UNLEASHED A Journal of Student Writing Volume I, Summer 2020 UNLEASHED Foreword by Heather Garcia Dear readers, Marco Learning tried something new at Marco: we stretched beyond the world of AP® Exams. We dove head-first into the world of creative writing by offering our first Creative Writing Summer Camp - and it was a All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any resounding success. The staff at Marco Learning aren’t the reason it was manner without written permission from the copyright owner or the original such a success; it was the STUDENTS who made this event spectacular. I authors, except for the use of quotations in a book review. Views expressed in was fortunate to share the space with them as their instructor, but make this publication do not represent the views of Marco Learning. For more no mistake, they are the ones who brought the magic. It was an immense information, email [email protected] privilege to interact with them, to read the product of their hard work and imagination, and to watch them grow as writers throughout the course. Unleashed: Volume 1 Copyright 2020 Marco Learning I have been a teacher for 16 years and never, in my entire teaching career, have I had a single class with over 350 registered participants; never have www.marcolearning.com I had a class bond so quickly; and never have I had a group of young people lift each other up in such a collective endeavor. The students in this Creative Writing course blew me away with their creativity, their talent, and their overarching kindness toward one another. This group of students formed a community faster than I have ever witnessed, and it gave me immense hope for our future. I can’t think of a better way to honor these kids and their hard work than to publish their writing in this beautiful literary magazine. These students are trailblazers, and in our inaugural edition of Unleashed, rest assured that you are going to be treated with some outstanding student writing. Happy Reading, Heather Garcia 3 UNLEASHED UNLEASHED Table of Contents Foreword by Heather Garcia ...................................................................................................................................................3 The Future is Foggy by Jessica Singh .................................................................................................................................6 The Request by Sophia Dodson .............................................................................................................................................7 Essential by Adanma Adebayo-Kay .....................................................................................................................................8 @writejaquelinequill Mealtime by Abigail Musherure ...........................................................................................................................................10 The Graveyard Garden by Ruth Oyerokun .......................................................................................................................11 It Wasn’t Me by Samara Patel ................................................................................................................................................12 Thank you for sharing your work with us! One Chopstick by Abby Coons .............................................................................................................................................14 Follow us on our social channels for the Secret of the Mulberry Trench Coat by Camille Duncan .......................................................................................15 latest updates on our Creative Writing Her Headphones by Maya McCord .....................................................................................................................................16 camps and courses. The Tide by Anonymous ...........................................................................................................................................................18 If it Gets Too Cold by Indya Taylor ........................................................................................................................................19 To share your work with us, tag us Night of Despair by Alice Zhang ........................................................................................................................................20 @marcolearning and use The Unfortunate, Insignificant Value of Fantasy by Mahir Rahman ..............................................................22 #marcolearning. So, all I have to do is jump? by Reem Numan .............................................................................................................23 Seashell Necklaces by Aubrey Bocalan ...........................................................................................................................26 The Ballad of Creation by Kacie Kline ..............................................................................................................................27 Arrow: A Short Story by Caitlin C. .......................................................................................................................................28 Where The Poppies Grow by Sophie Deerberg .........................................................................................................33 The Light at My Disposal by Mei Gordon Washington ...........................................................................................34 @andnoted my attention deficit by Juliana Smith-Etienne ...........................................................................................................36 Ganesh by Stephanie Brijmohan ........................................................................................................................................37 Captured by Paint by Diana Rivera .....................................................................................................................................38 The Whispering Woods by Aiyanah Batton ..................................................................................................................40 INSTAGRAM Thunder by Snow Rose ...............................................................................................................................................................41 @marcolearning Silent Observer by Marie Kinderman ................................................................................................................................42 The Taste of Life by Nurefsan Zeynep Kurt ...................................................................................................................49 Superman by Rena Cohen .....................................................................................................................................................50 Silence is Telling by Mollie Grinberg ..................................................................................................................................51 Loosely based on ‘The Painter on His Way to Work” by Van Gogh by Vanesa Cardenas G. .............52 YOUTUBE Invisible by Frieda Sutton .......................................................................................................................................................53 John’s Revenge by Sophia Zhu ..........................................................................................................................................54 Marco Learning Reality by Anonymous ............................................................................................................................................................55 Phoenix by Ella Zare .................................................................................................................................................................56 An Interview Gone Wrong by Rebecca Goldstein ...................................................................................................58 Bad Poetry by Alyssa Simone ..............................................................................................................................................60 @.b0rn_hyp3r Posession Story by Reece Calvin .......................................................................................................................................61 TWITTER Where I’m From by Myah Crowell .....................................................................................................................................62 @marcolearning Never to be Seen Again by Jacqueline Gutierrez ....................................................................................................63 Strawberry Blonde by Sally Young ...................................................................................................................................64 Crazy by Ashton Brophy .........................................................................................................................................................65 An Open Letter to Betrayal by Amal Bumbia ...........................................................................................................66 Pens by Nadia Lanila .................................................................................................................................................................67 Memories by Shivani Patel ....................................................................................................................................................68