later that night. I knew I had time waste so I went to my room and took a power nap. When I woke up I still had half an hour until I had to be at the Summers at 4:00. So I decided to ask my mom more about the Summers kid. As I shot my mom with questions she made it sound like Nicole was an angel. And it didn’t matter if she was or wasn’t it mattered that I grew up and learned how to persevere through things even if I hated them. By the time I was done we had to leave. When we got to the house I said bye to my mom and rang the doorbell. Nicole answered, and let me in. She said that her parents would be down in a second. As I waited for what felt like the longest second in the world I learned that Nicole is almost as shy as me. This is going to be awkward I told myself. But it was like Nicole was in my head or something her that I didn’t know yet and that it was up to her. I heard footsteps and then her parents came running down the stairs. “The money is on the counter along with the emergency contacts should something go wrong.” They said they had to leave now and that they were already late. “Okay,” I answered back. As soon as the door closed I looked at Nicole. She had a full face grin stapled to her face. It was as if I was looking at the Joker from Batman. “This is how it’s going to work. You stay out of my way and I’ll stay out of your way.” For once in my life I was actually scared of a 6 year old. We parted ways, she went to the living room and I went to the kitchen. I took the money and started looking through the cabinets for something to eat. All I found was a banana and some orange walked into the room she stopped playing with her dolls and looked up. “You must not have heard me David. I said don’t get in my way.” “Ok Nicole I know you think that I’m going to be your little play toy, but that’s not how it’s going to work, you listen to me. I’m the babysitter you’re the baby. You do what I say not the other way around. I don’t know what happened with your other baby- sitters but things have changed.”

151 PB “Fine” she retaliated obviously still stunned to hear me tell her off like that. It looked as if someone had painted a donut onto her face because her mouth was so wide. “You can go play with your dolls until dinner is ready. I’m ordering pizza.” She smiled and went off to play with her dolls. I went back to the kitchen and ordered a pizza pie. After I ordered the pizza I went to check up on Nicole. She was done playing with her dolls and was turning on the T.V. I went to sit down on the couch a couple feet away from her. “What are you watching?” “Jersey Shore,” she replied. I lit up in surprise. “I love that show! Which episode are you watching?” “The one where Mike tells Jionni that Snooki cheated on him.” “I love that one!” We continued to talk about the “Jersey Shore” like normal people. I felt like we were both bonding. We were arm to arm and really getting to know each other. We had gotten the pizza and were eating it straight out of the box while watching After an hour it was time to put her to bed. “Nicole it’s time for bed.” “Awwww,” she protested. Already, can’t we watch for a little bit more? “I’m Sorry Nicole but your parents said in bed by 9:00 and I don’t want to lie to them.” “Ok David but can you at least read me a bed time story? she asked. “Okay” I said, pleased that she didn’t make a big problem about going to sleep. We walked to her room and she climbed into bed. I grabbed a book off her night stand and opened it up. I read the title and then continued on to read the story. At the end of the story she was out cold. I put the book down, shut the lights off and went back to the living room until her parents got home. They thanked me and said I did a great job. They said that they would call me if they needed me. My mom was waiting outside to pick me up. I jumped into the car with a smile on my face. “I told you, that you would like it,” said my mom. - tually feel like I have grown up a little bit. Although she is 6 years old I have also gained a friend,” I told my mom. “I can’t wait to babysit again.”

152 PB Power, Pursuit and Pride

The clock ticks slower in the band room. In the band room, seconds feel like minutes and minutes feel like hours. I usually don’t care that the clock moves so slow, but today I care. Every minute slowly moves by and I feel an adrenalin rush as the minute hand moves. Today was the day my father was coming home. My father is the most wonderful person I have ever met. I have never known anyone as wonderful as he is. My father’s name is Bryan Armstrong and he has been off in Iraq for nine months now. All this time while he was away, I often couldn’t sleep or eat for days on end. I had questioning myself. If I didn’t have Piper by my side, I might be in a mad house right now. “Scarlett… Come back to earth Scarlett… Scarlett…Are you there Scarlett?” Piper yelled in my ear. “Yeah, I’m here. What’s up?” I said. I often have moments when I distance myself from the world. “Are you excited to see your father?” Piper asked, although I knew she knew the answer. - er let us take a break to catch our breath, although I am not sure. “I just hope your father doesn’t go mad,” Piper said. “I heard some veterans of war go mad because of the war. My grandpa would often wake up in the night and say he saw his General die. It was crazy.” why, but many of her comments that are supposed to be helpful, are not. I am a very insecure person. I question everything, so it is comments like these that make the wheels in my head turn. “Scarlett… Scarlett the period is over, you can go home now.” Someone said to me as they walked out of the room. I then picked up my things and ran home. My father would be at my door in an hour.

I knew that my father wouldn’t knock on the door after being away for nine months. He would swing the door open and run in. He would hug me and kiss mother

153 PB and we would all be a big happy family again. He would never knock, not in a million years. So when we heard the knock, we were scared. My mother slowly walked to the door. I followed her, just as slowly. I didn’t want to think of what was on the other side. Her hand touched the cold door handle and slowly twisted it. It creaked open and there I saw my worst nightmare. Two men in white stood at my door. They were as straight as boards, there face blank and pale. “He can’t be…” My mother said, but she knew he was. Father told me before he left that if I saw two men in their uniforms, their dress whites, ever came to the house he meant that if I saw the two men in white, he was dead and that he was sorry he couldn’t feel the same again. “I am sorry to tell you, but Bryan Armstrong has fallen in battle. He suffered multiple and a proper burial service. I am sorry for your loss Mrs. Armstrong, Bryan was a great solider and a hero. We will miss him very much. May we come in? We would like to dis- cuss more details with you and your daughter?” One of the soldiers in white said. I couldn’t even cry. I was so worried about my family, crying was not an option. about moving forward in life? What about our friends, family and neighbors? What about Piper? He was just as much of a dad to her as he was to me. What about Mom? What about me? I ran. I ran down into my basement and slammed the door. I wanted nothing to do with those solders in white. I didn’t care about what they had to say, I truly didn’t. I sat down on the stairs to the basement and a thought hit me in the face. Life would never be the same ever again.

I wouldn’t go upstairs and talk to the soldiers. I listened through the door. After my mom let the soldiers in, she sobbed for an hour or so and the soldiers comforted her. When she pulled herself together she called for me to come down to talk about the funeral and our livelihoods but I said no. They talked until ten o’clock at night about ben- my father wouldn’t have made it out alive even if the doctors had been there to save him. They said he died three days ago, but due to the fact that he had no dog tag on him, they

154 PB couldn’t identify him until one day after he was killed. After eavesdropping for a while, I couldn’t take it anymore. I went down into the cold basement and played my clarinet. My basement was like my playroom. Our old couch was down there along with a stained tan rug. I had an old desk to do my homework and a music stand to practice clarinet. The walls were painted eggshell white. My father and I meant to paint them, anything other than white, but now he wouldn’t get the chance. I played my clarinet until everyone had left and my mother went up to bed. For hours, I tried to fall asleep, but the couch just wasn’t that comfy. So I walked outside for some fresh air. The sky was clear and the air was cool. On summer nights, my father and I used to lie on the carpet of grass in our front yard and look up at the stars. He would tell me funny stories and we would just relax. I miss those days. I am afraid I will forget them. “I should have stopped him. When told me he was leaving, I shouldn’t have stood there like a deer in the headlights. I should have helped,” I thought as I kicked the mailbox. I then looked around the complex where I lived. In the complex, every house looked the same. The all were simple white houses with gray shutters, but they were elegant, just the same. Where will my life go from here? I woke up every morning with a positive outlook on the day for nine months knowing I was one day closer to seeing my father. All of that is gone now. Where will my mother’s life go? My father and my mother have been married for almost seventeen years now and that all goes away now. Knowing my mother, she will not be able to handle picking herself up and starting to date again. Where will I go? I thought wanting this to all be a nightmare. I couldn’t help but think that these houses looked like soldiers. They all stood in their formations with their uniforms of gray. The house faced me like an upcoming enemy and I couldn’t help but want to cry. This is what my father must have felt. I realized at that moment that I would not go to my father’s funeral. If the house in the complex where I lived scared me, I was sure the funeral would drive me insane.

“I’m not going mother, you can’t make me!” I screamed at my mother who was waiting by the black funeral car. “You will going. You will pay your respect to your father and who gave his life for our country. Do you hear?” my mother tried to say in the calmest way. My black shoes were hurting my feet in the worst ways. I was wearing an all black dress that made me sweat and I wore my red hair was in a braid down my back. This was all wrong. I couldn’t do this. I felt the anger build up inside of me. I couldn’t take it anymore. So I

155 PB took off my shoes and ran. In tights, the dress and all, I ran. Piper had said her grandpa went mad from war, I never thought that it would happen to me. “Scarlett, you come back here!” I heard after me. I wouldn’t stop. I couldn’t stop. I ran across roads and in front of cars, but I didn’t care. I had to get as far away as possible. “Scarlett stop!” I heard my mom yell and then I noticed why she was yelling. I was about to run across a major highway in bare feet and a dress. As I came to a stop a car whizzed passed me and knocked me to the sidewalk. I sat there while my mom caught up to me. She sat down next to me, panting and covered in sweat. “Mom, I just can’t take this anymore. I suffered for nine months feeling alone and depressed and you didn’t do anything. You never brought me up when I was down. You never comforted me when I was sad. And in this time of great sadness, I feel even more “No, you didn’t. You never said anything to me. You never took me to do fun things. All I was left to do was sit here and wallow in the fact that my father might be dead at that moment. Piper was right; war can make you go mad.” “Scarlett! Don’t say that!” “Well it is true! Yesterday night, I went outside and saw houses that look like soldier. I couldn’t sleep last night because of fear of nightmares full of guns and death. Mom, help me…” I then whimpered and started to cry again. Although this time, it was different. It felt different. I can’t explain it, but I knew it wasn’t the same. There we were, my mom and I, at the end of the complex by a major highway, crying. The sun was shining hotter than ever, which made the pavement feel very hot on my skin. “Come on Scarlett, let’s go home.” I sniffed and nodded my head and we walked back to the black car. As we walked, a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Even though I was walking into my worst nightmare, I felt better. My mother was by my side for the

With my mother by my side, I was able to get through the funeral. Although I was honored to stand among people who have died for our country. It is an army tradition mother and I. It was a very powerful moment I will never forget. I felt like I had done the

156 PB right thing, going to the funeral. I know that my father would have been proud. Although, I now believe that we will move on and we will be okay. My mother and I

157 PB Safe

“You’re joking, right?!” Gemma Boukman screeched at Mrs. Boukman, enraged. “It’s for your own good, besides, it’s a school night, and you know you’re not allowed out on school nights,” Mrs. Boukman protested, trying to calm the situation down a few notches. “Mom, do you know what could happen if I don’t go?!” “No, but please, enlighten me,” Mrs. Boukman said completely unfazed. Gemma, unable to come up with anything that could happen, grumbled in response and tried again. “Quinn and Maybelle are both going, I have to go!” “What you have to do is your homework,” Mrs. Boukman reasoned. When there was no response she looked up at her daughter from the mail she was sorting. “No means no Gemma. I’m just trying to keep you safe, and I don’t think that that party is a suitable environment for you to be in.” Mrs. Boukman added a bit more consol- ing. “It’s not fair Mom! You monitor my every move! The only time I’m away from you is at school and I bet you have secret cameras set up all over there too! What’s next? Are you going to start tracking my cellphone?!” Gemma stormed up her stairs, frustrated and hardly a kid anymore. stomp on the stairs. She looked up the stairs with remorse. Maybe she was a bit over protective. Her mother had never paid any attention to her when she was young and she didn’t want it to be the same with Gemma. Maybe tracking Gemma’s cellphone was a little overboard, but what if Gemma never came home from school one day. If she disap- precautions to ensure a future for Gemma. Once in her room, Gemma slipped her neon green and white ear buds behind her pin- straight, chestnut hair, and opened her phone to text the news to Quinn and Maybelle. A few minutes after hitting the send button, she heard a soft ping under the Adele blasting in her ears. Gemma opened the new text from Quinn and began reading. “Why don’t you just sneak out? You’re too well behaved,” the text read. A small colon and p were typed into the end of the note. Gemma reread the text, pondering the

158 PB mother like that, and what would her dad do if he found out? But as she thought about it more and more, she started warming up to the idea. It would only be for a few hours and nobody would know. Mrs. Boukman wouldn’t bother checking on her, probably thinking Gemma just went to bed early. Gemma pressed reply after a few minutes of fantasizing her great escape. “Great idea, I’ll meet you there!” She typed into the blank box. Her hand moved over the send button, and she paused. Was this really the best way? Maybe she should go downstairs and ask her mother again, promising to take extra safety precautions, or maybe she should stay home and study for her history test on Thursday- she was still a bit rusty on the Franco-Prussian War- ; then the devil on her shoulder got ahold of her mind. What was she thinking? Her mom would just say no again, she never let Gemma do anything even remotely fun. Then, without hesitation, she hit the send button and prepared herself for the sneak-out. At this time, as Gemma had so accurately predicted, Mrs. Boukman decided not to disturb her daughter; she was obviously in an extra rebellious mood. She wasn’t really in the mood for cooking after what had just happened and the other option was the colossal work load lying on the small, oak wood coffee table in front of her. She instead tried to focus her attention on the small ad on the front page of the Pontiac Daily Leader. Missing Person Gemma Toussaint Missing Since October 7th, 1989 Would Now Be 24 The name Gemma popped out to Mrs. Boukman, and she considered checking in on her daughter for a moment. Perhaps Gemma had decided to sneak out and she could catch her in the act before it was her daughter’s name was on that newspaper. But after all Gemma’s talk about her over-controlling ways, she decided against it. Mrs. Boukman reassured herself that her daughter would never even consider sneaking out. Right as Gemma was thrusting her bedroom window open she heard another ping from her phone. She immediately went over to check, the chilling November wind sending shivers up her spine as it whooshed in periodically. Maybelle’s name shone on the screen, lighting up the entire room. Gemma knew she should be on her way if she wanted to get to the party on time, but she wanted to make sure everything was okay before she left. “Don’t forget to leave your phone if you sneak out,” Gemma read. Quinn had apparently told Maybelle what Gemma was going to do. She considered for a moment actually

159 PB leaving her raspberry colored phone on the window sill, but promptly decided against it. Her mother wouldn’t actually go as far as to track her phone, and Gemma knew if anything happened, it was better safe than sorry. With her phone tucked safely in her purse, Gemma slowly eased herself out of the window and onto her shingled roof. She then slid down to the edge and looked down at the intimidating ground below, readying herself for the jump. Mr. Boukman opened the door right as Gemma’s feet hit the roof. It was very lucky her room was in the back of the house, so he couldn’t see her from the driveway. When the door swung open and Mr. Boukman walked in, he immediately noticed the absence spent the rest of her time downstairs instant messaging her friends and checking countless social websites, constantly. “Tell me you didn’t let her go to that party,” Mr. Boukman grumbled, his temper starting to heat up. Boukman pleaded, knowing how out of hand this situation could get in a matter of minutes. According to Mr. Boukman, Gemma was an unappreciative little brat, and the word The way he said “talk” you would think he meant to say murder. “Please no, just let her cool down,” Mrs. Boukman was getting desperate now. She got to her feet and placed herself in front of the stairs so Mr. Boukman couldn’t get past. She knew he was eventually going to have to confront Gemma, but not like this, in this out-of-control state. “Damn it Jess, move out of the way. That girl needs to learn to appreciate her par- Boukman had once again consumed too much alcohol on the train ride home from work; it was a wonder he was even able to drive home without getting into a wreck. Mr. Boukman raised his hand above his head, his salt and pepper hair was matted direction and she huddled protectively, covering her face with her hands, knowing if she moved he would just do the same to Gemma, and much worse. Just before his hand made contact with her only slightly covered face, a loud thud sounded outside. “What was that?” Mr. Boukman questioned, a bit ticked off because of the distraction. The noise originated from the back of the house where Gemma’s bedroom was.

160 PB “I can’t believe it! She’s sneaking out!” He screamed at his distraught wife. “No. She…Gemma….No. My daughter would never sneak out,” Mrs. Boukman “If I catch her sneaking out…” Mr. Boukman trailed off, a thirsty-for-blood look in his eyes. Mrs. Boukman convinced her daughter would never do anything so disobedient, let Mr. Boukman go and check out what was going on. Mr. Boukman stormed out the front door and circled around the house. Mrs. Bouk- man could hear the loud thuds his boots made on the cold, hard ground and waited for news of what he’d found. She dreaded having to hear the sounds of Gemma’s cries and pleads for forgiveness and prayed momentarily that whatever he found back there wouldn’t lead to anybody getting hurt. Two minutes passed and she was sure that Gemma had escaped safely, or she was still in her room; maybe her prayers had been answered and she wouldn’t have to endure the self-hatred for letting him hurt her daughter. Five minutes passed and still nothing, not even a whimper from Gemma, and not even a step from Mr. Boukman. A terrifying thought crossed Mrs. Boukman’s mind for a split second. Had Mr. Boukman gone to the extremes? Had he killed his own daughter? No, Mrs. Boukman assured herself, no matter how much alcohol Mr. Boukman had consumed, or how bad a work day it had been, he did love his daughter and would never kill her. But as the eight minute mark approached, Mrs. Boukman began to question her judgment. Finally, convinced if nothing was wrong Mr. Boukman would have been back by now, she headed out the front door. She circled the house the same way she had heard her husband do just moments earlier and reached the back of the house. The crescent moon provided little light to help aid her old eyes and she couldn’t make out anything in the - Mr. Boukman. But he wasn’t doing anything, just standing, quiet and still. Mrs. Boukman made her way over to him, certain he was staring at a skunk or other animal, not moving as to not provoke it, but as she got closer the picture became clearer. He didn’t look masculine or tough, but vulnerable and scared. Why was he so still? What was he afraid of? The lump on the ground that Mrs. Boukman previously thought to be a wild animal was lit just enough to know that her assumption was wrong. Mrs. Boukman cautiously approached her spouse, ready to jump back at any sign of attack from either the lump or Mr. Boukman. The closer she got the more obvious it was that Mr. Boukman wasn’t going to move from that spot. A gust of wind caught her hair and as she was about to tug of the sleeve of Mr. Boukman’s button-down, she realized the

161 PB gust had caught someone else’s hair. She looked down again to the lump on the ground, her eyes now fully adjusted. Chestnut hair grazed Mrs. Boukman’s uncovered calf and her hands reached up to cover her now gaping mouth. She looked up again to her husband, terrible accusations burning through her eyes, but she noticed a sparkling tear running down his face. It made its own path, twisting and turning in the direction of his square chin. It peeked over the edge of his jaw, threatening to fall, but it just stayed there, while another tear skirted around his nose and to the other end of his chin. His smooth, freshly shaven face made an easy surface for the other drops to roll down his cheeks. Mrs. Boukman, still not quite sure if this was real life fell to her knees, a single tear now making its way down her face. She touched the delicate skin that covered the wrist of the body on the ground and felt for the constant beat of a pulse. She felt nothing. Mrs. Boukman stared up again at her husband, unable to look down. The tear that had threatened to fall off his chin was now long gone and other tears had taken its place. Mrs. Boukman, eyes now blurry from tears, felt for his hand. She felt his tight grip and looked for some solace, but there was only darkness as they sat for hours, staring at their lifeless daughter.

162 PB A New Age Tyler Cammann

The streets were packed. The noises were unbearable, all jumbled together, impossible to comprehend. But, from his apartment, he could see everything. Protesters, armed with signs, phones, and the hunger for freedom, marched down the streets. The army was sent by president, Ramidh Abu-Niet to stop the protesters, which meant by any force necessary. Almost completely in synch, the soldiers in riot gear converged on the protesters. and burning the civilian’s eyes. With the few that remained, the soldiers released dogs. - - ters landed on his balcony. Abdel was a young man, but was not foolish like most people his age. Many people believed in a country with free speech and wanted a new government. But Abdel believed this would cause them to lose traditions that they had had for hundreds of years, and who streets, and were then quelled by soldiers. All this civil unrest has left Abdel’s country in turmoil. Abdel missed when he felt safe going to the store without being caught in a violent protest. Abdel walked over to his cabinet and pulled out a glass. He turned his faucet and police cars to arrest stunned or injured protesters. Abdel drank from his glass. Abdel admired the protester’s determination and perseverance. But Abdel was posi- taking one large swig of water, Abdel heard someone running up the stairwell. Abdel was nervous. What if it was a soldier? He knew he shouldn’t have anything to worry about. He had done nothing wrong. But still, what if he was falsely accused? The person was running down the hallway. Abdel’s heart quickened as the person neared his door. Abdel hoped they would pass. Then, there was a frantic knock on the door. Abdel, starting to breath heavily, walked to the door and opened it. A man quickly ran in and shut the door. Abdel was surprised. The man wore a torn shirt and dirty jeans. He held down tight on his right arm, which looked like it was bleeding. He was panting heavily and sat down in a chair to catch his breath. Not only was Abdel surprised, but he was also angry. What

163 PB did this man think he was doing? “You need to leave. What do you think you’re doing here?” Abdel questioned. It took the man a few seconds before he could speak. “I am so sorry. I needed to get off the streets. The police are arresting anyone they can down on the street. Please, can you just help me dress my wound?” “Aren’t there ambulances in the street to help you?” “No, they are only police cars. They beat one man who had two broken legs because he could not walk to a police car.” Abdel was stunned by this. “Fine, but I hope you are not just tricking me.” Abdel made his way to his bathroom. He opened his medicine cabinet and got some disinfectant. Abdel then opened the cabinet underneath the sink and retrieved a roll of gauze and some tape. He walked back and put the items down on the table in front of the man. “I’ll put the disinfectant on for you, and you’ll wrap up the wound.” Abdel poured disinfectant on the harsh gash. It looked like it was done by a police baton. The man winced as the liquid settled in his wound. “Would you like a glass of water?” he asked. “Yes, please” the man responded. Abdel walked back to give the man a glass of water. “What is your name?” he asked, curious. “Marid. You?” “Abdel.” They spoke awkwardly, knowing this was not a situation either of them had really planned on going through today. After Abdel gave Marid the glass of water, Abdel sat in the chair adjacent to Marid. “So, do you believe all of that ridiculousness that all the rebels believe?” Abdel stated rudely. “Yes, including that ridiculousness like free speech for example” Marid put sarcastically. “Don’t you think as a modern society, we should be allowed to speak our minds?” “What of our traditions? Changing to a democracy would change our very culture which we have lived by for hundreds of years! Besides, what has our government done to “A few years ago, when the government raised taxes, many people just could not pay them. They began sending soldiers to take these people away to be put in jail and be tortured. I was unable to pay the taxes, and my wife and daughter were taken from me. I have not seen them since.” Abdel just sat there, stunned, but also feeling regret for what he had said before. Abdel knew he wasn’t lying from the pained expression on his face. They sat there in silence for a while. After the police cruisers left, Marid decided to leave. When he shook

164 PB his hand, Abdel could see retelling the account of his family had really done something to the man. He moved slower and still remained in a dark mood. Once he left, Abdel began thinking about what he had said. - ment. But not with weapons. With words. No matter what, Abdel knew that the protesters would be successful. Times were changing.

165 PB A Friendship

Lorne and I used to be real good friends. We used to play basketball together every day after school at my house. We also made a song together. Lorne sang, and I applied all of the music from my computer. We had every class together all the way until the sixth grade, when we had none. He got switched to another basketball team. Their team had practices right after school. Our friendship basically stopped. Here is the story about us in the end of the seventh grade. I walked down the school hallway, stopping every time I saw a cool poster to read it. There are English stories, art projects, a timeline from the history class, and the science - tinents drift away from each other. It was me and Lorne working on it together. I smiled remembering it. them and ask Lorne, “Hey Lorne, do you want to hang out today and play some basketball with me?” Lorne paused, then laughed and simply said no. He then just walked away with Don. I was really confused. We used to hang out every day together. What happened between us? The whole walk home I couldn’t help wondering what had happened between me and Lorne. I tripped on a piece of side walk was cracked into the shape of North America. I thought about the science project and how much fun we had together on it. I just couldn’t understand what happened. The next day at school I was looking for Lorne. When I found him he was standing with Don again. I asked why he laughed at me. He replied “Why would I want to hang out with someone like you?” after two small years?” “A lot can happen in two years Kip” he said then walked away with Don. The rest of the day I was wondering what had happened, even more. I still knew all about technology and computers, and he still liked music. We both liked basketball. Why doesn’t he like me anymore? Also, it was weird that he was hanging with Don who is really annoying. He never liked him before. I went home that day after school, it was a Friday. I went to my room and listened to the song we made together. It was a pretty good song. Then on Monday I planned to get

166 PB his friendship back once more. I would use the song that we made two summers ago. I saw Lorne looking at the science projects. I came up to him and asked once more if he wanted to come over to my house and make some music. He replied “That sounds like lots of fun, and I would-“he was cut off by Don who said, “He wouldn’t like to go to your house. ‘Cause he’s going over to mine.” Lorne said “yea I want to go to Don’s house today, not yours.” When Lorne and Don were walking away I could hear Don saying “I really saved you back there. Why were you near those dumb science posters anyway?” I realized that whenever Don was around, Lorne was different for some reason. The next day at school Don was absent. I thought that it might be my chance to get my friendship with Lorne back. I found him and said “you wanted to come over to my yesterday, didn’t you. How about today? ” “That sounds great, how about right after school at your house?” “Sounds great, I’ll see you then!” We tried to become friends again, but he changed a lot and we knew, after meeting together another three or four times, that our friendship just wouldn’t work.

167 PB Regret

The bright, stunning blue sky is what bothered the man the most. continued down the small alleyway he was walking through at the time. But soon it became very apparent to the man that something was wrong. What is this feeling? would be a moment, just to see what could possibly be wrong and if he stopped walking as if it was straining; as if his whole body went weak. The man started clutching his neck; and he was suddenly unable to perform the mere task of breathing, which was subsequently making it impossible for the man to move “Help...” The man managed to say, but it came out as a small gasp; something that would hardly qualify as a whisper, so his cry for assistance would go unheard even if there was someone around to help the man. The man, on a shortage of oxygen, was forced down to his knees. What is… What is going on…? As his ability to move was restrained by the fact the amount of energy he had to do anything was very low, he slowly turned his head to see what could have caused such an event, and he realized then that just turning his head caused him severe pain. Through the pain, however, he did barely manage to turn his head around to see if anyone was there. No one was in sight. The man let go of the tension that had built up in his neck to turn it, and he let his head dangle. The energy the man still had within himself was scarce. The man slowly dropped to his knees. His torso area felt as if there was a burning pain inside it, and there was nothing that could be done to put it out. A terrible sensation of fear shot through the man’s weakened body, and the man kept repeating the same words in his head. Why can’t… why can’t I breathe… I can’t… I can’t die here… was supposed to be the long-postponed destination the man was going to eventually be

168 PB forced to reach after a life full of success and happiness. Death was not supposed to strike him unexpectedly, when the man desired to live, and cut the journey of his life short. I cannot die here, I cannot… I cannot die here… managed to lift his head to see if anyone could see what the man was having trouble with. Still there was no one who could have triggered such a problem, or someone who could help the man. The man was inconveniently located in a very isolated area, and the possibility of anyone showing up in the place the man was located in the next minutes was very low. My phone. I have my phone somewhere. The man moved his trembling, weak right hand, as his left was still clutching his neck by instinct of being unable to breathe, and placed it slowly across his body where his left pocket was, and where he last remembered his phone to be. But as the man placed his enervated hand on his left pocket area, he immediately felt a problem. There was nothing within the pocket, as he made contact with the outside layer of his jean, and he dismally felt the emptiness of his pocket. No… He, at this moment remembered that he had taken out his cellphone and placed it on the desk in his living room apartment, as he did not think having his phone on this walk would be necessary. The remaining hope the man still had within himself had just shattered, and the hope that he could survive whatever he was going through had gone from a desperate, fearful hope to hoping against the inevitable. The man’s body collapsed under the bitter disap- pointment, and his body from his knees up fell straight down onto the hard, unpaved road in the alleyway where he found himself. His will to survive was still strong, but his belief that he would survive through this daunting situation was slimming. I cannot die now… My life has barely even begun… The man had already lived through twenty-some years of his life, but he believed that the greater parts of his life were still to come, and the man had planned to do great things before death struck him. The burning pain in his chest area was only getting worse, as it felt as if the burning The pain was excruciating for the man, but all he could manage to do was mumble, as his

169 PB ability to breathe was still impaired. I must live… The man had been very successful in whatever activity he was partaking in through- wanted to reach, and the standards the man set for himself would seem ludicrous to some, but to him those standards were what was necessary. What most of his peers and observers admired about this man is that he showed no fear to any challenge or problem. When most would shy away from an issue in fear of failing, this man faced the problem and embraced it, either solving the problem victori- ously (which was most often the case), or the challenge was too great for him, which while the occasional temporary failure bothered him, he understood that the greatest knowledge came from accepting failure and learning from it. That is what made this man so successful in his lifetime, and is what commanded such reverence from the people around him. But he did fear something about life. One thing and one thing only. Death. It was a subject the man had managed to evade within his mind for quite some time, but it was something the man knew he feared. He wanted to make it appear that he was fearless, but death was something that bothered the man endlessly. It wasn’t the pain that bothered the man of dying. The man feared no pain. It was the ending that absolutely frightened the man. The sheer fact that death was the ending for life as the man knew of it. Life after death was not something the man believed in, so he thought that this lifetime was all that he had. This wasn’t a sudden realization that he feared death either. The man had always feared death. Over the man’s lifetime, he had conquered many challenges and accomplished many feats, but death was one thing that was alarmingly inevitable for the man. Some of the people the man had met had always said that once the time comes, they would accept death with open arms, but Nikko had never been able to bring himself to accept such a concept. He envied the ability to not fear death, but the issue that there was an unavoidable ending is something that was a never ending nuisance to the man. And here the man was, lying lifelessly on his back, his chest in agonizing pain, with an unwillingness to accept death. The fate of death was unmistakable for the man, and the thought of that was making the man insane in his last moments. You only live once… I cannot die in a way like this… The man promised him from a very young age that he would accomplish greatness,

170 PB on mankind. If the man was going to die, the man wanted to die for a valiant cause that would contribute to something great. He did not want to die in such a pathetic way as this. He was now unable to perform the task of moving his head, as it seemed he was too weak to even do something as simple as that. His ability to think was slowly slowing down, and the screaming within his head was forced to calm down. The last thing the man had been his vision. That… that sure is beautiful… The simplicity and beauty of the sky to the man at this moment struck him severely hard. chasing greatness been a bad thing? The belief that he had for what felt like his whole lifetime was that achieving a form of greatness would bring an immense happiness that - tion the man had come to right now was that the man had not been happy in the longest amount of time. While others were, as the man viewed, not nearly on the same level as the man, they had this blissfulness about themselves, which as the man did not take par- ticular notice at the time, he coveted now. Is the pursuit of greatness foolish? What is more important… true and real happiness or chasing and achieving greatness? That was the dilemma the man was thinking at his last moment. Those were the last thoughts the man would ever think.

171 PB Short Story Emma Pound

As I was walking through the crowd I suddenly felt someone elbow me. I turned around and all I saw was a man about 10 feet away running trying to get through the crowd. I thought about if he had stolen anything from anybody but when I looked in my The only thing that I knew I shouldn’t do was call the police. They wouldn’t do anything because they had no idea what the man looked like. In fact, I had no idea what the man looked like. All I did know was that I needed to just go home and call my number to When I got home all I could think about was the man. I tried describing him in my head but all I saw was him running recklessly through the crowd. I grabbed my house rings but then, someone answered. “Hello?” a deep, scary voice said. I paused because I didn’t know what to say. “Hello? Is anyone there?” the voice said again. “Yes, hi sorry.” I started. “I’m the owner of the cell phone that you’re talking to. I need my phone and if we can maybe meet up somewhere and you can return it to me.” “Sure. Meet me at 103 Grand street by four o’clock” the man said. As I was listening to his voice, it seemed to get more and more familiar. “Sounds good,” I said and hung up. I guess that was easy enough. I was relieved that he was going to return it to me but at the same time, I was scared. I didn’t know who this man was, what his name was or where 103 Grand street is. It was 3:52 so I decided to leave now because I didn’t know how long it would take to get there. I looked up the street on maps.com and found the directions. I grabbed my purse, jacket and slid on my shoes and headed out the door. the other buildings, it was broken down and very sketchy. I got out of the car and when I walked out, my heel sunk into the dirt road. “Hello?” I said in a fairly load voice. No answer. I walked up to the cardboard door and pushed it open so hard that it fell. ripped jeans and a t-shirt standing in the dirt path. We started walking towards each other who it was.

172 PB “Looking for this?” the man said holding up my phone. “YES!” I was so relieved that this man didn’t set me up. I started to run towards him. “Thank you! Thank you!” I said but he just smiled. Now he looked very familiar. He gave me my phone and I don’t think there was any chance but I asked him anyways. “What’s your name?” He looked at me like I was crazy. “Charlie” “Did you go to Columbus high school?” I wondered. “Yeah? Why?” Charlie gave me a strange look. “It’s me, Bella! Don’t you remember? We were best friends in high school!” “Oh yeah!” Charlie said and opened his arms to give her a hug. “Where do you work? I want to know everything! And why did you steal my phone?” “I didn’t know that I stole your phone! Actually I don’t have a job or a home.” As soon as Charlie said that, my heart sank. Everything that we were just cheering about is now sad. I can trust him right? I mean we were best friends in high school which was only 8 years ago. It’s not like he would steal anything. There was a long pause because I had to think about this. “Well you can stay at my house for a couple of nights if you need to.” I said. “YES! Thank you so much!” Charlie said jumping up and down. This was the happi- est I have seen him in a long time. “Do you need to get any clothes or anything?” I asked curiously. “No this is all I got.” Charlie said smiling. We both got in the car and drove away. It only took about 10 minutes to get home. When we pulled up to my apartment, Charlie got out and stood there staring at it. “Come on!” I said and Charlie quickly followed. “You can sleep here.” I pointed at the guest room bed. “Where did you go to college?” I asked. “I didn’t go to college.” Charlie responded. “Oh, okay. Then tell me about your life.” I asked curiously. “I’m sure that your life is much more interesting than mine!” Charlie said. Char- lie was acting strange. We weren’t acting the same around each other as we did in high school. There wasn’t much to talk about with Charlie because his life isn’t as great as I thought it would be. It was awkward when we talked and there were many pauses. It was now 5:53 and I could tell that Charlie was hungry. I asked him if he was hungry and he just shrugged. “I’ll make some spaghetti. How does that sound?” Charlie didn’t answer. All he was doing was looking at everything peculiarly. He ate the spaghetti very cautiously, like

173 PB someone was watching him. All I could think of was why would Charlie be stealing phones. Was he stealing anything else? Dinner was hushed. It was now 9:30 and I could tell that Charlie was ready for bed. “I think I’m going to go to bed.” Charlie announced. He walked away into his room and soon, I was in bed too. The next morning I woke up and went into Charlie’s room to see if he was awake and his bed was made. He is probably making breakfast I thought. His room seemed different, empty. I walked into the kitchen and there was no one there. All I thought about was why Charlie stole my phone. Why would he? Did he want to sell it to get money? I started to notice that things were missing, like my vase and my coffee table. Charlie. Charlie stole everything. My TV, my lamps, everything. Charlie didn’t give me an explanation of why he stole my phone because he wasn’t done. That’s why he was looking at everything so peculiarly. But where would he put everything? I ran over to the window. My car. Everything was gone. I trusted him. And now I have nothing.

174 PB Sometimes, Dreams Do Come True Brandon Ferguson

BEEP… BEEP… BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP… The Heart Rate monitor’s monotone whine whistled throughout the room, until it sounded - pital bed. The body seemed familiar in many ways, then, it struck him. Derrick looked closer, only to see his Grandpa Joe lying lifeless… Derrick woke up with a start. His dream startled him as he thought about it. Seeing Grandpa Joe die right in front of him, he couldn’t bear the thought of losing his Grandpa. As he thought about this, he felt a tear roll down his cheek. He wiped it off his face and jumped out of bed. He opened the curtains, only to reveal a very bright sun, gleam through his window. He winced as the rays of sunlight glared into his eyes. He turned away from the window and tossed on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. His dark brown hair bounced around his head as he trampled down the stairs. As he reached the kitchen, he spotted his Mother cleaning the dishes. “Hey, Mom!” Derrick said. “Hi, honey,” Derrick’s Mom replied as Derrick hopped up onto the table. “Anything new?” Derrick asked. “Grandpa Joe is still in the hospital…” Derricks Mom trailed off. Her hands froze the instant she said that. The faucet poured out water onto the delicate china that lay in her hand. It was almost as if, she was in a trance. “Is he… Doing better?” Derrick slowly asked. cause of his aneurysm.” “And your girlfriend called,” Derrick’s Mom said with a smile on her face. “Ha Mom, real funny. Who actually called?” Derrick questioned sarcastically. “Jessica called. She wanted to know if you wanted to go over her house.” “OK, well, can I go?” “Sure,” Derrick’s Mom replied. “OK, see ya later,” Derrick said. Derrick turned around and walked out the door towards Jessica’s house. Derrick and Jessica have been best friends. They always hung out with each other, and both their families were mutual friends. When he arrived there, he knocked on the hard double door entrance to Jessica’s House. Jessica opened the door and ushered Derrick in. “Hey, Derrick,” Jessica said.

175 PB “Hey, Jess,” Derrick replied. “Mom, Derrick is here,” Jessica yelled. “OK!” Jessica’s Mom answered. Derrick trailed Jessica up the stairs into her room. As Derrick entered Jessica’s room, he noticed it had been re-designed. The walls have been re-painted a lavender color. The bed and dressers have been rearranged to the side to create more space. A soft furry looks beautiful!” Derrick exclaimed. “My Dad got his paycheck and he insisted that I re-decorate my room,” Jessica explained. “It looks nice,” Derrick complimented. “Thanks,” Jessica replied. “You want to play truth or dare?” “Sure,” Derrick answered. Jessica walked over to her end table beside her bed and grabbed her I-Pad. She turned on the I-Pad and opened up the app. She leaped onto her bed and relaxed her head on a soft pillow. Jessica ushered Derrick to join her and he did the same. Derrick leaned over and peered down at the screen. He watched as Jessica inserted their names into the app. Jessica shook the I-Pad up and down until it landed on Jessica’s name. “Truth or dare?” Derrick asked. “Dare,” Jessica answered. “Ummm… Jump on one foot around the room and bark like a dog!” Derrick exclaimed. Jessica got up off the bed and started to jump on one foot around the room. Then she started barking wildly. “Will you two please calm down! I’m trying to read the newspaper!” Jessica’s Mom yelled. “Yeah! Sorry Mom!” Jessica replied. Derrick looked deeply into Jessica’s bright blue eyes and they both burst out laughing. “OK, next one!” Derrick said. He shook the I-Pad and it landed on Derrick’s name. “Truth or dare?” Jessica asked. “Dare,” Derrick replied. “Ummm… I can’t think of any,” Jessica said. “Do you want to use the suggestion thing?” Derrick asked. “Sure,” Jessica answered. As Derrick selected the suggestion button, the phone rang throughout the house. “My Mom will answer it,” Jessica explained. They waited until the suggestion popped up. “Derrick! Your Mom wants to talk to you!” Jessica’s Mom yelled.

176 PB “OK! I’ll be right back,” Derrick explained. Derrick leaped off the bed and walked down the stairs. Jessica’s Mom handed Derrick the phone. “Hello?” “Hey, honey,” Derrick’s Mom said. “Hey, what do you need?” Derrick questioned. “Well, I have some bad news,” Derrick’s Mom explained. “What is it?” Derrick asked. “It’s about Grandpa Joe.” Derrick felt his heart sink when he heard that. He thought back to the dream that he had when he experienced Grandpa Joe dying right in front of him. “What about hi-hi-him?” Derrick stuttered. He could barely get the words out of his mouth. His entire body is tense and shaking nervously at the thought of Grandpa Joe dying. He started to pace back and forth. “He… Passed away…” Derrick’s Mom trailed off. Derrick’s heart skipped a beat when he heard his Mom say that. His pace stopped and he stared out the window. He released the phone out of his grasp and it collided with the - sica overheard him sobbing, and ran down the stairs towards him. “Is everything OK?” Jessica questioned. Derrick could get a single word out. He felt all of his emotions mix together around him, sadness, depression, frustration. He could feel Jessica’s arms encase him with warmth. He could only make out four words, “My Grandpa… Is dead…”

177 PB Immature Grown Ups

“Caity, it’s your turn to pay the child care bill!” my father screamed, as he stood next to the car door. punch my father. “No you didn’t, I got a letter saying that it is overdue!” my father yelled pointing at the mailbox. arms. Both parents had veins popping out of their heads. - mature kids, you have to stop!” I screamed. My mother went back in the house. “Bye Melinda,” my dad said softly. I went over to hug him. “Bye daddy,” I said in a sweet tone. He climbed into his car and slammed the door. I waved to him until he reached the turn where I couldn’t see his car anymore. This was that I should just go in my room and do something I enjoy and just try to ignore them. Sometimes I listen to her, I really love drawing, and sometimes I do that. I even draw not. “Honey, you got to get up,” my mother said slightly shaking me. “Ugh,” I moaned as I thought to myself, “Why do I have to get up?” - “Ah!” I shouted looking at myself. I looked like Frankenstein’s wife. My hair was knotted into a ball on the top of head. I took out my toothbrush, squirted the toothpaste and got to business. For me, getting ready in the morning is like another task I have to “Melinda, it’s 7:30!” my mother yelled from the bottom of the stairs. Mom was and sweat pants and slipped into them. ”Let’s go Melinda,” my mom said with an unpleasant tone. “Okay, one second.” I said annoyed that my mother was so impatient. I quickly

178 PB brushed my hair then put it in the nicest bun I could, squirted perfume on and I was ready. “Here you go,” my mom said, handing me a bagel with butter. “Thanks,” I said. We got out the door when down the stairs to the car. I got in, trying to avoid all my mom’s work papers. “Ah,” I said as a sound of relief. My mom started the car and drove quickly but safely. I was half asleep, but still eating my bagel. I thought of what Ms. Erica and I were going to talk about. I never really wanted to go to her. I mean, who wants to wake up at 7:00 in the morning on a Saturday to go to a therapist? Not me. Sometimes it’s nice; we talk about completely random things like singers and bellybuttons. Most of the time, we I studied outside, the beautiful morning sky, how the pink and the light blue mesh together to create a radiant purple. I loved to study people; I watch them walk as we drive by. As the sun rose, it glared into my eyes. I put down the visor to block the sun. “We’re here, you ready?” my mom asked. “I’m ready, like I’ve always been,” I replied getting out of the car. Mom asks me that question every single time I go. “So, what are you going to talk about?” my mom asked curiously. “Stuff,” I said not giving her the information she wanted. I never like sharing what Ms. Erica and I talk about. I’m afraid if I tell my mom what we talk about, she might be offended. “Okay,” she said looking at me awkwardly. I pulled open the glass pane door, and held it open for my mother. My mother and I approached the bright yellow front desk. “We’re here for Ms. Erica Johansen, my daughter, Melinda has an appointment,” my mother said. The lady at the front desk searched her computer. “Melinda Laney?” the lady asked looking up from the computer screen. “Yes,” my mother answered her arm on the counter, exhausted and annoyed that she had to be here with me. “She will be right with you,” the lady replied taking off her glasses. I wandered around the place, as I usually do, looking for new posters or magazines. I saw this maga- night. I wanted to get the magazine and stick right in my mother’s face. “Melinda?” Ms. Erica said. I walked over and smiled. “Bye mom,” I said. Mother waved back. “So, how are you doing today?” Ms. Erica asked as we were walking to her room. “Fine,” I replied. I stopped short, and made a left into her room. I sat down in the swirly chair and went around in circles.

179 PB “Have you been doing what I suggested?” Ms. Erica asked, placing some papers on her lap. I nodded, not looking at her. “Melinda, have you?” Ms. Erica asked seriously, trying to get into my face. “I know,” she said in an absorbing tone. about a bill or something,” I whined. My eyes started to tear up. “Yeah, and did you interrupt?” she asked. “I told them that they were both immature and to shut up.” I moaned looking down. “Hmm, why didn’t you go in your room?” Ms. Erica said looking at me disappointed. “I told you, they can go on forever, I wanted to break it up early so that it wouldn’t get serious,” I told her. it out,” Ms. Erica said trying to convince me. Erica suggested. “Okay” I said. She went in the closet and pulled out the paper, glue, scissors and markers. I started to write “Melinda” in bubble letters. I started to think about why I am on the door. “Come in,” said Ms. Erica. “Ms. Erica, your next patient, Isabel is here,” said the lady at the front desk sticking her head through the door. “Looks like our time is up Melinda” said Ms. Erica holding out her hand. I shook her hand. “I will see you next week, correct?” she asked me. “I believe so,” I replied. knew for sure it would not be me. When mom and I arrived home from the therapist, dad was parked on the side of the beat through my ears. As I got out dad was holding pair of shoes I had forgot there. “You forgot these,” my dad said waving them in the air. “Thanks,” I said taking them from him. “So Mitchell, when are you going to pay that bill?” my mom asked mysteriously. “Caity it’s your turn!” my dad wailed.

180 PB I quickly ran in the house. I grabbed the house phone, who am I going to call? The police? No, my mom works for the police department. Neighbors? Na. I dialed 9-1-1. As I heard it ring, I thought I was going crazy. I was, I was going crazy, but I didn’t care. could over hear my parents, curses were being said, hurtful words that I couldn’t bear to hear. I shut my bedroom door. “Fire Department, how can I help you?” A lady said. I went blank, Melinda how could you do this? Answer her Melinda! “What’s your name hun?” the lady asked. “My name is Melinda,” I answered her pinching myself. My heart was pounding. “Where is your house Melinda?” the lady asked. “I live at 67 Oak Road,” I replied nervously. “We’ll be right over,” the lady said. I heard the dial tone. My jaw opened and I dropped the phone. I was thinking of all the punishments I would receive for this. Am I I know I am totally grounded. My heart pounded, my mouth dried and my palms were dripping. I felt like I was going to vomit, but this was the only way to get their attention. was waiting for the sirens to start. “Caity, just pay the bill, it’s due soon!” my father said waving his arms. “Mitchell, I paid it last time, do you want to see the record?” my mother said pointing “Wow, those sirens are awfully close,” my dad pointed out, turning around trying to “Yah, they are,” my mom agreed. They actually agreed on something, that’s a start! “Mitchell, it’s due in a week, pay it!” my mom screamed, refocusing my father. All of a sudden, while I’m watching those two argue, I heard the sirens getting closer. I felt like I was going to faint. I’m dead! Why did I do this? I know why, because my parents can’t down the street and saw a humongous, red truck coming our way. I sat on the steps with out of different places.

181 PB stood there. “Caity, I’m not paying it!” my dad screamed placing his hands in his pockets. “Well, I guess the child care bill is not being paid, along with the dental care!” my mom wailed. “Wait, you didn’t pay the dental care bill? Are you kidding me?” my dad yelled in shock. “And how would you know?” my father asked. me. “You may think that it’s not a big deal, but, it is. You have no idea how much pres- parent that understands! “I guess we can work on making decisions with each other.” My father suggested. came out of the house. “We didn’t call,” my mother said surprised. “I did,” I said with my chin high. “Why?” asked my father. “Because you guys drove me crazy! Fighting every single time you guys are together! Do you guys realize my friends don’t want to come over? Wait, scratch that, I don’t have started streaming down my face. “Oh, honey,” my mother said starting to walk towards me to hug me. “No,” I said pushing her away. She stood there in shock. “Stop with the sweeties and the honeys, I don’t want that, I want you guys to stop!” I yelled, keeping my distance. “You pay $100, and I’ll pay$100, deal?” my father asked.

182 PB “Deal,” my mother said agreeing. Oh my, did I just hear that? They paid something, together. “Well, I guess my work here is done.” I said walking back inside. “Wait a second young lady,” my mother said. “Get back here,” my mother said wav- “What?” I asked in a polite voice. “What do you say?” my father asked. Looks like my politeness did not work. My shoulder slouched and I took a breath. truck. their helmets. We waved as we watched the truck reach the end of the street. “Now for you,” my father said. Oh no, here it comes, I’m grounded, no iPod, no staying up late, what is it? “We’re, so sorry, we didn’t realize we were doing this to you,” my mother apologized. “Yeah,” my father agreed. “But you still have a punishment, you cost us $200.” My father added. “So, no drawing class for two weeks,” my mother said with that quiet tone. laughing.

183 PB Stop Chuck

There once was a man named Chuck who abused dogs. He started around two years ago when his best friend mistreated his dog. When Chuck found out what had happened to his dog, he knew exactly who it was because his best friend Henry didn’t like his dog at all. He was known for hurting and killing his friend’s dog. Chuck wanted to get re- venge on his best friend so he abused Henry’s dog. Chuck wanted to hurt other people’s dogs because he had gone through the pain of someone hurting and killing his own dog. Every week Chuck went to different dog parks and took certain dogs. Chuck always tricked the owners of the dogs and acted like he cared for them. After a couple of weeks, he asked the owner if he could take care of her dog. If she said no, he would just run away with the dog. Chuck always took the dog to a warehouse he owned located deep in - ent dogs such as huskies, pit bulls, German Shepherds and a lot more. In the warehouse he ran away to a different country or state and changed his name and identity. One week had passed and Chuck traveled to a different park where he attempted to steal a certain dog again. He started to look around and met a woman named Melissa. She had a huskie puppy that was a couple of months old. When Chuck saw Melissa’s dog to work to the time she returned home, Chuck knew that the dog was home alone. When he had found out everything he needed to know, he went to her home and tried to steal her dog. He didn’t know she was coming home early that day, and when he was leaving her home, Melissa noticed him taking her dog! Melissa didn’t say anything to Chuck, but she angrily followed him to see where he was going with her puppy. At the same time she was calling the police. Now it was very late and it started to rain heavily. Melissa had lost Chuck on the she noticed Chuck behind her car. He was so angry at her! You could see his veins popping out from his neck as his face turned completely red. He was screaming at her and asked her why she had called the police. She was so scared that you could see her whole body trembling from fear. Chuck had told Melissa to go back home and to not follow him because she could end up getting really hurt. So, Melissa went home really irritated. She

184 PB - bered she had placed a chip into her dog’s collar so that he could never get lost. Melissa went home right away to get the GPS to track her dog. When she arrived at the location, she had a lot of police for back up because Chuck was really dangerous. The police Chuck again, but this time they think they lost him forever.

185 PB Ball Hard David Carullo

Alex pressed his forehead against the cold glass of the car window. He watched father’s voice was just noise to Alex, going in one ear and out the other. He was probably going on about how when he was a player his playing hard got him to the top, before his injury however. Alex had heard his father tell him this a thousand times. All Alex heard when his father said “Just do your best,” was “I wish my son was better at basketball.” Alex didn’t care what his father thought about his playing ability. Alex didn’t even want to play basketball. In fact, Alex didn’t like any sports. Alex would much rather stay at home and play with his pets. Alex loved animals; ever since he was a little boy he was fascinated with them. He would always love to go to the local zoo and aquarium. He was especially interested in the apes. He always enjoyed watching the gorillas and their antics at the zoo. Needless to say Alex couldn’t have a pet gorilla, but he had practically loved to care for his pets. He liked it a lot more than playing basketball. Basketball to Alex was a waste of time. He wanted to quit and never look at a basketball for the rest of his life, but it isn’t exactly easy to do that when you’re in the Wilder family. You see, Alex is the son of Chaz Wilder, who famously led the Chester high school Cheetahs to a victory in the Connecticut basketball class A state championship back in 1973. During that championship year, Chaz averaged 31 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds a game while running the point. In the championship game against the Philmore high school Phantoms, Chaz scored a career high 46 points and hit the game winning shot at the buzzer to win the championship. Chaz was a legend in Chester. Some college scouts had caught wind of the game and offered him scholarships to Ohio State, Syracuse, and Duke, but he decided to play at Providence to be closer to his family. By now everybody who was anybody in the college basketball community knew about Chaz Wilder. Some college basketball experts called Chaz the best prospect in the country. But to Chaz’ mis- fortune, the summer before his freshman year, Chaz tore his ACL playing a pickup game with his friends. Chaz tried to make a comeback, but reinjured his knee during a practice. Chaz was sidelined for the rest of his career. So when Chaz got married and had a son, - ketball at the University of Massachusetts. Chaz’ next son, Billy is currently playing at Chester as well. As you can tell, Alex comes from a basketball family. Alex didn’t want to let his father down by quitting the team, but HE didn’t want to play. Another thing was

186 PB that Chaz wasn’t just Alex’s dad; he was also his basketball coach. “You hear me Alex? Alex,” said his father. Hearing his name being called woke him from his daydream. “Yes dad, whatever you say.” “So Alex, you excited about this game today? This one’s for all the marbles!” exclaimed his father. “I sure am dad,” Alex said with a fake smile. “So we’re playing St. Pat’s again huh?” He said jokingly. “Yeah, we’re playing St. Pats,” said Alex coldly. Chaz looked at his son with a puzzled look. “You ok sport?” Chaz wrinkled his brow. “Just have fun buddy,” he told his son. Chaz’ old Chevy turned off the main road and into the parking lot of the school. Alex through the entrance there was a banner hung overhead. The banner read “CYO Cham- pionships”. That was nothing new to Alex. His CYO team had made it to the champion- biggest and most expensive high school in the area. Today Alex’s Holy Father Knights were playing St. Pats for the title. As they neared the gym they could tell another championship game was going on. There were a slew of parents and spectators blockading the game was. Alex had to stand on his tip toes to see over the wall of people. It turned out it was the girls championship, and judging by the scoreboard in the corner of the gym, it was proving to be an exciting game. The two teams playing were St. Mary’s and St. James’. Holy Father had played both those parishs boys team and beaten them both with little resistance. The score of the girls game was 43-45 in favor of St. James with 10 seconds left in the game. There were about 250 seats in the gymnasium, and not one of the ball. The point guard received the inbound and dribbled up the court, calm as could be. Time was the enemy in this situation. The St. James defender was in the St. Mary’s point guard’s face, trying to put space between her and the basket. There were 5 sec- ball seemed to stay in the air forever, slowly gravitating toward the basket. The backspin from the shot made the gold lettering on the ball that read “Wilson” glisten from the shine

187 PB of the lights from the ceiling. All eyes were on the ball as the game clock hit zero and the buzzer sounded. SWISH the center of the court and piled on the point guard who hit the shot. They were laughing Alex had to crack a smile. He could only imagine what it felt like to hit a shot like that; he never could do something like that. The St. James players hung their heads and some even cried. It was quite a scene to see players rejoice and jumping around on one side of the court and players crying and slouching around on the other. When the trophy ceremony for the St. Mary’s girls team started, Alex met up with his teammates in the hallway. “Alright guys, this is the big one. We’ve played this team before and we know how they operate. They have three perimeter shooters and one big guy in the middle. They just put the other kid where he could do the least damage. They have no depth so we should take advantage of that,” Chaz paused and looked at this team. “We’ve done this before, so let’s go to work,” said Chaz. “Ok, here’s the starting lineup. Same as always, one.” Alex had always started and played point guard, ever since 3rd grade. Alex was pretty decent, but he was nothing to write home about. He could pass the ball, had quick brown curly hair and skinny legs. Despite his awkward frame, Kyle could really play. He had this signature Euro Step shot that left his opponents with broken ankles. Kyle was a natural basketball player; he could pass, shoot, and play defense. He was what some people would call “the whole package”. There was no question that Kyle should be the point guard and Alex should be the shooting guard, but having your dad as the coach comes with its advantages, even if Alex didn’t want to play at all. While Kyle was the best player, the biggest player was Big Nick. Big Nick was about 6’ 2” 210 at age 14; and he had to shave twice a day. Big Nick had a wide body, but he was very quick and agile. His unique combination of size and speed made him averaged about 20 points and 17 boards a game. The other two players, like Alex, were nothing special. Sam could hit jump shots, but not much else. He scored about 5 points a game.

188 PB Then there was Frank, who was a horrible post man, but he kept himself in the start- bucket in a game. His teammates called him “the island” because whoever he guarded would be neutralized from the game like they were stranded on an island.

Once the girls teams left the court, Alex’s team claimed the bench far from the door. They placed their belongings down and began warming up. Just like every year, the DJ was set up in the corner of the gym, the music blasting loud for everyone to hear. Alex always thought the DJ at the game was a cool touch because it made it seem like it was the pros. As the Knights warmed up, the St. Pat’s team entered the gym. They had mean looks on their faces, as if they wanted to literally kill the Knights. Their scowls seemed to burn right though Alex. Both teams were doing layups from the elbows. The buzzer sounded to tell the players to go to their benches. The refs met up at the middle of the court and talked softly to each other before hastily returning to their positions. Alex had seen these refs before. One was an older man who looked to be in his mid-sixties. Alex take any lip from players and did not hesitate to give out a technical foul. The other ref was a younger, short, thin light skinned black man with a shaved head. This guy basically went along with whatever the other ref said, so he was more or less a spectator. Both teams walked nonchalantly out to their spots for the tip. Big Nick was doing the jump and he matched up against a tall red-headed kid with freckles. “Ok guys you know the rules, let’s play a clean game alright? Let’s have fun,” said the older ref. “Ok, shake hands and let’s get this show on the road.” The players shook hands and the ref took one bounce and went up with it. Big Nick hit it back to Alex; Knights possession. Alex lazily dribbled the ball up the court. He quickly passed it to Kyle on the wing, who spotted Big Nick on the block. Nick faked right and put up a hook from the middle of the paint. The shot kissed off the backboard and fell in. 2-0 Knights. “This is gonna be easy,” thought Alex. St. Pats brought the ball up. Alex was man to man on the point guard, a short, wimpy looking kid with glasses. The wimp passed it to the man who Frank was covering. The guy tried a similar post move to Big Nick’s, but as soon as the ball left his hand, Frank had swatted it away. Kyle scooped up the loose ball and dribbled it down on the fast break. There was no one in front of him so he took it right to the hole and laid it up for two. 4-0 Knights. The game went on like this until the half, when the score was 31-22. At that point in the game, Alex had accumulated few if any mentionable stats. He had

189 PB two assists and one point. Kyle had 15 points and Big Nick had 12. Sam hit a three and Frank had a goose egg, zero. Chaz called his team into the huddle during half time. “Alright guys, if we keep this up, we’ll be the champs. Let’s just keep the pressure on and put this one away early.” Chaz waved his hand for his team to disperse and shoot around. The buzzer sounded to mark the start of the second half. That was a good sign for Alex. That meant only 14 more minutes until the season was over, win or lose. He really could care less about this game. Alex decided he would take it easy the rest of the game “We’re up by nine anyway, what’s the difference if I play hard or not?” he thought. The St. Pat’s team inbounded the ball and brought it up. They had set up in a new guards on the perimeter and sat their big man right on the pin. The guy Alex was guarding was dribbling fast. He quickly zipped his pass to his teammate, who passed it back just as quick. Alex gave his man space, protecting him from the drive. The guy looked at Alex, looked at the basket, and shot it up. Alex barely contested it. The ball hit nothing but net for three. The St. Pat’s fans suddenly came alive, ridding a surge of momentum now that their team gave them something to cheer about. “Ok, ok, nice shot, but it’s just three,” he thought. Chaz looked at his son as he brought the ball up. “Don’t give him that Alex!” he called. Alex took the inbound and slowly walked it past the half court line. He was immediately stopped by a swarm to green jerseys. Alex had nowhere to go. He coughed it up and the St. Pat’s point guard picked it up on the fast break, but instead of going for the layup, he stopped behind the arch and threw it up. Once again, it was nothing but net. The St. Pat’s fans rode the momentum like a wave of energy coursing thought the crowd, while the Knight’s fans slumped in their seats. “Come on Alex, don’t get trapped like that!” Chaz yelled a little sharper than the last time he called out. Alex tried to shake it off. He took the inbound again. This time he brought it up a little quicker than the last time. He didn’t meet a wall of defenders as he crossed the line this time. Alex scanned his options. He saw Nick carving out his man on the block, so he sent a hard bounce pass his way. On the bounce, a St. Pat’s defender intercepted the pass and pushed it up the court, where he found his man for another three. It was raining. You couldn’t even hear the person next to you because of how loud the St. Pat’s fans were. Even the St. Pat’s bench was going crazy. The score was know tied at 31. “Timeout! Timeout!” Called Chaz.

190 PB The players huddled at their benches. “What the hell are you doing Alex? That’s three straight bone head plays that cost us the lead!!!” The Knights players looked at the “I’m sorry dad, I didn’t mean to.” “Just take a seat for a while ok,” Alex walked over to the bench with his head hung. “Ok, uh Karl, get in there.” Karl was so far down the bench that Chaz literally had to call down to him. Karl was a tiny red headed kid who had glasses so thick and heavy that they could break your nose. Karl awkwardly stepped into the huddle. Nick and Kyle gave each other a confused look. Karl was the Knights only bench player besides Kevin, who is arguably worse than Karl. Karl never got into the game, let alone the championship game. You’d have to do something pretty bad to get benched in favor of Karl. The game resumed and things evened out. The Knights and St. Pat’s went back and forth. When the Knights hit a shot, so did St. Pat’s. Chaz paced up and down the side- father. The score at the end of the 3rd was 42-42. The 4th quarter started, Alex still on the bench, Karl still in the game. Just like the 3rd quarter, the teams went shot for shot. At this point, Kyle had 21 and Nick had 17. They were the teams’ only source of real offensive production, and even though they were the only ones scoring, St. Pat’s still couldn’t stop them. Now it was the Knights ball, and Kyle was bringing it up. He got it into Nick who shot a fader and was blatantly fouled on the way up. Even the kid who fouled him cursed himself for the poor discipline on the shot. “Up and down, green ball,” the older ref signaled for it to be green ball. Nick looked at the ref, enraged that the ref missed the call. “Are you serious? He was all over me! That’s a trash call man!” Nick shouted. “I know what I saw son,” replied the ref. “Shut up you old geezer! You’re too old to be doing this; you can’t even see the game ‘cause of your bad eyes!” “Ok that’s it, double tech, you’re out!” Nick kept yelling at the ref. Kyle had to hold him back and sit him down on the bench. Now the Knights were without their big man and Kevin had to assume Nick’s position. St. Pat’s got four shots for the double tech, and made two of them, giving St. Pat’s the lead 44-42. Chaz was still keeping Alex on the bench. The game went on, basically Kyle vs. St. Pat’s. Kyle was making shot after shot, and St. Pat’s answered every

191 PB one with a bucket of their own. By the 1:00 mark the score was 51-50 St. Pat’s, until the unthinkable happened. As Kyle went up for his signature Euro Step, he got hacked and landed the wrong way on his ankle. SNAP! You could hear the pop of Kyle’s ankle from the other side of the gym. There was a gasp from the crowd. You could hear Kyle wincing in pain. “Ahh, Jesus Christ, my ankle, it’s the bone, the bone is gone!” Chaz ran out to comfort Kyle, as well as Kyle’s parents. They helped him up and sat him down on the bench. Chaz looked at Alex. “Son, I need you to play. And I don’t mean just play, I mean play your best and better. You understand? No more of this careless play, be smart and play hard, ok?” “You got it pop.” At that very moment, Alex wanted to win this game more than anything in the world. Nothing could faze him at that point. Since Kyle was fouled, Alex had to shoot Kyle’s free-throws for him. Alex sunk St. Mary’s and St. James’. You could tell by the way the point guard brought the ball up that they were going to milk the clock. Since there is no shot clock in CYO, they could sit on the ball for the last shot. The Knights needed to force a turnover, and quick. Alex put pressure on the ball after they had possession for about 19 seconds. The ball handler faked a pass and blew right by Alex for a quick bucket. 53-51 St. Pat’s The Knights’ fans sighed as if to say “not again” to Alex’s poor play. Alex tried not to let it affect him. Now 40 seconds left. Alex walked the ball up. He knew this was on him if they lost, so the only way to redeem himself was to win the game for his team. 30 seconds and running. Alex zipped a pass to Sam. Sam passed it into Frank. 15 seconds. They were holding for last shot. Frank couldn’t do anything with it so he passed back to Alex. 10 seconds. Alex’s man was in his face. Alex pulled a cross-over, which got his man off balance. Alex stepped to his right. 5 seconds. Alex pulled up behind the arch and shot. As soon as the ball left his hand, he knew it was in. Alex wasn’t sure what happened next; it was all a blur. The crowd’s roar deafened Alex. In an instant Alex was on the he had his father to thank for that. When he got up, Alex walked over to his father with a grin on his face. “Some game huh,” said Alex. “Nice shot,” replied Chaz with a grin. Chaz put his arm around Alex. The two walked out of the gym holding the trophy. Alex had never been happier before in his life.

192 PB Trust Issues Nora Cleary

I sat down on the plush green grass outside my school in a circle with 14 other girls I barely knew. It’s a different table every day for me at lunch, just blending in to a group of people who don’t even see me. It has been this way since the beginning of 7th grade, no crazy thing happened to make people hate me, people just…stopped caring. It went on this way until last year, when I bumped into Cailin and dropped all my “Sorry” because that’s just what you say when you walk into someone of her importance. “Don’t be!” she said sweetly. “It was my fault.” By the look of her friends, and what I know about her, this is not normally how this group of people act. If this interaction happened with any of the others, it would be a scoff, an eye roll, and then they’d be gone. But Cailin walks me to the bathroom, then runs to the locker room and offers me her gym shirt. The whole thing is still pretty surreal. I’ve never even had a conversation with Cailin before, and now I’m sitting on the edge of the sink and she’s leaning against a stall and we’re laughing, and talking. And before I know it she actually asks me to sit with her and her friends at lunch. Me. I’ve never been asked to sit at any table. And now, I’m going to be sitting with high school royalty. sit down. It’s not like anybody will notice me. Still, I can’t shake my nerves. I walk over to the table holding my breath. When I’m halfway there, Cailin waves me over. Reas- sured, I sit down between her, and a girl I recognize as Victoria. The rest of the girls at the table, there are about 14 of them, look a little weirdly at me, then switch their gazes to Cailin, but she just pretends not to notice, and begins talking to me about some new trend or something. I feel a little awkward, but I jump in the conversation anyway making talking, Victoria smiles. “I’m Victoria” she interrupts. Yeah, like I didn’t know that. Her voice sounds interested, also a little mean though. But in an effort to be friendly, I smile back. “I like your shirt” I say. She gives a smile showing her perfect, white teeth. “Thanks!” she says.

Three weeks later I’m still sitting at this table. Only now, everybody talks to me, I

193 PB know what they’re talking about. And I get invited to all the sleepovers and everything. People actually know my name. “Hey Cassidy!” I hear in the halls every time I switch classes. So much has changed so fast. Who would have thought that Cailin spilling my coffee on me would be the best thing that ever happened? Everything is just so perfect, what could go wrong? When 7th period comes, I sit down at the round table in the middle of the cafeteria with the rest of my friends, they smile and wave, but no talking, which is REALLY weird for them, because normally, you can’t get them to stop talking. “You guys….what’s wrong? “I say in a puzzled voice. “Nothing! Maggie practically shouts. And the usual chatter rises up. But I can tell that something is wrong, something is just off. After lunch, I walk out of the cafeteria with my head held high. But as soon as the cafeteria doors slam behind me, I can tell everyone’s staring. I get strange looks, and when people see my face, they turn and whisper to those around them. Imminently, I shut down, let my hair fall in front of my face, and walk as quickly as I can down the hall, that’s something I haven’t done all month, since I made friends. “What’s happening?” I think to myself. Days pass as people whisper about me, talk about me, and everyone claims to have no idea what’s going on. Finally after 2 agonizing weeks of abuse, that have progressively grown to people calling me out on things to my face, I sit down at the middle table, and the three girls who were already there wordlessly get up and move. I freeze. Not knowing what to do or say, or if I should follow them. I know I’m close to crying now, so I run next to me, I had only been there for about 10 minutes, but I didn’t even notice her. I stop crying. “What are you doing here?!?” I scream angrily, I think my new “friends” have gotten to my head. But this girl is in my grade, her name is Fiona. She holds out a tissue towards me. “Do you know what people are saying about you?” She says it in such a calm and quiet way, it makes me less upset. “No,” I say through a sob. “No one will tell me,” I say. Then she explains. Cailin, Victoria, and Maggie, had this idea, which they thought would be hilarious. Take a nobody, (me) and turn them into somebody, after everyone knew who I was, they brought me down with everything they could, rumors, pictures, anything they could think of. But that’s the punch line for them, the fun part. It turns out it’s a game they play a lot with girls…I don’t know how I could have missed that.

194 PB I spend the next 4 months working hard to blend in, to go back to what I used to be. Those girls had done a great job making my life horrible. I was called names, and made fun of. I was sure I was the conversation topic of everybody. But as time went on, and better stories to gossip about came along, I slowly faded away. By the end of the year, I was back to nobody. The person who switched in and out between social groups, who never really had a conversation, who didn’t have any friends. I guess I should be happy, Victoria, Cailin, and Maggie don’t even know who I am anymore. But I can remember the beginning of the year, when all I wanted was for someone to know me. And here I am, having worked so hard for people not to know me.

On the last day of school, I run out of the building as fast as I can. Free from every- vacation, I know it will be a happy vacation.

goes on for about 3 months, until one day, on my way outside for lunch, a hand grabs my arm. The face is vaguely familiar, Fiona. “Come sit with us?” She says in a happy, giggly voice. That was weird…since I hadn’t talked to her since last year. I’ve kind of learned not to trust people. But it’s Fiona, the girl who made 400 valentines and handed them out to everyone so no one felt left out on valentines day, the girl who everyone trusted. “Um sure…” I said suspiciously. “Great!” she said, ignoring my tone of voice. She pulls me playfully by the arm to a table full of laughing girls. They all introduce themselves and actually talk to me….which in my experience is not a good sign. But Fiona stays by my side.

I’m beyond happy; in the opposite place of where I thought I would be in freshman year. Now were nearing graduation and I have friends, real friends! I’ve been popular, nobody, someone everyone hated, and now, I’m just a normal girl with her normal friends. I guess sometimes you have to go through a lot to get to where you really want to be. To

195 PB Short Story

Rashawn woke up one Monday morning from his loud Alarm clock. It was hot out, friends from his old school. He moved into a rural area with his family because where he used to live was a very bad neighborhood. Rashawn’s parents do not make a lot of money. They are very poor. Rashawn had one younger named Dwayne. He got to the school and was almost lost because it was so big. As he started asking school. He noticed that everyone he asked was white. In his old school it wasn’t diverse in race, almost everyone was black. There were no whites at his old school. He got to the Rashawn his schedule. classrooms were. Everyone stared at Rashawn with a dirty look. It was time for lunch and he saw that people were getting picked to be on teams for basketball so he went where the playing basketball. He wasn’t the best at basketball but he liked to play it a lot. When school was over he had to walk home. His house was almost 2 miles away from the school. On the way walking home he found a beat up basketball on the side of the road. He took it home with him. It didn’t bounce much but he still used it. When he got home his mom asked him how was school, he just said good and walked outside with the basketball. He went to the nearest park where there was a basketball court. Luckily

196 PB there was no one there. He started practicing basketball until it got dark. He went home and had dinner with his family. His parents asked him and Dwayne a lot of questions about school. Rashawn was exhausted so he went to his room and went to sleep. Next morning he woke up for school. He got dressed and then went to school. When he got to school no one looked at him. No one talked to him. He felt like he was invis- class which was math. During math class he didn’t have a pencil so he asked Patrick for a pencil he knew that his name was Patrick because he saw the name Patrick all over his books. When he asked for the pencil the teacher turned around and starting yelling at Patrick. Patrick was furious. Rashawn was very worried that something bad was going to happen to him on his second day of school. When the class ended and they were in the hallway Patrick started making fun of Rashawn and calling him black. Rashawn didn’t say anything. Patrick started to push Rashawn into the lockers. Rashawn didn’t from Patrick and everyone started to call Rashawn a baby and a loser. Rashawn went to the bathroom and started crying. He wanted to go back where he used to live because he wasn’t the only black kid and he actually had friends. Rashawn’s whole body was hurting so he lifted up his shirt and saw so many bruises on him. Rashawn remembered what the principal said to him if there are any problems to go to him. He thought about and then said to himself if he does than it will make it worse. He sat in the bathroom for a couple of hours and before he knew it, it was already time for lunch. He sat down at a lunch table hoping someone would come to sit next to him and of course no one did. When he basketball game. He got on the wall and wasn’t surprised that he got picked last. Patrick embarrassed him and said that he doesn’t want Rashawn on his team because he is black. Rashawn was mad that Patrick kept on making fun of his race. He went on the other team. Rashawn played very well. Although Patrick was very impressed of how good Rashawn played Patrick still strongly disliked Rashawn. Rashawn thought that practicing at the park the other paid off a lot. When Rashawn went home that day he thought to himself if he became really good at basketball then someone will come up to him. He went to the basketball court and he started playing around. He practiced for hours. He was drenched in sweat and he made it home before it was dark. The weekend came and all Rashawn looked forward to was basketball. He had a pas- sion for basketball. He couldn’t get basketball out of his head. It was already November. Everyday Rashawn played basketball at the park. He tried

197 PB for a real team. The coach was overly impressed of Rashawn’s skills. It was January, Rashawn was the starting point guard for the team and he led them into the playoffs. He heard people say that they’ve never been to the playoffs before. Rashawn was by far the best player on the team. talk. Rashawn was very glad that someone came up to talk. He never really had a “friend” since he left his old school. John said, “Hi Rashawn I’ve heard all about you and that you are really excellent at basketball”. Rashawn replied in shock, “How do you know me? How do you know I play basketball?” John said, “Everyone knows who you are, you are incredible at basketball”. Recess was over and Rashawn went to his 7th period class and all he could think about was his friend John. It made his day that someone came up to him and didn’t push him down or make fun of his skin color but they said something to him that was kind. The next day at school Rashawn and John talked the whole day. At recess John got Later when John went home that day and he got several emails from college teams. He looked at the video on YouTube and saw that there were so many views. He didn’t expect that the video will get that many views. He saw an email from Syracuse College and he remembered that Rashawn said his dream was to go there so he quickly opened the email. The email said that they wanted Rashawn to go to Syracuse for basketball. John quickly ran to Rashawn’s house. Once he got there Rashawn was confused. He didn’t think that he could even get to college and now he is getting emails on junior year of high school from some of the best colleges. Rashawn never gave up. He always tried his best even when he was getting bullied at school. He practiced basketball for hours at the park. When he went back to school the next day the news went around and even Patrick went up to Rashawn and said , “I am sorry for everything I did to you. I told you that you are bad at basketball but I didn’t really mean that I think I was just jealous”.

198 PB Short Story Maya Nolan

Thursday November 12th school I wonder why my parents did this to me. I am seventeen years old, I’ll be going to college next year and they just move me to a new school? What’s the point? These are the questions that have been racing through my mind for the past few days. I go from the vibrant NYC to nowheresville Pennsylvania. I already miss my friends, and my life in the “Big Apple”. Of course I’m sitting alone. Isn’t that what everyone does on and here I am, alone at the back table of the cafeteria. Then practically out of nowhere I see someone approaching me. She’s tall and blonde; this girl was wearing what was possibly the shortest skirt I’ve ever seen. On top it in this school I had to be her friend. And suddenly she was right in front of me. I’m sure I made myself look like a huge loser with my below-the-knee skirt and plain black shirt. I had no idea how to dress for this new school because my old school had uniforms. “Are you Jenna?” she said in overly friendly voice. “Uuhh yeh-yeah” I muttered barely making the words come out of my mouth “I’m new…” “I’ve heard all about you. Wanna’ come sit with us?” she gestures to a group of girls in equally short skirts and high heels. “yeah…sure” I reply without a thought. I was just grateful to be sitting with other people. As I walk to the table on the other side of the room I pull up my skirt a little so it doesn’t look so long. The blond girl struts in front of me with a tiny click in each high heeled step. “Oh by the way I’m Amber , that’s Cassie, Isabel, Sydney, Marie, Jessie and Cara” Amber spoke so fast that the only name I understood was Cara, but I felt exceptionally awkward already so I kept my mouth shut. “Hey Jenna!” all the others muttered in unison like little robots. About a minute later Amber broke the silence “So Jenna… where are ya’ from?” glimmer of admiration in their eyes. “Wow a big city!” one girl said looking mesmerized.

199 PB “You’re so lucky!” a second girl continued. I just stood there and grinned like a child knowing that they envied me in some way. “Wanna’ come to the mall with us after school?” Amber suggested “we can get to know you better!” “Sure!” I replied quickly to ensure she wouldn’t change her mind. In my old school I was never popular. But don’t get me wrong, I had a lot of friends! But I was never popular like this. Maybe moving wasn’t so bad after all. I am already friends with the most popular girl in school! Friday November 13 The mall was great! Amber and I bought a ton of things, and it turns out she is really nice. And I learned the other girls’ names too. They’re also totally friendly and really funny. Cara is pretty quiet though; she seems nice, but quiet. Since we don’t have school tomorrow I’m sleeping over at Amber’s house with the girls tonight. They’re giving me a in in no time! Friday Night Amber’s house in huge. When I got there I could hardly believe I was in someone’s home. And her room looks like one of the sample rooms in a PBTeen catalogue it had chandelier. I was so jealous. Although our house here in Pennsylvania is bigger than our apartment in New York, it is NOTHING compared to her house. “Wow! Jen your hair is gorgeous!” Amber said to me while stroking my auburn hair that she had just straightened as part of my makeover. I feel so different, but it’s good. I’m glad I made friends in this strange place. I know that on Monday I will look like a whole new person. Saturday November 14 Today we’re going ice skating. I guess this small town is growing on me! Although there is not as much to do here as there is in New York where we have shopping on every corner, and Time Square, and central park, At least I haven’t gotten bored yet. As we come into the indoor ice skating rink I slip on my snowy white skates over the thick woolen socks I received from my aunt. used to it. I used to skate a lot when I was younger, and I was good. But I haven’t gone in a while. I tried a spin and I slipped a bit, but I didn’t fall! I tried another, and it was perfect. I guess I haven’t forgotten. The girls and I skated circles around the rink, but then suddenly I fell! I was right next to Amber and I could have sworn she had tripped me.

200 PB But Amber was my friend, and I haven’t been on ice since I was twelve I must be a little rusty. So I stood up, brushed off my dampened jeans and went to catch up with the girls. “Are you ok?!” Amber exclaimed! “Oh my gosh, I didn’t even see you fall!” I doubted Amber had done it. I mean, she hadn’t even see me fall, right? “Oh, its responded to her giving a light laugh, even though I could already feel the bruise forming on my left knee. Monday November 16th Today in school everyone was looking at me. But not for a bad reason, for a good one! People would stop in the hallway to look at me with my new clothes to match Am- ber and the girls’. Then in English I was just sitting at my desk one minute, and then the next all of my papers were on the ground! I came to the conclusion that I accidentally elbowed my folder and everything fell out. But Amber was there too quickly. It seemed like she was waiting for it to happen. I brushed off the thought and picked up all of my and I’m sleeping over Friday, I don’t want to conceive tension. “Oh gosh! Let me help you with that!” Amber came and scooped up the papers, lined then up, and then stuck them back into my purple folder. “Jen you gotta’ be more careful!” she joked. “haha” I faked a laugh “Thanks Amber!” I said halfheartedly. So many “accidents” had happened when she was around. I’ve been blaming myself but I’m not so sure it is me.

Friday November 20th overreacting. At 6:00 I’m going to her house a bunch of the girls have soccer practice so they’re coming late. For a few hours it will just be Amber, Cara and I. 6:00 comes and I walk through the tall double doors of Amber’s mansion. Amber and Cara are already giggling at the kitchen counter so I join them. “Hey, hey, hey Jen!” Cara shouted energetically. I had no idea that she could be so loud. I haven’t had anything but short conversations with Cara because she is usually really shy. It’s hard for me to hold a steady conversation with someone so quiet. “Hey girls, what’s up?” I said recovering quickly from Cara’s surprise. “Not much, want some?” Cara said while Amber held out a big bowl of popcorn. “Yeah, sure” I grab a gigantic handful and slowly peck away at each piece while

201 PB we talk about all kinds of things. Eventually the others walk in through the wide hallway and we slowly make our way up to Amber’s room. I walk into the familiar, spotless, room and sit down on the plush carpet. We talk about some pointless things for a while and then somebody blurted out… “Let’s play truth or dare!” “Yeah” everyone shouted in unison- except for me. I was nervous all of a sudden. What if they asked me a question and I had to tell them my secret. Through the entire game my mind was racing. I didn’t want to tell them, they just couldn’t know, it would ruin everything! Finally someone interrupted my thoughts. “Jen, Jen, Jenna? You ok?” it was Cara I guess I zoned out for a little bit longer than I thought. “Jenna it’s your turn to be asked. Does anyone have an idea?” “I do!” Amber shouted. “Jenna, what’s your biggest secret?” I froze, I couldn’t lie. They’d know! But they are my friends, maybe I can tell them I thought. And suddenly it started spilling out. “When I was 14 I thought I was fat. I was really self-conscious and I didn’t know what to do about it. So that’s when I started making myself throw up. I was young and therapist and now I’m better, but I’d have to say that is my biggest secret.” Everyone was silent; they were just staring at me. I didn’t know what to say so I just stared back at them. Then the worst possible thing happened. They started laughing at me! All of them, and the lousiest part- Amber started it! All of a sudden I felt ashamed of my now skinny body. I always used to like it (although I was ashamed of how it came to Monday November 22nd I stayed in my house all weekend. I don’t think anyone missed me or else they would have called my house. What I walked into school everyone was staring at me all day. I received nothing but ridicule when I walked through the halls to and from my classes. I would hear people whispering “That’s the new girl, the one who makes herself throw-up,” one girl said. “Ewe, that’s disgusting, why she would do that I’ll never know,“ her friend replied. “I don’t do that anymore!” I plead to the girls “they’re lying!” “Whatever” both of the girls declared as their high heels clicked away. Thursday November 25

202 PB into the bathroom and as the doors closed I heard someone say “I bet she went in there to throw-up!” It was then and there that I lost it. I had splotches of makeup running down my face. I sat down on the closed toilet and did all I could do in a time of such weakness, cry. Then toilet seat and tried to hush my sobs caused by the harsh bullying. “Jenna? Jenna, I know you’re in here.” It was Cara. She sounded kind but I was NOT in the mood to talk to anyone. “Go away.” I replied in a monotone. “Jenna, it’s me, Cara. I want to talk to you!” The slid open the latch of the blue stall door. And I saw Cara standing there with her always straight posture and kind blue eyes. “Jenna I need to tell you something. What Amber did to you, she does to every new girl. She gives them a makeover, gains their trust, and then once they trust her she spreads all of their secrets, and tries to ruin them. It’s her thing. I’m so sorry I didn’t defend you, but now I realized I should have.” As I Cara said the hurtful truth to me my face transformed into a frown. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I guess I didn’t respond for a while so Cara said “Jenna, I’m so sorry, can you forgive me?” “Sure. I mean, do I have any other options? Cara you saved me. I understand why you on my side, who I can trust.” Cara and I walked out of the bathroom. Every time someone said anything nasty about me, or gave me a weird look she shot back the nastiest look such a timid and re- served girl could muster up. After a few weeks with the help of Cara people started to lay the world who I can thoroughly trust.

203 PB Short Story Tom Urbanowski

One day, Fred, who has worked for the Zander Company for twenty nine years, started his day as he usually did. When he woke up he fed all four of his cats, and then started to get ready for work. His thirtieth year at the company was coming soon. No one knew there was a poster on the wall. The poster was for a promotion. It said that in order to apply for the promotion, you would have needed to work there for more than four years, knew that he was going to apply! After work that day Fred went to the store and bought a new 3D T.V. with the money he would get from the promotion.

The same day… Stella started her day normally, she is twenty seven years old and went to Ohio State. She lives is an apartment with a roommate. She had her 2 cups of coffee and got breakfast at the local fast food place. She got another cup of coffee. When she walked in to the Zander lobby she saw the same poster Fred saw. Stella thought that she would not get the promotion but she decided to try and get it because she needed the money.

On Friday every one handed in the paper work, and was waiting for the interview. Almost everyone thought that Fred would get the job, except the other people that ap- to be interviewed. Fred was wearing a shirt and tie like most people, but that was what Fred wore every day. When Fred was in the interview the boss asked him simple questions. After Fred went Stella, but Stella was about thirty minutes late. Fred thought he - der, said that he would announce who got the promotion on Monday.

When Monday came, Fred was packing his stuff from his cubicle getting ready to all of his objects. When Fred started to picked it up his stuff and Stella walked over and started to help Fred. Stella said nothing.

For about the next month Fred had to work overtime whenever he could to pay off

204 PB the 3D T.V. he bought. Every day he would see Stella walk by his cubicle to get to her - Fred won a cooking show no one would suspect him. Fred thought he would make the pie Sunday night and give the pie to her on Monday,he had 3 days until Monday.

Fred started to create the pie. Fred made the whole pie from scratch. He decided to make it a apple pie. The pie was almost ready to be put in the oven but it needed one more ingredient, poison. Fred’s life started to transform after he thought of the idea to make the pie. Fred hadn’t slept in 3 days and he hadn’t showered . Fred was ready to put the pie in the oven.

Monday morning Fred started to drive to work like a normal day, but he made a detour, to Stella’s house, to drop off the pie. He was going to leave the pie anonymously.

the things he would get with the new job, more money and less working hours. When of Stella’s family. When Fred went back to his cubicle he started to feel guilt and regret. Fred knew he needed to at least try to stop Stella from eating the pie.

start. Fred decided to run to run to Stella’s house. There were about 20 blocks between he could see Stella’s house, the pie was gone. Fred started to think it was to late. Fred knocked down the door and ran inside, he saw Stella about to eat the pie, Fred could smell the poison. Fred yelled as loud as he could, “Don’t eat the pie!!!” It was too late.

think quick. Fred felt awful. He felt like he needed to apologise somehow. Fred only thought of one way. Fred ate the pie.

205 PB The Bank Heist

“I pulled my midnight-black ski mask over my head. I shrugged off my backpack onto the ledge and tugged out my knife, picklock tools, a glass cutter, my black leather gloves and the blueprints of the bank. Yes I was planning on robbing a bank. Not just any bank, it was the Emigrants Bank. This bank was the only bank that wasn’t robbed… yet. There were CCTV’s all over the place, tripwires that were hooked up to gas dispensers, there were motion sensors inside the vault that when triggered, alerted the SWAT team. No-one got in the vault and out alive with the money. That will change tonight because I will get out of that vault alive and well.

I slung my backpack over my shoulder and tossed the knife in the backpack, I won’t need it, and there will be no guards tonight except for the ones that watch the monitors. I also made a device that would make me invisible from a CCTV. Unless the monitor watchers looked closely I wouldn’t be noticed. I turned around to the skylight window on the top of the roof and looked down to the inside the building surely alerting the security of my presence. I deftly attached my cara- bineer to the pre-made hole that was drilled in so the SWAT team could rappel down. I the shadows. light and started scanning the darkness. I crouched down in the shadows hoping the light

206 PB came true and the guards left shrugging. I stealthily tailed them until they both stopped and started whispering. Then one started moving again while the other stayed and just stood there. My mind started thinking back to all those video games I’ve played that had some stealth feature in it. The guard then spun around quicker than I could follow and eyes. The guard asked, “Did you honestly think I didn’t hear you following me?” I heard him getting closer. His heavy footsteps echoed through the corridor. I could hear his breath and guessed he was about a foot away from me; I had to make a move. I way I could lie to him and get away with it. “Well, were you going in or were you going out?” The guard asked. I didn’t answer, my throat was dry. I needed to think of something, fast and now. “God-damn-it, answer me, NOW!” The light I thought, if I could wrestle it out of his hands and shine the beam in his eyes, I could just get away; I’ll take the radio if he has one. case at his face. The guard staggered backwards even more and fell to the ground and made a loud thud. Strangely there was no echo. Confused, I shrank back into the shadows and kept going forward until the next intersection. I then heard a crackle of sound, I stopped and turned around slowly, I didn’t see anything. “Bob. Come in Bob, we need you back over,” the buzz broke the silence. I stared at the radio, unsure of what to do. “Bob, respond or I’ll have to send in more personnel,” the radio buzzed again. I picked up the radio, “Ten-four, I’m on my way.” I started the walk down the corridor I had no idea of where I was supposed to go, what I was supposed to do when I got there and how I was supposed to get away when I was compromised.

Then it hit me, where were the CCTVs, tripwires, gas canisters and that other guard? It felt strange that the tripwires were nowhere to be found, and that guard who went ahead of the other guard ‘bob’ I bet he realized that ‘bob’ wasn’t anywhere near him and was

207 PB heading back right now. I realized that I was compromised! I had to get to the vault and get the money out now! I started the run down the corridor, to hell with stealth I thought, I was compromised and the SWAT team was probably alerted and already on the way here. If only they would understand. Then this whole thing wouldn’t be necessary. I started running faster, until I found a T-shaped intersection. I slowed down and stuck - making another echo. I can’t believe I had thought I wouldn’t need it because it would be quick and clean, now it would be my survival there was no way this operation will be quick let alone clean. I picked up the knife and turned down the left corridor running. I don’t know how running down it eager to get this over with and disappear while the night was still young, thinking that the longer it took the more likely my time would run out. I remember running into the main hall, I remember that there were some guards that I dodged and distracted out. I remember nothing about going into the basement and going near the vault...”

“You know, its’ interesting that you seem to forget the information we want to know.” “Not everyone has a memory as great as yours sir,” I replied without looking up from the stainless steel table. His interruption brought me back from my tale, I almost forgot were watching me through, on the other side doing whatever they were doing. “I know you remember, getting to the money is what every robber lies about,” he got “You want to polygraph me? Because I’m not lying.” “Whatever... how did you open the vault?” “I turned the vault wheel thingy and it swung open.” “Really... according to these security plans it says there was a retina scanner that locks the vault until the correct retina is displayed.” “Again polygraph me... look just be happy I don’t have an attorney with me so he can just get you more frustrated,” I said calmly.

“So, I was turning the wheel on the vault and opened it, before my eyes was the sight

208 PB of strongboxes, a lot of strongboxes, all of them labeled with their clients name. I started searching for the strongbox labeled; Hurley, Rowan. I unzipped my backpack and stuck my hand in there to search for the pick-lock tools. I pulled them and stuck them in the strongbox and stared in utter disbelief...”

“Let me get this straight, you break into the never before robbed bank in the United States to get some cash from your fathers’ strongbox,” the interrogator interrupted again. “Yeah, the bank said that they closed his account and used his money that he put in the bank to keep it open.” “Did you know how much money your father put in the strongbox?” “Before I opened it... about a million,” I said. “And how much was left when you opened it?” “I dunno, about six hundred to seven hundred grand,” “Okay... continue.” whole strongbox or just take the money. I chose to take the whole strongbox. As I put the box in the backpack I realized that I had to move because the motion sensors were probably set off, and the law was on their way to apprehend me. I ran out of the vault not bothering to close the vault. I jogged up the staircase skipping two steps at a time, as soon as I got to the landing I heard, ‘Put your hands up!’ They pushed me against a dirty looking wall and slapped handcuffs around my wrists. Now I’m here in this interrogation room.” “Why did you break in?” “The story explains itself, that bank took my fathers’ money and lied about spending it all. I just took the money back.” “Do you feel your actions are legal,” he asked. “If they were I wouldn’t be here,” I pointed out. “You do realize that what you just said will be used against you in a court of law?” I didn’t bother to answer I just said, “What if you put your whole retirement fund into a bank, and they used some of those funds to pay for something they shouldn’t have paid been closed. What would you do?” “I wouldn’t go and rob the bank if that is what you’re asking. We know that your

209 PB father needs the money right now but, you could ask for a loan...” “A loan? Why would I want to borrow money from a bank and pay interest on it?” I interrupted. “How else would you get the money without stealing it?” “I think we are done here, I answered all questions needed, I didn’t call my attorney and I most certainly robbed that bank.” “One more question, where is the money?” I lifted my head up from the table and glared at him, “Obviously not in the bank and not with me.” The interrogator walked slowly over to the door yanked it open and slammed it behind him. I just sat there, not moving and not showing a hint of emotion, I knew I wasn’t going anywhere for a while. I put my head down on the table and fell into my dreams.

210 PB Untitled Alison Garbarini

Kelly looked around her at the rows and rows of kids in black plastic chairs. Every- one was staring at her and no one was playing. After a long and awkward minute, some- “Come ON Kelly!” A girl with a violin shouted. And Kelly realized she’d been so nervous she’d forgotten when her solo was. her stomach. She bit her lip and raced to the piano in front of the microphone at the other - ly for the occasion and sat on the bench beside the piano. The seat started to shake, and one of the legs broke off. Kelly fell to the ground, and looked around nervously to see if anyone had noticed, a few kids had, and they were laughing behind their hands. Elvira, Kelly’s worst enemy, was grinning broadly, as if she had been waiting for this all along. Kelly realized with a sinking feeling that she probably had. Elvira had been competing with her for the chance at the piano solo in the concert, and Kelly knew now that she probably should have let her have it. She wondered what else was in store for her-would worms crawl out and get all over when she unveiled the keyboard? Kelly had practiced hard for the solo, and it had all gone to waste, she was sure of it. When she began to play, Kelly found out exactly what Elvira had done- all of the keys were completely out of tune. The whole thing sounded terrible, and in the middle of it, the music teacher came up to her and asked her if she would just like to skip the solo and go back to her seat. The kids erupted with laughter, and Kelly nodded reluctantly and rushed back over. Her long way across the stage seemed to go in slow motion. She looked around at the audience and noticed that every kid at school seemed to have invited their extended families to see the concert. Then she saw the big camera in the back of the room and had another unhappy insight into what was going on. Elvira’s dad ran the local news station- Elvira must have made sure that this would be videotaped. Tears rolled down Kelly’s face and she hid her head in her hands. The kids were still laughing, and the teachers were trying to get them under control, but it wasn’t working. She was tortured and ridiculed for the rest of the year. From that day on, Kelly vowed to slip into the background, and never try anything people could make fun of her for. Maybe just never try anything new at all. She thought to herself. Maybe then Elvira would leave her alone. And Kelly managed to stick to that promise. She spent so much time hiding from

211 PB Elvira and her gang throughout the next year that she eventually ended up hiding from her friends too. She spent her lunches reading alone in the bathroom. She would never go anywhere outside of school like the mall or store, for fear of Elvira seeing her. When- ever Elvira saw her in the hall at school she would send one of her friends to steal Kelly’s books or lunch money, or if no one was available, she’d just do it herself. Kelly didn’t want that to happen outside of school too. Elvira’s mother being the principal of the school wasn’t very helpful to her either. Kelly’s own parents were very concerned about her. Kelly’s mother brought her to countless doctors, feeling she had some sort of depres- about her. She needed to have some fun, they decided. “Kelly Honey, how was school today?” her mother asked. “You sure?” “Yeah.” “Kelly, we’re very concerned about you,” Her father interrupted. “You hide in your room all day, you freak out when we want to bring you somewhere, and we’re pretty sure you have no friends-” “-I have friends!” Kelly lied. “It’s not a problem if you don’t, Hun-” her mom remarked “Actually it kind of is…” her dad said. “Robert!” Her mother growled under her breath. “Listen, Kelly, you just look so lonely and upset all the time, so we’re signing you up for a swim team. Hopefully you’ll make some new friends and gain a little self-esteem.” “Hopefully,” her dad muttered. Her mother glared at him. “Whoops, too late,” her dad said.

and surveyed the scene. No Elvira. Kelly sighed, relieved, and walked up to the group of girls already practicing. All she had to hope for now was that Elvira didn’t have a twin. “You must be Kelly.” The coach said, smiling. She introduced her to the other members of the team who all smiled politely. “All right everyone; I want 10 laps of backstroke right now,” their coach announced

212 PB They all groaned. “I can make it 60 if you like,” she said in response. Kelly’s eyes widened. This might be worse than she thought possible. “It’s okay, she just kidding.” said the girl Kelly remembered as either Chelsea or Rachael. “Oh.” By the end of practice, Kelly realized she was having the most fun she had had in years. As she waited for her mom to pick her up, she chatted to her new friends Cindy and the girl who turned out to be Rachael. Finally her mother came and she got into the car. “That wasn’t so bad after all, was it?” her mother asked.

The next day at school, Kelly was in a cheerful mood and she stayed with her new friends all day long. But as she walked through the hallway right before 10th period, her good mood was swept away, and replaced by a growing feeling of fear. Elvira stood at the end of the hall with her gang of bullies blocking the exit, and she stared directly at Kelly, a smirk increasing gradually up her face. She sauntered down the hallway and stopped a few feet in front of Kelly. “Well look what the cat dragged in.” she said. “So I heard you’ve joined swim team. I thought you learned a year ago that you aren’t good at anything and you never will be. What made you change your mind? Did you read ‘Being Talented for Dummies’?” her gang laughed. Kelly trembled and tried to think of something to say back, but she couldn’t. Elvira was pure evil from head to toe. If she told her that, she’d take it as a compliment. Sud- denly, as if she had telepathically asked for their help, Kelly’s friends appeared by her side. “Be quiet Elvira!” Cindy said. “You’re just jealous you didn’t get that piano solo in last year and we all know it!” Elvira got deathly quiet and her face morphed into a look of pure hatred. She appeared as if she was about to seriously hurt Cindy, when the principal, Elvira’s mother, stepped over. They all froze. “I have heard QUITE enough!” she yelled. “Elvira, you are coming with me immediately!” She marched her daughter down the hallway, and the rest of the bullies scattered

213 PB to a school for other kids like her. She was never seen again. As for Kelly, her life went on happily. She and her friends formed the best swim team in the state, and Kelly was their top swimmer. Elvira was the last person who ever made fun of her. She went on to become and Olympic swimmer, and, as for the promise she made? She broke it.

214 PB Hell on Earth Mike Bello

“Hey, what are you doing here?” “I’m just trying to get to my locker.” I answered respectively. “You see me standing here. Get lost!” It was David, the popular kid at Columbine High. As I courageously pushed him aside he took me by the collar, picked me up and slammed me against the red locker doors. “I said get lost!” He shouted into my face. His friends giggled in the background. thought that in my last year of high school things would be different around here. Not being picked on because I don’t play a sport or make some new friends, but in reality Columbine High School has no different from the year before. David still made my day miserable and I felt as though my only friend was Chris. Chris has been my one and only real friend for the past three years in school and recently we both were hired at “Black- jack Pizza”. After school as the jocks jogged the track and the cheerleaders entered the gym, Chris and I worked the afternoon shift making pizzas. “Blackjack Pizza” was fa- roared throughout the kitchen and sweat would drip from my face. head. As he headed straight for the bathroom I followed. “Chris…Chris it’s me, open the door!” I nervously demanded. “Just give me a minute, please,” he responded. “What happened?” I was very confused, Chris always told me everything. After some and he looked me in the eyes silent, not saying a word. “Just say something,” I asked. “Look at my car.” As I approached Chris’s car I was in disbelief of what I saw. The windshield was cracked, his driver’s side mirror was damaged and worst of all there was a note spray- painted on his jet-black car paint. “Nobody likes you…you have no friends…I hate you…David”. “I can’t take this *%$# anymore, I’m going home!” Chris yelled out. “Chris just calm down don’t listen to this kid.” “No, he has been doing this for the past four years to us. He’s going to pay for this

215 PB Later that day I went to check on Chris. “Ding-dong” “Matt! Come in its freezing outside.” Mrs. Marlowe requested. “Hi Mrs. Marlowe is Chris home?” I asked. I was usually at Dylan’s house asking the same question as today. The only difference was I was scared for Chris and didn’t understand what he was up to. “He’s downstairs.” She pointed. “Thanks!” I took a deep breath and tried gathering my thoughts for what I could possibly say to make Chris to get his mind off David. The steps made that creepy creaking noise as I made soft movements down the staircase. “Chris, are you here?” “Just go away.” he responded. Chris had a pile of papers spread across the coffee table, some with words and others had pictures sketched in with black ink. “Can I read them?” I pointed. “Go ahead.” With pure interest I sat down and began reading every letter, word and number. I was trying to connect the dots for what Chris was planning. One paper had a sketch of the your fault David”. “Chris what is this? What are you trying to say?” I said in an angry tone! of anger and hatred. “Just tell me what you’re saying, I don’t understand?” “Just give me time alone. Come back on Sunday and bring some cash,” Chris ordered. I felt as though he made my confusion even worse. What does he mean by “Bring some cash?” I asked myself. What does he want to buy? For now I guess sleeping would give me some temporary relief from this whole situation.

It was Saturday morning and I was just sitting by the phone anxious for a call from Chris. With no surprise the phone never rang that morning. In an attempt to get my mind off things I resorted to playing “Grand Theft Auto Four”. As I shot innocent bystanders in the virtual world and blew up buildings I felt as though video games were the only important thing in my life. The local kids played at the neighborhood park enjoying the early April weather and I just sat home blankly starring into the television. Before long

216 PB it was already 10:30 PM, playing video games for a whole day. Last year when I moved out of my parents’ house into my own apartment, there was a feeling of responsibility. But like today there was no one in my life to tell me “Go outside” or “Call up one of your friends”. I never thought much about the idea of responsibility so I just continued to at- tach myself to the game until my eyes couldn’t take it anymore. “Where are you? It’s one in the afternoon.” “Chris?” I slowly responded to the unexpected phone call. “Get over to my place. Remember?” Chris reminded me. “Oh sorry, I’ll be right over,” I answered to his request. As I approached Chris’s house he waved me back as he took a seat in the passenger side. “Home Depot,” Chris weirdly told me. “For what?” I quickly asked. “Just drive!” His voice grew bigger as I stepped on the pedal. I wasn’t sure what his intentions were but the whole ride he had the same expression on his face. His eyes were large and a vein was exposed through his arm. He looked like the old war vet on my street that was always cautious of his surroundings. “This is what you wanted.” As construction workers occupied the store Chris lead the - thing. One after another he piled things I’ve never heard of in the cart like acetone special “Chris, now you’re scaring me what are you doing with these things?” I asked. “When we get back to the house I’ll explain.” He responded with a grin on his face. At the checkout line his emotions were translucent. Sweat appeared on his skin as the woman swiped the mysterious items. Without a problem Chris grabbed his bag and headed towards the door. “Hey! Come here!” A voice echoed from behind. Without turning around Chris bolted out the exit. “Stop!” the voice yelled. As I peeked over my shoulder it was just a store employee checking receipts. “Chris stop, he just wants your receipt.” I yelled out to him. But Chris was out of sight and the slightly overweight employee slowed down and gave up. When I opened my car door there was Chris laying on his stomach in the back seat hiding. “What are you doing?” I asked as I gave a slight smile. “Is he gone?” “He’s gone. Get up, you look ridiculous back there.” I laughed, but Chris wasn’t

217 PB laughing at all. He was panicking more than ever. I always remembered Chris as a fun friend who always made you laugh nothing like this. I stayed quiet for the long ride back to Chris’s house with both hands on the wheel waiting for an explanation that never came. “Sit down and let me show you the plan.” Chris spoke as I took a seat. “Take this” He handed me a sheet of paper with a map of Columbine High. “I can’t live like this anymore Matt. Tuesday I’m skipping school and around noon when everyone’s in the lunch room I’m going to shoot everyone!” “Wait, wait you can’t do that. Are you insane?” “It’s what’s best for both of us. I’m not going down alone!” “No Chris. We’re not going down and were not bringing anyone with us!” “If you’re not in you’re going to regret this. Just think of all the people that torture us at school and David who makes both of our lives miserable.” As he continued speaking Chris made me remember all the experiences in High school that are embedded in the back of my brain. But this plan was so real I didn’t think I was able to shoot a gun at another person. “You don’t even have a gun Chris.” Thinking this comment would throw his whole plan off. the bag just so I could see inside I was astounded of what I saw. It was a semi-automatic “Where did you get these?” I asked in disbelief. “They were only $500 from this kid Marc who graduated few years back, “Chris said as if this was no big deal. In total disbelief I attempted to grab one of the guns. “No,” Chris swiped my hand away. He then concealed the bag again under the large couch. “You have overnight to think about it.” “Think about what, killing people?” I asked not sure if I was convinced. “Just think about it. If you’re in, come to my house tomorrow don’t go to school. If not, I want to thank you for sticking with me for the past few years because we might not talk again.” The strong words he told me just then and there convinced me I would show up tomorrow because I couldn’t live without my best friend. The next morning, I pulled up to Chris’s house and took a deep breath as I stepped onto his wood porch. The whole time I stood waiting for Chris I just got continuously more worried. “You showed up!” “I couldn’t leave my friend behind,” I responded giving him a short smile.

218 PB “Come downstairs I have to run you through the whole plan in detail,” Chris said as if his plan would work without a problem. As I followed him down where the papers spread across the table I saw in the corner was what looked like one of those red gasoline con- tainers with a clock attached to the top. “What’s that?” I asked, pointing to the strange object. “Oh this is awesome! I made it myself with those things we got at Home Depot.” He said trying to explain. “It’s a bomb!” he spoke enthusiastically. I was standing speechless as my eyes locked onto the homemade bomb. “Forget about that for now. Let me show you the walkthrough. At 11:00 am tomorrow were going to show up at the back entrance of Columbine in separate cars. I’m going to be carrying a semi-auto handgun and sawed - ing on and we’ll sneak into the lunch room and yeah.” He stopped short or that’s what I thought. “What happens after we get in the lunch room?” “You shoot whoever you want! For once we will be in control,” Chris said excited about the whole situation. “After we have some fun in the lunch room the police will probably be in the building by then and we can move to the library. Then it’s over we “We’re going to let the police shoot us?” “No, when I hold a gun to my head I expect you to do the same,” he said now his tone started getting serious. “Don’t worry about that it will be fun. Go and get some sleep and “Aright Tuesday,” I laughed. It was now Tuesday morning and I started getting a little nervous picturing the events play like a movie in my head. I put on my black Timberland boots and packed a small bag with ammo including a 9mm pistol and a small knife. It was already 10:25 am but I couldn’t go through with this without explaining my actions to the people who loved me most. “Dear Mom and Dad, By the time you see this I’ll be gone but I’m happy. I wasn’t sad when I left. I was angry at the students who made high school a punishment for me. I guess because I didn’t play a sport or because of the way I dressed. I was angry at the teachers who didn’t listen to me. I guess because I didn’t have good grades. Don’t think this was your fault. Love, Matthew” I left the note on my desk and headed for the school. Now only ten minutes before start time I had no idea what would lie ahead. All I knew was that Chris was nowhere to be seen so I dialed his cell phone but no answer.

219 PB - hind schedule with much more work to be completed. He looked me in the eyes from his my life but I’m asking you for forgiveness as I perform a devilish task”. “You ready yet?” Chris said, breaking the silence. back door, down the stairs and he looked at me before opening the last door to the lunch room. Into the lunch room we went, as I took in all the familiar faces in slow motion. They sat innocent eating and laughing. Not expecting such a dreadful day in their lives. Not even realizing us standing front and center. as Chris and I shot countless rounds from the back. As I stopped to reload I caught a and saw a man. A man holding the same blond hair in his lap in tears. I knew we did it. “Three, two, one…”Chris held a gun to his head and I followed.

[Columbine, Colorado Police Report] want to remember the students and teachers who lost their lives today including Chris Marlowe and Matt Haverstraw who were possessed into doing such a daunting task. We don’t want to release much information just yet until the investigation process is completed but the death count as of now is 12 students and 1 teacher not including the 2 perpetra- tors. When we reveal new information it may be presented in the days to come.”

220 PB 2 Sides

wall. She moved to wipe the hair out of her eyes and she screamed because there was blood on her hands. She huddled in a corner, reading the message in blood on the concrete wall. “Enjoy the show princess?” “Bathory,” she thought as she took off her bloody grey sweatshirt and used it to light his face she wanted to scream again. It was the face of Jeremy King, her middle-school crush!! “BATHORY!!!! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO KILL HIM OF ALL PEOPLE?!?!” she screamed in her head. “Relax Elizabeth, he was just a boy with a pretty face, no need to panic,” whispered a sinister voice in her head. “Why do you always have to kill when you’re awake?” she asked the voice. “Because it’s fun and it’s my form of meditation you stupid lil’ Buddhist,” whispered Bathory “Hey don’t make fun of my beliefs!” she yelled at her. “Silly Buddhist, the only enlightenment is in taking the lives in others, to soak in their blood, to hear their screams of agony,” cackled that evil voice. She stomped her foot down like a child, “stop it, I hate it, I hate blood, I hate death and I hate you!!” she exclaimed. “Oohh, princess lizzi is angry, I’m sooo scared, hahahaha” mocked Bathory. Bathory enjoyed making fun of Elizabeth. “What have I done to deserve this?” she asked the sky. “You’re weak that’s what, consider yourself lucky you got me, I’m what makes you strong, Buddha won’t make you strong, nor will he make you see the beauty in killing, I can and I will,” stated Bathory, matter-of-factly. “That’s it; it ends today, no more killing, no more blood. Today will be the last day I wake up to this living nightmare you created!” she yelled as she ran to the mental hospital. But as she got on the front steps, Bathory woke up. “You’re not getting rid of me princess” she said as she ran away, so she took back over, then Elizabeth took over and soon enough they were running back and forth. “I hate being bipolar!” she thought as her body ran back and forth on the front steps

221 PB before two large pairs of arms grabbed her shoulders. “Are you okay Miss?” asked the guard. Unfortunately Bathory was in control of that time and stabbed both guards with her shot down.

Elizabeth woke up in a hospital bed. “W-Where am I?” she asked, confused. “You’re in the mental hospital, you stabbed two of our guards after they stopped you from running back and forth on the front steps” said the nurse “apparently you were let out of prison because of your mental instability.” “How did you stop me?” she asked, scratching the back of her neck. “Tranquillizer gun, we use it on only the most violent of patients,” replied the nurse; she was in a white uniform with red curly hair. eyes. “You said that you only use tranquillizer guns on the most violent patients is that why I’m tied down?” she asked, trying to move her arms, which were stuck to her sides. “Yup, the doctor will see you soon,” said the nurse as she left the hospital room. “At least someone can stop that monster” she sighed in relief. “And who are you calling a monster, princess?” asked the voice of the only person she wished to harm, very badly. “Go away, Bathory, you stabbed 2 innocent guards, killed my parents and that boy I liked, I never want you listen to your evil voice ever again!” she yelled. “Is everything alright miss…?” asked the doctor “My name is Elizabeth, I’m sorry you had to hear that,” she apologized. “It’s ok, lots of bipolar patients are like that, so tell me was it you who stabbed the guards or was it this Bathory, who is Bathory anyway?” he asked. “I have 2 sides to me, Bathory is what we can call my dark side, as you can see we demon who will stop at nothing to kill anything. She even kills complete strangers, even children who did her no harm, every time she awakens, she gets blood all over my body so that when I wake up, and I wake into a living nightmare, which she can make fun of in my head. I just want her to go away; I want it so that I never wake up to a crime scene, never to dispose of a body, never to see blood and never again do I want to hear her evil voice either cackling like a witch in my brain or whispering grotesque things,” she cried.

222 PB “It’s ok Elizabeth, we’ll make her go away” said the doctor as he undid her restraints. He then left the room. She then imagined what it would be like to live without Bathory. “It would be amazing” she said to herself as she ate the oatmeal on a tray on her lap. “Ya know it won’t be that easy, getting rid of me, because if I go, you go, simple as that princess” said the voice she always despised. “No, you will go away, the doctors will help me, doctors make everything better” she “What makes you think that, let’s not forget the murders, you’ll be sent to jail as soon as I’m gone and what will you do then? Hm? They eat people like you for breakfast in prison; they have all kinds of criminals that make me look like you. You’ll be no match for the murderers, the burglars and the pedophiles. It’s a harsh, cruel world out there and I was only sugarcoating it for you, you’re nothing without me, do you understand? Noth- ing!” lectured Bathory with a burning fury. “No, it’s not, you’re lying! I want you to just shut up, you monster, you killed my parents, you killed Jeremy and you stabbed those guards, do you ever think of anyone besides yourself!” she screamed. “No, I do not and neither do you, hypocrite” she said as she awoken, got off the table below. “Perfect” she said, opening the window and stepping onto the windowsill, the wind “BATHORY STOP THIS!!!” yelled Elizabeth. “Now you feel my pain in your head, unable to do anything and like I said, if I go, you go with me” she said as she jumped and gave consciousness back to Elizabeth. “NO NO NO I DON’T WANT TO DIE!!!” she cried as she fell until she hit the pavement, every bone in her body was broken from the impact. She was quickly dying. “Looks like you got your wish, princess of the insane” laughed Bathory as they both died.

Author’s note* bipolar disorder is when someone has two personalities for example, become Bathory, a psycho killing machine.

223 PB The Peasant and the Princess

One day Joe was wandering through the meadow. When he heard a few crunching noises behind him before he could turn around and say, “sweet mama’s corn bread” everyone knew everyone and that worked at a disadvantage for Joe because nobody liked him. Joe was a small, skin and bones kind of kid. Most boys of his age could carry a bushel and only one boy would be chosen to be the head knight and marry the king’s daughter wood. It was a warm spring day when Joe was wandering through the market going to pick up some bread. The sound of the war horns sounded. The market grew quiet. All the men ran home and got their pitch forks. Everybody left the market except Joe. Two white horses emerged from the palace pulling a cart. When the cart approached he looked inside most attention that he had ever gotten in the village and by the princess none the less. For the rest of the day he didn’t stop smiling the village was pretty empty even a lot of the kids around his age weren’t there they must have been sent to war. As he was walking through the woods heading to his favorite stream he noticed someone there. He was about to run when he realized it was someone that wouldn’t hurt him.

224 PB It was the princess. She was sitting on a rock day dreaming. Joe walked closer when a stick from underneath him cracked she turned and was startled. She said, “You were the boy I saw in the market.” Not only did she blow him a kiss but remembered him as well. She started to just talk to him telling him secrets and it made Joe feel good. She told him how she didn’t want to end up marrying the head knight and she wants to pick who she marries. Joe said, “That must be tough.” She said, “Some off the knights are good looking but their personalities aren’t good they all think they’re so special.” She started to walk away when Joe said, “Wait…Maybe sometime we could meet up again?” She turned around and said, “I would really like that how about tomorrow?” He said “Yes!” and went skipping back to his cottage. A few days went by and Joe and Princess Gina would meet. The knights and village this whole arranged marriage I’m only 15 and my father wants me to get married. I just want to marry someone who I will stay with forever.” Joe gave off a little laugh when Princess Gina said, “What’s so funny?” Jokingly he said, “Let’s meet here tonight and we will go and run away together.” She let off a smile and said, “I will meet you here tonight.” Joe’s face got very straight because he was very surprised and wasn’t so serious. That night they met each other. They started to walk when they a gunshot go off. Joe fell to the ground bleeding, the princess started to cry and held him in her arms and yelled The king showed up from behind a tree with a gun and said, “how dare you love a peasant? You disrespected our family.” A second shot went off. Princess Gina fell right

225 PB The Bad Crowd and Reggie

One day a kid named Reggie was being picked on at school by his friends. So he stopped hanging out with them because he didn’t think they liked him. Reggie left them and started hanging out with people who felt like they weren’t needed or liked anywhere. They didn’t have a care in the world if he hung out with them. Because they all knew how it felt to be like Reggie when their friends turned and started picking on them. Reg- gie always hung out with them after school. Reggie never noticed that when they always went to the store and they didn’t have money, they would always steal even if they did have money one time they almost got caught. Reggie never stole even if he didn’t have money he just wouldn’t go in. Reggie never did until a week after they started hanging out they got him to steal by saying “you’ll never turn out to be anything if he doesn’t steal these drinks, magazines, chips and candy for our party later on”. Reggie felt like he was new person when he started to steal they didn’t think he was actually going to do it. John was one of Reggie’s friends who was also with them, was kind of mad at Reggie because he never knew that Reggie would steal even if he had no money with him. “Reggie what the heck did you just do I never knew that you would steal even if you didn’t have money you never would steal what has gotten into you man?” Reggie and his group of friends left without John because he was still waiting to pay for his food unlike Reggie. He did the right thing. Reggie was thinking about what he did. He was wondering if what he did was right or wrong cause usually when he does something right it made him feel good about himself. But this moment when he did something wrong it actually made him feel good about himself. He was feeling a strange change in his body. Reggie felt a strange change that he has never felt before that strange moment felt a bit weird to him. A thought came over his mind asking if I was going to do it again. He was in his room playing Xbox and listening to his Ipad he fell asleep after a couple of hours playing. The next day Reggie was walking to school he saw his group of friends walk away from school. They asked him if he wanted to come with him to the mall they told him that all of our parents said it was okay. Reggie went with them to the mall one thing he didn’t know was their parents didn’t give them permission to skip school and that they were lying to him to get him to ditch school Reggie asked “how are we getting there? They told him we were going to call a cab since our parents are at work. John looked out the window and saw that Reggie and the crowd were leaving school premises in a taxi. When Reggie got home he saw that John was in his kitchen talking with his parents

226 PB about the way he’s been acting lately his parents were mad at him for his actions. Reggie was denying all of it because he knew his parents were going to believe him because he never lied to them before now when Reggie was done talking the phone rang his mom picked up and said “hello” it was the school nurse to see why Reggie wasn’t in school his mom said “he was in school he didn’t stay home today” the nurse said “well our records show that he was marked absent all day and he didn’t show up to school” when his mom heard that she said “thank you” and hung up the phone. Mom gave Reggie a look that made him want to run. Before his mom got there his dad asked “who is it honey”. “It was the school nurse to see why Reggie wasn’t in school today” Reggie knew he was in trouble right there he knew that denying everything wasn’t going to work. His parents found out about not being in school so I just gave up and told my mom the truth. The reason why I’ve been acting this way was because my other friends at school started to pick on me by throwing stuff at me and I felt that they didn’t need or like me. So I went to a new group of friends at the time I didn’t know what they were about and what they did so I just started hanging out with them because they seemed cool and I needed new friends. When I went over to ask them if I can hang out with them they said yes. Every day we’d always go to store to buy food until I realized that every time I watched them I never saw them pay so I thought one of their dads owns the shop that we’d always go into. I started to see that they were always stealing because we’d always have to run when we left. Jackie and Michael his parents were really made at him for doing this because this is Michael gave him a whole speech that if he keeps acting up like this he’s going to get bad grades not go to a good collage and a job or he was going to go to juvenile delinquent school. Michael grounded him for three months his parents took his video games, T.V, computer and anything he’d have fun with all they left him was his bed, couch, desk and his books. Reggie learned a very good lesson after this situation he learned that if friends pick on you that their either doing it because it’s funny or they’re just messing around with you. John realized that when Reggie left to hang out with the BAD CROWD he knew that Reggie was going to be doing a lot of stuff he didn’t want to. John was always with Reggie. John wanted to see if Reggie would change and act like a retard and do that type of stuff he wanted to see if Reggie could prove him wrong and not act like one of them. John found out that Reggie couldn’t prove him wrong and that he can’t be trusted no more if he was going to hang out with them.

227 PB Blamed for a Flame

receptionist. The receptionist sat there, stunned until Carlton stopped yelling, then she pushed up her glasses. Carlton snorted at her then ran through the halls to his locker. He quickly opened his locker and grabbed his coat. He searched through the coat pockets try- back pocket, threw his coat into his locker, and slammed his locker shut. Principal Clark had just suspended Carlton for yelling at a teacher and throwing his shoe at a window, which left nothing but some broken glass. But allowing Carlton, in his rage, to go off campus for lunch, was a bad idea. Carlton jogged down a few blocks to Lou’s Deli to meet his friend Amanda for sandwiches. Amanda was waiting outside the deli when Carlton came. She waved happily to him. “Hi, Carlton. What’s the verdict? Suspended again?” Carlton didn’t say anything. She assumed that meant he was suspended, yet again. “We should go inside, before the line gets long,” Amanda said opening the door to the deli. Lou’s Deli is a small store that is usually empty, besides the time of lunch periods of the nearby schools. There are small tables near some of the windows, and a table right next to the door for customers to sit down and eat at. The linoleum is cracked and the wall paint is peeling. On rainy days, water drips down from the ceiling and small buckets are placed in random spots to catch the droplets. The place is usually quiet, even when the students are in there eating lunch. As Carlton and Amanda walked inside, they noticed that there was only one person on line, about to order. Carlton recognized him. He was a tall blonde boy that always wore clean, crisp clothing named Mark Riker. “Move it, Nerd,” Carlton said as he pushed Mark to the ground. Mark got up, brushing the dirt off his pants. He gave Carlton a nasty look and took his place in line behind Amanda. Carlton and Amanda got their sandwiches and headed to the park to sit down and eat. On their way there, Carlton noticed an appliance store. “Let’s go inside,” he said to Amanda tugging on her sleeve. “I don’t want to go into an appliance store.”

228 PB “Fine, I’ll meet you in the park when I’m done,” Amanda nodded in agreement and they went their separate ways. As Carlton entered the store, a woman in a green apron approached him. “Good after noon, I’m Linda. If you need any help, just ask for me,” Linda smiled a fake smile and followed Carlton with her eyes as he ignored her and went down an aisle. The appliance store looks like a museum of appliances. It’s very clean and everything is in its place. Carlton found exactly what he was looking for right away, a box of matches and a can of gasoline. He was paranoid that the cashier would question his purchase. He could understand how his items could seem suspicious. As he walked towards the counter, Linda seemed to be following him. “What do you want with me?!” he screamed at her. Then Carlton ran out of the store without paying for his items. He heard yelling from the store, but he didn’t look back. Carlton didn’t stop running until he reached Amanda in the park, who was already half way done with her sandwich.

An hour and a half after school was out; Mark was still in the library looking for a quiet, but right now, the only thing you could hear, was the sound of the librarian typing. The typing stopped for a brief moment as the librarian called across the rows of books to tell Mark that the library will be closing in a half hour. Mark thanked the librarian and continued to look for the book. He enjoyed the silence. But suddenly the silence broke as Carlton and Amanda busted through the doors. They walked to the back of the library to the opposite side of the bookcase Mark was at. Carlton took out the gasoline and matches. “Carlton! What the hell are you doing?!” Amanda didn’t know of Carlton’s plan to set “Just watch,” Carlton said as he poured gasoline over some books. “No, Carlton! You’re crazy!” Amanda tried to take the gasoline from him, but Carlton just elbowed her away. “I just want to teach Principal Clark a lesson!” Carlton snapped at her. On the other side of the bookcase, Mark was eaves dropping on Carlton and Amanda’s discussion. They didn’t see him so he kept quiet. Carlton and Amanda’s discussion seemed to be getting louder. Mark looked over to the librarian. She noticed the yelling, and took out a walkie-talkie from a top desk drawer. She clicked a button on the walkie-talkie, and talked into it. Mark assumed she was calling some authority. He sighed in relief. But even over all the yelling, Amanda seemed to hear Mark’s sigh. She turned and looked at him. Carlton turned and looked too.

229 PB “What are you doing here, nerd?” Carlton said to Mark. Mark was too frightened to say anything and swallowed hard. Carlton spat at Mark and kept pouring the gasoline. As Carlton took out the box of matches, Mark decided that he shouldn’t just stand there and allow Carlton to burn down the library. So Mark climbed over the bookcase and jumped on Carlton. He took the match box out of Carlton’s hand and picked the gasoline bottle “Give them back, nerd!” Carlton demanded as he pushed Mark off of him. Amanda opened her mouth to say something, but didn’t get a chance to because Principal Clark walked into the library. “Carlton, we’ve got to get out of here!” Amanda said pointing to a window. To their nearest window opened it, hopped out, and ran away from the school. Mark watched as they ran out of sight. Principal Clark cleared his throat to let Mark know that he was there. “Hi, Mark,” Principal Clark said calmly. “Good evening, Principal Clark,” Mark swallowed hard. “What’s that in your hand?” “Nothing…” Mark said, shaking. “Looks like matches and gasoline to me,” Both Mark and Principal Clark looked down at the items Mark was holding. Mark looked up at Principal Clark and smiled a nervous smile. “Okay, let’s go call your parents,” Principal Clark said grabbing Mark’s arm. As Mark’s phone number on the school’s database, and called Mark’s parents. Mark could hear the phone ringing. He cringed each time it rang. As soon as someone answered the phone, Principal Clark greeted them very warmly and started to talk. He told them there is a problem concerning Mark and it would be appropriate for them to come in right away. Principal Clark ended the call, and told Mark to take a seat. Mark hadn’t realized he was still standing and slowly sat down in a chair directly across from Principal Clark’s desk. He slumped down a little and watched the clock for what seemed like an eternity. “Thank you so much for coming in on such a short notice, Mr. and Mrs. Riker,” Prin- cipal Clark said to Mark’s parents as he gestured for them to sit down. Mark’s mom care-

230 PB fully took a seat on the left side of Mark. She placed her purse on her lap, and patted her Mark’s dad plopped down on the right side of Mark. He crossed one leg over the other and adjusted his navy blue suit jacket. He must have just come from work. “What seems to be the problem?” Mrs. Riker squeaked, trying to sound cheerful. Her son had never been in trouble before, so she didn’t know exactly how to act. “Well, I was told to come to the library, due to a disturbance. When I got there, I found Mark, standing near a bookcase with gasoline poured on it, and Mark holding a bottle of gasoline and a box of matches,” Principal Clark peered over his wire framed glasses and looked at Mark. Mark looked down into his hands. He was still clutching the items. The matchbox was starting to crush in Mark’s grip. Mr. and Mrs. Riker gasped, and then gave Mark a death stare. Mark sunk even lower into his chair. “Mark, where did you get these items?” Mr. Riker tried to stay calm. “They’re not mine!” “Then whose are they?” Principal Clark said, leaning forward on his desk. If only it were that easy, Mark thought to himself. He wished that he could just tell that they belonged to Carlton, but he remembered back to a year ago when Billy Summers got blamed for Carlton’s actions, and told Principal Clark it was Carlton. The next day Billy had a chess tournament next week and he’s the team’s most valuable player. “Well?” Principal Clark was waiting for an answer. But Mark didn’t say a word. “Well if you can’t tell me who they belong to, then I can only assume they belong to you. I’m going to give you a day to tell me otherwise. We will meet here tomorrow, same time, but until then, I’m going to have to suspend you from school.”

The next morning, Mark woke up an hour later than usual. He had no need to get up early. At noon, Mark went down to Lou’s Deli, as he does every day, to get a sandwich for lunch. He sat down at a table near the door to eat. He looked around the deli for a moment, but stopped as he saw Carlton’s sister, Kelly, eating at a tableneara window. Kelly was a year younger than Mark, but he knew her from the chess team. He made his was over to her. “Hi, Mark,” Kelly said mid-bite. “Good after noon, Kelly. May I sit down?” she nodded and Mark took a seat across from her. “I heard you got suspended from school. What’d you do?” “That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about,” Mark said adjusting his bowtie.

231 PB “I didn’t do anything bad,” Mark retold the whole library incident to Kelly as she ate her sandwich. “Why am I not surprised that Carlton would run away like that? So what exactly is it you want me to do?” she asked taking the last bite of her roll. “Do you think you could try to persuade Carlton into confessing?” Kelly started to laugh. “Get Carlton to confess? Do you even hear yourself?” “I didn’t think it was that crazy of an idea,” Mark said half mumbling. “Sorry, Mark. Even if I asked my brother, he wouldn’t even entertain the thought of confessing. I really hope you don’t get expelled,” Kelly brushed her hands off, leaving small crumbs on the table. She took her cardigan off the back of her chair and left the of punishment, but he never thought of being expelled.

meeting about Mark. “Glad to see you all again,” Principal Clark said cheerfully as he gestured for everyone to sit down. He recapped yesterday’s events and reminded Mark that, “today is the day you either say who the gasoline and matches really belong to, or admit that they belong to you.” Mark looked down at the grey carpet, and stayed soundless. “Well then,” Principal Clark continued, clearing his throat. “I think we can all agree that Mark’s for attempts at violent actions against the school.”

The next day, Amanda was walking through the hallway, when she saw Kelly. She knew Kelly through Carlton, but hadn’t seen her all year. She approached Kelly, and the two girls embraced,and then caught up with each other while they walked to their next class. Mostly they talked about life, and school, but then Kelly mentioned Mark getting expelled. “Mark Riker? You mean that tall blonde boy that wears bowties?” Amanda remembered him from the deli and the library. She didn’t know about him being expelled until now, and she couldn’t help but think it was her fault. Amanda didn’t really know Mark, but she knew that he was a smart, hard working student that never caused any trouble. right before Principal Clark walked in. She realized that Mark must have been caught the way she last saw him.

232 PB “Yeah, that’s him,” Kelly said. “I should have done something when I had a chance,” Amanda half mumbled to herself. Kelly leaned closer trying to hear what Amanda was saying. Amanda told Kelly at this, but then tried to reassure her friend. “That’s okay, Amanda. The person who should feel guilty is my brother,” Amanda was silent for the rest of the walk to her class. During class she couldn’t even pay attention. She kept thinking about Mark, and what Kelly said to her, “the person who should As soon as class was let out, Amanda went to the library. She made a bee line for the place back of the room where Carlton had poured the gasoline. She noticed that all the books on that bookcase were gone. They were probably saturated with gasoline. She walked over to the window where she escaped and noticed her sneaker print on the white windowsill. She brushed it off with her sweatshirt sleeve as if it would make her feel any better, like she was never even there that day and this wasn’t her problem. But cleaning the windowsill off only left her with a dirtysweatshirt. Amanda pushed through the library’s double doors and started to walk to her next class. On her way, she saw Carlton getting a drink from the water fountain. She made her way across the crowded hallway to him. “Mark’s expelled,” she said quickly. Carlton looked up at Amanda and lifted an eye- brow. “The tall blonde boy from the library…” Carlton shrugged and continued his drink. Amanda kicked Carlton hard in the shin. “Ouch! What was that for?!” “You should confess, Carlton. It’s the right thing to do,” Carlton laughed his booming laugh. Nearby people stopped mid-conversation to see where the noise was coming from. “This is not my problem,” he said enunciating every word. “Yes it is. Mark doesn’t deserve punishment.” “Like I said, not my problem,” Carlton put his hand up in the air to indicate he was done talking, turned around the corner, then left.

233 PB Goodbyes Natalie Danett

It was gray outside, the day Abigail moved out. I woke up with a pit in my stomach. As I sat up and stretched, I felt heaviness sink deep in my bones. I glanced at the clock. The numbers blinked to 7:30. I was surprised that I had woken up so early. It happens when people are excited, like a birthday or Christmas. I wasn’t at all. I sat up and rolled over, with hopes of falling asleep again. Maybe I could sleep through the whole day, and my bed. I slowly trudged six feet to get to my old fuzzy desk chair. It was shaped like a sideways bowl, and it used to be white. I have never thought about cleaning it. I was seven when I bought it, and now I’m fourteen. I slumped in the chair, and covered myself with the blanket. I wheeled myself to the window. Abigail had taken me to pick it out practical seven year old; I never would have chosen that for myself. My eyes continued to wander all over my room, to look at the blank lilac-colored walls, the unmade bed, and my messy old desk. Abigail had laughed when I told her I was going to paint my room lilac. I redid my room when I was ten. When I told her, she sang to her grandson, “Lilah has a lilac room!” He laughed so hard, but not because he could understand what she was saying. He laughed because she was happy. Ever so slowly, I dared to roll up the blinds that covered my window. I had to ease myself into today. I opened the window, and I was slapped with a blast of cold air. I thought that was odd. It was July. My suburban block looked oddly vacant, except for a moving truck in front of Abigail Fitzgerald’s house. I watched four men carry a couch out from Abigail’s house. Then a chair, a lamp, and a table followed. I felt like my life was on rewind. Seven years ago, I watched the same scene, except then, the men were moving her stuff in. Then, I had sat on my back steps. It was a fall day, the type of fall when you could start to feel the crispness of the leaves under your feet when walking. At seven years old, I was already used to being alone. I was on my third babysitter that year. My parents were both doctors. My father worked in a hospital, and my mother had her own practice. Abigail didn’t live next to me she lived behind me. A neat white picket fence divided our backyards. As I played with my red hair, pulled into pigtails, I heard a truck pull up to the empty house. I had watched a lone, slightly elderly lady climb out of the big mov- head. Through her round sunglasses, she looked at me and smiled. I had only seen people

234 PB who looked like that in old movies. I wondered where this lady could have come from. With her head held high, she started telling the movers where to go. She walked over to the fence in her new backyard, and waved to me. I waved back. I timidly stepped to the fence. I looked right up at her face, tilting my head way back to see over the fence. “Well, hello there,” my new neighbor had said. “Hi! I’m Lilah, and I’m seven.” Her face broke into a grin. “It is very nice to meet you, Lilah! I’m Abigail Fitzgerald,” She then told me that she had to go back and tell those good-for-nothing movers where to put everything. I had laughed, and gone inside for the day. When my mother and father got home that night, I told them about our new neighbor who had moved into the house behind us. Before either of them could respond, Abigail was at our front door inviting us to her house. tea Abigail had made for herself and my parents. That had been the most perfect night in the whole wide world to my seven-year-old self. I kept watching the men take Abigail’s room. I heard my father’s alarm clock wake him up. My mother’s coffee smelled hot and bitter. I heard their voices murmur, but I couldn’t distinguish words. I looked at my clock. It had already been an hour since I had woken up. My eyes stopped looking at the movers who were taking Abigail’s furniture. I couldn’t stand it. I averted my eyes and decided to look at her house instead. Her stone house stood taller than all of the rest on the street. It had ivy growing up and down all of the sides, and a brown roof. All of the houses on our block were shingled, with light gray rooftops. My house is short, brown, and stout. All of the others around are variations of mine, except Abigail’s. Her house wasn’t hidden from the road. When I was younger, I always wished that it was. You can’t hide a house like Abigail’s. It needs to be displayed for all to see. Her house had two square windows, and one round one at the top. It had real working shutters. I have shutters, except they are nailed to the front of the house. Whoever moves into that house next doesn’t deserve it. The day I met Abigail’s family, I was ten. Already an experienced latchkey child, I quickly grew tired of being alone all the time. I longed for company after school, and even on some weekends. I was in fourth grade. Once, as Abigail was gardening, and I on my swing set, we had a brief conversation about reading, over the fence. I told her how I wished I was better at it, and she told me all she wanted to do was teach me. After that, we seemed to develop an informal routine. Every other day, I would show up on her doorstep and she would read with me. I would read to her, she would read to me. I would always knock on her door three times, and she would holler, “Coming!” Every time she

235 PB opened her door, she acted like it was a surprise that she saw me. I was always met with “Oh hello, Lilah! Won’t you please come in? Isn’t it odd to see you here!” We did this consistently for months upon months. One Sunday in February, I was cold. My rainbow-striped scarf was wrapped tightly around my neck, and my coat was zipped all the way up to my nose. The cold air turned my cheeks pink. My gloved hands held my mother’s old copy of Charlotte’s Web. I loved that book. I knocked my usual three times, and to my dismay, a woman who looked to be in her early forties answered the door. “Mom!” she howled, making me jump. I shivered from the cold, as Abigail came to the door. “Oh hello, Lilah! You look chilly. Come inside, I’ve made us some soup.” Her smile made me stop shivering. “Thanks, Abigail. I brought our book!” I beamed, with the two women looking at me. She gently pushed the strange lady out of the way, and motioned for me to come inside. The classic and old-fashioned décor made me feel immediately at peace. I was more at home here than I was in my parents’ house. Once inside, I smelled the cozy scent of book down on the table that sat in her living room. As if reading my mind, Abigail leaned in and said to me softly, as if telling a secret, “This is my daughter, Samantha. She’s visiting from Pennsylvania.” I glanced up at Samantha. “Hi. I’m Lilah,” I held out my hand. “I’m Samantha. Where did you come from?” her voice was the most sarcastic thing I’d ever heard. “I am your mother’s neighbor. I live it that house right over there,” as I spoke, Saman- tha looked more and more bored. Ignoring her facial expressions, I continued. “And your mom and I read Charlotte’s Web together every single Sunday. Did she tell you about it?” “No, frankly she didn’t.” “Oh,” I nervously glanced at Abigail. She smiled at me. “Why don’t we go into the kitchen? We could have some lunch, and Lilah could meet a new friend of mine.” I followed her into the kitchen, and the warm smells only got stronger. I heard a baby cry out, as soon as Samantha entered the room after me. I looked in the corner of the kitchen, and to my surprise, a baby boy stood up in a wooden crib. His smiling, yet extremely intense gaze followed me as I continued to walk toward the cabinets to get bowls. “His name is Leo,” Samantha sneered. “He is my son.” All of the emphasis in that sentence had been on the word “my.” I got three bowls down from Abigail’s cabinet. I put them in front of three chairs at the little round table with a checkered tablecloth. I

236 PB got out spoons, napkins, and I poured all three of us tall glasses of iced tea. We sat down at the table in silence. Abigail then started talking about the weather, and when she could tell that Samantha wasn’t up for talking, she stopped. I pretended that I had somewhere else to be, and I got my coat on and left. I had felt rejected. Abigail had chosen her snippy daughter over me. She was my Abi- gailafter all. Samantha could take her Leo and leave. I didn’t even get to read my book that day. Abigail’s house was where I felt safe. It was a haven. Even now, with my parents’ sounds in my ears, all I wanted were the smells of hot tea and fresh food. I wanted to go and read with her again. This small ritual of ours stopped once I went to sixth grade. I thought I was too old to do that. I looked at my clock again. Another hour had disap- peared. Abigail had told me that all of her things would be moved out by lunchtime. It was 9:30. I thought about getting up, and leaving the safety of the white fuzzy chair. Then, I thought better of it as I heard a knock on the door. “Do you want some breakfast?” my mom said, using a tone of concern. I pretended to be asleep. I slowed my breathing, and she crept back out the door, closing it on her way out.

Later that day, I woke up. Realizing I had fallen asleep, I groggily checked my clock again. It had been another three hours. That meant her house was empty. The movers were gone. I slipped out from under the blue blanket, and opened the door to my room. I the day hadn’t warmed up very much. The chill air smacked my face. As I stumbled down the stairs into my driveway, I stopped dead in my tracks. The movers drove right past my house. I then ran to Abigail’s as fast as I could. My hair whipped around me. It felt good to run. I slowed down and walked up the familiar stone path leading up to Abigail’s front stairs. I turned to my left, and saw the bent over willow tree that sat in the middle of her front yard. The long braches stretched all the way down to the ground. The delicate tiny leaves formed a wall around the outside of the tree. I approached the tree, and parted its branches. I walked inside the mystical room that the leaves formed. Under that tree sat a little bench. It was wooden, with curly metal legs. It was meant for a child. The breeze blew through the leaves of the tree, giving the magical room the illusion of movement. I shook with cold, remembering I was only in my pajamas. The day was so bleak and gray, and I wondered why. I supposed it would have felt wrong for Abigail to move away when it is warm and sunny. I walked over to the humble little bench. I sat down. It was too small for me by now. My knees were practically at my chest. Under the willow tree, I was

237 PB so calm. When Abigail told me she was leaving we were sitting under this tree. She was on the bench, and I had kneeled on the ground. Her eyes looked distant, like they really weren’t with me. She told me she was moving, and that it would be hard for us to keep in contact. Her speech had been less clear than usual. She looked exhausted to me. Her hands were trembling as she hugged me goodbye. I wished more than anything that I could see her right now. That goodbye hadn’t been good enough. saw was a boy, who looked about four years old. “Mommy!” he shrieked, surprised to see me. “What is it, Leo?” an impatient voice said. My eyes glanced up, to see Samantha standing there. The bags under her eyes were deep and dark. Her frizzy hair blew crazily in the soft breeze. Leo beamed up at me. I waved hello to him. The scowl on Samantha’s face looked like it had been there for a while. “Mommy look!” Leo pointed at me. “Yes. I see her,” she looked at me uneasily. She looked almost afraid, like an “Hey,” I said, looking Samantha in the eyes. “What are you doing here?” she asked wearily. “ I just wanted to see this place one more time.” “Oh,” she said, looking far away. “Yeah,” I sighed. “I uh, came to take the bench,” she said pointing where I was sitting. She took an “Why?” “Because my mom needs it.” “Oh,” I said. I sensed her temper rising. I felt mine do the same. The gray wind blew through the tree again. Leo seemed to sense the tension. He looked up at his mother’s face. “Can you just get up please?” “Listen, do you even know where my mom is?” “No.” “Well, if you did you would understand why I need to give this to her. She wants it.” “Wanna tell me where she is?” I felt my voice rise.

238 PB “Just give me the bench!” Samantha’s eyes looked wild. She looked a lot older. “No.” “Please.” “No. What if I want to keep it? What if I have memories on this bench? Why would you need it more than me?” “I don’t need it! My mom does.” “Does she? Because the Abigail that I knew would have let me have this! Where is she going?” I was screaming. I felt a hot tear on my check. It slid all the way down my face, making a trail all the way to my mouth. It tasted salty. “My mother is going to a nursing home! Who was she to you? A babysitter?A neighbor? Why do you care?” she shouted right back at me. That stung. I felt the tree spin around, faster and faster with each breath I took. I realized I was standing. “What?” I said softly. “She needs to go to a nursing home,” Samantha breathed. “She is 89.” “So? Age doesn’t matter. She’s strong,” I sounded like I didn’t even believe myself. “Yeah, she’s strong,” said Samantha bitterly. “But Lilah, nobody is stronger than cancer, not at her age anyway.” We stood there, looking at each other for what seemed like hours. “Um, how do you remember my name?” I only remembered hers because Abigail used to talk about her and Leo all the time. “Do you honestly think that I would forget the name of someone who made my mother so happy?” I couldn’t look at her. I felt ashamed. I stared at Leo, while he stared at her. Silently, I handed the dirty old bench to Samantha. On my way out, I took one last look at the fairytale land under the branches of Abigail’s tree. I parted its leaves, and left. I ran back home again. I was surprised that no more tears came. I unlocked my front door, and took a step inside my empty house. I heard Samantha’s car drive away. I felt a pang of hunger, and I remembered I hadn’t eaten anything today. I walked up my stairs, and poured myself a bowl of cereal. I picked up the phone and called my parents. I wanted to tell them everything. They didn’t even know that Abigail was moving. I wondered if they would understand how I felt. If they didn’t, it would be okay. I called them anyway. They were all I had. After talking to each of them individually, and then the two of them together, I actually felt a little better. They said they were coming home soon. I was house, and my parents’ car pulled into the driveway. I was so happy they were home.

239 PB The Life of a Commoner Xavier Yozwiak

They were waiting in front of the town hall. Being right next to the Eiffel Tower, the town hall was located in the heart of London. It was made of white marble with big columns in the front. It sat facing the crowded marketplace. All the other cabmen with their growler cabs were lined of in front of the town hall. Mr. Greenberg checked his Just then a lady came bursting out of the big golden doors. She was short with short chocolate brown curly hair. She was wearing black dress pants mostly covered by a long black coat, with big black buttons. She was wearing a red beret. She was carrying a about as fast as any woman can go in high heels. “Hey!” She was yelling to Mr. Greenberg “Mousier, can you get me to the East Train Station in ten minutes?” The East Train Station was a good stretch out of London. “Yes Madam.” Mr. Greenberg replied. “Great.” She paused to look at Black Magic before she allowed Mr. Greenberg to assist her into the cab. Her hands were very light and soft, her nails were painted red. Mr. Greenberg climbed into his driving box behind where the Madam sat. He gave Black Magic a whip and she began at a fast trot. Soon they had navigated out of the lawless marketplace onto a country road. The London marketplace quickly changed into East London. The scenery turned from shops - room houses. The women here walked around in puffy dresses with thin waists. They carried umbrellas to make sure they stay pale. An obvious sign of wealth can always be seen in how tan the person’s skin is, tan, a worker; pale, a maiden. The fast trot was really starting to toll on Black Magic. As Mr. Greenberg began up the hill Black Magic couldn’t keep up. She inched slowly up the hill. The hills seemed to go on forever. Every time she reached the top, the “top” was just a momentary stop in

240 PB the incline. Another hill built on the other, another mile lagged into another. Mr. Green- berg checked his watch, eight twenty-two. He gave Black Magic a crack of the whip to speed up. Black Magic quickly sped up. Beads of sweat were glistening on her black fur. - tering her breath through a loud clogged machine—Mr. Greenberg could hear the harsh- ness from his box. All of a sudden the top of the hill was seen, and the train station could be seen. He pulled into the station, and stopped right in front of the entrance. Black Magic was heaving, her whole body moving up and down. The Madam walked out. Mr. Greenberg checked his watch, eight twenty-four. “Great! Thanks so much monsieur!” the Madam exclaimed. She gave Mr. Green- berg average pay with a very sizable tip. She left, walked up the steps and through the doors into the station. Soon after she left a train came and puffed away. Magic drank the water quickly in large gulps. Mr. Greenberg almost had to rip the bottle out of Black Beauty’s mouth. He noticed how beaten up Black Magic is. Her mouth was rubbed raw from the bit, and in some places it was bleeding. Her eyes were sunken into her face, with several layers of bags. Some of her coat was falling out, the loose hair grouped together in matted clumps. Her mane was tangled with big clumps of dirt. She Mr. Greenberg climbed back into his box in the cab. He whipped Black Magic to start; she just whined. He whipped her again, the whip cut her back. She took two steps and stopped. Again and again he whipped her. Finally she began at a slow trot. She had six or so long deep gashes on her back. After seeing those gashes, Mr. Greenberg regret- ted the whipping. He felt terrible to put Black Magic in this condition. He put her to work almost every day with minimal rest and minimal food. Every day she worked so hard, every day she kept on going after nine to ten miles. He wanted to give her more rest; he wanted to give her more food; but if she didn’t work she wouldn’t be fed. He really couldn’t do any more than feeling awful. She went down so fast; Mr. Greenberg didn’t really grasp it. Black Magic was going along at a normal trot; then when her left foot stepped down—instead of bending forward—it snapped in the opposite direction with a menacing crack. The knee then twisted inwards and Black Magic fell to the ground. She landed on her left side. The growler just

241 PB kept on rolling. The car went right over Black Magic. It made a series of cracks while Black Magic whined. She coughed blood, once, twice, and choked on the blood. She horse. Mr. Greenberg just sat there, stunned. This is just a dream; it’s time to wake up he thought over and over again. He didn’t really think this was happening. Just a moment “Hello sir.” Mr. Greenberg’s thoughts were interrupted by a high soft innocent voice. He looked to his right. There was a small school child, probably about seven years old. He was wearing a long wool coat that hung over his arms. He was wearing green corduroy pants with plain brown untied leather shoes. His pants were too short for him, and gray socks could be seen. He had a bundle of books at his side bound by some string. The child was vaguely familiar, and seemed to be slightly glowing. “Sir?” Mr. Greenberg snapped out of his day dream. “Oh, hello little gentleman.” “You see sir, I have noticed that your horse has died.” He said calmly. “Oh, yeah…” “Well I want to tell you, that you and I aren’t that unalike. You see, I may be small, but I am thirteen. I’m the oldest in my family. My father died when I was nine. It left my mother and me to take care of 4 younger siblings. We did well; my mom and weeks ago. Two weeks ago my mother died. “You see, all my neighbors want me and my siblings to give up and go to the orphanage. But my mother’s last words to me was ‘Jeremy, don’t you ever give in and go to that orphanage. That building may seem real temptin’ in the wintertime, but don’t fall into - lin’, get a good job. I want you to take care of Paul, Florentine, Hannah, and Little Adam, oh little Adam. You gonna have to work real hard Jeremy, but don’t give up. I know you can do it.’ You see I was cryin’ then, and I kept sayin’ ‘I won’t mamma, I won’t. I’ll try real hard mamma,’ then she was ol’ noddin’ and all, sayin’ ‘That’s good Jeremy. You’ll bed.” Jeremy wiped a tear from his eye, Mr. Greenberg felt himself tearing up. “Now since then,” Jeremy’s voice was a little shaken “No sir, no sir have we given up. You see we been strugglin’ ol’ a little bit. Eatin’ two, one, sometimes none a day. But I’ve been delieverin’ papers in the mornin’, going to school for a bit, shinnin’ shoes at night, takin’ out the trash for the clerks, apprenticing for a silver maker three times a

242 PB week, just makin’ a buck wherever I can. My mamma told me to not give up and sir, we aren’t. We may be goin’ through a tough time now, but the future is gonna be nice, sunny, and easy. In a few years I’ll open a silver shop, and I’ll have Paul apprentice for me. Flo- rentine’s gonna be a chef, by how well she cooks now, she’s gonna open a nice little coffee shop. Hannah, she has a knack for clothing, maybe she’ll apprentice in seamanship. And little Adam, he likes boats; maybe he’ll be a sailor. You know, what bad now only becomes better. You know, what’s bad now, only makes us tougher in the future.” Jeremy ended his story. Mr. Greenberg just stared at him. Jeremy quickly started walking. “I’m sorry for taking your time, sir.” He said in an unsteady voice. “Wait,” Mr. Greenberg called for him, Jeremy stopped. Mr. Greenberg shoved his hand into his pocket, grasping all of his life’s earnings, and thrust his hand out to Jeremy “Take it.” Jeremy looked shocked; he waved his hand “No sir, it’s really okay we don’t need it, sir I can’t accept this, it’s really alright.” “No,” Mr. Greenberg responded “You need it more than I. Just, just take it.” Jeremy slowly took his hand and reached out to Mr. Greenberg’s outstretched hand. His stopped just for a moment, then took the money. “Thank you so much sir, thank you, you don’t know how much gratitude—“ “Don’t mention it.” Mr. Greenberg got out of his box and walked away. He dug his hands into his semi-patched up coat, he felt every hole in his pockets. He pushed his cap over his grimy face. Jeremy watched him walk away with big blue eyes. - do tomorrow, but I’ll always remember “What’s bad now, only makes us tougher in the future.” That little boy will always be in my heart.

Yann Greenberg was found dead in his bed on Christmas, 1863. They say he was smiling.

243 PB Ice Hockey In Maine Justin Bell

It was a cool Friday morning in the beginning of November, as Sarah and her brother, Brandon were getting ready for school. The two were fraternal twins, and didn’t have similar friends. Sarah and her brother Brandon, were on the bus ride and knew it would be their last, so they were talking to people instead of listening to music. They weren’t very excited about moving, after all they had been in Carnesville Minnesota for 3 years now, and that was very rare considering their dad was stationed overseas. Their mom was at home half the time, when she wasn’t working for some job, a company that sold something. She had taken that Friday off so she could say bye to a few friends and start packing. When the kids arrived at school, they headed towards their lockers to get their stuff and start packing the stuff they didn’t need for the day into their bag. All their friends wanted to hang out with them for the last day they would be attending Carnesville high school a week from Monday. After the morning passed and it was lunch time, to their surprise, almost everyone in the lunch room came up to say goodbye. They knew that this school was a great, friendly school, but they never expected every single person in the grade to come up to say bye to the 2 kids they never even talked to. They loved their school, and didn’t really want to leave. Once lunch was over and the school day passed, they were on the bus ride home. When they got home, and saw their mother packing, they joined and started to pack some stuff of their own. was a big crowded plane and they were sitting in the coach section. The twins and their - ing to Sarah. The seats were very uncomfortable compared to the last time they traveled in coach. They wondered if it was because they didn’t want to be there unlike other times when on vacation, or it was just uncomfortable. “Don’t worry guys, we’ll be there soon. I know you don’t think that this is good, but The 2 kids sighed and just stared out the window not a word coming from them. While Brandon was sleeping, she just thought about the ups of moving, instead of the downs. She knew they were going to be living in a better house, and knew it was a perfect place for ice hockey, which was her favorite sport. Back in Carnesville Minnesota, Sarah was one in the average group out of everyone on the team. She just hoped that they had a decent team, something she could work up to even make it to playoffs. Then Brandon woke up.

244 PB “Sis, what are you doing to pass the time?” asked Brandon. “Nothing really, I’m just thinking about all the pros in moving,” said his sister. “We’ll be there soon, guys. About 20 minutes from now,” said there mom. When they landed in Murrysville Maine, it was very cold and brutal, which they were used to. It still didn’t feel the same. It almost seemed deserted to them. It’s like everyone vamoosed. Sure the people on the plane and the people that work there were there, around the conveyer belt. When they reached their new home 1 hour later from a ride in a taxi, it looked much bigger than their old house. They all walked in and “examined” the house as if it were a clue to a murder. A few minutes passed when their mom called them to come see their new rooms. They both had similar rooms, just that one was painted purple, and one was won, meaning Brandon got the blue room next door. After the weekend passed, and everyone was done unpacking and settling in, the twins headed off to school. When Sarah went to her homeroom, everything seemed okay. Everyone was being friendly and kind to her. She made friends fast, and was pretty “popular” in her group of friends. She bonded with her friends more and more, until she One month went by, and it was December. Sarah heard on the announcements that Ice Hockey was starting, and got super excited. She asked her friends if any of them played Ice Hockey, and they all answered the same, no. She thought that it was okay, at least she gets to meet some new people. The announcement said that it would start the week after break. Break was tomorrow, so she was excited. Her friend Emily then came all asked what, but she was so out of breath that she couldn’t speak. Finally, she said “Our progress reports come in the mail in the next week.” “Why would they send a report card over break?” asked Sarah. “I don’t know, but they always do it,” said Emily. “What’s your averages in Science?” her other friend Clair asked. They all answered with the same “I don’t know” and all this made Sarah a little nervous. When winter break came around, Sarah was having fun, hanging with her friends and the fact that her report card was going to come in the mail sometime that week totally slipped her mind. Her friends went out to see a movie called “The Night.” Apparently it was a scary movie, but still PG-13. But when Sarah got home from the movies, her mother called her in. Her mother was holding coffee in one hand, and a sheet of paper in

245 PB the other. This made Sarah very nervous. The thing is, she thought that she didn’t do too bad. Her mother had a shocked face that you probably couldn’t imagine. “You had straight A’s in Minnesota Sarah, what happened?” asked her mother. “I – I – II – I don’t know.” said the worried girl standing and playing with her hair. Her mother handed her the report card. She couldn’t believe her eyes. She knew she hadn’t been “straight A material” but she never thought she would get three C’s, a D, and two B’s “Well until you show us you are trying harder and getting your grades back up, no ice hockey, or going out with friends.” said her mother. “That can take forever! I can’t miss hockey season, please mom?” asked Sarah in a sorrowful voice. “Sorry, no means no.” Sarah went up and locked her self in her room. She took a look at her report card and saw one thing in common with all of her grades. They all said that she handed in her

Eight more weeks went by, and hockey season was about to end. She still hadn’t proved that she was getting her grades back up, so she never got to play her favorite and only sport. The next report card wasn’t until March. With all this on her, she missed her dad and her brother wouldn’t stop annoying her. Two days later something came in the mail. It was a progress report. Sarah didn’t know there was such thing as a progress report, nor did her mother. It was from the school. To her surprise, it was like a midway report card that told you what you need to improve on. All the teachers said that she was improving. Her mother then said, “you can sign up for ice hockey next year as long as you can keep these grades up!” She was still as angry as before about missing ice hockey. The beginning of March came, and her friends were waiting for her at school. They all said they felt sorry for her, but it didn’t really mean much. The school day went by and she remembered that she could still hang out with her friends. They said they could meet after school at the park. When she got there, and her friends were waiting there with hockey sticks. She looked at them like they were crazy, considering most of them had never even picked a hockey stick up in their life. “Come on, if you can’t play ice hockey on a team, why don’t you play street hockey with your friends?” She went over and grabbed a stick. Even though she was disappointed, she still had a great time with her friends and ended up forgetting about the whole thing. They played for hours and the score didn’t even matter. Nothing mattered at all.

246 PB You Forgive, You Can’t Forget Emily Riedel

In Beaver Meadows Pennsylvania news travels fast. Only a few days after I sat down to lunch with Scott, my best friend, had the news gotten out. Scott was openly gay. He called me to “meet up” he had “something he wanted to talk about.” I remember playing around with my napkin trying to absorb the information. He told me how he met someone over February break, how he kept it to himself for 2 months, and how his heart got

Thursday morning I walked into Beaver Meadows High. My Nikes squeaked on the - arms around my neck. I took in her warm, sweet scent, the same one I’ve admired since 10th grade. “Hey big B.” She said leaning in to give me a peck on the lips. I felt a bolt of elec- tricity zoom through my body, just enough to wake me up for the day. - tence before I heard Cooper call out my name from across the hallway. “Brian!” he called as he jogged over. Kristina looked deep into my eyes. She had a way of reading my soul. “I’ll let you too talk about sports, or whatever.” She said giving me a quick kiss goodbye. My eyes automatically followed her as she sauntered over to her friends. I turned my gaze back to Cooper. “Dude! That lacrosse game last night was sick! MVP! MVP!” The whole hallway began to cheer. “MVP! MVP! MVP!” As I took a modest bow the hallway began to quite. Ev- eryone was staring, but not at me, they were staring at the big glass doors behind me. I slowly turned to see Scott standing in the entrance. His hair, wet from the rain, yet still since we had lunch one week ago. Sent me a text on Sunday saying he was gonna take off school for a little while to let people adjust to the idea of him. It seemed like they still hadn’t. He took a few hesitant steps. Everyone’s eyes were still locked on him. From could kick the crap out of him. Cooper gave me an odd look. I took a step back, decid- ing it wasn’t my job to defend him anymore, that’s what his boyfriends are for.

247 PB I shoved my books in my bag, as the 5th period bell rang, and started for the cafeteria. Kristina met me in the lunch line as I picked up a hamburger. “You’re gonna get fries with that right?” She said grabbing a basket. “Of course!” “Good, ‘cause it’s against the rules for a girl to buy her own fries.” She grabbed on from the top of the basket. I gave her a playful punch as we started towards out table. As we talked about last night’s game and how many pushups we did this morning, Scott walked by. A silence washed over the table. He nervously looked down at his tray. Out of nowhere I heard Josh cry out “Ohh! Cover up guys! We don’t want to provoke him!” All the guys at the table started squealing and throwing on their lettermen jackets. Scott gave me a look that nearly killed me before he zoomed out of the lunch room, leaving a full tray of food on our table. Kristina got up. “Why have you been acting like this?” “Acting like what?” “He’s your best friend!” I turned my gaze to her. “He isn’t that person anymore.” “He’s the same person he’s always been!” Her face started to turn a bright red. I pulled her into me. “Can we talk about this later?” I whispered in her ear. “No! No we can’t talk about it later this is a problem that has to stop now! You’re being a jerk!” “What?! What do you want me to do?! I’m sorry I can’t be as perfect as you want me to be but you sure as hell aren’t perfect either!” I felt a sharp pain across my face. I look so pathetic I will probably be mocked for years. I fumbled over my feet to reach for her arm. She jerked away from me and sprinted to the girls’ bathroom. I fought back tears with every muscle in my body. What is happening to me? I thought as freshman girls shoved napkins on my face. I pushed them away with a gentile movement of my arm and mumbled “I’m going to the nurse.”

worst day of my existence. I shut my locker and spun around to see Scott walking towards me. I decided not to run or hide like I had all day. “Hey.” I said nervously pulling at a loose thread on my shirt. Scott noticed.

248 PB “You shouldn’t pull that; it could run and ruin the whole shirt.” He swiftly pulled ground, like it didn’t have a care in the world. Lucky. I put my gaze back on his face. “Are…” He looked down for a moment “… are we still friends?” he asked, obvious pain in his voice. I thought about it for a moment. We were close in the beginning of the year. Why wouldn’t we be now? He still looked the same. He had the same hazel eyes and the same awkward dimple thing that formed in between is eyebrows when he was thinking. “Yeah… yeah we are.” “Good, great!” he said looking extremely relieved. “Hey you know what? You got a friend in me…” he started singing a son from Toy Story, our favorite movie as kids. One year for Halloween he was Woody and I was Buzz. I started to laugh, then he started stopped. I turned around to see my LAX friends standing behind me. “Woah Brian! Did he just try to kiss you?” Cooper said, a look of pure evil in his eyes. “Sounds like he told you a dirty joke or something!” Josh called out at me. “Does Brian have a big gay crush?” Daniel added in. “Hey, guys…” I said squaring off. “Didja catch his gay?” Cooper said, taking an aggressive step towards me. “Wait…” Cooper advanced on me. “You two dating?” He said giving me a little shove. “Is Brian Adams a big fat gay?” He gave me a bigger shove and I nearly lost my balance. “Brain, don’t listen to them, their just being jerks…” “Shut up.” “…they don’t know what their talking about…” Scott put a hand on my shoulder. “I said SHUT UP!” I spun around and pushed him to the ground. His AP world textbook slid to the other side of the hallway and from in between the pages fell out a folded piece of light blue paper. He looked at me, tears started to stream down his face. and bounded out of the school. “Woah, Brian…” “I’m leaving.”

“Mom! I’m home!” I shout tossing my car keys into the little clay bowl in our front hallway. I took in a good whiff of the pot roast my mom was making in the kitchen.

249 PB “How was your day? Anything exciting happen at school?” I took a deep breath. “Nah.” I went upstairs ready to collapse on my bed and never get up. As I walked into my room I saw my window close. Wedged in my window was a folded piece of light blue paper. I threw my backpack on my bed and rushed over to it. I looked outside the window to see Scott jump off the lattice and run across the lawn to his car. I slowly opened the note and gasped as I read. “Dear Brian, I wanted to let you know that I forgive you, but I can’t forgive myself. I put you in a horrible position, and for that I am sorry. I hoped that people could accept me, but I guess their having a hard time with that. At least they won’t have to deal with me anymore. I am jumping off Clancy Bridge. I hope that you will forgive me. Love, Scott” I stood for a moment, unable to move, before I sprinted downstairs and grabbed my keys. I jumped into my car and slammed on the gas. I didn’t even know what I was doing! My body moved on it’s own. As I rushed through the town memories coursed through my veins. I remembered Clancy Lake so well. Scott and I used to spend almost everyday there in the summer. We used to swim in the water and one year we even set up a rope swing. As I pulled up to the little bridge my headlights hit Scott. He was posed at the edge of the bridge as always, ready to jump, but this time, he was equipped with weights. I leaped out of my car and sprinted to the middle of the bridge. As I ran towards him I saw tears running down his face. Before I could stop him he was jumping over the edge. “NO!” I screamed and jumped in after him. I opened my eyes under the water and felt around until I found his limp body. I pulled him onto my back and swam up to the surface. I yanked the bushes out of my way and laid him down on the bridge. I put my ear to his chest searching for any signs of life. I gave him three rough compressions I didn’t even hesitate leaning in to give him the breath of life. I had done this before as a trained lifeguard at Beaver Meadows community pool. I felt him start to get slow stream - cally. “Hello, 911 please state your emergency.” I tried to speak. “Hello?” I felt myself start to shake. Sobs started to form in my chest, big heaving sobs that I couldn’t control. “Can you please give me your location?” “Clancy Bridge, p-p-please come soon!” My body was now shaking. “We are sending people right away.”

250 PB I was now sitting in an ambulance, a white blanket around my shoulders. While I had waited for the police I continued my sobs and wrapped my letterman jacket around Scotts open head wound. Now the sobs had stopped but there was still a steady stream of tears as I watched the paramedics go strait to work on my best friend. He had a concus- sion. They said he hit his head on a rock under the water, but he should be okay…

I was still nervously shaking 4 hours after we got to the hospital. Scott went into immediate emergency brain surgery. “Brian?” I stood up. “You can come in now.” I solemnly followed the nurse into the ICU. There I saw Scott, a white bandage around his head, an IV in his arm, and a slight smile on his face. “Oh my god.” I said sweeping in for a hug. I felt some tears land on my neck as I held on to my best friend. “I was so scared!” I tried to not start sobbing again, but that was too hard. “I, thought, you, were, going, to, die!” I managed to get out. “Well,” he whispered out, “I didn’t.” I leaned back to see his face; he had a stupid looking grin painted on, the same one he wore when we used to prank his sister. I leaned in and held him tight, reminding myself to never let go again, ‘cause this is what happens when I do.

From that day on I kept Scott by my side at all times. The next morning when his mom and dad showed up at the hospital, I was asleep in the armchair next to his bed. I wheeled him around school in his wheel chair. Kristina and I started talking again and were soon back together. Everything seemed perfect, except I still have nightmares about that night. I don’t think they will ever go away, I just want to forget about it. But every time I hear a remark about someone being gay, I think of that night, and I think about how horrible I was to Scott. That is something that won’t go away, and that is something that I will never forgive myself for.

251 PB Making a Better Painting Laura Rodriguez

the night before had really helped me soothe my worked up mind, looking out into the blanket of bright stars and a deep sea blue. It had almost made me forget about the neighborhood I had to put up with every day, every hour, every minute. After blinking a few times and focusing on the far away blaring of police sirens, I realized why I was feeling so stiff. I had my neck craned to the side and my body was twisted up in the old, rickety, white plastic beach chair that I had brought up onto the dusty, stained, and grimy rooftop. I realized my mom would probably have my head if she realized that I had snuck up to the dangerous, exposed rooftop to sleep so I quickly folded up the chair as best I could, trying not to make it squeak from its rusted hinges and I ran down the stairs that led me to Everything was quiet as I closed my apartment door behind me. It’s a good thing I’m an early riser because nobody else was awake when I tiptoed into everyone’s rooms. Sure enough, my little brother Julio was curled up at the edge of my bed as I had left him the night before after he came to me the night before; quietly snoring, not even noticing I was gone or that I had pulled a blanket that he had kicked off, over him again. This all of my my little brother. The stars had apparently not been effective enough. As I got dressed and packed all of my things for school, I thought about who I might encounter on my short, yet memorable walks to and from school. Surely I would bump into a gruesome gang who thought that a good reputation was based on how many days of school were skipped or how many taunts they could yell at someone. I also began to think of the dull, crumbling apartment buildings we lived in where you could tell that there had been happy bright colors before, putting a little gray into my already miserable society. This was a thought that would bother me for as long as I lived; how it disturbs me that there are such better societies I could be living in, having a better life, a better education, even better parents. It was then that I realized I was seated at the small kitchen counter, being asked if I wanted a doughnut or half a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast by my mother Marlene. Although she looked distraught; already so early in the morning, she had a look that an artist might have found inspiring. Being one myself I started noticing the small details she had like her curly sandy brown locks which hung helplessly off the top of her head setting around her shoulders. Next I focused on her rumpled clothing which was a mixture of her pajamas and her work clothes. The best part of this moment was the look on her face as if saying; “Well do you think I’ve got all day honey?” I wasn’t too far off

252 PB reading her mind because she waited about a second and said, “Are you going to eat breakfast or are you going to stare at your mother all day?” I reluctantly walked over to the bread box and took out half a bagel. I sighed as I sat down heavily on a stool, spreading my cream cheese in swirls over my breakfast. “Don’t complain so much, you’re lucky to have such hard-working parents and do you think all little brothers so loving towards their sisters?” My mother occasionally threw me off with comments like these. I threw them back. “It’s not my fault I had to be born into a society, into a family as bad as this one.” My mother dropped the rag she was cleaning the dishes with and stared at me through wide eyes. It didn’t last long because my father, Fernando entered the kitchen at that moment. “Maite, are you talking back to your mother again? I don’t need any distractions, especially not today.” He paused as he walked over to my mother and kissed her on the forehead. His only button-down shirt was hanging unevenly and un-tucked, I could smell his after shave, something he could only afford to wear for special occasions. “Honey I think today’s the day, I’m feeling lucky. We’re taking the old station wagon to ask for my raise.” This explained why he was looking so dressed up, he worked as a maintenance man at the luxurious hemming hotel; 3 hours away. He hardly ever went decided this was my cue to go so I began to pick up my backpack. “Oh Maite don’t worry if we’re a little late today, take care of Julio when you get home from school.” My father looked as though he was pleading for me not to lash back as I usually did, so I gave a slight nod. As I walked to school I could almost recite everything I was about to see, before I walked out the front door of the apartment building. The scenery had hardly changed in the past 12 years. Brooklyn wasn’t getting any better and though it wasn’t good for me to be walking home to school alone with Julio, I had gotten used to it. At least this was the one advantage to being tall. Nobody dared to mess with you. At school it was a different story. It was like the people there were suffocating you with taunts and it almost made you feel smaller than everyone else. The only time I did like school was art class. It was the one time I didn’t feel like I was a freak. “Hey ‘Maite’ mixed race, mixed name, is that why you’re so messed up?” It was Mandy, one of the girls that just had to be in every one of my classes, which ever since I told my name to her and how it was a mixture of ‘Maria’ and ‘Theresa’ had held it against me. Once again I had lost track of time and had to watch from a distance as my little brother hobbled into the primary wing. “Mandy give it a rest at least I’d be able to knock you out with a single punch, I mean

253 PB did you really think 2-feet tall was gonna cut it?” I exaggerated in leaning down to meet her face to face. She and her friends snorted in my direction and ran away, whispering to each other and looking back every 5 seconds. I rolled my eyes as I swung the huge heavy school doors open and walked in. It got a little tiring, listening to them go on and on about how I was the odd one out of the school and how I should just live in the wild where at least I’d be out of everyone’s way. I was beginning to become immune to it; I knew I could intimidate them and not let their sharp words get to me. At least that was what my favorite art teacher Ms. Munich told me, every time I would complain to her. She was the one person I could truly talk to, without worrying if my words would back- The rest of the day went by in a rush. It was the same thing every day, taunting, trying during art class. It was when I could indulge myself in my artwork, where I could express anything I was feeling inside, the one class where I got great grades. The one place where the kids had nothing to make fun of. Art was the last class of the day so it made me steady enough to walk home, my mind still swirling like the cream cheese on my bagel with ideas for my next art project. As I entered my apartment, picking up my mail on my way up, I felt something unsettling. I then remembered that my parents would take a little longer in getting home, concentration as I doodled on a sheet that had supposedly been for algebra homework, I saw the little boy himself with a worried look on his face at my bedroom door. As annoying as he could get, it still pained me to see his anguish, even if he wasn’t old enough to discover the true meaning of anguish or pain. “Maite I don’t like how mom and dad are taking so long, I need my afternoon snack.” I smiled, getting up from my attempt to do homework and slinking over to the kitchen. Although Julio was just a hungry little brother, he did have a point. It was weird that they hadn’t gotten home yet. It was already 7:00pm, Julio and I had gotten home at 2:30pm. Then I started to think of the car they had left in. It was an old Subaru GL wagon. Al- though it wasn’t the oldest car, it had still gotten pretty beat up on the few commutes my dad took to and from the hotel in it. It had already broken down a few times on him before, and the storm was not making me any more comfortable. I thought about how how many times my dad had stuck on the bumper again and again because of the many times it had fallen off the back. Even the cracks in the window shield and lights made me nervous. The thing that made me shudder the most was how that old car couldn’t go

254 PB faster than 25mph, maybe less. The storm outside was getting worse by the minute. Suddenly there was a slow knock front door. It struck me that I didn’t hear their soft voices discussing things outside the door, but I was too distracted to take too much notice. I basically lunged myself at what awaited on the other side of the door, only to awkwardly lean back, seeing that this per- - bor Mrs. Leone took me into my tiny living room, and explained that there had been an to me, once and a while reaching up to brush the tears which were falling in big fat drops from my face. “You see dear I was their emergency contact in their wallet, and I got a call from their agency telling me about the accident, I’m so very sorry dear, I wish things didn’t have to in Julio’s direction nodding slightly, “you will have to stay with me.” I shrunk down in “How did it happen?” I found myself asking in a fragile voice, unlike the tone I used with Mandy and her small yet dangerous “possy.” Mrs. Leone paused, looking at me as if debating whether or not she should tell me. “They were driving through a densely wooded area, where the storm was causing the trees to sway viciously, snapping them in the middle and causing very big ones to fall down on the highway. Your parents were driving through this when their car engine died. As your father was trying to see what the problem was, one of the large trees was knocked down onto their car, the tree trunk big enough to hurt your father, and kill your mother.” She paused, trying to read my emotions, but I was not ready to show her any yet. “Although your father was in the front part of the car, he was partially crushed by the tree, and by the time the paramedics arrived, it was too late.” I stared off into the kitchen, fully aware that I was sobbing to no end. It was like waterfalls were pouring down from my face, as if my face had been created by water painting. I was also aware that Julio was staring at me in horror, half of a sandwich in his hand and silent tears, also streaming from his face. A family painted by acrylic brushes, all made of water paintings. “Dears, why don’t you stay put while I go make some phone calls. Please make yourself at home when you come to my apartment.” I could hear the strain in her voice as she spoke. As if she too wanted to cry out in despair and start sobbing. I reluctantly let my brother fall in my arms, silently wishing someone was there to hold me in their arms as

255 PB caressed his limp, wilted body. The next few days went by fast. We had to go to court a couple of times, only to - ing, desperate calls and crying, the child agency decided to put Julio in a boy’s private institute as they called it, although an orphanage is what any person out of this situation would call it. I was allowed to stay in my home, under the care of Mrs. Leone who always smelled of oatmeal and freshness, but I could hardly tell, swallowing down any words for a whole week; words of anger, frustration, despair, and mostly emptiness. Some nights I would sleep in my parent’s bed, as I used to when I was Julio’s age and had nightmares, except this time there was no one to soothe me with their words. I would sit on the window ledge, looking out into the sky; into the stars, but never daring to go back did not show me its stars. It showed me a foggy gray sky which made me think of all the times I had wished for a better society. My new wish was my parents. A few days into my stay home alone, an adequate relative showed up. It was my Uncle Jack, someone I haven’t seen since I was about 4 years old. I never really liked my Uncle Jack, he had always been someone who no one could relate to or talk to without getting more than two words out of him. He was a quiet and slightly dark person who didn’t care what his appearance was like in front of others, and who never liked to get disturbed, always wringing his strong hands and wrists, never really noticing things around him. Of course he just had to be the exact opposite of me. When he was at the door to my front apartment, I could tell he was uncomfortable and that he pitied me. At the same time I could tell what his expression meant; he didn’t needs. It was something that I had expected, when the agency called Mrs. Leone and told her I had a place to go. He helped me get my few belongings into the back of his old mini cooper, it was one of the cars you might see in a place like London and it made me smile a bit, remembering how my mother used to talk about places like those. Places where we dreamed of going, but never did. As we rode silently in his car, I noticed how he had changed in the past 12 years. He no longer had the need to wring his hands so much, and had a strong appearance, as if he had decided that by the next time he saw one of his family members, he would be in better shape than the weak, skinny appearance he had before. After a while of sitting in silence and watching as we rode into another part of Brooklyn, where he had moved not too long ago, I realized that something was missing. “Hey Uncle Jack, aren’t you forgetting someone?” He did something that surprised

256 PB me. He stopped abruptly in the middle of the road, and parked the car in an empty space nearby. Then he turned and looked at me. As he studied my face, he smiled very slightly. “Listen Maite, I know how close you were, to your parents and especially to Julio,” he paused and stared off into the distance, as if wondering what to say next. “I understand how hard it can be to lose someone so crucial in your life, but you have to understand that I’m going to try to do the best so that I can so that...” He trailed off, and stared directly at me, “So that you can have a better life.” That was when I realized we weren’t going to pick up my little brother after all. My could contact. Right then and there something came over me, something that I had held in since the night I had woke up on my roof top with the stiffness in my body. I kicked his car radio, making the quiet music abruptly stop, and opened the door furiously. When I slammed the door and looked in the car, I could swear I saw my Uncle Jack crying, much streaming down his face. Then I ran scar me for as long as I lived. I ran away for a whole day, but eventually I started looking for my uncle, and he started looking for me. We found ourselves and he led me back to the home that would be mine from now on. He tried to be good and patient with me, trying to ignore my rude comments and doing his best to make me comfortable in his unfamiliar home. He showed me around, telling me about his newest project, spray-painting rusted things around the neighborhood. I guess when your alone you turn to the strangest things. A few days passed and I couldn’t contain myself any longer. I was yearning for the life I had a few days before. I decided it was time to do something about my unhappi- ness instead of keeping it all inside as I had done all of my life. It was time for me to do something that I really loved. never thought I would do. I took a large leather bag and stuffed all of his spray-painting cans in it, along with $900 dollars that I had earned from a small job, and took from my uncle. I knew I couldn’t stay in this house any longer, feeling as though I should run, far away. As I walked through the streets of Brooklyn, I knew it was dangerous, seeing all of the gangs huddled around the pasty building walls, blocking an opportunity. I knew what calling out things to me, I sprinted far away, until I could no longer breathe evenly. It was

257 PB a good place to stop too; because there in front of me was a huge canvas, larger than any I’d ever painted on. Of course to anyone else, it would look like an old, rough wall. There was no one around, and I knew this was a great opportunity for me. I slowly uncapped one of the cans and sprayed it once on the wall to make sure it worked. It let out a noise The wetness dripped red down the wall and landed slowly on the ground. Then I began. I sprayed until there was no longer any paint left in the can and then used up the other ones. I put my heart into the large arm movements I made as I left every emotion in my head transport to the wall. I studied the still wet paint, glistening against the moon light, shiny and bright, casting cheerful light against the dark city. It portrayed everything that people were afraid to think of. Everything that was and that could be in a city like Brook- lyn, and it was like crying all over again, as I had in my small living room, the day of the accident, except I felt strong and tall as I was, and felt as though no one else existed, as I any drastic decisions. I decided not to waste a single moment, so I traveled around the abandoned parts of Brooklyn, spray-painting every single corner of every wall, pouring out every emotion I felt into it. It was as though I was broadcasting a message for the world to see, or at least all of Brooklyn to see. As I spray painted for what seemed like a minute, I realized that I had covered all of the walls that I could think of, and as I concluded with my last spray of my last spray can, I noticed little rays of sunlight bursting through the small alleys that unattached the tall buildings, towering over my enormous art project. That morning was Saturday, so I wouldn’t have to make up an excuse for not being for my favorite kind of sandwich, the kind my mother used to make me whenever she was in a good mood. He did seem to get a gruff expression and kept nervously looking over at the cash register and rubbing the stubble on his chin as I gave my order, immediately categorizing me for a juvenile delinquent as I had learned to tell. As I waited for my breakfast, I quickly ran to the bathroom to refresh my face. It didn’t take a very long look in the mirror to tell why the man had judged me so quickly. In front of me I saw a pale, ghostly girl with dark bags under her eyes and spray paint smudged on her forehead and cheeks. I saw a hornet’s nest of hair sitting upon her fragile scalp, which also had so many sprays of paint in it that one might have thought it had been dyed. I also saw the dirty clothing that had been sprayed several times with a rainbow of spray painted colors, and I saw hands that were red from holding down the top of the spray can, not letting go

258 PB I quickly walked out of the bathroom, not wanting to see myself like that again, and at the same time not wanting to wash off the feeling of accomplishment and pride for my artwork. Almost as quickly as I walked out of the bathroom I saw a picture of something my tracks and listened, mesmerized to the reporter’s voice: - ports show who is behind this strange case of vandalism. If you have any information on anything you saw last night, please do not hesitate to contact authorities.” time to listen to the deli owner make a remark about the news report and having him call after me for not claiming my sandwich order. I knew then and there that I would have to leave as soon as possible, not leaving a single piece of evidence behind. As I quickly walked down the streets, I saw some newspapers, still rolled up and left abandoned near a garbage can. I ran over and as soon as I read the heading, I knew that my situation was worse than I thought. One of the stories on the front page was about a man named Jack who had reported a robbery of $500. This had happened the same night that I transformed strange feeling of fright overcame me and I sat on a bench, wondering what to do. As I quickly tried to waste time, continuing my stroll through Brooklyn, I began to see people washed over my fright and I noticed that these people were not from Brooklyn. I had seen these art critics before and I slowly stopped walking as I saw one of the art critics sit down on the sidewalk and start crying. It was a strange moment, seeing someone cry, the way I had imagined myself cry when I had found out that my parents had died. It was as though he knew what I was going through and as if he was going through the same emotions as me. It was as though he was watching my life play out, just by looking at my these, even hearing people ask who the creator was made me jump. Overall though, I felt a feeling of freedom. I had overcome something important that I had held in for a longer time than was needed. come looking for me. I had vandalized and had stolen from my own uncle. I would have - ing my face to the moonlight, ready to walk towards it and letting it lead me to another

259 PB my hand, the hair, the small hands, the small worn shoes, even the small button face. It was Julio. “Julio please, I know it’s hard to understand but you have to stay here, you can’t follow me.” It pained me to have to shove him out of my life, but I couldn’t have him in trouble, as surely I was going to be in. “I know. I just wanted to say good bye.” His eyes were soft and he looked sad, like all the times when our parents couldn’t get him something he wanted. It made me sad, to never see his familiar and adorable face again, but I knew there was no way he could come with me. There was too much pain and struggle in the life I was about to take. There was no room for taking care of a child like Julio. I opened my arms fully and let him rush at me, hugging him for what seemed like forever. After he stopped quietly sobbing I stroked his hair and told him that he had to go back to the orphanage. He looked at me through the bravest eyes he could muster and said he’d listen. Then I decided it was time to leave. I told him to be strong and that perhaps one day I would come back for him. Then I kissed his forehead and walked in the direction I was meant to take, only - tion, back to the orphanage, slipping further and further away from my life.

260 PB “Please Prepare for Departure” Maggie Rothberg

I lean my head against the foggy window, listening to the sharp pounding of the rain outside. The plane is still on the ground. The seat next to me is empty. On the foldout table in front of me, a little bag of complementary pretzels lies crumpled and empty. It’s not an upscale airline. The seats don’t even have TV’s on the back. There is a sterile scent to the air. Behind me, a baby cries. The plane is only about half full, but the passengers appear to be about 30% families, 40% businesspeople, and 20% members of a noisy senior citizen tour group. I realize that most of these people are probably on vacation, or business trips. Must be nice, I think to myself. Must be just grand…to be wanted. To be appreciated. To hear your boss tell you that of course you can take a vacation with your trophy wife and perfect children to the sunny beaches of California. Or that he would like for you to attend this extremely important conference in this upscale San Francisco hotel. Must be nice. As opposed to hearing your sister shout distractedly over the screams of her bratty children that maybe they can make room for you on the sofa. As opposed to hearing your former boss tell you that they’re making some changes this year. A stewardess rolls her cart up to my seat and presses down the stop with her foot. She gives me a plastic smile. “Can I get you a drink, Ma’am?” “No,” I reply, looking towards the window. The Stewardess rolls away. Why do they have to be so goddamn perky all the time? I wonder bitterly. Probably because they have a job. I am relentless in my internal resentment, but I can’t help it. New York has been my home since before I can remember, since before the cost of living was impossible to meet for someone with no income. Since before I was evicted. to be going. I can never understand why my sister would choose to live there. Doesn’t she miss the four seasons? Probably not, I realize, surveying the cold rain outside.

261 PB But still, I don’t want to be anywhere but here. I would almost rather live on the streets, if it meant staying in New York. I don’t want to live in my sister’s house, with her entire family. I do better on my own. When I open my eyes, I am surprised to see a woman sitting down next to me. She is tall and pretty, wearing a well-tailored skirt suit and pumps. Her straw-colored hair is pulled back into an effortless yet-oh-so-professional bun. I bet she has a nice life, I think resentfully. The woman smiles politely at me and settles into her seat. She probably has really rich parents. I’m sure she has men falling at her feet. She sets her black leather briefcase on her lap. On the front, engraved in gilded capi- tals are the words “Vanity Fair.” Jesus Christ, I marvel, who is this woman? I bet she has some high-up boyfriend who got her a nice cushy reporter job. I bet she’s going to interview some celebrity, for which she will be awarded an absurd sum of money, along with a paid reservation at some fancy hotel. A loud ringing emanates from within the case. The woman takes out her cellphone and answers it. “Hello, Renee Byrne speaking.” “Hi, Ms. Byrne,” says a voice on the other line. Really? Does she think anyone wants to listen to her conversations? The volume is so loud I can hear every word! “…this is Dr. Wesley.” I bet she’s making some unnecessary appointment with some new-agey cosmetic doctor. But suddenly the woman’s face falls. “Yes, how is he?” she asks quietly. “He’s doing…all right,” says the doctor hesitantly. Okay, maybe not. But I am curious now. Who’s “he?” “Is something wrong?’ the woman asks quickly. “Nothing beyond the usual illness, Ms. Byrne,” says the voice of the doctor. It is peculiar to hear someone else’s phone conversation like this. I am starting to feel slightly uncomfortable, because it seems private. But I can’t just stop listening. And besides, it’s almost a relief to think about someone’s problems other than mine. “Sam would like to talk to you, though,” the doctor continues. The woman sighs, “All right, put him on.” Her voice is slightly choked. There is a silence and then a different voice comes through the phone. A child’s voice.

262 PB “Mommy?” says the little boy. The woman smiles, a little sadly. “Hi Sammy!” she replies, a bit too cheerfully, “how are you feeling?” “Okay,” the boy mumbles, “I miss you.” “I miss you too, Sammy,” says the woman. “Mommy?” “Yes, honey?” I can see now that “he” is her son. And he is very ill. “Why hasn’t Daddy come yet? You said he might be visiting soon,” the boy inquires. The woman bites her lip and shuts her eyes. She tells him that Daddy might not come “Why not?” The woman is clearly at a loss for words. “He went on…a business trip,” she says slowly. Why hasn’t Daddy come yet? I wonder. I think about how the doctor referred to her as “Ms.” If she was married, wouldn’t she go by “Mrs?” Or even if she was widowed? Unless of course, she’s not married. Or not anymore. It seems that wherever he went, it was no business trip. I should really mind my own business. But then the little boy speaks again. “When will I get to leave the hospital, mom?” he asks. Renee pauses. “Maybe…when I get home, Sam.” “When will that be?” he presses. “Soon,” she promises. Her eyes are wet with tears. The stewardess comes by once more and asks Renee if she would like a drink. Hold- ing the phone to her neck, she politely refuses. I have a chance to look at her more closely, and I can see that her skirt and blazer are made from thin fabric, and some of the seams are fraying. Her shoes have scuff marks. Maybe she doesn’t make much after all. There is a ding-dong, and the pilot comes over the loudspeaker telling us to prepare for departure. Renee picks up the phone again. “Sammy, I’ve got to go,” she tells him gently. “Okay, bye mom.” “I love you,” she says. “Love you, too.” “Bye, honey.” She snaps the phone shut and wipes her eyes, leaning over and rummaging in

263 PB guilty for thinking those things about her when she sat down, The plane begins to rumble and start moving down the runway. She avoids my gaze. I know she is embarrassed that I have heard all of that. I am too. The plane speeds up and lifts off, and we are in the air. Off into uncertainty, away from our homes. Both of us. But at the very least, I will be with my family. After en- countering Renee, I see now that it could be so much worse. Not knowing what else to do, I give Renee a weak smile. She looks away.

264 PB “119 Bush St.”

I woke up that morning and I saw it as a regular day. I woke up and started to walk down the busy streets of Detroit, while clutching onto my locket as I left home.

I lived on 119 Bush St; in an average red brick home. The bricks were relatively new and haven’t aged like the neighboring houses of Detroit. The house was blank and hostile, but not to me. The front door was painted a sooty black, just like every door on Bush St. However, we owned the only house that didn’t take too much damage from the hooligans.

My locket was in an oval-like shape and as gold as the sun. It held the picture of me school as I scrutinized my new locket. My honey blonde hair neatly pulled back into my

As I continued walking down the busiest section of the city, Main St., I scanned

I passed by the basketball court with the torn nets. The pavement was dry and cracked like cold hands in the winter. The pavement lightened as it aged, and was starting to lose its original color of graphite. I entered into the old school and large school. I soundlessly sat through the classes, as I always did, until I heard the loud clanging of the school bell.

- ing my house. I started to reach into the pocket of my backpack for my keys. I had just started pulling at the zipper, when a blast of color entered into the left corner of my eye.

of my house. The original black door looked as if a box of Crayola’s burst onto it while I was gone.

“Uh…Why me?” I questioned myself. I was rather astonished at how much this graf-

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would not be happy, he’s wanted to leave Detroit for over ten years.

I touched the paint. Dry.

gloves and a dishwashing sponge. I tried soap, water, nail polish remover and rubbing alcohol, it wasn’t coming off. I reluctantly called my father.

I called my dad 423-5824 and decided to leave a message; “Hey Dad, the house

I went inside and sat on the couch feeling disappointed.

Just as I sat down I heard my father drop his briefcase in the foyer. He looked ir- didn’t ask if we could move, he just stood there and continued on with life. I didn’t mention my attempt at cleaning and he didn’t ask.

I had to say something; “Dad, it’s not that big of a deal…you knew one day that this would happen…”

“We’re moving Addie this neighborhood is getting old and worthless.” He pulls aside the curtains and looks outside the window.

I look into my locket. I suspected that within the next few days he would have circled real estate listings. But he didn’t pull through on his rant about leaving.

I woke up the next day, a Friday. I walked to school and gazed at the unsightly im- penetrable barriers of bars on all of the neighborhood’s windows. At least we didn’t need those.

Nothing happened for the next few weeks, I continued with my daily routine I went to school and walked down Main.

266 PB April 25th was another story. It was a Monday and my dad’s birthday. I placed my locket on my bedside table and started packing for school. I walked down Main, feeling content, as I was careful not to trip on the uneven bleached slabs of concrete. I walked into school and then walked out eight hours later; and I had just aced this science test.

I was walking down Bush Street when I saw the three police cars.

This was not an uncommon occurrence in my neighborhood. My neighbor, George, always forgot to lock his doors. I continued and saw the police cars at my house.

“OH MY GOD!” I shouted, I could see my father was enraged and among the three

“The windows were broken into. People stole some of your belongings.” said one of

I walked into the house; glass shattered in the foyer, the house was looking in disar- ray. I ran up the stairs past my dad’s bedroom, all of his drawers were opened wide and everything was out of place. I pass the bathroom, the medicine cabinet was opened. And I sprinted into my room. I saw that my jewelry box was gone, but more importantly, that my locket was not on the bedside table like it was when I left that morning.

I screamed “THE LOCKET!” and I felt hopeless. I tried to hold back the tears as my vision turned into a water painting.

I trudged outside and stood with my dad.

“Adelaide, we’re moving.”

Somehow, I nodded and got ready to pack my things.

Hastily, I found my house sold, and me lifting boxes in the pouring rain to the U-Haul my dad had rented. We were going to Charlotte, North Carolina. As soon as my stuff was in the car, we were leaving and there was no turning back. I watched in remorse as my dad put our Prius Wagon into drive. As he pushed the pedal the sun shone through the clouds, and somehow I knew I was going to be okay.

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