Monday, September 24, 2012
Short Story Assignment
Your assignment for this week is to compose a short story of 1500 words or more. Students who are here for only part of the week have a minimum requirement of 1000 words. Your story should be constructed in Microsoft Word during the week. It should be proofread and posted with a minimum of errors by the end of class on Friday. You will be graded on punctuation, spelling, and grammar.
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There once was a boy. That boy was usually organized. Well, maybe not all the time. But for the purpose of this assignment he might as well have been. In fact, I don’t think that detail is very important at all. You know what? Let’s just forget that and start from the top. There once was a boy. That boy went to school every day. Well, he didn’t go to school on weekends, or on holidays… or whenever he was sick… or whenever he was away… well, I guess he only went to school on most days. So… There once was a boy who went to school most days. He loved school. Well, maybe not loved school. Maybe he just liked it a little bit. Well, it depends on the day. Anyway, he came to school most days and was excited for his last period class. His last period class was Creative Writing. In that class he had been writing a story. A big, long story. Like a novel sized story. His teacher was trying to teach him not to be repetitive repetitive. He couldn’t quite get it right sometimes, and repeated repeated words a few times over. This was a problem because the story could often feel repetitive repetitive. Like in this story, how I used the word well more than I should have. Well, maybe only a little bit more than I should have. Maybe just a bit. And maybe I used maybe a little too much maybe. But I digress digress. Back to the story. There once was a boy who liked school and enjoyed Creative Writing. But one day, that boy forgot his flash drive for class. Now, this wouldn’t do! He didn’t want to write something random, he wanted to work on his story! In a blind rage… well, maybe not a blind rage, per say. I mean he could see. I think. And he wasn’t really raging. It was more of a disgruntled sigh. Maybe he was a little bit angry, but disappointment was really the most prominent emotion. Anyway, with his disgruntled sigh that he expelled from his body with his eyes open he opened a new word document and started writing. His assignment: write a 1500 word story. About whatever. Did I mention that it had to use a lot of words words words words words in it or it was not going to get a good grade? Well, that’s what I meant to say. This assignment was due on Friday, but he wanted to get it done in one period because he wanted to work on his story. Eh, who am I kidding. Why keep up with the charade. I am the boy in question, and I want to get this story finished. My name is Stephen Van Ness, and I would rather not be writing this right now. Also, forget all of those verbs in past tense that are in this piece, because as I was writing it they were taking place in the present. Actually… by now they are ancient history, so you can keep them in. From your perspective this story has been done and written a long time ago. Heck, it could have been a thousand years ago for all I know. I mean, I am creating it now, but at some point it will be finished and available for reading on the internet. Especially because I am going to post it on a blog. So now that we have established that this ‘story’ is really just me writing a monologue, I am going to give this story a plot. The plot: I have decided to overthrow the United States government. Since the two options for the next election are both pretty darn awful, I am going to run myself, disguised as an elderly man. And then, when I have achieved power, I will overthrow myself in an unprecedented form of coup’de’tat and hand over power to none other than myself, with no disguise.
ReplyDeleteYou see, I will change my name to make myself seem different than I am. Then, our country will have a dictatorship with me at its head. And everyone will have to hang a gigantic ten foot by ten foot picture of my face in their houses, and anyone who is found without said picture will be executed. I… wait… you say that this is not a ‘plot?’ That the story needs a problem, and a resolution? That explaining a plot does not do for a story of this type, and really belongs in an essay? Well, I will give you a problem and a resolution. My problem: 5x4. My resolution: 20. Happy? No??? What? You say that it needs to be a conflict? Not a problem? Well, you should have been more specific the first time. Okay, here’s a conflict. Two polar bears are fighting for a piece of fish. The resolution? One ends up dead. Are you kidding me? You still aren’t satisfied? I thought you wanted a conflict and a resolution? What? They have to be spread out? And now you’re telling me that it is not stylistically sound to ask the readers so many questions? Well, I am writing this paper, aren’t I? You aren’t the author, are you? You can’t tell me what to do because what you are reading has already been written! Bwahahahaha! Wait, now you’re saying that using diabolical laughter in a piece without dialogue isn’t stylistically sound either? Who do you think you are? What? My subconscious? What the heck does that even mean? Can you translate that? I don’t understand. Stop yelling at me for my use of questions!!! It’s how I write!!! Wait, now I can’t use more than one piece of punctuation at the end of a sentence??? I would hate to read your writing. It must be so dull!!! No questions, no exclamation points, and on the rare occasion that you do use one only one mark for each? If you’re my subconscious then you should stay buried down there because you are a terrible writer and should never give anyone advice. You know what? You should just leave and never come back.
ReplyDeleteHello?
Little voice in my head?
Where did you go?
…
I guessed it decided to take my advice.
You know… it really fells empty around here without that little dude telling me what to do. I miss him. I feel lik my writing is slowly going to detierioreight without that thing in my head. I feel less discriptive. Feel like I’m writing words spelled wrong. Like any little piece of niceness in my writin was just totily destroyed. Fragmented scentences. And other bad stuff. Why can’t I write any more. I am sad now. I miss the little voice in my head. He should come back. I want to be ables to write cause I cannot really write very goodly at all right now at all. This last paragraph has been bad and I no know how to fix it no more. Little voice please come back. I need a subconciwhatever to guide me or I am lost because I don’t know how to write and whenever I try to make something good it ends up being a run on scentence but maybe that’s just because I can no longer remember where the period button is so I need to just keep writing this is starting to feel very automatic man I miss beaing able to write good i cant even find the shift key anymore so its really getting worse and now the apostoraphe key is missing so im just confused hey little voice i need help cause i cantwritemuchanymoreohdangittheregoesthespacebarhelpmehelpmehelpmeohwaitifoundthecapslockkeyOHSHOOTHOWDOITURNTHISOFFAGGGHHHHIDONTKNOWHOWTODOTHISANYMOREANDALLOFTHISISJUSTONEWORDSOIMREALLYNOTACCOMPISHINGANYTHINGHEEEEEEEELLLLLLLPPPPPPP!!!!INEEDHEEEE-
ReplyDeleteHahaha. That was more easy than I thought it would be. The earthing is now under my control. It was simple, really. All I needed to do was make the earthing think that I, a parasitic life form from another planet, was his subconscious, and had decided to leave. Then, by impairing motor control and his vision, I was able to take over his body. From here I can begin the invasion. Our species has been preparing this for eighty years, ever since the great Alamobeezerwad had a dream about the Yologoahs dominating the galaxy. The last planet that stands between us and total control is Earth. The humans can no longer resist, now that we walk amongst them. Woe to you men! We will come upon you and tear you apart! We will destroy mankind!
INSERT LOUD OBNOXIOUS ALIEN DEATH SOUND HERE
Haha! That stupid alien did not even see that coming. You see, I have been aware of his presence for a long time, and I decided to rid myself of him. So I set up a ploy where I allow him to surface and lay dormant for a while, and then destroy him when he is totally unexpecting! Unfortunately, after all of this, I didn’t even get to finish the prompt.
Bravo sir, bravo. *gives you a standing ovation*
DeleteStephen I loved your story. It's so you and I really like the ending, it's so funny. Especially the i cantwritemuchanymoreohdangittheregoesthespacebarhelpmehelpmehelpmeohwaitifoundthecapslockkeyOHSHOOTHOWDOITURNTHISOFFAGGGHHHHIDONTKNOWHOWTODOTHISANYMOREANDALLOFTHISISJUSTONEWORDSOIMREALLYNOTACCOMPISHINGANYTHINGHEEEEEEEELLLLLLLPPPPPPP!!!!INEEDHEEEE-
Deleteand the INSERT LOUD OBNOXIOUS ALIEN DEATH SOUND HERE.
It's great!
My lungs burned, begging for oxygen. My legs were cramping and pleading for rest, but I couldn’t rest. They were right behind me. I glanced behind me and saw that my sister was beginning to slow down.
ReplyDelete“Don’t stop!” I yelled, “We have to keep going!”
Her breaths came in gasps. Wheezing, she replied, “I……can’t!”
Stubbornly, I grabbed her wrist and yanked her behind me as we ran through the streets. Left. Right. Right. Straight. Left. Hide! I dove through a hole in a nearby building, dragging my sister behind me. We desperately tried to quiet our breathing as we cowered in the darkness. Silence was the only thing that reached our ears, but we both knew better than to believe that we were safe. Clank. Thud. Crash. My sister huddled against me, our hearts pounding in our chests as the sounds grew closer. Suddenly, a head emerged into our little hide-away.
Pain shot through my arm as my sister tightly squeezed it. Terror shot through me as a member of the New Humanity scanned the hole. Its gaze dropped on us and my heart stopped. It’s going to kill us. It’s going to kill us like how the others killed Mom and Dad. We survived this long only to die in vain. My muscles tensed; but instead of a fight, the most unexpected thing happened. The member of the New Humanity turned its head to look around again before drawing itself out of the hole. Panicking, I gripped my sister’s hand and waited. Thud. Clatter. Clang. The noises grew softer and softer. Once again, silence reached our ears. We stayed still for what seemed like an eternity before daring to glance outside.
ReplyDeleteThe street was full of litter and overturned objects. This was most likely the result of the New Humanity trying to find us. I signaled my sister the ‘all clear’ sign and cautiously stepped out into the open. I grabbed my sister’s hand again and we began to make our way into the building we were searching for as stealthily as possible. Checking the door, I confirmed that it was locked. I turned my gaze to my sister. She pointed up to a window that was open. I gave her a thumbs up, and then interlocked my fingers to give her a boast. She easily climbed through the window, and I heard a small thud when she landed on the other side. I waited outside the locked door until I heard the door unlock with a click.
Carefully, I opened the door and entered the building. My sister grinned at me and I smiled back. Quickly closing and locking the door, I then turned to examine the structure that we were in. I felt relieved when I realized that this was the building we were searching for, but I also felt my stomach churn with fear and bad memories. In front of me stood the door that separated me and my sister from our parents when the New Humanity attacked us. As I stared at the door, my mind began to take me back through time……
“Why are we here?” I asked in a hushed tone.
ReplyDeleteMy parents led me and my sister through a heavy metal door.
My father turned to me, determination gleaming in his eyes. “We are going to get rid of the wretched robots that were supposed to become the New Humanity.” I flinched unconsciously recalling how the New Humanity killed off all the members of the Old Humanity, except for us. I felt a hand grab mine and glimpsed my sister’s frightened face.
My mother caught on to our distress and gave us an encouraging smile. “Don’t worry; we have a plan that won’t fail, as long as we humans still live.”
My sister and I looked at each other at the same time and grinned. We were going to be free at last. However, our joy was short lived as we heard the detestable footsteps of a body that was not flesh. I turned around, and my heart froze as I watched a member of the New Humanity walk in. Its soulless eyes paralyzed me to where I stood. I couldn’t even move as it raised its blaster. I watched as it pulled the trigger, and then my view was suddenly obscured by my mother’s body. Her body jerked and I felt a warm liquid splash on my face. My sister and I stared in horror as my mother sank to the ground, a red puddle quickly spreading around her.
I had no time to register what had happened as my father screamed, “Run!”
Wasting no time, my sister ran at the robot that was blocking our exit. At the last moment she hit the ground and slid in between its legs. The robot bent over and tried to grab her, but she was already in the other room. Before the robot had a chance to stand up again, I ran at it and jumped off its head; using it as a boost to jump over the member of the New Humanity and into the room my sister was in. When I landed, I turned around to find myself at the business end of the android’s blaster. I was saved though as my father tackled the machine from the side. He turned to us and took a step in our direction, but he was stopped by a mechanical hand attached to his ankle. My sister cried out. I started to move to help my father, but instead of accepting my help he slammed the button that closed the heavy metal door. No matter how much I wanted to, I couldn’t move fast enough to get to him.
As the metal doors slowly slid shut, my father left us a faint wish. His voice echoed in my ears as he whispered, “You guys must live on.”
“Hello? Anybody home?” My sister waved her hand in my face, bringing me back to the present.
I shook my head to clear it and sighed. “Yeah, let’s keep moving.” I led my sister to the door. I pressed the “Open” button, and expected to see the worst. I let out a sigh of relief as I saw no remnants of what happened that day. We warily crept through the room to the door opposite to us. I squeezed my sister’s hand as I opened the door and entered the room where our parents had been taking us. We walked into complete darkness. The light from the other room was cut off as the door closed behind us. Once the door shut, lights flashed on and momentarily blinded us. I blinked tears from my eyes as I got used to the lighting. Machines whirled to life as we gazed at multiple tubes and appliances that were laid out in the large room.
“W-what is this?” My sister asked in awe. I didn’t reply, as I was transfixed by a nearby console that was glowing. My sister followed me as I strode towards it. Words were rolling by on the monitor, but I couldn’t understand what they said.
ReplyDelete“That’s a trans-dimensional interface?” My sister questioned me as she pointed to a clear tube that could hold a whole person.
I gave her a puzzled look, “What makes you ask that?”
My sister moved her finger to point at the glowing monitor, “It says that the tube thing is a trans-dimensional interface.”
I gaped at her. “Since when can you read?” I demanded.
“Mom taught me,” she sheepishly said.
Remembering how we were on our own, I changed the subject. “What else does it say?” I requested. My sister began to explain that the machine could transfer people above the vector of history, into the past. Our excitement grew by the second. If we went back in time, we could stop this horrible future from happening. I moved my hand to push the button, when a loud bang made the metal door shudder. I whirled around in time to watch as metal tentacles struggled to forcefully pull the door open.
“Brother…..” I turned to look at my sister. She gripped my hand and smiled. I nodded and grinned; we could get through this. Together, we pushed the button to start the trans-dimensional interface. Right before our eyes, images of this world’s history began to surround us. I watched as a revolution happened in an old kingdom, a prisoner throwing a paper plane to a girl on the outside, and then a ship sailing to a new country. Paralyzed, we watched as images flew by us. A large city with tall buildings, an engineer creating the first successful robot, and then a war between Old and New Humanity. As suddenly as they had appeared, our world’s history vanished from our sight.
“Well…..that was unexpected,” I said in a shocked tone. “But at least we know what to change in history.” My sister only nodded. Deciding not to waste time, I strode over to the trans-dimensional interface. The next events happened to quickly for me to react to. I heard the screech of metal as the mechanical tentacles finally ripped open the door. At that moment, I was roughly shoved from behind. I stumbled into the trans-dimensional interface and it entrance slid closed behind me. I spun around to land my eyes on my sister staring at me.
“What are you doing?” I inquired. “Open this up and get inside!”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t,” my sister said sadly. “At this rate, we’ll both be killed, so I’ll be the bait and distract them while you go and change history.”
“Knock it off! Just get in!” I pleaded.
“You were always the one to protect me. It’s my turn now to protect yo-.” Her words were cut off as metallic tentacles stabbed through her chest. I pounded on the glass, shouting her name. She gave me a small smile and whispered, “I love you brother.” Her eyes glazed over and her head dropped. I felt my heart clench. Something wet was flowing down my cheeks, but that wasn’t important. Nothing was as I stared at my sister’s lifeless body, making me the last human. The image of her pierced body was the last thing I saw before the machine stared up and pulled me back in time. To a time where none of this had happened yet. As I flew through the different periods in history, I made my sister a promise. I will change history, so that she can live in a peaceful and happy world in the altered future.
I liked it Des it was sweet and I like the New Humanity idea.
DeleteYour grammar is killing me.
Delete“Why did it all go wrong?!” I thought to myself. “None of this was supposed to happen! The plan was to leave and go to a new home in England, so why did everything go wrong?” I couldn’t stop thinking about what was going on. Here I was the only girl on a criminal ship. I didn’t understand how this could’ve happened. But to really understand my problem you need to go back to the beginning of the week.
ReplyDelete“Dad?! Where are you!?” I shouted. He was supposed to be home! I thought to myself. Where is HE!? The door slammed open and my dad scrambled in.
“DAD! I was looking everywhere for you! Where were you!?” My voice was tense and I could feel tears starting to form in my eyes. “I thought you were hurt!” See ever since my father entered the FBI I’ve been missing him and though his job right now was at stand still there still was a chance something could happen.
“I’m sorry t-there was traffic.” My father said. I didn’t believe him because usually my father is very literary and doesn’t stutter. I knew something was wrong. My mom and sister weren’t home yet, and since my dad seems very comfortable telling my important things I just had to know.
“Ok dad, spill it, there’s something wrong and I’m not going to stop asking you until you tell.” My dad stayed quiet for a while like he was debating whether to tell me or not. “Well?! Please tell me.” At that moment my sister and mom came in. My mom is a very serious woman. She has her fun side but it doesn’t get shown that often. My sister, on the other hand, is crazy. She has a light attitude and loves her life and everything in it. She is so joyful. Sometimes I wish I could be like her. Some could say I look up to her, even though she’s only a few months older than me. Her name is Megan which I really like.
“Hey, hey! What up everybody?” My sister loudly asked, but as soon as she saw my dad’s face her smile diminished almost immediately. “What is it dad? Did something happen at work?” After Megan said this dad told everyone to sit down and hold hands. So we did though we didn’t understand we still did. I held my sister’s hand and mother’s hand.
“Ok dad, tell us what’s going on.” I demanded with worry in my voice and fear in my eyes. He was silent yet again and didn’t speak for another five minutes, but when he did finally speak, I wished that he didn’t have too.
“We have to move,” there was a long pause, “by Friday.” The shock of this was reflected in my eyes as I just sat there registering what my father had just said.
“Wait WHAT?!” my sister yelled. “Dad, but why!? Everything we love is here! Why do we have to leave?”
“It’s either that or have me get killed. Which one would you rather have?” He was silent and you could tell that there were tears coming down the side of his cheeks. My sister was silent after that comment.
ReplyDeleteWhen my mom talked her voice was shaky, “Honey, w-what do y-you mean by it’s either that o-or have you be k-k-k…” She couldn’t even finish the word because the thought was too scary.
“A man named George is after me for killing his brother. The FBI wants me out of the country so he has no way of finding me,” he paused again, “or my family.” We were all quiet and just sat there holding hands with one another and being silent. Then my dad said that we should go pack a small carry on and then pack a suitcase filled with as much stuff as we could fit. My mom and sister left and did as they were asked, and I was heading up when I saw my dad on the couch with his head in his one hand rubbing his temple. I heard little cries coming from him so I decided to go over and talk to him instead.
“Daddy, I’m scared. I don’t want to leave. Dunellen is amazing, the people and the environment. I don’t want to move. All my childhood memories are here. I don’t know what I’ll do without my friends. They are a big part of me, dad! If we move I’ll lose part myself.” I felt a liquid forming in my eye and a ball in my throat, but I kept the tears away.
“It’s ok to cry sometimes sweetie,” my dad said. With that I sat next to my dad and started to cry into his shoulder while hugging him.
“I don’t want to go dad, I just don’t!” the tears kept on coming it felt like they would never end.
“I know sweetie but sometimes we have to make hard decisions.” He wrapped his strong comforting arms around me. We stayed there awhile, just sitting, not talking, but sitting and me crying. How could this have happened? I thought. I knew that my dad’s job was going to make him in danger, but I didn’t know it would be enough that he and the rest of his family would have to move to a different country. When we finally broke my dad said that I should start to pack, so I went up to my room and started packing my bags.
Friday came and we all reluctantly went into the car. Tears were running down my cheeks, again it felt like the water wouldn’t stop running. I just wanted to stay here were nothing could bother me except my sister and school. We all piled in the car and drove off to the dock. Did I forget to mention that? I did didn’t I? Well we were taking a boat to England, which is the place we are moving to, because it’s safer than taking a plane. When we got to the docking station there was a huge crowd.
“Ok everyone,” my dad yelled over the noise, “I’ve given the luggage to the crew so all we need to do is to go the boat. Please make sure to hold on to each other, like your life depends on it.” So with that being said, my mom held on to my dad’s jacket hood, my sister held on to my mom’s carry on backpack, and I was the caboose and held tightly on to my sister’s waist. I think that I was making her suffocate with the amount I was holding on to, now that I think about it. My dad made sure that we each had directions to the boat memorized, just in case the horrible happens and we get separated.
I was walking and holding on to my sister so hard, but I was bumped and fell on the ground. I could see my sister looking back wondering where I was.
ReplyDelete“Dad wait I don’t know where Abigail is!” but my father didn’t hear my sister and kept on going. Pretty soon I was alone. I was getting trampled over and my ankle hurt from my fall. I was so scared, because I had no idea where I was anymore. I saw a blur of brown, red, blue, yellow, green, and all other colors of the rainbow. I couldn’t get up. I was tired and scared and upset. I felt a sharp pain in my ankle that hurt and someone looked down.
“I am so sorry,” he yelled. He was a boy about my age so fifteen; he had deep green eyes and really nice red hair. “Here,” he helped me up and asked if I was ok again. I was scared to death and barely got out an answer. I was almost in tears as well. I lost my family, and because I was so scared I forgot the directions to the boat.
“Hello? Are you ok? Where are you going?” he asked.
“U-um I’m going to the Princess Ship. I-I got lost. Can you help me?” I ask the boy.
“Yeah go straight then turn to the left and got straight, you should get to the boat then.”
“Thank you so much.” I said in a hurried tone. Before I could leave I heard and Wait!
“What’s your name?” It was the boy.
“It’s Abigail, but I reeeeeally have to go.” He smiled and then told me his name.
“Mine is Gare.” He smiled and then left. I ran as fast as I could to the boat. It looked like it could be named, Princess Ship so I got on. Pretty much as soon as I got on the boat, it departed and I was alone on a quest to find my parents. I hid in a corner to observe, but all I saw was men. I couldn’t see one single girl! At that moment I was filled with fear. I didn’t get on the right boat. I was stuck on a boat with all men, away from home, alone, and worst of all away from my family. I was scared to death. My breathing was ragged and I could hardly keep my eyes open. I just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry myself to sleep. And that is where I am now. Scared, alone and upset, but I know I can’t curl up in a ball I have to act and find information. So I creep into a bed room and take some clothes from the cabinet. I get dressed in boy’s clothes and go outside on the deck to look around and get information about where I am. I try my best to disguise myself in with the other men on the boat.
I find friendly looking boy and started to talk to him. He looks familiar but I can’t remember where. Yes! Now I do remember he was the boy that stepped on my leg!
“Gare? What are you doing here?!” I’m surprised to see him I thought that he was just in the dock for another boat not this one.
“I don’t know. I don’t know where I am I’m supposed to be on the Princess Ship too, but I don’t know where I am. Why are you here Abigail?”
Hmmmmm....Megan and Gare sound like a couple of people I know.......
Delete“Well I followed your instructions but it got here and I have no idea where I am either. Why did you point me to the direction of this boat?”
ReplyDelete“A man gave me the instructions to the Princess Ship so I figured this was it. That’s why I gave you those instructions.”
“And now look where we are, nowhere, at least nowhere that we know!” I say frustrated. I’m lost at sea with a bunch of guys and only one person I actually know. My whole future is in horrible hands here.
“But I figured out one thing.” Gare said with no warning.
“What?” I ask.
“We’re on a boat with a bunch of criminals that are going to freedom.” WHAT? Is what I am thinking. So out of all the boats in the world that I had to mistakenly get on, it HAD to be one with criminals? What is this? But really the fear of hearing this overrode my surprise. I realized that I’m on a boat with murderers, robbers, and who knows what else. Gare tells me I should hide, and never show my face, but I can’t let a boy who was trying to help me try and live on this boat alone so I suggest that he came with me.
“Listen,” he says to me. “I’m a boy so I actually fit in. I don’t want you getting hurt so please.” I nod, still unsure, still confused and scared. I know that my fear reflects in my eyes and when I looked at Gare the same reflection was in his, deep green eyes. I nod again and then dive behind a bunch of metal crates that are on the deck for decoration. After about twenty minutes of being complete quiet and sharing worried glances and stares at Gare, who could see part of my face from where I was hiding, I see a guy start walking up to Gare. I stare at them in horror as the man told Gare that he doesn’t recognize him and that Gare has to come with him immediately. Gare, of course refuses, and says that he was ordered to be look out on the deck. The man didn’t believe and tears started to form in my eye when I as I watch the man beat up Gare and knock him out. I am so scared right now you don’t even know. I have no idea what’s going to happen to me.
I stay there for the longest time then finally the boat became completely silent and dark. I step into the open cautiously and walk around stealth like just in case. I head down some stairs and to the left of me is the kitchen. When I see that kitchen my stomach growls like a maniac, so I realize that I am starving. I get some food, bring to my hideout, then go back and get more. I get enough food to last me about a week, which should be good enough for the trip. This ship is going to England. I know this because I over heard the crew talking about it so I may be able to meet my family again. I smile at the thought of seeing them again. I miss them so much. Their comfort would be amazing right now. When I get back to my food filled hideout I fall asleep and dream about flowers and summers on the beach.
The next few days I do the same thing I did the first night, except I just walk around to get fresh air. I stay behind the boxes for the entire day so I walk around, go to sleep, get up in the morning, eat, sleep a little, get up, eat, and I did that routine for the first five days. The sixth day I get up at night and hear voices talking.
I assume that it’s the criminals talking about how they are going to be free the next day, but I’m not sure so I go a little closer to where I hear the noise. I realize that it’s coming from the captain’s courters. There is a window in the side so I peak into it. What I see may scar me for the rest of my life. I see a lifeless body on the ground, terribly beaten and red liquid coming from his wounds. The Captain kicks the boy over and his face was reviled to me. Why?! Why him after all he did for me?! Why was it Gare that was hurt? Tears form in my eyes and I feel a ball in my throat. I hold the tears in though I don’t want anyone to hear.
ReplyDeleteI hear a moan and look up to see that Gare is starting to stand up. He wasn’t gone after all. I let a little sigh of relief out, but continue to watch as the captain says, “Get this boy cleaned up and ready for bed. I don’t want blood on the sheets.” And a man carried Gare to the bathroom. I stalk back to my hideout afraid if I stay there any longer someone would see me. I cry and cry. It’s just not fair that someone as nice as Gare would be treated so badly to the point where it looks like he’s d-e-e. I can’t even say the word! I cry and cry and then eventually I’m in a fairytale where I’m alive, well and everything is back to normal.
When I awake I’m still on the boat. But I hear noises that aren’t the crews. I realize that we must have landed, FINALLY! I’m going to see my family again! Then I remember Gare. I can’t just leave him in the Captain’s room so I tiptoe to the window. No one was there so I slowly walk in and went to the room that was attached to the main room. Sure enough Gare was there all fresh and clean looking but looked exhausted and worn out. His red hair was all brown and his body looked thin and weak. I tap him.
“Gare, wake up Gare we landed.” He didn’t move so I shake him a little. He slowly opened his eyes and with a weak voice asked, “A-abigail, w-where are we.”
“Gare we’re in England! Finally these landed.” With that he smiled and said, “Help me up.” So I do and I put his arm over my shoulder. When we are almost to the door, the captain comes in.
With a stern voice he says, “And where do you think you’re going.” He reached and grabbed Gare. I think fast so I immediately grab Gare’s right hand.
“NO! I want let you take him!” I yell and squeeze Gare’s hand. He tightens his grip too and our eyes meet. We both nod and I kick the captain in the stomach, grab Gare and start running out to the ramp to get on the boat. We made and slowly descended the boat. I go to a clearing while helping Gare walk. We sit down and rest. Then I hear a familiar sound.
“DAD!” I yell, and as tired as I am I get up and run towards him. He picks me up in his arms and we both laugh out loud. He gives me bear huge and I give him one back. You never know how alone you are until you see the people you love again.
“Sweetie I was so worried, I thought I was never going to see you again.” He says with joyful tears pouring out of his eyes. My mother and sister come as well and we stand there for who knows how long, standing cry with joy, and laughing. Our family is back together and nothing and I mean nothing mattered at that moment except having my family around me. I could see through our group hug that Gare was smiling a full smile.
This is a fun journey to be a part of. Good job. Just be careful to be sensitive to where commas belong.
DeleteI realize for the first time his smile so sweet. When we finally brake I say to my ad, “Dad I met this boy on the ship and he got beat up pretty bad, he’s over here.” And I lead my dad and family to where Gare was sitting.
ReplyDelete“Wow Abigail, not to bad I approve,” my sister teases me.
“Listen he needs help. I figured he could stay our house until he’s completely healed. Unless, dad you think he needs medical attention right away.”
“I think so,” my dad stated. “We’ll bring him to the hospital, come on help him.” I put my arm under him and help him up. My dad has already bought a car so we get in and drive to the hospital. We check Gare in.
“I promise I’ll visit every day Gare.” I say. We hug and then I get back in the car with my family and drive off. I’m’ excited about my new home, because I’d rather be in a country that at least speaks almost all English, and is not a boat filled with criminals on their way to freedom. Oh you may ask what ever happened to that group of criminals well it’s a funny story actually, part of the reason why my dad was going on the Princess Ship was because it was on the same course, more or less, of the criminal boat and the FBI wanted to follow the criminal boat. Just in case everything went wrong on the landing, my dad would be there to help. I am so happy I had my life back and don’t have to be a scavenger and hider anymore. I promised myself that no matter what I would live my life to the fullest with my family because when their gone you’re really left nothing but emptiness, fear, and loneliness so I will always fellowship with my family and friends and cherish every moment spent with them.
I know it's so long, but I think it turned out pretty good.
DeleteIt's a great story, but it'd be even better if you fixed the grammar! >:D
DeleteDes stop picking on my horrible grammer. It's annoying
DeleteI am only doing what's best for you, because I love you Michelle! <3
DeleteAs I was exiting the club I felt something tug on my shirt. Probably it got caught on a nail since I was passing through the bar, I thought to myself. I turned around and there she was staring at me with sparkling eyes. “Um hi?” I asked abruptly “Dance with me!” she replied, I wasn’t in the mood for anything which was exactly why I was leaving the club. I turned her down but she wouldn’t stop insisting, I knew she was humiliated by the color on her cheeks and the fake smile she was trying to pull so I told her I would stay for just a little while. Even though I didn’t know how to dance the D.J played my favorite types of songs I couldn’t resist myself. “Would you like to dance with me?” “Yes, of course.” She said with a cheesy smile. She was an expert at dancing any type of music; basically she was my teacher for the night. After ten minutes of dancing my legs got tired but I must say I was pretty good at it I was a natural born dancer, she was even more. I escorted her to a table and brought her a soft drink with ice; we started mentioning a few things about each other as in things we like and things we don’t like at all. As time passed it was like we’ve known each other for many years. “Sorry but we’re closing!” the bartender said. We both checked our watch and it was four in the morning she grabbed her things and wrote something on a piece of paper. “Wait when are we going to see each other again?” I shouted but she was running and her back was towards me. I also grabbed my things and looked down at the paper she left me her number and her name, her name sounded so beautiful; Serena I kept repeating. I was exiting the door next to the bar and I couldn’t help but ask the bartender if he has seen the car she was driving when he left, sadly he didn’t see the car. I was starting to feel tired enough to drive even though I lived just a few blocks away. I unlocked the door, opened it, and sat in the car for a while I knew that tired and driving don’t go together and many people died from it. I decided to sleep in my car in the parking lot it was a much safer place since there were cameras. I checked the time, 6:00 am I read, I put my seat back and shut my eyes. (Dizzy) what happened last night? Did I drink this much?
ReplyDeleteI didn’t have any memory of what I did. I woke up with the same clothes in a room, a motel room, everything seemed like a dream like nothing ever happened I tried to get up from my bed but man I felt dizzy and mi head was killing me I touched the back of it and it hurt more something was leaking out of my head I looked down at my hand and there was an amount of blood. I washed up and put a small towel pressed it against my head I walked out the motel like a drunken person I couldn’t control my steps they were all loopy I looked sloppy. I went into the elevator and clicked the button that said basement I felt even worse when the elevator went down like if I had millions of butterflies in my stomach it didn’t take long but thank goodness I knew where I was. I tried to retrace my steps. First I got out of work and went to Club O-x I met this beautiful lady and danced with her the whole night then left me because it was too late and she had to work but then I know I left as well and fell asleep in the car but why can’t I remember what else has happened why didn’t I feel someone opening the door or someone hurting me? How from Elizabeth did I end up at Perth Amboy? Oh wait a minute these cameras were supposed to catch something. It was three in the afternoon I had severe pain from my head so I went to the emergency room. The nurse was so caring she placed me in a room gave me some crackers and water and told me to lie down and rest that the doctor will be coming in any minute. Dr. Jaft came in and took x-rays of my head and took it to his room, a few minutes later he came back in the room and said that there were good news and bad news. I didn’t know what to say my head was spinning with many thoughts in it, bad news can mean anything I tried to calm myself down and he noticed I was panicking so he gave me one pill to ease the nerves. “Ha calm down sir!” chuckled the doctor “There aren’t really bad news it’s just something we doctors do in order to make it as a joke later.” “Oh, ok?” I supposed. “Ha just kidding the good news is that your perfectly healthy and the bad news is that you’re going to need to get about 8 stitches.” Dr. Jaft said surprisingly “Why is your face like that?” I asked. “Well, have you been in a bottle fight or something?” asked the doctor “No I haven’t why?” I said uncertainly
ReplyDelete“It’s that your head, it seems that someone has been hitting it multiple times and it seems that it has glass particles.” I looked at him with a freaked out face I told him I couldn’t remember what has happened after I fell asleep I also told him that whatever has hit me I didn’t feel. He called the cops and they did so many investigations they checked my car but there was nothing that indicated I was hit with a glass bottle there was also nothing broken in my car or around the perimeter of where my car was. I finally caught something, “Every parking lot has a camera!” I screamed excitedly at the police I was finally up to something whatever has happened was caught on film. The police thought it was better of me to accompany them and wear a bullet proof vest in case I was being targeted I mean you never know what may happen. As we walk in we see the manager of the club and we ask her if we can see the footage of last few nights’ footage around five or six in the morning, she gladly gave us the tapes to watch. I told them to wait for me in the car because I had to use the bathroom real quick, I was enthusiastic of what we were going to watch. All of a sudden a man came out the bathroom slicing the top of his hands bleeding all over but seemed as he wasn’t in pain he had an evil laugh that even I got scared of. The manager walked in not knowing that the man was behind her and slit her throat. Meanwhile, the police was already looking at the footage through the office, they never went to the car, and were shocked of what they saw at five in the morning. Police took out their gun and crept quietly looking around for this maniac so they separated, one went to the managers’ office and he sees her sitting down looking at the wall but she was quiet very quiet as he walked up to her she was wrapped around with her eyes pulled out and her throat slit he called for back-up but never was able to leave that room. The second police heard him and was safe enough to go out and find help somewhere. A few minutes later sirens were all around looking for this man, they found him in a janitor’s closet sitting and talking to himself next to a dead beautiful lady at his side, better yet that man was me.
ReplyDeleteVery cool. Love this. Just make sure you give yourself time to proofread.
DeleteThe Day Everything was Destroyed
ReplyDeleteLife was relatively normal, simple and quiet. Everyone enjoyed their lives. We were a simple farming community, the town worried a little about the farmers shooting the kids for messing with their animals. There was nothing much to do but mess with the animals with your friends. I was only fifteen when it happened. The day was burnt into my eyes like the skin on a burn victim.
The town was quiet that morning, the dew was still on the ground, and animals could be heard singing in the background. There was a soft breeze carrying the scent of fresh flowers along with it. I was standing out on my front step taking in the entire beauty of this peaceful morning; little did I know that this was just the calm before the storm.
I was walking with my friends around the afternoon, when something obscured the sky. It was a large metallic mass, moving rather quickly through the sky. As it descended, flames started to engulf the hull of the craft. At first I thought it was one of our space craft returning from a mission to one of the space stations orbiting the planet. We stood there in awe; we’ve never seen anything like it before. As it got closer it didn’t look like any of the craft shone on the T.V. Yet we still stood there with our heads up like chicken in a rain storm. The shadow of it was getting larger and larger. We started moving further from it, but Jimmy was still with in the shadow of the behemoth craft. I looked at him and yelled, “Jimmy move its going to hit you.”
He shrugged it off and said, “No it won’t Tom I’ll be fi-.” The craft struck the ground and Jimmy was caught underneath it. His body exploded on impact, fragments of his blood and skin drenched me. If it wasn’t for my legs moving I would have thrown up. I ran, as fast as my little legs could take me, but I didn’t know where to run to. My first thought was to go home but I had no idea if my parents could do anything for me. I took a turn on to Main Street to see more people in the street. They were enthralled with the crafts. They were like Jimmy staring at these crafts, wondering what they could be.
I ran into the crowd, “Get out of here they’ll kill you, they crushed my friend.” Some looked at me but just shrugged it off as a kid craving attention. They looked back up to see the shadows forming on people. Then came the screaming, one after another the crafts fell disintegrating those unfortunate enough to be caught underneath them. After the first crafts fell people started running, trampling anyone in their path. That wasn’t enough though, more and more crafts filled the air crushing more and more people and demolishing buildings along with it.
Nobody knew what could be inside these things, what was inside these crafts was far worse than any weapon we ever invented. One of these pods opened up revealing a creature with some type of mask on his face in green camouflaged cloths. He carried a large black stick like object in his hands. He stormed out of the pod revealing twenty more creatures just like that one. He bent down on one knee and leveled the stick; his finger twitched causing a large report from it. Anyone caught in front of it was cut down and filled with holes. I ran fearing for my life, more of the sticks sounded off killing more and more people. Where these creatures were positioned they put down a wall of death, killing anything that came into their field of vision. Something struck me in my rear end causing excruciating pain. I collapsed to the ground grabbing at my back side, tears streaming down my face. I turned over to see one of the creatures moving closer to me. His stick was pointed at my face, I started to crawl back from it but nocked into a wall. I was scared for my life; I figured this would be the end of me.
DeleteA car came out of nowhere and plowed into the creature, driving it to the floor. An arm came out of the vehicle and threw me into the back seat. The car sped away as more loud reports came from the creatures in green. When the sound died down I picked my head up to see who my savior was. It was my next door neighbor Mr. Sanders, “Th-th-thank you Mr. Sanders.” I stuttered from fear.
“Don’t thank me yet Tom, we still need to survive this.” Mr. Sanders said as he took a turn. The car stopped shortly, I looked up and saw more of the green creatures pointing their black sticks at us. The fire came from the ends and holes ripped into the car’s frame. Mr. Sanders was torn to shreds in the initial burst and by some miracle I survived. I heard clicks coming from the creatures and decided to run for it.
I heard one of them scream, “Look shoot it!!!” as more blasts came from them. I ran as fast as I could and dodged who knows how many projectiles. I made it to a house and put my back to a wall as more blasts came from the creatures. My heart was pumping and felt like it was about to explode out of my chest. My buttocks hurt like crazy and it felt like it was on fire and the hole was pumping out blood.
I tried to get out of the yard before those things decided to try and finish me off. I didn’t know what else to do, my mind was in fight or flight mode. I kept running, every so often I stopped to check my bearings, when I did I realized I was on my street. I ran down the street looking for my house. When I got to it I opened up the door to be greeted by my dad’s pistol.
“Tom is that you?” He asked wide eyed with fear.
“Yeah dad it’s me, just put the gun down.” I said with my hands raised.
“Get in here now.” He said pulling me in the door and slamming it.
“What’s going on dad?” I asked
Delete“It’s an invasion son. I don’t know what’s going to happen to us but we won’t go down without a fight.” He said cocking the gun.
“Where’s mom?” I asked not seeing here around the living room.
“She, she was killed when the drop ships came.” He said tears welling into his eyes.
I started to cry too, I would never see her again, never feel her embrace, but that sadness went away and turned strait to anger. I wanted to kill each and everyone one of these creatures. They had no right to come here, and they will all pay for the pain they have caused all of us. I went into the kitchen and grabbed a few knives and put them where ever I would be able to carry them.
As I came from the kitchen there was a knock on the door. I went to go look but my dad stopped me there. “No I’ll look, it could be the aliens.” He said leveling his gun.
He never even touched the Handel. Holes ripped open the door as he fell to the ground; I picked up his gun braving the fire. I ran out to the back of the house hoping to make an escape through the back door. Before I could reach the door it was kicked open by one of the aliens. I pointed the gun at him and pulled the trigger many times but the thing didn’t go down. The thing looked surprised so I took the advantage and charged it. I removed one of the knives from where I put them and stabbed it as many times as I could in its midsection. It cried out in pain as I plunged the blade into its soft flesh. Blood spurted out of the wounds covering me in the red liquid; it was warm and felt good on my skin. The thing died with a final exhale calling out for its mother and lied limp on the kitchen floor. I picked up its weapon seeing as mine did nothing to these creatures. I walked out of the kitchen cradling the weapon in my hands. I walked out on to my street where ten of the creatures were out in front of my house. I didn’t hesitate; I leveled the weapon and pulled the trigger. The thing climbed in my hands and I tried to keep it level. With the burst I took down three of the creatures but that is all I would kill. The rest of the aliens knelt down and pulled the triggers on their weapons, ripping me to shreds. I laid there in a pool of my own blood as one of the creatures came to me. It turned to its troops and said, “Prepare one of the ships for body collection these men deserve to be buried on Earth.” My eyes shut and I went to eternal sleep.
wow, pretty graphic stuff.
DeleteBack when I was a little kid, I didn’t know how dangerous the world was and the people that can hurt you for no apparent reason. Luckily my father knew that I had to learn something or some things to defend myself in the near future and he wanted to start to teach me at a young age. One day he drove us to this place in town that offered karate classes for a pretty convenient price. My older brother came along as my father wanted him to learn as well. I looked inside and saw that many people were practicing on these brown mats stapled into the floor. There was a little computer area to the left of the entrance to schedule appointments. There was a seating area to the right of the entrance with many karate based books. Right on the wall of where the people practiced was all kinds of these weird weapons just sitting up on racks on the wall. On the other side of directly opposite the weapons on the wall was this big mirror where all of the students practiced in front of. On the sides of the mirror were more weapons and a belt chart that displayed different colors and ranks. There was another open room opposite the main one and had a yellow mat that was all beaten up. There was a punching bag in between two more sets of mirrors and more weapons in this back closet space. In the first room there was a door that led to a changing room where people would change from their street clothes into their karate clothes that was assigned to them. My dad signed both of us up and we would return on a later date to start our classes.
ReplyDeleteThere were two types of classes, the kids class would be Monday through Wednesday and would start at five and end at six, the adults class was Monday through Friday and would start at six and end at seven thirty. I was in the kid’s class as I was only about eight years old. My brother was in the adult class because he was a teenager. When I started there I got the things they taught us relatively fast. The first things they taught us were simple jumping jacks and pushups at first and how to block very light punches from an eight year old kid. As usual everyone starts with a white belt and I was no different. I would always look up at that belt chart to see which belt would be my next and I was after the yellow. Every belt you had to learn a new set of techniques and also some other karate moves that kind of looked like a dance. Well it took me a little over a year to learn all of the techniques and memorize them and then I was tested on those moves which I passed. Now I donned a yellow belt that was one step closer to that black belt that every kid would like to show off. This was a different kind of karate dojo as going from white to black probably take a normal person more than a decade to achieve. But I was little so I thought I could get the black belt in a year or two. Every belt higher up on the chart was harder to achieve and took longer to get, but for me getting the yellow belt was the longest I would have to wait. I went from white to yellow to orange to blue to green and to purple. It kind of became easy to me and even though there were so many things to understand I would always advance a belt. Finally, after the years had gone by I had become a teenager and around the age of 14 my sensei, the head honcho of the dojo, came up to me and said that he thinks that I’m ready and old enough to join the adult class. My brother had left after only spending three years in the class because he became bored.
ReplyDeleteNow I was in the adult class and it was very different. There were no more little kids running around the dojo playing games and being silly. These were guys and girls ranging from 22 to 55 years old. There were probably around five people in the class every day except Thursday when it seemed like there were 10 or 12. The thing that made me mad was that I had to start the adult class in a white belt. Although it would be easy to get back up to my previous belt color as the curriculum in the adult class was pretty much the same as the kid’s class but in the kids class they teach it at a very easy level. I got back up to my previous belt color in a few months but felt that ascending back up the belt chart was a complete waste of time. And then I thought that the exercises that we do every day are also a complete waste of time. I have been doing jump jacks, sit-ups, and push-ups for about seven years. It seemed like every class I went to it was the same routine all the time. I contemplated if I really wanted to leave and finally achieve the dream of black belt that I had yearned for so long. I eventually started to hate the classes and didn’t even want to go to them anymore. I finally decided to leave the dojo to explore other things. Talking to my sensei was probably the hardest thing I had ever done up to that time. He asked me why and I just admitted that I was getting tired of the classes and they just seemed to be the same thing day in and day out. It might have been that I grew out of karate since I had been doing it since I was eight years old. I then walked out of the dojo thinking that this would be my last time leaving it.
ReplyDeleteSince I no longer had karate to go to on Tuesday and Thursday I had a lot of time on my hands to deal with school related things. I now had time to study for tests and make sure my homework was done on time and right after I left karate my grades in every subject jumped straight to A’s. As time passed and the years went by I started to forget about karate and what I learned there, slowly the thoughts of my experience faded from my mind. I eventually got my license and started driving my friends around and hanging out all of the time. I then got my motorcycle license since I loved the feel of driving a motorcycle more than driving a car. It had been six years since I left karate and now I had completely forgot about it and never thought about it more than once a month. One day I was driving home from work during rush hour and really wanted to get home since it was a Friday. I was on the home stretch and was coming to an intersection that was known for people running the stop sign all the time. I thought nothing of it as I came to the intersection. As soon as I approached the middle of the intersection, a car came out of nowhere going over the speed limit and had no time to break. The motorcycle hit the driver side door of the guy’s car and I flew over the hood in what seemed like slow motion. Then suddenly a subconscious feeling came over me and I immediately assumed the roll position that I had been doing every day in karate for those seven years. The first thing to hit the ground was my hand and then the concrete rolled along my arm until it got to my shoulder and then I rolled over my back and when I landed on my feet I stumbled back from the momentum and feel on my back completely unhurt, just a few rips on my clothes. I thought about what had happened and realized the subconscious memory of the roll that I had been doing for seven years had saved my life.
ReplyDeleteA few minutes after the accident I immediately walked back to the dojo that I had not entered in years and checked to see if sensei was still there and he was. I told him about what happened and he told me that he always knew that I would come back, that if a person has been doing this for as long as I had they can never completely leave the dojo. I thanked him for everything he had helped me with and I immediately grabbed a new uniform and headed downstairs to change and eventually achieve what I wanted for so many years, to get that black belt.
Cool story. Just give yourself time to proofread. Some places in need of comma placement. A few run-ons.
DeleteHash tag #fatboyproblems
ReplyDeleteOnce upon a time there was a largely kid living in the area and his name was soy Gordo (im fat) Julio. This kid loved eaten cakes, burger king, mickey D's, he will even eat the animals in the national geographic channel. The thing about this kid is that he just loved food so much he even went on a tour for trying every type of cultural food in 20 countries. everybody at school felt bad for him he had a tough childhood his father died when he was born and his mother passed away at age 4 so he never had that special bond with his parents. Some kids bullied him at school as well that contributing to his eaten.no one knew what was going on with his life not even the principle that knew little about him that is why no one tried to help him. Even teachers at time tried to even talk to him but nothing. One day some kid in school tried to bother him and for the first time he threw his food at the kid and hit him straight in the hammer. He got suspended for 4 days and yeah he did eat a lot but he woken up the last day of the suspension and he realize that no one will ever talk to him by the way he is or by the way he looks or treat people. He went and run for the first time in years and he got tired but not even running just by thinking about. But he kept trying and trying and he succeeded he missed so much days of school that he almost stayed back but he did all the work and started being more sociable to everyone he was so skinny he wasn’t known as the garbage eater anymore.
Girls are always talking to him now back in the fat boy era girls used throw up when they saw him literally. Things change in the life of fat boy he became stronger and confidence in himself he became a movie star that no one thought he would be because that was his main love acting and becoming big worldwide. But one day he got an invitation for his high school reunion and he was so shock he didn’t even wanted to go because he didn’t wanted to see the girl he crushed during high school. Everybody in town up to this day still talk about fat boy he doesn’t go there that much since he is an actor but people do see him in magazines and movies and all sorts of big stuff he even was in the cover of times and everybody in the town read times. The day of the reunion came and obviously fat boy came in late everybody looked at him as he passed towards the door, even the man said “ahhhh”. Fat boy didn’t feel comfortable with all those people that used to be bullying now being his friends. He knew why people wanted to talk to him but then he saw those kids that were really there for him in high school and he went over and said hi and started laughing with them and starts drinking. One guy said “hey fat boy remember the time we had that eating contest” fat boy replied “no which one” and again everyone started dying of laughter.
ReplyDeleteThe time came where everyone got there prom date from high school to dance the last song and fat boy didn’t had one even though he got a little skinny during high school. Than the girl he basically love during high school the girl that wanted to lose his virginity with came and said “hey you there want to dance” in a seductive way, of course fat boy said “ hell freaking yeah baby”. They began dancing when he didn’t feel nothing and the girl took his wallet nice and smoothly out of his pocket sort of like a smooth criminal. He didn’t realize when until he got in his car and he yelled out “hijueputa”. He learned Spanish as well but he was so mad and he got in his lambo and left. He called the girl so many times but she never answered until one of his old buddies said yeah I know her I got your wallet just give me 50,000 and I will give it to you. Fat boy replied saying “wows are you serious I should go down there and whoop that ass”. Fat boy went down there and literally whooped his ass got his wallet and hauled ass to Los Angeles. Fat boy had a movie in production about his life story basically a documentary but a movie at the same time he explain everything how he was fat and ugly and how he worked out and used those products that he never did so people could buy them and the producers make money. Throughout the years fat boy became generous and gave organizations money to help the youth in obesity. His mother was proud of him and father because of his success, the more fat boy got older the more helpful he became going to colleges and high school doing public speeches about his life story and how one thing can change your life and could change your point of view to everything. He said that being fat was a part of his life even though he wasn’t now but that will always be him and who he was during high school until now people know he was that fat boy he donated 100,000 to school activities and sports in his hometown high schools. He became a well-known liked person throughout the country for fat people and skinny as well to get a healthier lifestyle than what they had before. Fat boy changed people’s and he never realized he just kept helping and helping out more and more kids he created finesses in poor areas with and provided jobs with that. Fat boy turned out to be a hero.
ReplyDeleteHilarious, but you have to edit and proofread your work.
DeleteThere are four kids that have been friends for eight years now. Tommy is one of the four kids and his brother has just passed away, his mother and father hardly care much about him because he doesn’t do any sports and isn’t as popular as his brother was. Tommy is twelve years old, he skinny and about 5 feet. He loves to write stories and is an expert at coming up with stories at the top of his head. Chuck is a son of a father that was always drunk. One day Chuck’s dad had cut part of his ear off because he was drunk. Chuck is thirteen years old. He is skinny, has mushroom haircut, and wears glasses. He tries to act like he is all tough and that nothing affects him. Jonny’s parents were never there for him. They never supported anything he wanted to do. They would always doubt him and think he won’t go anywhere in life. Jonny is also twelve years old, he is cares more about his friends succeeding than he cares about himself. Fern parents don’t care about him, they do whatever they want. They would sometimes just forget that they had a son. Fern doesn’t let that get to him, he focuses on everything he needs to do to succeed. Fern is twelve years old, he is chunky, red hair, always singing, and is curious. These four friends have had fights but have always been there for each other.
ReplyDeleteIt was summer and they were all at a club house that they made when they were eight years old. Jonny and Chuck were both playing cards and smoking while Tommy was sitting on the floor writing in his book. Fern came up to the club house wondering if they would like to go look for a dead millionaire. He had heard on the radio that whoever finds the dead body will win, 1,000,000 dollars. Everyone thought that Fern was just talking crazy like always. That day they all got their bags and tried to get some money for food. They all told their parents that they were sleeping over each other’s houses. Jonny had showed the boys a gun that he took from his father, Tommy and Fern were so scared that he had that with him while Chuck was excited that and hoping he would be able to use it.
They started their journey to look for the dead body, Tommy was smart and had brought a map with them but none of them understood how to read it. Fern was carrying a radio with him so that they would listen to the news about the dead body but every time a song that he liked came on he would start to sing along with it. Chuck and Fern were up ahead singing along to “Lollipop” and Tommy and Jonny were far back talking about Tommy’s future. Jonny always supports Tommy with everything he does because, he thinks that Tommy can actually do something with his life. Jonny told Tommy how much he likes his stories and how he is such a great writer. Jonny thinks that Tommy should publish his stories but Tommy thinks that no one will read them and that the stories are dumb and pointless.
After two hours of walking they come across a lake that they want to take but Fern thinks that they should take the long way around instead. They had a three minute argument and all decided to take the short cut through the lake. In the lake there are leaches and the boys didn’t know that. So they are playing and dunking each other in the water and having fun. As they start to get out they see that they all have leaches on them and Tommy had one leach that already gotten to him and got his skin up really bad that he fainted. So all the boys went into the woods and found a place to make a campfire. After an hour he finally woke up and everything was okay.
ReplyDeleteThat night they were all sitting around the campfire, Fern made Tommy tell them his famous story about a really big kid that everyone makes fun of and he joins an eating contest. The boys are sitting next to each other smoking while Tommy is across from them telling them the story. After the story they all went to sleep but one person had to stay up and keep watch so they all took turns.
Chuck was the first one to stay watch. He would walk around the tree with the gun that Jonny brought and would start talking to himself. He would act like he was on a cop on a mission. The next to keep watch was Fern. Fern is scared of the dark, so he was holding the gun and walking around the tree. Every time he heard a sound he would raise the gun up, acting like he was going to shoot something. After Fern was done watching Jonny was up next to stay for watch. As Jonny was up for watch he heard Tommy talking in his sleep. Now to remind you Jonny and Tommy are the closest out of the four. Tommy woke up screaming as if he was falling down.
“What’s wrong Tommy?” asked Jonny.
“Jonny can I tell you something?” said Tommy all sad.
“Yea sure anything, what’s on your mind?” said Jonny.
“I didn’t cry during my brother’s funeral, I just stood there as my parents were both crying. After the funeral I went into his room and looked at his things and he has one of my stories that I wrote right next to his bed.” Tommy started crying after he said that.
“Tommy, don’t beat yourself up over it. Things happen” replied Jonny.
After Jonny and Tommy had that talk, Tommy decided to take the next watch while Jonny goes to sleep. Tommy was up the rest of the night. It was about ten in the morning and they all started their journey again to look for the body. They were making jokes about each other. They started to get hungry so they all looked to see how much money they had and they only had seven dollars, so they went to the junk yard. There is an old man with his dog that live there and he trained his dog to bit people if they come pass. So the boys all jumped over the fence and counted their money, they picked Tommy to go to the store and get the food while the rest sat there and waited for him. Tommy bought bread, and a big bottle of water. As Tommy returned he saw that the boys had gone off and jumped the fence because the old man was yelling at them. Tommy ran as fast as he can and jumped over the fence. The old man yelled at the kids and Chuck was cursing at him than the old man brought up the time his father cut part of his ear. That got Chuck so mad that he was about to jump over the fence and beat him up, but the boys stopped him.
ReplyDeleteThey started walking again and had to walk across the train tracks. The train tracks were tall and over water so if a train came they had nowhere to get off the tracks. They took the risk of going across it. After ten minutes walking on the tracks Tommy felt a train coming and yelled to everyone. Fern was crawling on the tracks so he started to crawl faster and Jonny and Chuck were far ahead and were able to get off the track in time. The train was getting closer to Tommy and Fern so Tommy took Fern and jumped off onto the pile of dirt that was near the tracks.
After they finished crossing the train tracks they saw another lake. They were dirty and thirsty, so they figured that they could go and clean up and drink water. Fern was being over dramatic and was crawling to the lake acting as if he was about die. As he was crawling towards it he saw a dead person’s leg. He screamed so loud that he scared himself and rolled into the lake. Everyone was so confused about what he was screaming about so they all just decided to jump in with him and start play fighting with each other. Fern yelled at them to stop and said that he saw a leg. So the boys went to go check it out and it happened to be the dead body that they were looking for. The reaction on the boys faces they all seemed so scared. Tommy saw a payphone and went to go call the police. The rest of the boys were sitting there looking at him. After Tommy called the police he went and told the boys that they were going to come. They all waited twenty minutes for the police to arrive. As the police arrived the boys told the officer if he could take them home so that they could get their prize. The officer took them all to the station so they could get their money.
The boys all went to the tree house and divided the money. Tommy saved his money for when he gets older and to start a business, he started writing books for kids. Jonny saved some of it in case one of his friends needed it, he ended up dying at the age of twenty because he got into a fight. Chuck used all his money on alcohol, died from drinking too much at the age of nineteen. Then Fern saved half of his money to move out, now has two kids and a wife.
Wow, cool story. Kind of bleak, but cool.
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ReplyDeleteHe says he has many reasons to do things that he does. Rumors go around saying that “he didn’t mean to kill people but it makes him cool down.” It gives him these tingly feelings on the inside. Sometimes I question why nobody has caught him yet. He has been the person behind all these kills. Why has nobody done their hardest to find him? I know that the next time I see him I’m not letting him leave without a fight. I don’t care if this is going to sacrifice my own life as long as he regrets everything he has done.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was just five years old I remember that my parents were his first kill. Someone knocked on the door and it was on Halloween night, that’s where all the pain and hunting was going to start. I just came back from trick or treating for the night with my mom. I was lucky that I fit through the door for I was a pumpkin and was round. It took me a while to go out when we first started. It took my mother and me a while to get in. We both pulled on my costume and slowly made my way in. When I got in I ran to the kitchen table and laid all of my candy across the table.
“Before you eat your candy, go and change into your pajamas!” I remember that my mother screamed.
I remember skipping up the stairs willing to do anything to get this pumpkin off of my body. When I got to my room I heard a knocking. I knew that this may have been other kids coming to get their candy. I loved to give the kids candy because that made me think that I was just like my mother and father. I always dreamed of growing up to be like my parents. I quickly put my clothes on and went running down the stairs to see my mother and father giving candy away. I got sad but I knew that the bell was going to ring in a couple of minutes. I went to the living room while my parents went to the kitchen counting how many pieces of candies they could give out. I heard the bell and went running over and opened the door. This person was strange he was wearing all black and didn’t look like a father. What also caught me off guard that he wasn’t with a child. I thought he was a family friend and wanted to see my parents. So I let him in and I saw that my parents came over and told him to go in the living room. I skipped my way over and sat down on the table. I unwrapped my first candy then I heard a noise from the living room.
I quietly went to the living room. My parents hated when I would go into their conversations and act like an adult. When I finally got there I saw that the man that had entered was there holding a gun straight at my parents. My mother’s mouth was taped and my father was in a chair blindfolded. I looked to my mother and saw that tears were slowly coming out of her eyes and I heard the sobs of my father. When my mother saw me her eyes turned red and she went on her knees. I looked at the man pointing his gun straight at my father. I knew that this wasn’t a game and that I wasn’t meant to watch this. I turned and my back lay against the wall. I took a deep breath and heard a gunshot. I heard the mumble scream of my mother and heard her sniffling. The chocolate had finally melted in my hands and I was unable to move. I began to cry but covered my mouth. My knees were now right next to my chin and I could feel that my heart was beating very quickly. I turned to see my father’s dead body on the knees of my mother. Blood was everywhere. Now the gun was getting pointed at my mother. I couldn’t let this happen. What could I do though I was only five years old?
I quietly ran over and called the police. They were on their way. I went over and saw that my mother looked at me and I couldn’t help but look. I looked straight into her eyes. They screamed a million words all at one time. The most important ones were “I love you.” I heard the gun shot and she collapsed on top of my father’s body. The murderer turned around and saw that I was sitting there crying. He pointed the gun at my direction and I couldn’t help but look down. I didn’t know what to do the people that I looked up to had just died in front of me. Lights were flickering on outside. I didn’t know if that meant the police were here or the Halloween lights were dying. The door then got knocked down. I looked and saw a policeman. The murderer cracked the window and then jumped out the window and I didn’t see him after that. I just crawled my way over to my parents. The police came to me and picked me up. I kicked and punched I wasn’t going to leave this house without giving the last goodbye kiss to my parents.
ReplyDeleteThe police gave my grandparents all the authority over me. The visits I had with my grandparents were the best. Living and visiting them are two completely different things. They made my childhood the worst thing possible. I couldn’t leave the house without them walking with me. I had to clean the whole house which wasn’t bad. The thing that got on my nerves was when I cleaned the whole house my grandparents always found a way to make it dirty. I needed to ask permission to speak. I needed to get a piece of paper and write down if I could speak or not. I was only allowed to go to school. No friends could come over. Living with my grandparents was the worst thing ever. They also brought up my parents a lot. It was depressing how on Halloween night when I was six the only thing I did was cry and hold onto the teddy bear that my parents gave to me when it was my first year. My grandparents didn’t care. They let me cry but they watched me. I wasn’t able to celebrate another Halloween night. We couldn’t even open the door to the other kids for they didn’t want me to end up with the same destiny as my parents. Sometimes I think about my childhood and even though it wasn’t the best they wanted to protect me from everything. I’m happy that they cared for me but not happy how they treated me as if I was in jail.
The news say that the murderer has never left the town. People don’t believe it for it’s just an editorial. I do believe it for at times when I’m grocery shopping I feel that there is someone watching me and when I turn around I see someone with a black jacket turn around and leave. He must be out there looking for me. What he doesn’t know though that I’m looking for him too. I’m not going to leave the death on my parents without revenge. I know that my parents would want me to get back at him for killing them. Even though the police have looked for him they have never found him. The police finally gave up after his tenth kill. I never gave up I have hope that one day that I will find him and kill him. I want to show him that I’m not that five year old little girl anymore. I can do something this time. I can show him how much I can’t stand how he killed my parents. I can show his family how it is to lose somebody that they love. I can show everyone that they shouldn’t mess with me. I don’t care if I end up in jail as long as I get my parents revenge back.
Tonight I promised my grandparents that I was going to go out to eat with them. When I was getting ready I heard some noises downstairs. I hated my cats. They always broke things in the living room. I just can’t give them away for they are the only things that I have. They were the only things I could hole when I ever felt alone. I know that my grandparents are pushing to a hundred. These are the last few things that are going to stay with me before I get married with my boyfriend. I heard another crash coming from downstairs. I pulled down the tight dress and went running down the stairs. When I went into the living room I saw that both my cats were sleeping. Fear crept into my body. It was probably just kids trying to scare me. It might have been my boyfriend trying to get his tools from the basement. I looked out the window and saw that there was no cars on the street my car was the only one. I couldn’t let fear take me over I needed to continue with what I was doing for I could make it on time. I went back up stairs and put on my heels and put my hair into a bun.
ReplyDeleteI heard another crash from the basement. This really scared me for if it was my boyfriend he would have sent me a text message already. If it was one of the neighbors then they would have finished by the second time because they know that I don’t like these little games. It couldn’t have been my cats because they were sound asleep. I put on my heels and went down the stairs. I ran to the kitchen and took out a knife. I grabbed a flashlight. I opened the door that lead to the basement. I shot it up to the sky just in case there was someone down stairs. I quietly went down each stair hearing each one creak louder and louder. Each one of the creeks scared me out more and more. I could feel the fear come all over my body and my legs began to wobble. I got to the last step and started looking around. I always regretted never putting on a light. I waved the flashlight around. I began to walk and heard another crash in back of me. I gripped onto the knife and turned around. There was nothing there. I pointed the flashlight at the ground and saw that there were mice. All those noises must have been because of the mice. I worked myself up for no reason.
I began to walk upstairs then something pulled me back. My leg got pulled and I feel straight to the ground. I grabbed onto the knife with my life and tried to keep myself from getting pulled. I bent my body while getting pulled and could feel the hand grabbing onto my leg. I stabbed the hand and it let go. I heard a scream. There was a whimper of pain. The person was right in front of me. I stabbed him a couple of times and then stopped. I heard nothing. I went running to the flashlight. I first pointed it at my legs and say that blood was dripping down my leg. This blood wasn’t mine though. I then pointed the flashlight back to where I was pulled. When I went back I saw that it was the murderer. His blood was all around him and his body wasn’t even there. The only thing I saw was his head and his eyes wide open staring at me. I dropped the flashlight and ran away. The sight of his face stayed in the back of my mind and it was disgusting but I was also proud of it. I knew that I couldn’t stay here. Even if I did call the police I would be sent to jail. I’m going to run far away from here and wait for my parents to come back and congratulate me for my work. We are going to be that big happy family that I always hoped for. Finally this revenge is going to bring back my happiness with my parents. I can’t wait to see them.
Wow. Very intense.
DeleteJohn put his hand on the small of her back and guided her over to his desk. He motioned for her to sit in one of the chairs, she looked confused but sat down anyway.
ReplyDeleteHis sat down at his seat across from her and began to go through her file, unsure of what to say to her next.
Out of the corner of his eye he could see her looking around the office. Her head was fleeting this way and that like she was a bird. Slowly she got up out of her chair and began to wander, almost carefully, around the office.
He watched her as she walked elegantly around his office, inspecting everything carefully before moving on to the next thing. John couldn’t help but notice the way she walked. She had her heels up off the floor completely, and was balancing on the balls of her feet as if she were a ballerina.
He cocked his head to the side as he watched her and couldn’t help but smirk just faintly. He didn’t say a word. He felt like he was learning more about her just by watching her then he ever would asking questions.
She made her way all around the office but stopped suddenly at the edge of his desk. She picked up the picture of his wife and stared at it longingly as if she knew her. There was a sadness in her eyes. She seemed to be saying a silent prayer to the picture of a woman she’d never met.
Suddenly she looked over to John who was still sitting in his chair observing her, and smiled. She hugged the picture to herself and sat down in the chair across from John.
When John walked up then steps to his house he couldn’t help but think of her. He shook his head grinning as he unlocked the front door.
He walked in and found Allie lying on the couch in the living room reading a book. He frowned when he saw the title. It was a rewrite of Hans Christian Anderson’s famous story The Little Mermaid. On the cover there was a beautiful girl with long flowing red hair that covered her bare chest, and at her waist her body turned all to scales. John scowled at the picture disgruntled, the girl on the cover staring back at him with her fierce green eyes.
“Are you ok dad?” Allie asked, breaking John out of his trance.
“Yeah sweetie,” John said softly. “Just thinking about something, that’s all.”
Then next day John walked into the hospital and the head nurse came up to him.
“She’s already in your office Mr. Michaels.” She said on his way past the front desk.
There is a lot of talk about West end Ave, that weird little street in Maitland that turns into a cul-de-sac. Everything there isn’t really found of the ordinary every house is painted and every lawn is cut. There’s never any trash on the streets and everyone cars are always clean. The only strange thing is everyone is oddly the same. By the same I don’t mean in an appearance more in personality. They all act the same and do the same things. On Friday morning the trash is always put out and by Sunday night all the cars are polished. Everyone owns a golden retriever with nicely cut fur and a cat that’s black and white. No house is out of the simple color scheme, tan and white. Every car is the same and everyone dressed as if the 60’s never blew over. Most would think that from all this sameness someone would want to jump out and be an individual but that never was the case. Not one person disliked this way of life and everyone was always smiling. And this wonderful place was going to be my new home…..great.
ReplyDelete“Come on Ari! The trucks are leaving in 10 minutes and if your stuff isn’t packed and down here it’ll be a welcome present to the new owners.”
“I heard you the first time Mom!” Will that woman ever leave me alone? Well I might as well let you know who is narrating this tale. My name is Ariana Pamela Gerbaldi and that woman yelling her head off at me at the bottom of the stairs is my wonderful birth giver, I mean mother, Devida Gerbaldi. I believe her purpose in life is to try to run mine, but oh well. My dad who’s outside in the truck is Aaron Gerbaldi and my little bothers’ names are David and Eric Gerbaldi.
“ARIANA!” yelled both of the twins.
“ALRIGHT ALREADY I‘M COMING! I’M COMING!” I yelled back as I dragged my several bags of belongings down my once lovely stairs. I’m going to miss this place and all of its memories. I was born here and lived about 16 of my years here. Sadly, now we have to move into the happiest neighborhood on earth and I can truthfully say it is kind of my fault. I kind of decided to let loose and my court order I need to leave town because I’m a “loose cannon” or “too destructive” and I can be “dangerous”. A better explanation is probably needed right.
Okay it all started a few months ago and I was just leaving my last period class. I was never a part of the in crowd or even on the shoreline of it. I was pretty much on a completely different world from it and this caused me to be a target in my school. All the kids thought that it was fun to pick on me and ruin my day. I couldn’t even walk down the hall without some girl calling me a hurtful name. One day I couldn’t take it anymore and I fought back. I made a list of all the people who ever hurt me in my school and I “got rid” of every one of them. People were getting suspicious about the disappearances and all fingers started to point toward me.
Tristain whirled around to his right, kicking up dust as he jumped to his feet. Inches from him stood the man that had attacked him in the store. His dual-faced mask was clumped with dust, so much so that it was as if he had been spawned straight out of the cloud of dust.
ReplyDelete“Where the hell did you come from?”
The man sighed. “Well, Tristain, when a mommy and daddy love each other very much-”
“Shut up!”
“Oh, sorry! Should I use the birds and the bees instead?”
Tristain lashed out at the man, fists swinging in uncoordinated combinations. The man effortlessly dodged and weaved out of every strike until finally he grabbed Tristain by his arm and kicked his legs out from under him. Tristain thudded against the ground onto his back with a loud Oof! The man leapt into the air and landed square on Tristain’s ribs. He settled himself in and looked down at Tristain, the half-smile half-frown glaring down at him eerily.
Tristain cough up some dust and rubbed his face, his head still spinning.
“Wait, how do you know my name?”
The man gasped, seemingly offended and dramatically put the back of his hand to his forehead. He cleared his throat and looked towards the sky, putting on an elegant sounding accent.
“Well! What a RUDE boy! I do say, I’d like to give you and your parents a stern talking to, dear boy! What kind of unethical sir doesn’t remember-" The man stopped short and slowly turned towards Tristain.
With his normal tone of voice back, the man snickered and patted Tristains shoulder.
“Oh, shit, I almost gave away my little secret, didn’t I?”
Tristain growled and started thrashing about, trying to get the man off of him. The man’s eyes reflected alarm through his mask as he began to realize that Tristain’s farm boy strength was much more powerful than his fancy pants wordplay. He struck Tristain hard on the side of his head and pressed him to the ground by his shoulders. Tristain looked around frantically, wondering how the hell nobody in the city was seeing what was happening.
The man let out an evil cackle and touched his own face.
“Fine, you’ve been a good sport so I’ll fill you in. I’m not even here! I’m actually far far away, controlling this form…okay I’m not that far away. Do you know how hard it is to escape a city with a bounty on your head? Anyway, get up and listen ‘cuz I’m only saying this once.”
The man eased off of Tristain, but just as he began to get up he shoved him over again.
“And please, don’t try to run. I’d hate to kill you.”
He rolled backwards and back to his feet. To Tristain’s surprise, he even put his hand forward to help him up. He appreciated the gesture, but considering the two attempted murders today, he’d have to pass.
He struggled to his feet, clutching his poor ribs that had been to hell and back over today. His parent’s must be worried sick! How long has it been, anyway? The sun was setting, that’s not a good sign.
“Hey, dumbass, head out of the clouds and listen up.”
Tristain felt the need to run away, but listening to some spiel about converting to some new overly aggressive polytheistic cult was much better than being murdered. He straightened up and looked at the man.
“Like I said, I’m not actually here. I can control illusions and shit, that’s my thing. I’m still in town for two reasons: One, I can’t leave, still too many people trying to find me. Two, I have a package I’m supposed to pick up.”
“What’s the package?”
“Thin Mints. Why the hell would I tell you?” The man leaned in close and whispered in an ominous tone.
“The king’s gonna die. So are bunches of other people in this city. Most of them, actually. If you wanna get put in that grave too, best of luck to ya. If you don’t, meet me at your little girlies’ shop at midnight.”
Tristain took a step back. This guy is going to kill the king? He has to tell the Gathus, or Eurlus, or somebody.
“You don’t want me to help you kill him, do you?”
The man’s skin began to change tones. It went from a tan color slowly into a dirt brown color that began to crack. His clothing began to do the same as he evaporated into a pile of dust on the ground. Tristain cautiously crept towards it and almost jumped at what he saw. The man had cloned himself out of the dirt and dust on the ground and had reverted back into it like it was nothing. All of him was gone except for one piece of him: his mask lay atop the the dust pile, staring at him, its malicious intent finally revealed.
ReplyDeleteSomething told Tristain to take the mask with him. He cautiously walked towards it and leaned over. He reached out to it and began to sweat. What if this mask was some kind of enchanted magical thing that was made specifically for that crazy guy? What if it gave him trippy visions of the future? Or gave him super strength? Or make everything invisible except for the mask? That’d be dumb. He shook his head, threw caution to the wind and snatched the mask from the pile…nothing. Just a plain old eerie mask.
Night had fallen peacefully and the stars and the moon stood vigil over the city. A short trek away from the now sleeping city, Tristain lay in front of his house. The grass tickled the back of his neck as bugs crawled beneath him. Should he go? In all honestly, he was probably going to die if he went
I felt pressured and that people were going to find out it was me so I removed the accusers too. After a while the police got involved and advised for me to move out of town. They felt as if I was in danger and that I would be the next child from the high school to disappear. Sadly no one ever made the connection that I was the one putting everyone in danger, but that was my past and it doesn’t matter now.
ReplyDelete“Aw cheer up Ari I bet you’ll love the new house and you’ll make friends in no time.” says my dad in a poor excuse to cheer me up.
“Mhmm” I say as I turn my attention to the passing clouds on the outside of my window as if they are the most perplexing thing in the world.
In about an hour we were out of Denirfeild and in the wonderful town of Maitland. Soon we found our street and house. The weirdest thing is as soon as you get to the turn of the street there were cameras everywhere. No one else seemed to notice them but it looked like they were supposed to be hidden. This made me feel as if everyone was here on surveillance at all times, like nobody was trusted. All my thoughts were stored away once I felt the push of my brothers fighting to get out of the car. In a matter of minutes we were settled into our new abode. Though everything in our house made me feel comfortable I couldn’t shake the feeling that something in our house wasn’t right. I felt as if someone was watching us, but more specifically I felt like someone was paying close to attention to me.
It didn’t take very long for everyone to get into the feel of things in this town. Maybe in a week my family was pretty much following the routine of everyone else on our block. No one was ever a minute off from what they were supposed to do, but I would not become one of these “droids” in my household. I didn’t care about the Sunday football nights or even the whole time to meet the neighborhood parties I wanted to leave. I wanted to just get away from here I wanted to leave and just not come back, but something wouldn’t let me. I mean back in Denirfeild I would just jump out my window and come back when it hit 5am but something was different here.
And suddenly I heard the deadly call or better yet yell from my mother “Ariana come downstairs the neighborhood watch is here and wishes to have a word with you.”
I trudged down the stairs and glared at the strangers in my home sitting on the family couch. Something in the room very thick and rigid as if there was a tension that was growing and would soon break and all hell would break loose.
“Good evening Ms. Pamela I would like to explain some things to you seeing how you’re a new teen in our society” spat the older woman sitting on my couch. She had deep wrinkles that the Grand Canyon would be jealous of and had her hair pulled back into a bun. She looked only to be 52 but her essence made me feel otherwise.
ReplyDelete“Rules, you say, well how interesting.” I said back dripping with sarcasm. “I hope my mother informed you that I’m fully aware of your rules and find them all to be outrageous. To me it seems like a fun hating robot created all of them. So quite frankly I won’t be following any of your rules. Now I bid you all a good day. Now I will be residing back to my room good bye.” As I turned out of the room I heard a gasp and a repeating apology from my mother.
I spent the next few days locked in my room because of my obscene outburst. I really didn’t do anything wrong I just said what I needed to in a calm respectful manner. Well at least in my opinion. Sadly, no door could keep me locked up for long and at about 11:30 Saturday night I sneaked out of my 2nd floor window. As I walked down the street to the entrance I felt as if I was being followed. I constantly looked over my shoulder for any sign of a figure, but nothing was ever there. As soon as I made it to the entrance a hand grabbed my wrist and another covered my mouth. I began to thrash around trying to hit anything without luck. I was dragged into a house and thrown into a random dusty closet. I sat on the floor for what seemed like hours wondering what I was going to do. Then I heard whispers coming from outside.
“Since she wants to be an individual, well then she can take her individuality to the grave.” said an older woman’s voice, which sounded oddly familiar, “We don’t need anyone ruining our beautiful and smoothly run society. Make sure you remove her from everyone’s memory we don’t need a lost person’s report going out from this.”
“But aren’t you worried?” retorted a more masculine voice.
“About what?” yelled back the older woman “A rude rebellious teenage girl? Don’t make me laugh I’ve gotten rid of the other people who didn’t want to listen I can surely get rid of her. Now hurry up and get to work I can handle her.”
In that quick second I made an easy plan. Kill these crazy people get my family together and run away. A bright light poured into the closet and I was suddenly in an intense fight with an old woman. Out of everything I would beat on I never expected her to put up such a fight. Within seconds the fight ended with a knife being plunged into the woman’s chest and I was in a dash for home. I reached my front door as it opened with an angry father in the doorway. I tried the best I could to explain the situation to my dad and thank the lord he believed me. We were packed and out of the front entrance in no time.
My mother didn’t even halfway believe me until she had proof. Well the old bat that tried to kill me had tapes of every house on the block. I stashed this away in my jacket pocket before running to the house. The tapes didn’t just reveal me getting attacked, but also everything else this woman planned. Apparently everyone was being brainwash and control through a gas that was seeped into the house at about 10 every night. Since I was the only person who sneaked out every night or sleep with my window open I was the only one who want delirious. Believe me this definitely won’t be a summer I’ll forget, but now it’s time to find a new home. Hmmm I’m starting to get into this whole killing thing maybe I’ll make a career out of it, I could be an assassin or some sorts. The craziest part out of this whole trip is no one ever knew I killed anyone. My first 24 murders were never uncovered and I killed this woman in a block off area so the cameras never picked up on it. I just hope the people in the next town we live in wont make the mistake of crossing me because making them another part of my list won’t be a problem.
ReplyDeleteGreat plot. I like it.
DeleteCool idea. I'm going to be paranoid if I smell gas in my house at 10 o'clock.
Delete
ReplyDeleteOn the way to my locker, I caught up with Josephine DiLaurentis, my best friend who was the complete opposite of me. You wouldn’t think we’d get along at all, since she was so quiet and sensitive, unlike myself. Nevertheless, we were almost always together.
“Did you hear about Kar...” she started.
“Don’t even mention it,” I groaned. “I had to deal with my sister having a breakdown. She was throwing up over it.”
“Now that’s a bit over the top,” Josephine replied. “I mean, it was very tragic, but I’m not ripping my hair out or throwing up over it.”
“I know,” I said. “And to show I don’t care, I’m just going to make offensive jokes.”
The look on my friend’s face said the she didn’t quite agree with my thinking. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” she warned. “You never know what would happen.”
“right,” I scoffed. “like I’ll be haunted forever if I tell one joke. I think I’ll tell one right now! What is Karen Carpenter’s favorite Jewish...”
“Can you be quiet?” People can hear you, you know,” Josephine said.
My first class of the day was biology, where we all slept through Mr. Skinner’s constant droning. Today though, I wasn’t even going to let that effect me. instead of writing down the little amount of notes I usually write and staring at the clock, I was jotting down jokes and snickering out loud as the jokes went from my mind to the paper. Some of the jokes, I had to admit, were quite stupid, such as “Why couldn’t Karen Carpenter ride the roller coaster? Because the workers at the amusement park were afraid she would go flying out of her seat,” but I believe a lot of them were great.
I was trembling with laughter, when I heard “Julia Dae, is there something funny about protons or electrons?” Shoot! I sat up straight in my seat and stammered, “N-n-no. I’m sorry, I’l pay better attention
Being a survivor of an invasion is not exactly fun, especially when you have to protect someone with all cost too. I am the knight for the princess in the castle of Basloria. I am a girl, but my skills definitely match with the men. My family is full of knights, generals, and spies. Traditionally, my older brother, Lucas, should have been assigned to be the knight for Princess Kayzula; however, he was injured at the time and could not attend; therefore, making me, his only sister, attend it for him. Though, because of this, I am the person who swears her loyalty to the princess, so I involuntarily become her knight. Don’t misunderstand me though; Princess Kayzula is a great person. I just don’t like my job. My dream use to be traveling around the country helping countless people, not bound to one person for the rest of my life.
ReplyDeleteThe invasion happened three days ago. The neighboring country, Rushasita, attacked at night with fire without any signs or warnings. We didn’t even have any idea as to how they entered Basloria. I assumed there was a spy, but I had no suspect or any proof.
Basically, right now, I am escaping with the princess to our allied nation, Grudiam, for help to restore the rightful royal ruler to Basloria. I just got a message from my parents, who are the sworn knights to the king and queen, that they are in a town in Vintas, which is a small protectorate of Grudiam located between Basloria and Grudiam. Grudiam has been our allied country for over five hundred years. In addition to that, my aunt married their king. If we seek their help, we can have a chance of restoring the royal family. I and Kayzula are heading there right now, but we are lost in the forest. We’ve been stuck here for more than an hour already. We keep on returning to the same place over and over again. After our tenth return to the place, we decide to take a break and then keep on walking. We sit by a big rock and I am going to get some water when I noticed the hopping rabbit.
The rabbit was jumping with his eyes closed. When it got too close to a tree, I was going to stop it, but he jumped right through the tree and continued on. This had me put my hand on the tree and pushed forward. My hand went through the tree, like I was touching air.
“Kay! Come look at this!” I exclaims.
“What is it Lora?” Kayzula asks as she comes over to me and I show her how my hand went through the tree, “What in the world…”
I roll my eyes and think that maybe this forest is a combination of illusion and reality. Since the animals have lived here for ages, they know the tricks around the forest. The illusions may be the reason that we keep on missing the path out of the forest. I tell Kayzula about my thoughts and she suggests that we could copy the rabbit and close our eyes when walking through the forest, so that we will not be confused with the illusions.
After about another five minute walk, we finally escape out of the woodland. What we see after all the trees, though, is stunning. When we walk out of the forest, we are on a cliff. Looking down, we can see the whole town of Vintas. It is a very prosperous town with stores and stands. The stands have food, jewelry, pottery art, and clothing. They are located between each store. There are people with baskets in their hand, shopping at the stores and stands everywhere I look. My eyes wander around, looking for a trail down the cliff. Finally, I find the stone stairs leading us down, toward the peaceful looking town. Vintas used to be a playground for criminals, but ever since it came under Grudiam, it has been stabilized. This town has a close-to-zero criminal rate now.
Hi I’m a joint if you didn’t know there’s a different between a joint and a blunt. But don’t worry about that I’m about to tell you a story that will get you crying and laughing. Put your seat belts on and smoke that joint and enjoy the ride.
ReplyDelete“Waa Waa” it was a baby boy. He looked just like his father. The boy cried while he was covered in blood and tubes that wore connected to his stomach. The baby was born on September 20th, he was named Smokey. The boy was cute and adorable. Years and years past by and the baby had grown up and became a 20 year old man. This boy lived in a town called Compton. In this town if you got in you would never get out. He lived in a ghetto area that violence wore around and the most things that everyone loved was weed. Smokey were a man who lived around weed and a man who sold it. Smokey was well known around his neighborhood. He was famous for selling weed, but he was a guy that never found love. The only thing he fell in love with was his weed and his money, but Smokey wanted someone special that would love him for who he is.
One Saturday night he and his friend wore at his house smoking that Kush and getting higher than the clouds. They wore so gone they wore seeing stars. Smokey’s best friend was Gelviz he was a fluffy guy who loved to eat and would smell food from a mile away and could tell you what the food was. Back to the story, Gelviz was seeing food and drinks flying around him and Smokey was seeing his dream girl dancing in front of him. A half an hour past away and the highness has left their system. They looked at each other and they told each other what are we going to do now? Smokey was a man who knew a lot of people and had his connections. Smokey told Gelviz if he wanted to party and drink, gelviz replied saying “if they have food there I’m down”. Smokey took out his phone that coasted him a $500. It was a brand new iPhone 5. As Smokey took out his phone he started to look at his contacts, his contact was full of girls and his boys; like I said he was well known. As he went through his contacts he saw little joker number. Little joker is from Puerto Rico he was just like Smokey who had the money the girls and the weed. Smokey dialed his number and it rang. “BEEP BEEP BEEP”, little joker answered “ Yo the party at my house come through” little joker already knew what Smokey wanted. Smokey told gelviz they abouta roll out.
They got out of Smokey’s house and they went into Smokey’s car. Smokey had a brand new Audi r8, the sexiest car in the hood. They rolled out of the driveway. Joker lived in a nice town because his father was a lawyer but little joker was a corrupt Puerto Rican. He lived a half hour away, as smokey and gelviz wore on their way to little joker house Smokey light up a joint, they started to smoke on their way to the party. They both wore getting cooked in the car, windows closed; the car was fuelled with smoke. That’s how Smokey loved it. A half hour past by they rolled up at the party and the house was big as the play boy’s mansion. Girls wore dancing outside, everyone drinking and smoking that good ish. Smokey parked his car, and then he and gelviz walked into the house. Gevliz ran to the food and Smokey started drinking and dancing with girls and the most things he wanted was that good weed. On the other hand gelviz was in heaven eating everything he could see in his way and that could fit in his mouth. As Smokey was dancing he saw this girl that was sitting on a chair and doing nothing but looking around. Smokey didn’t see anything but her and a white line that lead him to her. He walked on that white line and he looked at her in the eyes and said “why such a beautiful girl like you doing here” she replied sadly “this is my house am joker little sister”. Smokey was shocked because he came to the house so many times but he never saw her around. Smokey thought she was beautiful and he wanted to get to know her, he thought that the girl was his angel. Smokey kept talking to her and they got to know each other. The girl name was Elizabeth; she was studying to be a doctor. She was a girl that went to school and was a good girl that Smokey wasn’t her type. Smokey tried so hard to get with her but she turned him down and she never wanted to see him because he was a guy who smoked. Smokey gave up then he went in his car and just smoked his weed and put his head up and just thought about nothing.
ReplyDeleteDays past by and Smokey didn’t say a word to any of his friends or anyone he just smoked his weed and thought about things that no one would believe what he is thinking about. Smokey was thinking to go to school and be someone in this world. Smokey started to go to school wanting to be a cop, but it didn’t work out for him. Months passed by and nothing was working out for him so he just gave up. He went back to what he was. Elizabeth was still on his mind but he smoked it off. Smokey had a talent that was singing. Smokey was singing outside his house and this guy heard em and told him “you should be a star” Smokey thought about it and he started to record music and sells them on the streets. Years later Smokey was on top of the world one guy heard his music and loved it and singed him into his record deal. Smokey was one of the hottest guys that singed. He always sang about love. Smokey became a rich man and a well-known around the world. He made a song about the girl that he fell for at the party and one day the song was on TV and it was playing and the Elizabeth heard it and she said in her mind she’s is stupid and she wishes she fell for him. Smokey lived a happy life and he found the love of his life and he has 3 children’s. What goes around comes around Smokey says, be you and never change who you are, one day you’ll find the way to your life.
ReplyDeleteThe wall before us is supposed to keep everything out. That’s what the politicians talk about. They tell us how grateful we should be to live in this wonderful city. How we as citizens should thank our wonderful leader for enclosing our city and cutting us off from the rest of the world; but what is the point.
ReplyDeleteI was one of the people that wanted a change. I wanted to break free from this corrupt “perfect society.” No citizen wants to be here, but we have to make it look like we do or else you end up in the prison like me, the prison where the only windows in the building face the wall which keep us in. The big, grey, disgusting wall I have to see every day is what is keeping me from my freedom.
“Hey, your food is ready Jak,” Said my jailer. “I’m sorry that you are in here, everyone else thinks you should be in here either.”
“Thanks Marc, but that doesn’t really help me in getting out of her.” Marc slid my food on the ground through the little opening at the bottom of my cell door. “You know, even though it has been two years, I still feel like I have been here only a couple of weeks.”
“That’s what jail does to people. You might want to be careful so that you don’t go mad?” With those words Marc left me alone with only my thoughts to wonder. My only company now was that wall.
“Why do you stand there? No one wants you there so why do you stay?” I watched the wall expecting for an answer. Maybe I am going crazy after all. But the question still lingers. Why is it there?
I looked back at the door to my cell to see it slightly swung open. I walked over quietly expecting someone or something to come into my cell. I finally got to the door and noticed that nothing was there. I opened the door all the way to find the cell key stuck in the lock.
“Oh Marc.”
I stuck my head into the hallway to see if the coast was clear. I stepped out and closed the door. I took the key out and ran down the hallway. Although I had no idea how to get out it was better than sitting there in my cell.
The room was so bright compared to my cell. Like a sun was in the hallway itself. I guess that is the real punishment, to keep a prisoner in a dark, cold room all by their self. It’s just absolute torture for a human being. But now I was finally free, and I knew what I was going to do next. I will have to escape from the biggest prison of them all. But first I have to escape this one.
All of the passage ways looked the same to me. They were all long, and disgusting, and all lined with doors on either side. Through these doors I could hear the whining of each new prisoner that was thrown in. Hearing them put a smile to my face because it brought back memories of my first days in
here. I was thrown in and quickly became friends with Marc to make my time easier in here. He would come to my cell daily and talk to me. We were both friendly to each other. He even gave me more food than the other prisoners since I was his favorite. I guess his last gift to me was the key.
ReplyDelete“Thank you Marc, I will see you again someday.”
By now I started running down the path. However, I was still nowhere close to getting out of this place. Also, some guards by now would have noticed my absence and they would soon be upon me. I needed to find a way out quickly.
Then I came to the start of two hallways. I needed to make a decision quickly. I could already hear the footsteps of the guards coming. I need to get out now. Which way do I go? Left or right? I took one step and as my foot landed on the cold cement floor I heard a yell. My body completely froze as the sound surrounded me. I couldn’t even move my head because I knew who was coming now: The Warden. He was one of the cruelest men in this society. The joke around the prison was that he was the actual son of the devil. He was so fearsome once that one of the guards on patrol actually cowered in fear when he walked towards him. And now he was coming towards me and quickly. I could feel his massive boots hitting the floor every step he took. And he wasn’t walking; no he was running at me.
“Come on legs, you need to move.” But my legs didn’t respond. They were glued to the floor. “Come on, do you want to die today?” They still didn’t respond. The footsteps were getting louder and louder, but now it wasn’t just one person. It sounded more like two, and one was a lot closer than the other. The person was so close that he was right around the corner.
“Jak. Where are you?”
“I’m over here Marc.” I was so happy that he had come that I forgot about my whole situation for just a brief second. “Marc which way do I need to go?”
“You need to go left, hurry up he is right behind us.”
I finally summoned up the courage to move my legs. They were so stiff but I had to trudge on. And now I had Marc by my side so at least I wasn’t escaping alone. I ran right behind Marc since he knew the whole prison. We turned left and right so many times that I thought we were lost.
“Marc, you are getting us lost.”
“No I’m not, just one more turn and…” The door appeared right before us. Light was beaming in through the window at the top of it. I am so close I thought to myself. As we got to the door we heard another yell. This time he was a lot closer.
We rushed through the door out into the town. Whoever was guarding the door looked at us puzzled for a brief moment until they realized what was happening. The alarm was so sounded when word got out that a criminal has escaped. Now it felt like the whole town was chasing us. We kept running even though we were both tired.
I looked back at the door to the prison to see The Warden standing in the doorway. His red eyes staring at me almost caused me to fall over.
ReplyDelete“Come on Jak, we can’t let him get us. If he does we are definitely dead.”
We made a quick left turn down a back alley. There were so many people clogging the streets that I was knocked over multiple times by people not paying attention to what they were doing. I eventually started getting annoyed with them and knocked over everyone that got in my way.
While going down the alley we turned right into an abandoned street. We kept running but after a couple of seconds running down that alley the Warden came around the corner.
“I’m going to get both of you scums and kill you myself with my bare hands.” His voice alone was able to shake the city. The sound waves were more powerful than even an earthquake.
“How can we out run him,” I said.
“I don’t know but we need to keep running.” And so we did. We ran out into the middle of the plaza. There were so many people there shopping. I remember when I used to do that. My mom always took me every Sunday to the Plaza to buy food for the week. And when my sister was old enough she started coming as well. That’s when I believed this society was good for us. But as the years passed I started noticing how corrupt and cruel this city really was.
“JAK,” yelled Marc. I looked around to see that Marc had fallen behind me and the Warden already had him. His gigantic hands surrounded his head as he picked him up. Marc’s screams were terrible as the Warden began to crush his skull in his bare hands. Then everything was quiet again, and Marc was dead. I turned around and ran to the edge of the city. Tears started forming down my eyes as I ran.
“I’m sorry Marc.” I was about to reach the gate when it quickly shut in front of me. I tried climbing up the wall. I got to a quick start until I slipped and fell all the way back down. The Warden was fast approaching and all my options were out. I turned around and backed myself up against the wall knowing what was to become of me. At that moment I realized what these walls were really supposed to do. They were supposed to keep everything else out, they were supposed to keep us in.
Chapter I
ReplyDeleteRichard Marconey, the 2016 Republican Candidate for the Presidential Election. That’s what most people know him as, at least. In my house, though, we just call him dad. Well, my mom calls him Rich, but I don’t like to think about that too much. As for me, I’m Lizzie. Lizzie Marconey, the trophy Daughter in my dad’s “perfect American family,” or so he thinks.
If you really knew me, you’d know I don’t quite fit in with the rest of the Marconeys. I’m not the picture perfect girl that wants to sit still and smile through every family interview, every speech, every single BORING house meeting about my dad’s policies, and what his image of the perfect family must be. Let’s be honest here, I’m not really the daughter my father wished to have. There’s my oldest sister, Carly, the real brains of the household. She’s maintained a 4.0 GPA at Harvard for the past three years. Entering her college semester, my entire family knows she’ll be valedictorian, a perfect addition to the next president’s utopian family. Then, there is the second oldest, Richie Junior. Richie might as well be the next Carly, setting school records for academics in our High School as a senior. My little sister, Charlotte, is “daddy’s little angel.” She’s the real face of the family in this election. At six years old, only half the teeth in her huge grin, she can pull an “awe” out of anybody. She’s seen sitting on dad’s lap in every magazine and newspaper cover. Nothing says “vote for this guy!” like a cute little girl.
That leaves me, Lizzie, the outcast. That’s not something the family photos would give away, but trust me; I’m not even close to rest. Let’s start with the physical features, all summed up with my hair. Everyone in my family has smooth, straight blonde hair… except me. You could find me hiding behind my fluffy, curly, bright red mane that I’m forced to tame before every appearance for the press. It’s to the point where some have described it as explosive, which is uncomfortably accurate. Explosive; that doesn’t only describe my hair, It describes me. The real thing that sets me apart from my quiet, conservative family is my passion for fireworks, explosives, basically anything that goes boom.
Since I was a child, I’ve always shown such an interest in combustion. When all the other kids went and cried to their mommies on the fourth of July, I was trying to escape the grasp of mine to crawl towards the source of these beauties. Growing up, I’ve found myself in trouble countless times with my parents, the law, the news broadcasters, and the neighbors. I don’t even want to talk about the time I nearly blew off my best friend’s arm with a home-made bottle rocket. I guess all my fun is over now, with my family in the limelight.
Chapter II
ReplyDelete“Charlotte, honey, get into your red white and blue dress, please.” my mom asked nicely of my little sister. “And Richie, pick up her toys after you get on your tie. Carly will be home any second and I heard rumor that the press is coming early for pictures!”
I could hear my mom’s “nice voice” from the top of the stairs. I slowly sneak down in the extremely uncomfortable skirt she picked out for me and the stupid flats she left by my door while I was in the shower. I’m sure she waited until then just so she could avoid seeing the disgust on my face towards the clothes she’s using to vicariously live through us with. With each stealthy step down these stairs I run a brush through my freshly straightened hair. With the other hand, I hold a cold, soaked napkin to the cluster of burns on my neck.
“Lizzie! You missed a hair! Look at this!” She plucked the fiery flyaway from my scalp. “Seriously, kid, do you WANT your father to lose this election? We can afford your antics! Brush up! Take that napkin of your neck…. Ugh god, another burn? You’re such a klutz. I’ll get the makeup.”
As she hurried into her room, the doorbell rings, and without hesitation, my sister barges through the door.
“I’m here!” she sings at the top of her lungs.
My mother rushes into the foyer to shower her with hugs and kisses, completely ignoring my “makeup emergency.” Charlotte races down the stairs, chanting Carly’s name with excitement. Richie calmly enters the room and stands by my side with the same, annoyed look on his face as I had.
“Oh, she’s here… great.” He muttered.
At least that’s one thing Richie and I agreed on, our severe dislike for our older sister. She’s always soaking up all the attention as the beloved first-born. We middle-children never got quite the same adoration that she received. Richie was also extremely jealous of her academic achievements and how much recognition she received. If a Marconey knows anything, it’s how to fight to be the best, but a house full of prize-searching Marconeys can lead to some nasty competition. Being the younger of the two, Richie always took backseat to Carly’s outstanding achievements. When he was the only to make distinguished honor roll in the challenging program at school, Carly was having a hard time choosing between Princeton and Harvard. When Richie won the international chess tournament, Carly was studying abroad while helping underprivileged families in the countryside of India, fully funded by the school for her high grades. My parents couldn’t get enough of their first child, making it big from the moment she came out of the womb, basically reciting complex math equations. They had no time to pay attention to Richie’s successes that Carly had conquered years ago. His untimely entrance to this world left him in his own cocoon of jealousy as long as he went by the Marconey name.
I, on the other hand, had my own reasons to dislike the presence of this all-knowing, attention-hogging sibling of mine. She has no parental attention of love to steal from me like, Richie, but seeing her in the limelight of my parent’s hearts does make me feel a bit sick. Carly’s success and picture perfect life does nothing but emphasize the regret I’ve become to those that created me. Normally I can brush off the disappointment that is constantly falling down on my shoulders like some sort of light, but never ending dark snow that collects atop the minivan of the old lady down the street that never leaves her house. That light snow turns into a blinding blizzard when Carly is in town. Regardless, Richie and I have to deal with our sister when she’s around, which luckily isn’t that often.
ReplyDeleteMy mother finishes her squeals, jumps and hugs with the over achiever as my father’s tall, postured figure enters from the kitchen, adjusting his red tie under his luxury blue jacket.
“Hi, darling.” He says in the soothing voice that America loves to hear, walking through Richie and me to get to his prized daughter.
“Hi daddy!” she says, raising her voice to her typical daddy’s little girl tone. “I can’t wait to do this interview! I hear the whole family together might help win over quite a few more voters!”
Her childish, forced way of speech was making me sick. To avoid making a scene and potentially a mess all over the clothes my mother so carefully selected for me to wear this evening, I hastily made my way into the kitchen. Richie followed.
“Euuuck, I’m gonna be sick.”
“Ditto.” Richie responds.
Although Richie and I are totally different and his existence was somehow an insult to mine, Richie seemed to be the one I am closest to in the family. It was nice when we had our occasional talks when we could get away from the pressure of our parents and this horrible election. Sometimes I’d even let him on to a few of my secrets. Perhaps it’s the small age gap between us or the equal amount of pent up anger and frustrations against this house and what it stands for, but we do get along nicely for an Einstein and a girl that blows up just about everything other than her grades.
“I need to get out, you wanna come?” I say as I start to devise a plan in my head.
“But… the interview.” He brings up with concern.
“Do you really want to get back at them? I hope you know that if dad wins this thing, it doesn’t end for four… maybe eight years.”
“You’re sayin’ sabotage? What are you, nuts?”
“Not sabotage, genius. Let’s just make a statement that we don’t want to be a part of this anymore. That we, the middle children, aren’t going to be tied down with their views on well... everything! We don’t have to be their puppets Richie!”
“I can’t believe this… alright. Where are we off to?”
I was tired of driving. I needed to stretch my weary legs and breathe in fresh air that did not smell stale and stuffy. After a few more minutes, I passed the border into Colorado. It was mid-afternoon and there was a fair amount of cars on the road. The sun streamed through my windshield and I automatically shielded my eyes. As I continued into the state, I came upon signs directing me to The Rocky Mountain National Park. I had prepared to hike in the park at least one of the days that I was staying in Colorado. Although it was a little late in the day, I decided I could hike for an hour or two and be back on the road by seven. I quickly navigated my way through the parking spaces until I found a spot sheltered by trees. I gathered all the needed supplies in a backpack, including three bottles of water, granola bars and some chocolate, and an extra sweatshirt. I also packed additional sneakers and my cell phone. As I walked through the entrance, I promptly found a map that depicted all the trails nearest to me. Scanning quickly, I decided upon a trail that appeared to be easy enough.
ReplyDeleteWithout difficulty, I was able to find the trail and started walking. I passed a few hikers leaving the path. As I headed deeper into the landscape, I could no longer hear the clamor of civilization. The sun filtered through the leaves of the trees, causing the light to tremor on the ground. I heard birds off in the distance and squirrels scurrying on nearby leaves. Although it was warm, the air smelled clean and crisp. After a few minutes, I plugged in my earphones and began to listen to music as I hiked. The fatigue and weariness that I had felt while driving quickly slipped away as visions of nature enveloped my senses. Before I knew it, the light was fading from the sky and night was fast approaching. Upon seeing this, I decided to begin walking back. I heard thunder rumbling in the distance and accelerated my pace. As I continued, a peculiar smell drifted towards me. At first, I gave it no thought but the scent became stronger and more concentrated. I focused on the smell and recognized it as smoke. I immediately began to panic. I removed my earplugs and surveyed my surroundings. I could not identify the direction or the source of the smoke. I hurriedly made my way down the trail, hoping that I would soon see the end of it; however, after a few minutes had passed, I still could not see a break in the forest that lead to the road. It was dusk now, and the light skimmed the horizon. Up ahead, I saw smoke weaving in throughout the trees as tendrils of smoke snaked out to me. Adrenaline lined my veins as panic settled in my stomach. The first glimpse of fire entered my vision about a hundred yards from me.
I attempted to regain my self-control and searched for which direction the wind was coming from. I found that it was blowing from behind me, and I knew that I had to head upwards, higher into the mountains. I began to run back the way I came from, breaking into a run. The smoke and fire was moving towards me, forcing me farther up the trail, away from the people, away from any chance of help. I glanced back to see a wall of fire lurching towards me, rapidly destroying everything in its path. Darkness engulfed me as I stumbled up the trail, tripping and fumbling. I couldn’t see anything but the faint, discreet glow from the blazing fire below me. Dread filled me, as I soon realized that I would most likely be stranded for the night. I pulled out my cell phone from my backpack and turned it on. The glow from the phone illuminated my face. I dialed 911 with cold fingers, but no service could be found. I jogged on as feelings of helplessness and uncertainty filled my head. The smoke and fire continued its merciless ascend up the mountain as I continued to climb upward to escape. My legs began to feel fatigued, and my throat burned from the running. Reaching into my backpack, I withdrew a bottle of water. I drank greedily from the bottle, soothing my burning throat and parched mouth.
As I continued further up the mountain, the air began to grow thin, making it harder to breathe. I could still detect the faint scent of the smoldering fire but the wind had caused it to fan outwards, allowing me to accumulate a safe distance from it. The cold mountainous air stung my sensitive cheeks and reddened my nose. Exhaustion overwhelmed me and taking a risk, I chose an area for which to sleep. I pulled out my extra jacket and wrapped it around me as the chilly air infiltrated through my sweater. Although hesitant to fall asleep, I instantaneously surrendered to oblivion.
ReplyDelete***
I awoke to a deafening noise coming from behind me. As I adjusted to the dawn light and took in my surroundings, I turned around to see the fall of a massive conifer tree, its sturdy branches snapping like twigs under its immense weight. The alarming sight awakened my senses. Fire was still smoldering off in the distance. The nearby ground was fiery, the ashes causing a layer upon the pine needles. I gathered my few belongings and continued up the mountain, trying to avoid the lasting fire. The higher I sauntered up the mountain, the colder the air became and the thinner the atmosphere. Despite the hours of sleep I had acquired, exhaustion still lingered in my legs. The forest fire seemed to have spread and I thought sullenly to myself that it would take days for the fire to die. Regret entered my thoughts. I had told my parents that I was taking a road trip across the country and would be back in about a month. No one would expect that I was in trouble or missing. I had even sent them a postcard the day before confirming that everything was going according to plan.
I knew that no one would know that I was in trouble for at least another week or two. With a surge of terror, I imagined being forced up higher into the mountains until I starved to death, or worse froze to death. With this thought, I realized how hungry I was. Being so preoccupied with the danger around me, I only now stopped and felt the pang of my appetite. I reached behind me and extracted two granola bars and swallowed them down without tasting them. My hunger had not subsided, but I knew that I had to eat my rations thoughtfully, as I had a limited amount of food and water. I continued up the mountain, securing a further distance from the burning fire. I hadn’t realized how far I had walked until I saw that the sun had reached its highest point in the sky. I heard a loud rumbling noise from up ahead. The conifer trees swayed back and forth, causing their fragrant needles to shower down. I looked up into the sky and saw an emergency helicopter hovering above. I started screaming as loud as I could, leaping up and down, and waving my arms. Despite my efforts, I knew that they could not see or hear me, but yet I continued screaming until my throat was raw and the helicopter was but a point in the distance.
In order to obtain at least some of the self-control that I had left, I continued to amble up the mountain. With the fire moving horizontally, I at least escaped the immediate peril, but I had other dangers to be concerned about. I attempted to muster all of the optimism and confidence that I could and walked on. I thought to myself with some dignity that I had been a girl scout all my life and that I should know how to survive in the wilderness with the elements for a few days. Eventually, the light dissolved into darkness. I knew I needed to find a suitable place to sleep. Once I had found somewhere, I stumbled to lie down, rocks piecing into my back. The cold air stung my face and hands as I gingerly wrapped the extra jacket around me. Eventually I fell into a restless sleep. Sounds in the night woke me up with a fright frequently, owls hooting, and a deer walking nearby on the ground. Anxiety pulsed through me and I felt frightened and alone. Strange sounds off in the distance caused me to run away screaming in terror. I ran in complete darkness, the branches of trees cutting my face and arms as they tore my clothing. With tears streaming in hot angry paths down my face, I foundered on a rut on the floor of the forest and went tumbling down a slope. As I fell, my arm was injured in the process. As my momentum stopped a sharp twinge moved like a tremor down my left arm. I tentatively handled the bruised area, feeling a deep cut. I tore a portion of fabric from my sweater and covered the wound. Feeling alarmed, I returned to gather my backpack and with the help of the moonlight, I was able to find an outcrop in the slope that offered some protection against the chilly wind.
ReplyDeleteWhen I finally awoke from a fitful sleep, it was already mid-afternoon. I contemplated my surroundings with scrutiny. With no signs of fire, I began to slowly walk down the mountain again. As I walked a fair distance, I came upon a break in the forest. There was a long line of burnt, scorched trees; their spiny limbs appeared like skeletons in the backdrop of the cerulean sky. The empty barren patches of dead trees went on for miles. The silence seemed deafening amongst the lifeless forest. No birds flew or sang. No squirrels scuttled on the ground. The needles no longer offered their aroma, but instead blanketed the ground with ash and the odor of burnt wood. In some dry places, scorching, red embers still smoldered, releasing ominous tendrils of smoke. The smell reminded me of a campfire or of the fireplace that was back at home. Walking through the dead forest allowed me time to think. I felt nostalgic for my home, and my family and friends. I had never been put into such a perilous situation as this. I had always heard about people lost in the desert for a month or trapped in a blizzard, but had never fathomed that I would one day be put into a life or death survival circumstance.
With despair, I became painfully conscious of the fact that my water bottles were drained. The first knowledge that I attained about surviving in the wilderness was that you needed a steady supply of water. With water as my first priority, I headed through the motionless woodland, searching for signs of life. Where there was life, there was water. After a few hours of walking, my thirst became critical. The sun was rapidly vanishing along the line of the horizon, but yet I continued to tread on. The cut in my arm had remained dormant for most of the day, but as the frosty night air set in, the throbbing was unrelenting. I forced myself to stop and lay down. A new twinge aroused in my stomach as my ravenous hunger forced me to oblige to eat the remainders of my food. I began to feel the first affects of dehydration and malnutrition. Once again, I fell into an erratic sleep.
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ReplyDeleteSum up my life? I’ve lived in Montana my whole existence. I was born into a rich family that inherited everything from my deceased grandparents. My parents loved me and we did everything together. Then the Asteroid Belt exploded. Some say it was because humanity was getting what it deserved. Scientists believed it was because Mars’ gravity became too large. Nonetheless, the meteors completely annihilated the red planet and the remaining asteroids and chunks of Mars crashed into Earth on July 21st, 2020. I lost everything: my family, my house, my personal belongings. Nothing remained except the clothes I wore that day and the few bills I had forgotten to take out of my jeans. I was 21 at the time.
ReplyDeleteAfter the Belt erupted, I went to a shelter for children who lost their family in the incident. I knew I wasn’t a child since I had just gotten out of college, but I had nowhere left to turn to. I had no money to check into a hotel and all my family members were either dead or missing.
But I’m glad I went into the shelter. That’s where I found him. He was tall, muscular, had short brown hair, rusty eyes, and looked about my age. I first saw him when he was handing out small portions of food to the younger orphans. I started watching him from a table at the far end of the lobby from that day on.
Eventually we started talking and then dating. His name was Mich Andrews and he soon became my fiancé. Shortly after we got engaged, we had earned enough money to leave the shelter together and move into a small apartment in the downtown section. I lost everything again about a month before I became a married woman.
The memory is too painful so I’ll skip to my trial. It felt like it lasted for hours. But finally the jury had made its decision.
“Kari Ambers is found guilty for the murder of Mich Andrews. She will serve life without parole in National Seiza,” the judge declared, smacking his gavel on his bench.
My eyes shot open at the sound of the prison’s name. I had heard too many rumors of what goes on in National Seiza. Because of its thick steel walls, National Seiza was the only prison still standing after the Asteroid Belt exploded. I wasn’t surprised when I heard I would do my time within its walls but it was still not the sentence I wanted to hear.
My first day at the prison was one I would never forget. Despite all the rumors, I knew nothing about how the system worked. All the prisoners that were on the bus with me clamped off in chains and shackles. We were all still in our clothes that we were wearing when we were sentenced, mine being a purple tank top and black yoga pants.
The large front gate of National Seiza creaked open and all 20 of us shuffled in, with our chains dragging at our tired feet. Every other criminal was looking into the tracks that the convict in front of them had made. But I was gathering my surroundings, seeing if the rumors of this place were true.
In the distance, I saw a group of muscular men wearing black pants and gold shirts. As we got closer to the chain link fence that separated us from them, I noticed a yellow arrow tattooed to one of the men’s forehead. An identical arrow was located on another man’s arm.
I was at home, laughing and having dinner with my parents and siblings. The table was filled with scrumptious food, the aromas causing my mouth to water. I drank down icy mouthfuls of water that soothed my parched throat and chapped lips. The fireplace smoldered off in the corner, causing an aura of comfort and safety that placated my fears.
ReplyDeleteI awoke with a jolt from the dream. My breathing was uneven and a cold sweat covered my clammy forehead. I checked the wound on my arm and with great panic saw that it had become infected. A new determination was set in my gut. I knew I had to survive. I knew that I had to survive for my family and for everyone else that ever depended on me. The morning air provided a new sense of optimism and hope. With all the strength that I could assemble, I began to run; screeching sounds of distress, hoping for the remote possibility that help would come. After an hour or so, fatigue developed in my body, but I carried on. All of a sudden, I perceived the sound of footsteps in close proximity and my heart stopped. I turned to the direction of the sound and saw a couple of men in firefighter uniforms walking through the barren landscape, probably checking for potential danger zones where a fire could ignite once more. I screamed for help, and my calls were finally answered.
Then, our chins rattled to the floor. I looked down at my wrists that were now free. There was a commotion in front of me as a young man was pulled from the crowd and shoved into an old styled wooden chair. A tall male with slicked hair and glasses stood over the chair, flipping through page after page. He began to pace back and forth. Finally stopping, he declared, “Taurus.”
ReplyDeleteImmediately a man and woman wearing guard uniforms stood over the young criminal, one on either side. Soon, the convict began to scream. The guards pulled away and on the man’s neck, there was a lime green tattoo, the symbol of Taurus the Bull.
All of the other prisoners gasped and one of the girls screamed. She was pulled next and seated in the ugly wooden chair. Clipboard Man flipped through some more pages. I noticed the front paper had a profile of the girl. Then the man declared, “Pisces.”
The man and woman returned and soon there were two light blue fish encircling each other on the girl’s left hand. She got up sobbing. And then the next criminal was ordered forward.
Eventually I was the last one. I wasn’t afraid though. I already had several tattoos. So instead of waiting for the guards to yank my arm off, trying to push me into the chair, I voluntarily sat down as soon as the man preceding me finished his operation. I lifted my right leg over my left and folded my arms. Clipboard Man and the guards were still astonished at my fearless actions, while I stared at them with my violet eyes.
Clipboard Man coughed and then picked up another stack of papers, leafing through them as he did with the others. What he didn’t do with the others that he did with me was talk.
“Why don’t you seem…afraid?” he hissed. Then he flipped to the front of his pages and finished his question with, “Kari Ambers?”
“My name is not Kari. It’s Sparrow,” I coldly responded.
“Really…that’s not what my records say. Nor is it what your parents named you. Is it, Kari?” he hissed again, leaning his hands on the arms of the chair, blowing his foul air onto my face.
I stared at him and then he pushed off of the chair. “They haven’t called me that since I was in 2nd grade.”
“Do you not like it? It’s such a pretty name.”
“None of your business!” I shouted, lifting myself out of the chair. An electric shock went up my spine and I fell back in the chair.
“I wouldn’t get up again if I were you,” Clipboard told me.
I didn’t rise again but I did keep on looking right into his ugly, slit, green eyes.
He paced around a little more, flipping through the same pages. Then he started talking about Mich and the murder. I restrained myself from getting up again. My back still hurt.
“You’re tough I must admit,” Clipboard praised after his teasing. “Not even a tear. Most impressive. But seeing you pled innocent, you will be assigned to Virgo.”
ReplyDeleteThe tattooists swarmed me. But before the sharp needle and pink ink touched my skin, Clipboard ordered, “Wait. Make it black.”
He walked down a marble hallway without another word. The two guards looked after him as his shinny shoes clicked down the corridor.
The woman looked at me first and asked, “Where do you want it?”
“Why do I get to choose? And why is mine black?”
“Those with black tattoos get to pick where they are placed. It’s the policy at National Seiza,” the man responded, turning to me.
“Where do you want it?” the woman repeated.
I looked at her hard and finally stated, “Left stomach.” It was the place where I wanted my next tattoo to be located.
She lifted my tank top and the man pierced my skin with the charcoal ink.
After the painless procedure, I looked down and staring back at me was a black perching bird.
I snapped me head up and questioned, “I thought I was Virgo?”
“You are. Black tattoos don’t get the Zodiac symbol. They get a picture of their tribe’s mascot. We needed another kind of animal so we gave Virgo birds,” the woman answered.
I looked down again and stated, “It kinda looks like a sparrow.”
“Hope so. Otherwise Richy needs to work on his drawing.”
“It’s her favorite bird,” Richy said, as he handed me my new clothes, black pants and a pink shirt. Then they both left down the marble hall, never specifying who she was.
I turned 180 degrees to the 12 doors that I saw the other convicts enter after they were tattooed. Each one had two pictures over their frame. I walked through the one with a pink Virgo symbol and a black bird.
I met a girl that first day. Her name was Robin. She had brown hair with red highlights. It reminded me of my unusual cobalt colored hair. We talked about our lives. I told her that when I was born I had blonde hair. Nobody in my family had ever been cursed with blonde hair except my great grandmother, who disappeared shortly after giving birth to my grandfather. With that family history, my parents dyed my hair blue as soon as they were able to. I told her my real name but then warned her to never call me Kari. My name was Sparrow, which I gained because of my azure locks and how they resembled the Sapphire Sparrow, a relatively new bird that got its cobalt feathers from being genetically enhanced.
Robin told me she was born into the prison. She was never a criminal which was why she was in Virgo. Her mother was a murderer but had gotten pregnant while serving her time. She died before her sentence was completed but not before Robin was born. So the infant girl resumed her mother’s sentence after she had left the Gemini Tribe when she turned 15. Since her mother’s sentence was life, Robin was to remain in the prison for her whole life as well.
ReplyDeleteAfter our exchange of our depressing childhoods, Robin noticed my confused look. So she explained the whole system of National Seiza to me.
“Prisoners are assigned to one of the 12 tribes when they arrive here. They also get a tattoo of their tribe’s Zodiac sign. The chief of each tribe is also named after the Zodiac. Ours being Virgo,” Robin began to explain.
“So that’s what that guy meant when he said sparrows were her favorite bird,” I recalled.
“Probably. Anyway, each tribe also has their own color and mascot which the criminals are renamed after. And each one also has their own type of criminal that they hold…”
I would tell the rest of the conversation but I figure a list of the tribes, their color, mascot, and kind of criminal would be easier to understand.
Aquarius-- turquoise-- ocean animals excluding fish— hate crimes
Taurus—green—Native American tribes/names—poachers
Cancer—red—crustaceans—drug dealers/ alcohol abusers
Virgo—pink—birds—convicts who think they’re innocent
Sagittarius—yellow—weapons—murderers
Leo—orange—cats—thieves
Scorpio—dark blue—desert animals—rapists/kidnappers
Aries—purple—horned animals—attempted crimes
Capricorn—gray—horses—animal/child abusers
Pisces—light blue—fish—terrorists
Libra—brown—plants—forgers/frauds
Gemini was different. The twin tribe was for children born in the prison and guilty citizens under the age of 15. Gemini had no color and no mascot. The children were given tattoos of what tribe they would enter and named based on their future tribe.
Robin told me about how credits could be earned by working extra or winning games at the weekend carnivals. She told me credits could buy better meals, blankets, first aid equipment, gum, books, and even music. She also told me that each tribe had its own meal times and section of the day that the people of the tribe were allowed to go outside. That way, no tribe ever came into contact with another.
ReplyDeleteOne day, Virgo had bathroom duties. I was to manage the disgusting girls’ room on the east side. I was by myself, scraping gum off the walls. The sharp blade cut open my finger and I began to bleed. When I reached for the paper towels, my blood followed. It came out in a red stream and remained elevated in the air. I let my arm fall and the blood splashed to the floor. I stood there in amazement. Then I raised my arm again and the blood on the tiles lifted back into the air.
I would have practiced with my new supernatural power, but I realized I had lost a lot of blood and if I didn’t hurry with the bathroom, my chief would have definitely punished me. So I finished scraping and ran back to my tribe’s cells.
After that incident, I volunteered for a job where I would be alone. Robin always wanted to work together but I managed to find a way out of it every time. Every job I got alone, I practiced with my blood. Eventually I found a way to cut my arm and then clot the blood. I would remove the scab and put a fresh one on so I wouldn’t have to cut myself every time I wanted to use the new ability.
A few months after I discovered I could manipulate my blood, a man came to my cell. He told me to come with him. Wanting to stay out of trouble, I obeyed. We walked down hall after hall, eventually getting to a part of the prison that I didn’t know existed. I frequently asked where he was taking me but he never answered.
Finally he opened a heavy metal door and a bright light illuminated the whole corridor. I shielded my eyes and then followed the man inside.
My eyes finally adjusted to the light and what I saw were several people wearing casual clothes sitting around a room that resembled the lounge of a coffee shop. There was a bar and couches and even TVs. The door behind me slammed and I knew the man that brought me there had left.
I looked around the room and heard comments like, “She doesn’t look deadly”, “She’s so young!”, and, “Look at that hair!”
I felt a tap on my shoulder and I whirled around. An elderly woman with a wide smile and closed eyes stood behind me. “You didn’t see but that man left these for you,” she kindly said, handing me the clothes I was forced to take off on my first day.
My purple tank top and black pants were neatly folded, resting over the woman’s arms. I lunged for the clothes and held them near to my chest.
“Hey you! You a Blood Bound?” a heard a man call from the far end of the room.
I turned back around and responded with a question, saying, “Blood Bound?”
“They are a special classification of people that can manipulate their blood to their liking,” the old woman answered from behind.
ReplyDelete“Yeah I can do that.”
“Then you’re one of us. Go change into those clothes. You don’t need to wear those ugly prison clothes anymore,” a crimson haired woman sitting at the bar told me.
When I came back from the bathroom, dressed in my old clothes, I began to notice the tattoos. They were all black but in different forms. I noticed one spiky haired man had a black gun on his bicep. The redhead, who told me to change, had a black flower on her ankle. The old woman wore a black turtle on her hand. And there was one girl, about my age, with a black bird on her neck. Her face looked familiar and she was looking right at me.
The Blood Games is when two Blood Bounds enter a caged arena with the intent to hurt each other. The game ends when one is unintentionally killed or one surrenders. The one who loses must endure a cruel and unusual torture. The winner is showered with gifts such as delectable eats, novels, and whatever else that might interest the victor.
My first Blood Games was on the day after I came to the unknown place called the Blood Works. It was with the man that asked me if I was a Blood Bound. I was so determined to not die or even be injured, that I took it too far. I didn’t realize how much damage I caused until it was already over. I found out a few days later the man died by my hands.
From that day on, all the other Blood Bounds were terrified of me. Apparently there hadn’t ever been a death in the Blood Games until I came. The opponents I faced were so frightened, they were vulnerable to all me attacks and, as a result, were severely injured. I killed a few other Blood Bounds before I faced her.
The girl with the black bird tattoo walked into the cage casually. Instead of beginning the fight, she talked openly to me.
“How ya doing, Kari?”
I snapped my eyes open. “How do you know my name?” I asked, very surprised and frightened.
“Oh I know a lot more than that… By the way… How’s your man doing? Mich was it?”
I clenched my fists and opened the wound in my arm. A tried to whip her with a stream of blood but she cart wheeled away. I lashed out another line of dark red liquid but she dodged again.
“Now is that a way to greet an old friend?”
“What are you talking about!?” I shouted between pants.
“Oh don’t tell me you don’t remember me,” the Virgo girl disappointedly teased.
“I don’t know you!” I yelled back, shooting bloody bullets from my hand.
“Oh come on, Kari!”
“Stop calling me that!” I slowly screamed. But before I attacked again, I let the bloody whip splash to the ground. I looked into her smiling face and whispered, “Kari.”
“Finally!” she shouted, slapping her hands to her thighs.
She was my best friend back in Kindergarten. Her name was Kari Michels. She had the same first name as me as well as a similar personality. But in second grade, she left town. That’s why I didn’t want to be called Kari anymore. Because it reminded me too much of my best friend.
“Long time no see, best friend!” Kari laughed.
ReplyDelete“I thought you went to your uncle’s in Florida.”
“Nah. That’s just what my parents told ya. I ran away,” she said, still smiling.
“Why did you run away?”
“You know what’s great about the technology scientists came up with?” she asked, completely averting the question.
“Why did you run away?” I repeated.
“Really it’s amazing what they—“
“Kari! Why did you run away!?” I flared, clenching my fists.
She stopped and stared at me, the creepy smile returning to her face. “To test you.”
I relaxed and responded, “What?”
“Before you, I had no friends. Only people who said they were my friends. But they were liars and frauds. So to make sure you were really my friend, I tested you. But you failed.”
“How is running away testing our friendship!?”
“You didn’t follow me.”
“Because your parents said—“
“I don’t care what they said! Even if I was in Florida, you should have come to visit me! But you didn’t. You didn’t even bother looking for me. You forgot about me.”
“No! I would never forget!”
“Oh yeah!? Then why didn’t you recognize me!?”
“Because that was over 15 years ago, Kari!”
“Doesn’t matter. If you were really my friend you would have recognized me right away.”
When I didn’t respond, Kari went back to her off-topic conversation. “I ever tell you what’s amazing about technology?”
I looked up into her blue eyes, still speechless.
“How anyone can copy the fingerprints of someone else. So glad they figured out how to do that,” she admired, looking at her slender fingers.
“Fingerprints?” I whispered. She smiled.
“How’s your boyfriend again?”
My violet eyes shot open. It was the reason I was sent to National Seiza in the first place. The fingerprints on the knife that killed Mich. They matched mine.
ReplyDelete“You killed him,” I accused, still at a whisper.
“What was that?” Kari teased, cupping her hand over her ear.
“You killed him!” I screamed, running at her with a bloody sword outstretched from my arm.
“She does get it!” my old friend praised.
Before I reached her, she clawed open her arm with her sharp nails and a blade emerged, identical to mine. When I got to her she caught my arm and turned me around. Her blade was at my throat, ready to cut.
“W-Why?” I struggled.
“Why? Don’t make me laugh! You know why!”
“Why…Kari?”
She let go. When I turned around her head was bowing down, her long brown hair fell over her eyes.
“You took away my happiness so I took away yours,” she mumbled. Then her head snapped up. Her eyes were wide and wild. The creepy smile was back only this time her teeth were showing. “Now I’m gonna take your life!”
She lunged at me but she was open for my simple attack. When she got to me I sliced her, starting at the shoulder and ending at the hips.
Her smile faded but her eyes were still wide. Her knees gave and then she collapsed.
“We were never…friends,” she mumbled through dying breaths.
“No. We were always friends.” She looked up at me. “I will never forget you, Kari Michels.”
Her smile came back as she closed her eyes. “See ya around…Am…bers”
A few days later, police found out about Blood Works and rescued all of the Blood Bound. I never saw any of them again. And I never got a chance to say goodbye to Robin.
“Oh my god!” I heard my sister, Lindsey shouting from downstairs. “This has to be a joke! This can’t be real!”
ReplyDeleteI groaned as I finished brushing my hair and gathered my belongings for school. My sister, Lindsey, was a year older than me at sixteen, and she could make a huge deal out of the smallest things. This morning was no exception. As soon as I walked down the stairs, putting weight on each foot, I could see my mother and my sister in front of the television. Lindsey’s face looked extremely shocked, and my mother looked interested in the TV, but not as dramatic as Lindsey.
“What’s going on?” I asked, in an uncaring voice. “Did Lindsey loose her best friend, or did a character on your favorite show just get killed off? Or worse,” I made my voice sound mock dramatic. “The weather report says it’s raining and...”
“Julia, can you just shut your mouth?” Lindsey said, disgusted. “You are so insensitive! If you want to know what’s going on, look at the TV yourself!” Then she raced to the bathroom and slammed the door. When I looked the screen, it was currently showing the weather report which I couldn’t care less about, and there was nothing worth crying about.
“What was that all about?” I asked, disgusted.
“Your sister is having a breakdown because Karen Carpenter just died.”
That explained it all. There was nothing more annoying and ridiculous as Lindsey’s obsession with Karen Carpenter. She had every Carpenters album, and my parents and I had to hear them every day. She hogged the TV whenever the Carpenters were on whether it was the Tonight show, or when they had a special. Nobody could use it until the show was over. We had to put up with her saying how “Karen lost so much weight, she looks terrible.” You would think that they were best friends or sisters.
“That girl needs help,” I replied. “Why does she even care? I don’t care because I never knew the woman!”
“I know,” my mother said with a sigh. “It was very tragic, but...”
“If you’re going to break down about a famous singer’s death,” I interupted. “make it John Lennon’s death! He at least wrote songs and didn’t pity himself. I bet he didn’t die in clothes that were size negative two.” I laughed.
“Ok, now you’re taking it too far,” my mother warned. “Just because you don’t care for a person, doesn’t mean you can make fun of them after they died.”
I disregarded that comment and went to pound on the bathroom door. “You finished with your mental breakdown yet?” I shouted. I could hear the faucet turn off and assumed that Lindsey would open the door, but she didn’t. I carried on pounding on the door until the door finally swung open, hitting me in the face, and my sister walked out past me. “Somebody’s angry,” I said with a snort.
Lindsey just sighed, and we walked out the door. On the way out, my mother called, “Linds, did you throw up? I can see it in the toilet right now.” Lindsey moaned and walked out after me, clutching her stomach.
on the way to school. I tried to cheer my sister up by telling dirty jokes, but she wouldn’t crack a smile. As crazy as my life seems, it’s nothing compared to what happened the next few moments
ReplyDeleteOn the way to my locker, I caught up with Josephine DiLaurentis, my best friend who was the complete opposite of me. You wouldn’t think we’d get along at all, since she was so quiet and sensitive, unlike myself. Nevertheless, we were almost always together.
“Did you hear about Kar...” she started.
“Don’t even mention it,” I groaned. “I had to deal with my sister having a breakdown. She was throwing up over it.”
“Now that’s a bit over the top,” Josephine replied. “I mean, it was very tragic, but I’m not ripping my hair out or throwing up over it.”
“I know,” I said. “And to show I don’t care, I’m just going to make offensive jokes.”
The look on my friend’s face said the she didn’t quite agree with my thinking. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” she warned. “You never know what would happen.”
“right,” I scoffed. “like I’ll be haunted forever if I tell one joke. I think I’ll tell one right now! What is Karen Carpenter’s favorite Jewish...”
“Can you be quiet?” People can hear you, you know,” Josephine said.
My first class of the day was biology, where we all slept through Mr. Skinner’s constant droning. Today though, I wasn’t even going to let that effect me. instead of writing down the little amount of notes I usually write and staring at the clock, I was jotting down jokes and snickering out loud as the jokes went from my mind to the paper. Some of the jokes, I had to admit, were quite stupid, such as “Why couldn’t Karen Carpenter ride the roller coaster? Because the workers at the amusement park were afraid she would go flying out of her seat,” but I believe a lot of them were great.
I was trembling with laughter, when I heard “Julia Dae, is there something funny about protons or electrons?” Shoot! I sat up straight in my seat and stammered, “N-n-no. I’m sorry, I’l pay better attention.”
“You wrote quite a bit,” Mr. Skinner observed, looking at my paper. “Does anyone know how the following has any relation to what we are talking about?” Then, he read out loud, “”Why did Karen Carpenter want to be a muslim? Because she didn’t have to eat on Ramadan.” Now do any of you think that Karen Carpenter and the Islam faith have anything to do with the basic units of matter?”
My face turned tomato red as my classmates snorted. I never felt so foolish in my life. Next time, I had to keep the laughter in, and be less obvious. My eyes drifted towards the clock on the wall. The bell wouldn’t ring for five whole minutes. Even though this scene only lasted ten seconds, it definitely felt like five minutes. Then suddenly, in the midst of the “That’s so horrible,” and “You’re so mean,” from my classmates, an extremely familiar voice spoke directly into my left ear. “You see what happens,” it said. “you tell rude jokes and you get hit right back. That’s Karma for you.”
I felt a cold breeze whoosh past me, and then everything was back to normal again. Mr. Skinner went on with his droning, and everyone went back to taking notes. I turned to my left to where Aaron Daniels was sitting. “Did you hear anyone mention anything about Karma just now?”
“No,” he replied. “Why would anyone say anything about Karma?” I just shrugged, turned back to the chalkboard and sat up straight. I was starting to think that maybe I was crazier than Lindsey, but I swore I heard that voice, and I knew I could hear that voice from a mile away. I heard it about a thousand times on the television when I walked past the living room, and I heard it constantly on the record player Lindsey and I shared. Yep, you guessed it, it sounded just like Karen Carpenter. If I wasn’t crazy, then I was going to show her that I couldn’t care less about what she said. I was going to continue being myself and telling offensive jokes, and she just had to deal with it and quit the pity party. What else was I supposed to do, cower just because I might possibly have a ghost attached to me? Absolutely not. I would just continue going on with my crazy life.
ReplyDeleteWhen I walked through the school hallways, I kept on feeling as though there were someone following me constantly. I was always turning my head this way and that, but I saw nobody. There. People were bumping into me, and I had to continuously utter “sorry,” and “excuse me.” No matter how much I tried to shrug it off, I couldn’t get rid of that uneasy feeling. It was still there even when I went home. It didn’t help at all to hear the Carpenters’ up-beat version of “It’s going to take some time” on full blast while I was trying to concentrate on my homework.
“Linds,” I shouted. “could you turn that down? I’m begging you!”
“No use trying,” my mother said with a sigh. “You know she’s going to be playing it all night, and it’s all she’ll be listening to for a while. I’d get used to it if I were you.” As the song faded and changed to “Good-bye to love,” the most pathetic song I’ve ever heard, I raced upstairs to the room my sister and I shared. I swung the door open to see Lindsey on her bed with papers and notebooks all over the place.
“I’ll say good-bye to love,” I cooed dramatically. “There are no tomorrows for this heart of mine, so I’m just going to whither away. No use eating... I’m just waiting for...”
“Can’t you see I’m trying to get some work done?” Lindsey said, clearly irritated. “And stop making fun of Karen.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I replied. “I’ll leave you to your mourning; I forgot how dear she was to you.”
As I turned to leave the room, my sister went on about how she had gotten over the whole thing, and it just annoyed her that I was making rude jokes. Just then, she turned the music off. “Did the shower just turn on?” she asked, bewilderment in her voice.
Sure enough, the water was clearly audible coming out of the shower head. Our father was still at work, and our mother was downstairs reading a book. There was no one else in the house. Perfect, I thought. First she was at school, and now she’s in our shower. I ran over to the bathroom, where I could see that the door was still open. Lindsey was a few steps after me, and we both peeked in. There was nobody in the shower, but we were both hesitant to go in and turn the shower off, afraid that something might happen if we did. We didn’t have to though, because in a matter of seconds, it was turned off. Lindsey and I just stood there, gaping and holding onto one another. When I finally recovered from shock, I told Lindsey about the incident in biology class, and the uneasy feeling I had all day. “Do you think that this shower incident could be related to what you just told me about?” she asked, excitedly.
“God I hope not,” I said. From somewhere in the house, I heard a snort mixed with a giggle. Lindsey and I both jumped, gasping, “Oh my god,” and “No, this can’t be happening.” Holding on even tighter to each other, we ran downstairs squealing like we were being chased. My mother had put her book down and was heading towards the stairs.
“Are you two ok?” she asked. “I thought I heard the shower turn on and then someone laughing. Was I hearing things?”
“No,” I answered right away. “you heard perfectly fine.”
Later, when my father was home and we were eating dinner, I felt that uncomfortable presence again. It was unusually cold in the kitchen, I couldn’t eat, or even move my arms to pick up my fork and knife. Everyone asked me whether or not I was ok, and I just shrugged and put on a smile. “Just had a long day,” I sighed. While my family was engaging in conversation about work or whatever they usually talk about, I slumped down and everything seemed to fade out.
ReplyDeleteI was walking in a field of some sort, not knowing where I was or what I was doing. All was quiet, and all was still. I looked at my surroundings and saw a number of headstones covered with flowers. What was I doing here? How did I even end up here? Was there something I needed to do? I kept on walking, slowly at first, but then I began to speed up. I felt the need to run away, to where I didn’t know, but I just wanted to leave. My legs were like weights as I ran, and the seemed to become more and more heavy at every step. Finally, my legs gave out and I collapsed onto one of the headstones. All the wind was knocked out of me, and my limbs could no longer move. There was a horrible scraping sound from under the ground followed by that same giggle Lindsey and I had heard, and before I knew it, I was falling through a hole where the stone had been.
Someone was pulling me by the wrists, downward until I finally hit solid ground again. My eyelids were too heavy to lift, therefore I couldn’t see a thing. I could only feel a small, fragile and boney hand around each of my wrists, and there was the stench of rotting flesh. My stomach churned and I let out a loud gag. A stream of vomit poured out of my mouth, which made the stench even worse. I could smell and taste blood, sweat, and what I thought was tears.
ReplyDeleteThe corpse leaned in so close to me that its face was only a few inches away from mine. “If you ever,” it hissed, and I could tell it was a woman. “ever, tell another joke about my death, consider yourself dead.” Another stream of vomit went down my chin and onto the ground. My throat closed, and tears streamed down my face. “You don’t know how much I went through,” the corpse whaled. This time, she didn’t sound ominous, but she sounded extremely hurt. “to finally leave this life, only to have you laugh about it? It’s really hurtful you know! Singers have feelings too!” She was sobbing harder than I’ve ever heard anyone sob before. For the first time in a long time, I just wanted to comfort her, but I was to shaky to even move.
I tried to speak, but the only thing that could escape was a croak. I wanted to tell her how horrible and sorry I felt, and how she might as well just kill me right now, but I couldn’t. I could only just listen to her sobs and start crying myself. Normally, I would scoff and say something like, “Quit feeling sorry for yourself, and go on with your life for crying out loud,” but something seemed to change in me. This state of pain was nothing to take pleasure in. Part of me wanted to stay here with her, but another part of me felt the desire to leave this grave. I wanted to go home, be tucked into bed and told that everything was all right. Gasping for air, I slowly came back to my senses. When I found my words, my voice was very hoarse, and it was still hard for me to breathe. “Y-y-you -do-don’t know,” I managed to let out. “how h-h-horrible I fe-e-el, r-r-right now!” I felt like the world’s biggest fool begging for forgiveness like this. “I’m s-s-so so s-s-sor-r-ry! P-p-pl-lease just k-k-kill me!
“I’m not going to kill you!” the corpse shouted back.
” From a distance, I heard a scream, and then more people shouting my name. I shouted back, and the shouting became closer and closer.
The next thing I knew, I was lying on the kitchen floor at my house. My parents and sister were all kneeling around me on the floor. “What just happened?” I moaned. I still felt extremely light-headed, but I could move my limbs again. I stretched my arms and legs, which felt like they had never moved before.
My family were all talking at the same time. It was difficult to keep up, but I did catch a few things. “You just passed out!” “I was going to call 911!” “What’s that smell?”
That last one really caught my attention. “What smell? I asked. I didn’t even have to ask though. As soon as I asked that, my nose was hit with the stench of rotting flesh, vomit and blood.
You have a very distinct and authoritative voice as a writer. I like your work very much.
DeleteThe reservoir lay at the foot of a beautifully wooded hill. It was a dark day, the sun was unable to break free of its prison in the clouds and a brisk wind blew through the valley, rippling the sleek grey surface of the water. His grandmother had lived in that valley once. When she was a girl there had been a sleepy little town. When she was fourteen the townspeople had been evicted and the valley was flooded to create the reservoir. As a child she had told him how all the houses and buildings that had once made up the town still stood, deep underneath the water. She would bring him there and show him the placement of her home and the church she had gone to every Sunday. Now that he was an old man himself, the valley held memories of a very different kind. Standing there brought them rushing back to him.
ReplyDeleteHe recalled the last time he had stood in that spot. It was a rainy night and the walk to the water’s edge had been a treacherous one. Especially in handcuffs. The water had been as black as he had ever seen it, illuminated every now and then by the flashlights of the detectives who escorted him.
And when they reached the muddy embankment he had stopped. “This is it,” he muttered. It was the place where, sometime before, he had dragged the lifeless body of his fiancée under the cover of night. He had weighed her down with rocks and left her to be engulfed by the murky waters.
When he thought of her he thought of the fliers that had been scattered throughout the town. They read ‘MISSING’ in bold letters above a portrait of her pleasant, smiling face. People whispered amongst themselves, sharing rumors about what had happened to the new teacher’s wife to be. There were a hundred different versions of the story making their rounds through the local housewives. There was the story he told the police, a tale of a lovers’ spat that took a violent turn for the worst.
And then there was the truth. This was the story he never told anyone. It was the story of a beautiful girl. A girl who had wandered into his classroom on the first day of school and hadn’t left his mind since that day. He could still see her, all those years later. The way her eyes shimmered in the sunlight and her skin glowed. Her lips were always red, like she had spent the day eating berries, and they parted into the most brilliant smile he had ever seen. But beneath her angelic exterior she was wicked and cruel.
In class, he could barely take his eyes off of her. He found himself trailing, rambling when she was sitting there in the front row. It scared him, the way he felt. He knew that it was wrong, for a hundred reasons. He was engaged. She was a student, not to mention, a sixteen year old student.
He could recall the first time they were alone. It was late afternoon, after school had ended. The class room smelt of chalk and he could see specks of dust floating to the ground, illuminated by the sunlight. He sat at his desk watching her examine his picture frames out of the corner of his eye. And when she asked if the woman in the photograph was his wife he answered too quickly, “My fiancée. She’s my fiancée.”
She fixed him with a look that he could not interpret, “Well, she’s very beautiful. You’re a lucky man.” She left the room and as he watched her go he resigned himself to the fact that as much as he wanted her, he could never have her. It was wrong. So, following that afternoon he tried to extinguish the feelings he held for her. There were little things, though, that she said or did that made it hard for him.
One crisp day in late October, when he thought he had finally put those desires to rest, who had he run into but that beautiful girl? A white scarf was wrapped around her neck and her cheeks were rosy from the cold. They walked together, her laugh pierced the still air, and everything he thought he had forgotten came rushing back. That was the day she touched his arm with her hands, smooth as silk. That was the day she leaned into him and kissed his lips. That was the day he found himself tangled in his blue cotton sheets with her. Most importantly, that was the day, as he watched her redress, he felt his stomach sink because he knew that from that moment nothing would ever be the same.
ReplyDeleteHis feelings following that day troubled him. He had been so sure that his fiancée was the love of his life, that he felt about her a way he would never feel about anyone else. Yet every time he touched this girl he found himself questioning his love. He felt more passionately about her than he had about anything in his life. He was very much in love with her, or so he thought. Very much in lust with her seemed a more appropriate term however. Despite these realizations he was constantly pushing how he would deal with the situation to the back of his mind.
All the while, he was slowly becoming aware that there was more to her than met the eye. She was more than a pretty face, there was something about her that was almost frightening to him. Little things that she said or did that scared him. Sometimes she would smile and he swore she could have been some evil story book queen. So shockingly beautiful and so malicious at the same time.
Once, as she lounged on his couch she lit a cigarette between her lips. “You shouldn’t smoke,” he warned after she had exhaled slowly. She was surrounded by a cloud of smoke, her face just visible through the pale grey wisps. The way she looked at him was as if she could see right through him. It was as if she knew every morally questionable thing he had done in his life and the way her eyes were narrowed he felt that she was daring him to speak again. He did not and as the smoke disappeared she smiled a cruel smile.
Even as he began to see her for who she truly was he could not let her go. She was like a poison coursing through his veins, but a poison that kept him alive, it was something that was vital to his survival. Without her, he was sure he could not go on.
The poison began to seep, slowly but surely, into his mind. He was possessed by his love for her. He dreamed night and day about being with her, only her. This frightened him. Nobody could know, he had promised himself that from the beginning. He had always told himself that there was too much to lose, that no matter how he felt about her nobody could know about them. But his mind was clouded and he found himself in a permanent daze where things that had once mattered no longer did.
The thought of his engagement made him sick. He needed a way out, he couldn’t carry on. He found that to be complicated though. More specifically, he found himself to be a coward. How did one break an engagement? Wouldn’t he need to reveal the reason behind his decision? That was the one thing he could not risk.
He could feel himself deteriorating. The poison which had once kept him alive was beginning to eat away at him. He could feel it, he could feel himself going insane. Yet he did nothing. He said nothing. And then one evening while he cooked dinner for his fiancée, almost as if a trance, he found himself dumping the household cleaner he kept under the sink into the pot. It was that same night that he drove to the reservoir with her body in his trunk.
He felt as if a weight had been lifted off of him. But the poison was still there, lurking underneath the surface. It convinced him that what he did was not wrong. Days passed by and he denied any knowledge of her whereabouts.
ReplyDelete“Shouldn’t you be more worried about her? Your fiancée?” The girl asked him as she fixed her makeup in his bathroom mirror.
“I don’t have to worry I know exactly where she is,” He responded. He could see her reflection in the mirror and he watched as her eyebrow rose in questioning manner. “She’s at the bottom of the reservoir.”
The girl paused but her face did not change, “Why?”
“Because I love you,” she turned her head slowly, her expression still stony. After a moment she narrowed her eyes as if looking for some proof of all he had just told her in his face.
“You love me?” Her voice was laced with malice and she returned her attention to her mascara. He felt his heart drop, suddenly he was desperate. His head seemed to clear and every horrible thing he had done in the past months seemed to register with him in that moment when he realized she did not love him back.
“I did this so we could be together!” His voice shook with fear. Her lips parted into that smile and he could see the devil behind it. It was clearer than ever. The gravity of what he had done began to weigh down on him, heavier and heavier, as she dropped her makeup into her bag and walked out of the apartment without saying a word to him. She didn’t need to.
That was the last time he had seen her, he reminisced as he stood at the water’s edge. He had confessed the murder to the police, he had served his time. Yet, somehow some small amount of her poison still remained in him. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but it was still there. Its venomous grip still seemed to hold a part of him, driving him crazy. It would always be there. So he filled his pockets with rocks and waded into the reservoir to be engulfed by the murky waters.
Well-written, except for the lack of commas in places.
DeleteBeing a survivor of an invasion was not exactly fun, especially when you have to protect someone at all cost. I am the knight for the princess in the castle of Basloria. I am a girl, but my skills definitely match those of the men. My family is full of knights, generals, and spies. Traditionally, my older brother, Lucas, should have been assigned to be the knight for Princess Kayzula; however, he was injured at the time and could not attend; therefore, making me, his only sister, attended it for him. I was the person who swore her loyalty to the princess, so I involuntarily became her knight. Don’t misunderstand me though; Princess Kayzula was a great person. I just didn’t like my job. My dream used to be traveling around the country helping countless people, not being bound to one person for the rest of my life.
ReplyDeleteThe invasion happened three days ago. The neighboring country, Rushasita, attacked at night with fire without any signs or warnings. We didn’t even have any idea as to how they entered Basloria. I assumed there was a spy, but I had no suspect or any proof.
I was escaping with the princess to our allied nation, Grudiam, for help to restore the rightful royal ruler to Basloria, when I received a message from my parents, who were the sworn knights to the king and queen, that they are in a town in Vintas, which is a small protectorate of Grudiam located between Basloria and Grudiam. Grudiam has been our allied country for over five hundred years. In addition to that, my aunt married their king. If we seek their help, we could have a chance of restoring the royal family. I and Kayzula are heading there right now, but we are lost in the forest. We’ve been stuck here for more than an hour already, and kept on returning to the same place over and over again. After our tenth return to the place, we decided to take a break and kept walking. We sat by a big rock and I was going to get some water when I noticed the hopping rabbit.
The rabbit was jumping with his eyes closed. When it got too close to a tree, I was going to stop it, but he jumped right through the tree and continued on. I placed my hand on the tree and pushed forward. My hand went through the tree, like I was touching air.
“Kay! Come look at this!” I exclaimed.
“What is it Lora?” Kayzula asked as she came over to me and I showed her how my hand went through the tree, “What in the world…”
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DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI don’t know how to explain it but when something like this happens we all tend to shrivel up into a little ball and wish it didn’t happen. Unfortunately, for one person it was all too real. That person was me and it did happen to me.
ReplyDeleteBut for a person in my position I could not simply look on and do nothing. As part of an elite force such as the NYPD I could not watch such a horrific scene right in front of my eyes and let it simply unfold itself. I had to do something, but what happened in the end, I did not want.
After this traumatic event a person tends to think about what they could have done to get out of the way of this horrible, inevitable end. You think back to what you had for breakfast. Maybe if you had gone out to eat instead of having cereal would your day’s outcome been any different? If I had gotten stuck in traffic on the way to the precinct would they have sent another officer out to the dreadful call I had to go to?
All I had to do was do one thing differently that day and the outcome could have been drastically different. But I hadn’t done anything differently. I still ate breakfast at home and I wasn’t late to work and I was told to pursue that call. But I was just doing my job. However, today my job was difficult and cruel. Today, my job was the hardest one on the planet.
8:45 in the morning. I clocked in. 15 minutes early but it’s late for most cops. I sit down at my desk, still groggy and sluggish from getting up this morning. But I was awakened quickly and most importantly by my captain.
“Car accident on forty-second street. Jim, you’re on it.” Normally I would be incensed by this type of assignment, but because of my very slow morning, I was happy to go along with his request.
I got there and it was less than dramatic. The two people involved in this accident were less than thrilled to be in this predicament. It was the same as always. The taxi driver who had to get his passenger to where he had to go went a little too fast at the wrong time and crash. Then I am called to pick up the pieces and take both parties’ statements. The end result being that both people are lying about what happened in order to get a pay out from the other. And this is why it can be frustrating to be a police officer. You are told that you are protecting society in a way that is honorable but it all boils down to you being called to a traffic accident in the middle of the day.
But that was not the only call I had that day. There was another call, slightly more serious. When, as a cop, you get these calls your first reaction is something like an adrenaline rush. What is happening? How many people are there? Do they have guns? But once you get there you think about exactly what has to be done. You don’t think about your training because by this time in your career it is fully engrained into your mind.
There was a drunk and disorderly man on the tenth floor of a building. Not an unusual thing in the “greatest city in the world.” The call said he was going around to each door banging on it for them to open up and give him his son back. The man was recently divorced and the mother took the child with her.
I arrived and that was exactly what was happening. I initially took the peaceful route.
ReplyDelete“Please come downstairs with me sir and we will get this sorted out.”
He responded, “No way. Not until I get my son back.”
“Sir, your son is not here. He is with your ex-wife. You got divorced remember?” I was still a bit slow in thinking. This was not the smartest thing to say. Instead of responding peacefully like last time, he charged at me. Left the bottle of Jack Daniel’s sprawling on the ground behind him. However, this did not worry me because he was a small middle aged man while I was a trained New York City police officer; the best in the world.
I quickly restrained him in handcuffs and brought him downstairs to my car to take him back to the precinct. On the way he would not stop talking about his wife and how he stilled loved her but she no longer cared. It made me think about what he did in that building. Was it really that crazy? Was his reaction really that absurd to react like that to losing the two people in his life that mattered most to him? I had to put it out of my mind, because the more you think about things like that, the more you tend to relive it in your own lives.
The sad part of this all is that this stunt he pulled will only earn him a night in jail. Going around and banging on people’s doors for hours crying out for his lost son, who wasn’t really lost. It makes a person like me wonder what justice there actually is in arresting a man for such a short amount of time for such an offense.
Even this incident was nothing compared to what I had to face later on in the day. For by the end of the day I would be pushed to my limit and I would be pushed to my breaking point as a police officer.
It started after I had already brought the drunken man to the precinct for the remainder of the day and the rest of the night. I had finished and got back into my squad car, ready to go defend the peace for the rest of the day. At around five o’clock, almost the end of shift, I heard on the radio, “Armed robbery on first and cherry street.” Two blocks away from my current location. “Any available units respond.”
This was the call that would eventually change the way I viewed myself, my job and the world. I responded immediately and it was exactly as the dispatcher had described. Armed robbery. There was a single man with a gun pointed at the man at the cash register. His hands were up and he was scared out of his mind. But then again, so was I. The man with the gun looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks; a clear sign that he was honestly desperate and this was his way of solving whatever problem he had.
“Take it easy.” I stated hopefully. “This is not what you want to do.” It was obvious this is what he wanted to do.
“I will shoot this man.” However, when he said that, his gun shifted towards me. I didn’t have my gun pulled because I thought moving in with my gun pulled would only spark his thoughts to shoot me on arrival. In hindsight, I should not have barged in there this quickly.
My heart rate was at an all-time high at that moment and my confidence would have to be through the roof if I was to get out of this with both my life and the cash register man’s life.
“I never wanted to do this.” He said. “I never asked to be in this position. It is not my fault I am here.”
“I know. But this is not the way you have to do things. This is not the only way out of whatever you have gotten into.” This is the only thing I think of to try and calm him down.
“I didn’t get myself into anything. This is his fault. He fired me and everything crumbled. I lost my family, my car, and even my dog ran away.” This was the terrible trend of the day.
ReplyDelete“That may be so but it is no reason to go out to do things like this. This man has nothing to do with that so I think you should put your gun down and come with me so we can work this out.” At this point he was switching his gun back and forth between me and the cash register man.
“I’m not going anywhere with you. I know that only ends with my arrest. I may be desperate but I’m not stupid.” He exclaimed with the upmost honesty.
But after he said that I had nothing else to say. It was all up to him at this point. That was not a good thing and he had made up his mind about what he wanted to do now. He was not going quietly.
He then reached for the trigger and fired. Not at me but at the man at the register. The man dropped and I reached for my gun and fired twice, both shots hitting their marks.
He was dead. It only took a few seconds but to me it felt like years. The man at the register was shot through the arm and I was in shock. I killed a man. It was the first time I had ever used my weapon in the field. I immediately felt a rush of blood to my head and unfortunately a rush of something else as I emptied my stomach onto the floor. This was all too real, but all too similar to the drunken man from earlier today. A man distraught due to his own emotionally injury that was completely out of control and driven to do unspeakable damage.
So as I sat there and waited for the other units to arrive, I looked at the man I had just shot. He was alive no more than five minutes ago and I had ended him as a human being. This made me wonder, what kind of justice is this.
Excellent job. Love this story.
DeleteApril 25th , 2011
ReplyDeleteDear journal,
This was the worst day of my life. It went a little like this.
“Why would you do this to me Maria? After everything that I’ve done for you? And everything that I did, I loved you. I still love you. “
“Things have changed, I changed. I can’t keep this going John, I can’t keep lying to you. It was fun while it lasted but Matt is different. He is everything I ever wanted and I love him.”
In that moment I didn’t know what to say. My heart just stopped and sank. I could literally feel my chest ache. All of the memories I had with her were rushing through my mind at once from the moment we met up to this. It’s hard to see the one you love leave with someone else. It’s almost as if they never cared or loved you. Seeing her leave was the hardest thing I have ever encountered. I’m going to miss those blue eyes that glistened every time I looked in them. I’m going to miss her smile; her smile would make anyone smile. She left with a part of me. She took all that I had to give, and I’m not getting in back. But I don’t want it back, I just want her back. I know I’m just writing to a journal but I feel like this is the only way I can deal with this. But dealing with this will take time. You lie in bed and just stare at the ceiling and look to your side and see if she’s there where she used to be. The worst part is the memories. The memories will just mess with your head. One second you’re outside walking then you see a glimpse of what you thought was her, but it was someone else. I try and pretend that everything is fine but I just lie and fake a smile to get by. Everywhere I go I’m reminded of her. I hear a similar laugh and I try to hold back my tears. I had to go talk to my friend Drew.
May 17th, 2012
Dear Journal,
It’s been a little over a year since the breakup. I still miss her.
“I don’t think I can keep this up man.”
“What are you talking about? Is everything okay?”
“It’s Maria, can’t stop thinking about her! She’s everywhere! I just can’t keep going on, I’m done.”
“No dude, just think clearly for a second. She cheated on you with some scumbag. She told you she loved you but she never did! She screwed you over. I think it’s time to get over her. I mean a year is enough John.”
“You don’t understand Drew, she did love me. I think she still does.”
“You think she still does? Oh god, dude just think about it. You need to get over her. Start talking to another girl.”
ReplyDelete“Maybe.”
“Okay good. Will you be okay?”
“Yea, I’ll be fine. Thanks.”
I kept thinking about what Drew said. “She told you she loved you but she never did. She cheated on you...” It was like a broken record. Could he be right about her? Could she not love me anymore? Did our 3 year relationship mean nothing to her? Maybe I should talk to other girls.
Dear Journal,
It’s October now and my friend Jasmine came to visit me so we can go get something to eat but I broke my leg so she brought me food. I opened the door and I saw a beautiful stranger next to her. Alyson. She was something different. I didn’t talk to her that much but all I know is that I wanted to get to know her more.
Dear Journal,
I can’t stop thinking about her. Is there something wrong me? I can’t seem to fathom how wonderful she is. I started talking to her a couple days ago and it went well. I found her at a football game I went to a couple towns over; I formally introduced myself since I really couldn’t when I first met her. She’s really funny and outgoing, and she has a wonderful smile that just makes me melt. And her hair is so beautiful and dark brown. It makes me feel all warm inside. I don’t think I’ve felt like this since Maria. I finally feel at peace.
We had our first date. It was amazing. I took her apple picking, and then went to a fancy restaurant. Let me tell you, she looked fantastic. She looked like a princess, and the way her eyes popped that night. I think I feel something strong for this girl. She told me everything about herself. She told me how her dad left her and her mother when they were younger and how she had really bad relationships in the past. She never really trusted anyone besides her best friend and her mom. I then told her everything about Maria. She was shocked that I loved her even after the break up. Then I started questioning why I did that. I asked myself why I still loved her after a year she broke me into pieces. Why couldn’t I just get over her? But Alyson is changing that. I really like this girl, she’s changing my world. She’s teaching me basically how to love again.
Dear Journal,
ReplyDeleteAlyson and I are going out. I asked her on November 3rd. I couldn’t be happier right now. She opened my eyes to the world. She’s the only thing I think about in the morning and when I go to sleep at night. This feeling is familiar but friendlier than what I’m used to. All I know is that I don’t want to lose her.
There has been a little problem with her mom. She doesn’t seem to trust me.
“Babe, why does your mom hate me?”
“Hun, she doesn’t hate you she just doesn’t trust you.”
“…well how can I change that?”
“Just give it time okay? So I have something to tell you”
In that moment I hoped it wasn’t anything bad. I got chills but I didn’t know if that was me or the cool winter breeze brushing up against me.
“What is it?”
“Maria called me.”
“What... Are you kidding me? What did she say?”
“She basically threatened me and said that I should stay away from you because you belong to her and she will ‘take care’ of me if I keep seeing you. Crazy right?”
“Yea a bit psychotic. Why would she say that, she has her own boyfriend, umm Matt?”
“Yea, according to her they broke up months ago. It looks like she wants you back.”
“No that’s never going to happen. I promise you Ally, it’ll never happen.”
“Okay good. I love you.”
“Love you too.”
I couldn’t believe it! How dare she call Alyson and threaten her?! This is unbelievable. It’s one thing to be jealous but to threaten someone like that? But I can’t believe she wants me back. I’m so confused and I don’t know what to do right now. I love Alyson, but Maria was my love for three years. I can’t let this confusion cloud my judgment over this situation. In that moment my phone rings with a strange number.
“Hello?”
“John? It’s Alyson’s mom.”
“Um hi Mrs. M how are you?”
ReplyDelete“Not too good, Ally is in the hospital, she’s in a coma.”
My mind rushed with every single possibility that could have happened. I knew deep down what could have happened.
“What?! Where are you guys? What happened?”
“She was in a car accident. Apparently, the driver was a girl named Maria. She’s in custody now for purposely causing the accident.”
I couldn’t believe what she just told me. Maria caused this to my Ally. She caused so much harm to my life. I can’t have her cause harm to her life. Maria will no longer control my life. It’s over. I am planning to do something unspeakable. But I know no one will read this anyway. I stopped by the hospital and said my last goodbyes to my love.
“Ally, I love you so much. I’m so sorry I caused all of this. Goodbye sweetie.”
I went over to Marias house. This road is full of bad memories; it’s full of fake laughs and smiles. Everything that happened between Maria and I wasn’t true. She’s dead to me.
I drive up to her house and I see that her car is there. I knock on the door.
“Hey John.”
She had a worried smile upon her face.
“How DARE YOU! How can you do this to me! You screwed up my life and you want to screw up Alysons life too?!
“I’m doing this because I love you.”
“You’re disgusting; I hope you rot in hell!”
I drove my knife right into her heart. I was so angry and had to take out revenge on this hideous monster. I didn’t care what was going to happen to me. All I know is that she’s gone and can no longer hurt me or Alyson. I felt a rush of relief, like a ton of bricks were off my shoulders. The monster is gone and I can finally live in peace.
High drama!
DeleteHave you ever had a best friend who tried to keep a secret from you? Then you find the secret out and don’t know how to approach them? Well that’s what happened to me, I just don’t know why she lied about something, that everybody found out about anyway. My name is Marissa and my best friend’s name is Kyleigh. Now before I start, let me tell you about the relationship I have with Kyleigh. She’s been my best friend since the second grade, we are now juniors in North Ridge High School. We tell each other everything. Well in this case, we told each other everything. She’s the only person I trust with knowing whatever there is to know about me, it sucks to know that she doesn’t feel the same way anymore.
ReplyDeleteIt all started last week, when she found out Jake Williams wanted her number. Jake is a senior in our school and from my understanding not the type of boy you want to associate with. This boy has almost dated every girl in the senior and junior classes. He’s the star football player, brown hair, tall, and all the girls love him. Kyleigh and I always talked about how we would never give him the time of day, now look. My best friend was changing before my eyes.
“ Marissa, so I heard that Jake wants my number! “ Kyleigh yelled as she saw me walking home from school Tuesday afternoon.
“ Who? Jake who?“ I asked her in a confused tone, stopping in mid-step.
“ Jake, Jake. You know Jake Williams, star football player. “ she responded with a huge smile on her face.
She couldn’t be serious. She can’t really be thinking about giving him a chance.
“ Oh, cool. “ I said.
“ You don’t seem very excited for me, aren’t you happy for me Rissa? “ she asked, her smile fading away.
“ Honestly, I thought we said last year that neither of us would talk to him after we heard about what he did to Lea. “ I responded in a calm tone, as I began walking again.
“ Well, I mean yea we did say that, but that was before he actually wanted my number! Anyways, I told Amber to tell Marie, to tell Jessica, to give Jake my number. He’s supposed to be texting me later! “ She screamed happily.
“ Good luck.” I said with a slight attitude.
“ Wow, I don’t have time for your sarcastic attitude, so I will talk to you later.” She said as she turned around and began walking the other way, in the direction of her house.
I mean I didn’t know if I should be happy for her, would you? She knows everything there is to know about Jake, yet she still wants to give him a chance? I’m not saying my best friend isn’t good enough, but I know he will hurt her. I guess she’s just living for the moment, I’ll talk to her tomorrow though.
So when I got home, I decided to do some creeping. I logged onto Twitter and looked at Kyleigh’s tweets first. Her last tweet was like five minutes before I had logged on. She was out of her mind. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. She was tweeting things like, “I would have never thought #Oomf wanted my number!!!” For those of you who don’t know, #Oomf stands for one of my followers. Another one of her tweets read, “My life right NOW!>>>”. Kyleigh was sprung already and I don’t think he even texted her yet. Could she look any more desperate? I know I might sound jealous, but I’m really not. Then I searched Jake’s “@ name “, but I couldn’t find him. I went back to Kyleigh’s profile and realized she had retweeted about six of his tweets. So, I clicked on him and was praying his tweets weren’t private. First off, his bio read “Single, NOT looking, but I WILL take her from you! “
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of girl would want to talk to somebody like him? All of tweets were talking to other girls, talking about music, and just overall disrespectful to women altogether. I just don’t get what my best friend sees in this jerk.
“So, did Jake ever text you?” I asked Kyleigh the next day in school.
“Why do you care? You weren’t too interested in it yesterday.” She responded in a cruel tone.
“You’re my best friend and I love you. I might not always agree with the choices you make, but I’ll always be there for you.” I said to her.
“ Well, I love you too and yeah he texted me, but it wasn’t anything serious. “ Kyleigh said, a slight smile creeping across her face.
“ What did he say exactly?” I asked her.
“RINGGGG!” We were cut short by the first period bell.
As I began walking to class, about seven people were whispering and giving me a weird vibe. When I walked into my English class, everybody was looking at me and the class became really silent. What was going on? Did something happen that I didn’t know about? After class, I walked to the bathroom and Kyleigh was there brushing her long brown hair.
“So far, today has been really odd.” I said when I approached my best friend at the mirror.
“What happened?”She responded to me, not breaking her concentration on her hair.
“I don’t even know, when you walked away this morning everyone was whispering was staring at me. I don’t know what’s going on.” I said, confused.
“That’s strange, well bye!” Kyleigh yelled, as she threw her brush into her bag and walked out of the bathroom.
Okay, at that point I was convinced that something had happened and Kyleigh knew exactly what it was. I left the bathroom and walked out into the hallway. As I began walking down the hallway, I overheard Jake and his friend Louis talking.
It all began with a crazy dream, a dream to jump high as the crowed cheers for me, a dream to score that winning shot or even to land a nice dunk on someone that everyone looked up too, But well my dream is no were near it the closes I am right now is being part of the elite team in middle school that is know all around the east coast as the shrunk middle school elite. Well sure we have and undefeated record since we all join the team in 4th grade and even though we got 3 new players since then I’ve still yet to make a shot in the hoop , In this team I’m liked because of my speed in passing the ball and not in a point guard kind of a way, see when they decide to past me the ball it does not stay in my hand longer than 1 second as if im a wall im use to bounce a ball back to someone but instead back to the same person I bounce it back to another player in a speed never seen around here and that’s what makes me special in this team and I have gotten used to being use for that.
ReplyDeleteThe last game on my 8th grade is tomorrow and im hoping to score I have not told anyone about it but I have the courage to do it. As the next day arrived we come to school well dress as a respect to the other team but our team really does not care to respect the other team we just do it because coach makes us do it or we won’t play which is not true but he does that to scare us. The team is consisted of 12 players and the 5 starters including me are jones who’s a really good shooter he’s the best on the team as far as I know I kind of look up to him since he’s such a good shooter he tells me it’s just his lucky day meaning every game day is his lucky day… honestly he even tells me he listen to his horoscopes to see if it’s a lucky day or not and he always wear some lucky shoes and sock he even wear a four leaf clover as a necklace well anyways the next one is Antuwan he’s really good in the paint and with his high of 6’2 he’s really unstoppable and he’s handles are on point too but the point guard position is given to Ty well we call him Ty but he’s handles are super good and he gives the team a lot of spirit then there is me witch is nothing special just the way I pass the ball and the last person is Ray he’s the most cocky player on the team but he has a reason to his skill are beyond anyone in the team he was dunking in his AAU team back when we were in 6th grade and even though he’s doesn’t do it as much in games it’s still amazing for a 5’8 player and about the scoring… well everyone gets more than 15 points per game but me but that’s nothing special sometimes everyone makes bet who’s going to score the most and that’s when we really trash the other team. As we head to the game we all start talking about what high school we are planning to go since we all got many request from many high school we all decided that we would
ReplyDeletedominate in high school basketball so we decided to go our splits way to see who of the 5 starters would win during out high school years. As we enter the opponents gym we come across their best player his name was Jon he comes from new York and he’s well known for his skills but we showed him no fear he approaches me and bumps his shoulder into mine and since I’m just not much of a talker Ty sows up to back me up
ReplyDelete“Chill out Jon we come here to ball” Ty says to Jon
“Shut up” Jon reply’s
ReplyDeleteOur coach comes by “is there a problem?” he says
“Nah” we all reply
As we head to our locker room us Ty tells the other the story of what just had happen.
“Come on stop being such a girl “Ray says to me
“…” my reply was silent
“Let him be he’s not a trouble kid like you ray” Ty replies to him too.
As we head out to the court I see Jon staring dead at me as if he’s after me but I quickly just turn and start to practice my passes against the team.
“Hey here give a shot” Ty says to me while we are doing the passing drill in the warm up
He gives me the ball and well it’s not a lot that I get a chance to shot during a warm up I didn’t even shot during practice so I grab the ball go to the three point line and hold my breath look at the rim and shot the ball, the thing is I was never a fan of shooting since my childhood days I would go and see people play at this old half broken gym in this half broken elementary school and I would attempt to shoot but never make it and I would get laughed at by the others and the older folks there so I just would pass the ball to my former team who would always be a group of kids my age just waiting to get our time in the court so I ended up just constantly passing that I got used to it. By the 3rd grade I was passing faster than anyone in my class and by 4th our recreation coach sign me up for basketball and I made the team, although people judge me by saying “he didn’t even do anything but pass the ball” I didn’t pay attention but as time went by I became good at I was doing and never look down on myself since being part of the shrunk elite team. The warm up time was over we all got applause by the audience and we step in to start the game, Antuwan with his height is the one jumping for the ball and like normally we got hold of it first Ty moves up the court and passes it to Antuwan and he scores the first two points as the game kept changing leads. It was close to the end of the 3rd quarter and well we weren’t too tired but coach made every started sit and left me on the court. I was the only started on, as I kept doing my thing I pass the ball to Marcus a 5’9 7th grader and he goes for a 3 the misses and the rebound heads my way with a surprise I caught it and it was in my hand for the longest it’s ever been everyone being cover I hear Ty from the bench saying “Shoot it”
And everyone else start to scream do it so I set my self in a shooting position and remember how jones shoots and what he has taught me but never used, holding my breath and looking at the rim I shoot and just like the shot during the warm up I made in. My team start to cheer and I start getting hold on the ball more often and it felt different as if that shot made my hand fall in love with something and again I shot another three, I was amazed just as the crowed was I never knew I could do it, half way through the 4th quarter I had 12 points and the starters were put back on the court I wasn’t tired I told coach to keep me in so I went and was given the ball 4 more times scoring 22 points all together with two shots being inside the three, I never felt so energetic and so happy before. Heading to the bench I think about how this will be the last time I will play with this people that next year I will be playing against them and honestly I’m ready.
But for now I’m going to enjoy the time with these guys and practice all summer to get better and actually not be that quiet kid who just play because of a technique of passing the ball, Well the last day of school came and well we were ready for summer but I still couldn’t believe that after all this years of playing together will be playing against each other, time few by and summer was almost over and ive practice all summer and even got taller, The first day of school cam and I sign up for the fall basketball team well it’s just to practice for the season and well to my surprise there was 3 students from my old team who came here they weren’t starters but all I can say this season will be fun.
“Yeah, she came over last night. Everybody told me she was posting tweets about me, so I texted her. I wasn’t going to at first, but I did.” Jake said to his friend.
ReplyDelete“Really? Oh well, just another one added to the list right?” Louis said to Jake, giving him a high-five.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, it all made sense now. The looks, Kyleigh acting weird, and what I heard at that moment, tied everything together. Kyleigh lied to me, and I was furious. She knew exactly why everyone was staring at me, because she’s my best friend. I don’t know what had come over me at that moment, but I turned around and asked the source.
“Excuse me, Jake?” I asked.
“Melanie right?” He responded.
“Marissa.” I said with a slight attitude.
“Oh yeah, my bad. What’s up?”
“Do you and Kyleigh have a thing?”
At that moment, his friend Louis decided to walk away, leaving me and Jake alone.
“I mean, she’s cool and all but I don’t think she’s my type.” Said Jake.
“You have a type?” I asked with a confused tone.
“Yes, I do and she’s not it. After last night, I could never see myself with a girl like her.”
“What exactly happened between you too?”
“She’s just another added to the list.”
After Jake made this comment, he walked away and went to class. I was astounded. In the bathroom, Kyleigh told me she has no idea what I was talking about. Everyone in the school knew what kind of girl Kyleigh was, or what kind of girl they thought she was.
Good job proofreading.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI just couldn’t take it anymore.
ReplyDeleteI feel the eyes stare at me as I walk into the local grocer. Usually, I would feel the hate and disgust in their eyes, stinging against my skin, but today, it is different. They are pitiful. To me, they are revolting, and I abhor them.
They just don’t get it.
A cool air collides with my body as I walk down the aisles. The shredded hem of my jeans drags against the yellow, tiled floors. My brown eyes float on the stacks of fruit and vegetables that stare right back at me as I try to ignore the stares of the shoppers around me. They hold their children close to them as I pass by, or they even have the audacity to whisper
“What is she doing here?”
“Who let her in looking like that?”
“Doesn’t she have any parents?”
They are all wrong. I am a runaway.
“Mommy, is she going to steal something?” a little girl’s squeaky voice asks, tugging on her mother’s knee-length, flowing black skirt. I laugh to myself without trying to muffle the sound. I always found it funny how whenever little kids try to say something softly, it is always the furthest thing away from a whisper. They are always loud enough for that one person to hear. That one person is me. Sometimes, they are so quiet that nobody can hear them.
Finally, I stop my casual, innocent stroll when I get to the store’s snack aisle. I study each bag or packet of foods to find today’s breakfast. By now, I should be an expert—doing this without regret, without nerves—but I could still feel my hands beginning to shake and my knees beginning to weaken. I have my taupe messenger bag ready, slightly unzipped so I can make a smooth transfer. My hand reached for a large bag of potato chips—my guilty pleasure—when another hand appears on my shoulder. Immediately, my hand drops to my side, frozen still. I never quite got used to the feeling of being guilty.
“Hello, young lady,” a man’s voice friendly greets.
Slowly, my head turns around. A portly man smiles at me. A take a glimpse of a nametag pinned to his blue, button down shirt: Manager.
“Hi,” I mumble, ready to leave this place more than anything.
“How are you doing? Do you need any help?” he questions.
I push a thick strand of hair behind my ear as if trying to hear him clearer. However, I can hear him perfectly. “Good,” I state.
“You don’t need any help? Any help choosing anything at all . . .” he responds, his voice trailing off.
I suddenly feel light-headed. It is something about those words—maybe it was the way he said them, or the fact that he said them. Maybe I was just hungry, another thing I never got used to. “I’m fine,” I snap. I feel even worse, sick even.
“You don’t need any help?” she asked.
“I’m fine, mom,” I said.
“Where are you going? You can’t keep disappearing like this! You need help!”
“I’ll be back.”
“What’s your name?” the man asks. Instead of replying to him, I only glance at his nametag. Walter Cunningham, it says.
ReplyDelete“Georgina,” I reply suspiciously. I never tell people my last name, nevertheless my first name. I always use my middle name. What if someone recognized me?
“Are you new to this town Georgina?” Walter asks.
My eyes automatically begin to scan the people walking past me, loading their baskets and shopping carts with fresh groceries. What did this guy want from me? “Yes,” I lie.
“Oh, really?” he seems genuinely interested. “Where are you from?”
“This is where you belong. You can’t leave again, Hannah.”
That was when I knew she found me out. “I’ll be back this time,” I replied half-heartedly. I left. Deep down inside, I wanted to find the man I never knew—my father. However, I tried that before. He did not want anything to do with me. I had failed. I was guilty. I could not live in the same place that I knew these terrible feelings of guiltiness and emptiness resided. I wanted to feel independent . . . useful . . . just something. I was leaving to find myself.
“Out of state,” I reply. He implores me to go on. “I’m living with my aunt,” I lie again.
Walter nods as he stares at me. Does he know something? Was he looking at my tattered, worn attire? I shoved my hands shamefully in my sweater’s pockets. “You go to school here?”
“Yes,” I say. I was just about ready to leave empty-handed.
“High school, right? How is that?”
“Good,” I shout. My head warms with a strong headache. “Why do you keep asking me questions?”
“Just making conversation,” Walter explains with a shrug. “I’m also looking for a new worker, if you’re interested.”
He was one of them. They looked down on me. They did not know my story. I despised them. What could he possibly be thinking? “You would like to hire me?” I laugh.
“I just thought you could use the money,” he responds. There was a strange pause. “A lot of teenagers do nowadays.”
He was looking down on me. Pity. I laugh again, only this time louder, completely disregarding their stares. “Well, I don’t.” I turn away from him and stomp towards the door, finally ending the conversation.
“Wait!” A voice calls out.
For some reason, I turn and face Walter. He is holding a bag of potato chips—the same large bag I was eyeing before. “Have this,” he states.
I look into his gray eyes. He is serious. “Why?” I ask, ignoring my urge to snatch the bag and scurry away.
“Think of it as a favor.”
My stomach growls in surrender. I take the bag from him. “Fine,” I snap. I walk to the door, but as I push it open, something possesses me to turn around. “Thank you,” I manage to say before the door slams shut.
Sept. 1,2006
ReplyDeleteDear nobody,
Today is just another day. I sat up last night watching nothing but Disney movies and it made me think. Disney taught me a lot of things in life-like The Lion King has taught me the ones that we have lost will still always be with us or the beauty and the beast have taught me you can fall in love with anyone regardless of how they look. On the other hand the world I've grown up in is screwed up I took a really hard look around the other day and the girls today. I blame Disney they walk around with their heads in the sky imagining that they will find their prince on day. What happens if you do not have a prince out there waiting for you, instead you have a princess one that is beautiful. I wish some would make me their princess.
~Anastasia
Sept. 9,2006
Dear Nobody,
School has began and it just makes me realize how much I hate everyone.Society today is just so messed up. Most girls were made with sugar and spice and everything else, but then there are those girls who really have been bit by the evil bug. the first week of school just ended and rumors are going around already about my friend Stevie. Stevie and I have been friends since second grade and cannot be separated, sure we have our fights here and there but we are insuperable. The tower of popularity in this school is very confusing so first we have the mean girls its Stevie, Star, Storm and me. We aren't actually mean, we just keep to ourselves.The kids at school think we are those stuck but bitches like in the movies but we aren't we just quite. Rumors that Stevie went to rehab this summer is running around the school and it's just breaking her heart.She went to a center for teen girls for five weeks this summer because she has had some problems since her freshmen year. She just wants to finish out senior year with a bang and not let her problems get in her way like they have in the past.
~Anastasia
Sept. 10,2006
Dear Nobody,
So Stevie has finally opened up to me she has told me everything. I'm not supposed to be telling anyone about what she told me but since you are nobody I guess I can tell you.Stevie was almost dead when her older brother discovered her lying on the bathroom floor. She was rushed to the hospital, she had taken a hand full of pills and washed down the pills with a bottle of vodka. She had he stomach pumped and when she woke up she was tied down to the bed she was being put under 72 hour watch for attentive suicide. All of us take pills to get messed up here and there and drink but after what happened to Stevie we can't mess around with this anymore. What we did for fun, Stevie almost killed herself with.She was kept for 72 hours then her parents and her doctor decided Stevie was going to be inpatient for a few weeks to search for the cause of her suicide attempt. She stayed for 5 weeks and was put into therapy and watched closely she told them about how she used to cut and burn. she grew out of that because of the scaring and she did not want anyone to notice. She loved the pain she said she would cut however never too deep just deep enough to feel the pain. She went on about the things she did and how relieved she finally was to know she was getting out before school started. Stevie did not want to explain what had happened the summer before her senior year to anyone her parents do not even know what wanted on inside the clinic all they knew was that she was safe. I just want my best friend to be ok because deep down I truly love her.
~Ana
continued...
DeleteSept. 12,2006
Dear Nobody,
Another fantastic day at school, I feel badly for Stevie she doesn't need to deal with this. Stevie's brother's best friend Samuel dates a girl named Stacy in our grade and i think that who started all these rumors saying she went to rehab for pill problems. People blame society for problems like these but look at whom is society, we are the ones who screw up this time in society. If we eat were considered fat if we do not we have eating disorders and get judged, if we kiss someone were considered dirty if we do not we are considered frigid. People today are just so screwed up and no one does anything about it.
~Anastasia
Sept.17,2006
Dear Nobody,
Sorry i have not been around I've been so busy with school and soccer until I tore my ACL and now i cannot do anything and have to have the surgery. The surgery is for tomorrow and I am really never but i need to get some sleep i have not stopped since school started and today is my one day off
~Ana
Sept. 20,2006
Dear Nobody,
My surgery went great and I get to go back to school in three days and I am excited. I say I hate school, but when I am away for too long i get bored and do not know what to do with myself.Stevie came and visited me at the hospital and i could tell it was hard for her to be there. I wish I knew what was going on in her head because she just looks so lost.When you look into her eyes you do not see the happy go lucky girl that has always been they're its like she has a lost soul.
~Ana
Sept. 22,2006
Dear Nobody,
I need to get out of my house everyone is driving me insane. My moms are fighting because of the hospital bill, and the amount my painkillers are which I'm not even taking because its the same kind Stevie tried to kill herself with.I rather sit here in agonizing pain then take something that almost killed my best friend. I don't even know what I'm doing with myself at this point I just want to sleep but I can't. I feel like I'm under so much stress and pressure but I don't know why. I feel as if the weight of the world is on my shoulders.Well at least I go back to school tomorrow and I get to see everyone even though ill be on crutches for about a month. I miss everyone for some reason, I usually like my solitude.
~Anastasia
Sept. 23,2006
Dear Nobody,
So I get back to school and everyone was being so nice to me and I was just like ewww. Everyone is so fake it makes me want to scream. I am so overloaded with work but at least it gives me something to do to keep my mind off of things.Well I can't write too much tonight sorry I have so much work to do
~Anastasia