Kellene M.'s Short Story

Everyone Needs A Friend

I leaned my exhausted head against the icy glass of the school bus window. Even though it was a summer day the glass was cold which felt refreshing. I didn’t have anyone to talk to, no friends to sit next to. My one and only friend, Maribeth, had moved to Oregon last summer leaving a hole in my heart. When tears began pushing on the back of my eyes and when I started thinking that the ride would never end, the bus pulled into my bus stop. I quickly scooted out of the brown leather seat and down the isle, finally gaining confidence to a nice afternoon. I bounded across my freshly cut lawn, kicking the grass clumps left by the lawn mower. With every hop, kick, and step, the woods became closer and my happiness grew. I was finally there, my favorite place in the world, the woods. I slowed my pace, taking in everything. The air just hung there, no breeze on this hot summer day. The air smelled of musty leaves and it added moisture to my already sweaty skin. A few birds chirped and a few bushes rustled giving me a nervous feeling but it quickly subsided when my tree house appeared out of the dense trees. From the outside my tree house looked just like any other house in a tree. It is built from brown wood which was worn from the rain and dew that had slipped off the green leaves above. I scaled the ladder that led to my tree house and shoved open the door which opened with a creak. Even though the outside looked like any other tree house, the inside was my own world. Off to my left was a wall without windows. Just last summer my dad had inserted rough wooden shelves onto that wall and now they hold me belongings. Some junk, some special. Among some of the special belongings is my hacky sack. It was once white and bright blue but now its brown and navy blue due to all the use I get out of it. Maribeth gave it to me the day before she... left. They day before she left ME. Left... me. It just wasn’t fair. Why did she have to move? I thought she liked it here with me. That day Maribeth moved had such an impact on my life. We hugged and cried for hours. Maribeth and I tried to make those last few hours memorable but we couldn’t help but cry. We had learned to ride bikes together and gone to the mall together every weekend. We even pulled out each other’s first loose teeth. Maribeth was like a sister to me and it left a hole in my heart when she left. I felt like I would never have a friend again. I snatched the well loved hacky sack, tossed it up into the air and stalled it on my foot. It lied there as a lifeless lump no my sneaker. After a few more tricks I placed the hacky sack on the shelf again, grabbed my pad and pencil, and ambled over to my folding chair. Drawing was probably my favorite hobby. I just loved how the pencil glided over the paper, leaving marks all the way. The marks become shapes and forms and those shapes and forms become pictures, some good and some bad. Sometimes I try to sketch a family member’s face and by accident, give them a huge nose or lips. Or sometimes I draw a passing bird and accidentally give it one wing that is much longer than the other. Some days though, the pencil makes scratching noises because I am putting so much force behind those marks but I sometimes believe it’s because it’s upset with having to be rubbed against paper.
I glance around the tree house looking for something to draw. Hmmm I think to myself, not that... not that. My eyes come to a stop on the tree trunk that emerges from the floor and explodes through the roof. On that trunk I tack up sticky notes that have important memos scrawled across them. A bright yellow one reads:

Test on Monday in Social Studies
STUDY!!!
A purple one that isn’t so bright reads:

Soccer Practice Every Friday Night
DON’T FORGET!!!

Finally, a green sticky note, held up by a red tack says:

Christmas 163 Days Away!!!!

My eyes wander around the tree house a bit more stopping here and there to look at a painting or a poster, and then back down at my drawing pad. Still blank. I guess today isn’t an artistic kind of day and I stand up stretching my arms towards the heavens above. As I exited the tree house I tossed my drawing pad and pencil onto the shelves and climbed down the ladder. The air seemed to still stand there, still and silent, so did time. With my back pack still slung over my shoulder, I sauntered in the direction of my house hoping that the A.C. would be turned up high.
I slid open the front patio door and stepped inside onto the brown welcome mat which I gladly wiped my shoes off with. I flung my backpack onto the floor next to the coat hanger which it landed with a loud thud.
“Mom, Dad!” I called, “I’m home!”
“Hi dear.” My mom replied as she stuck her head around the corner of the wall to look at me.
“Mom, let me go tonight. Please! The weather is perfect, not a cloud in the sky, and it’s so warm that tonight I won’t need a jacket!” I argued.
“Now Acadia, you know how we feel about letting you camp out in the woods. What if you get lost? What if you get hurt?” I just stared down at my shoes and shaking my head. It just wasn’t fair.
The rest of my evening went okay as usual, well for a while. I completed my homework and studied for my social studies test on Monday. Then I helped Mom make spaghetti for dinner. The spaghetti was made in silence except for the occasional, “please” from me and then the quick reply of, “no” from Mom.
Once dinner was ready we all sat down around the big dinning room table, Dad, Mom and I. The open windows cast an orange light on the table as the sun set. Only an hour more of daylight left before another night would pass without the woods being my bed for one night. The clinking of silverware grew as we all started spinning the spaghetti on our forks. Nobody said anything as I inhaled my spaghetti sloppily. Why couldn’t my parents just let me go camping for just one night? It wasn’t like I was asking to stay out there for the whole rest of the summer!
As I was nearing the bottom of my pile of spaghetti I became as annoyed as a dog with a scratch it just couldn’t reach. I wish it was as easy to get Mom and Dad to say yes as reaching for their backs and pushing a few buttons. But it wasn’t.
“Mom, Dad,” I said as I looked at each one firmly, “This is the last time I am going to ask nicely. PLEEEEEEEEASE can I go camping out in the woods for one night?” My Dad stared down at his plate, clean of spaghetti and started shaking his head. He let his fork drop to the place mat and he brought his folded hands onto the table. He slowly raised his head to look at me. My eyes looked right into his eyes looking for the answer yes or no but all they found was pure annoyance. When parents said no, they meant, well, no.
“Acadia... honey.” Dad said, “You’re too young to go by yourself. Maybe in a few years.” The last part of that sentence, the “maybe in a few years”, kept ringing in my head. This just wasn’t fair, not fair at ALL! Dad had said the same, “maybe in a few years” put-off a few years ago.
“Acadia, when you’re 13 you can go but for now I think it is best if you sleep in your own bed.” Mom compromised.
“Mom! Dad! Two years is too long to wait! I want to go NOW!” I flung my fork across the table, knocking over my milk and I ran up to my room. My face was read with anger and as I charged up the stairs I stomped extra loudly for the bonus effect. If my parents wouldn’t give me permission then I would have to just give myself my own permission. I flung open my bedroom door and raced inside. I hurled objects around until I had my flashlight and my sleeping bag that I had received for my 7th birthday from Maribeth, in hand. I then raced out the front door leaving only a warm breath of summer air and a loud BAM! when the door shut.
“Acadia wait!” I heard my mother and father shout behind me. It was too late; I was nearing the woods with probably 20 minutes of daylight left.
“EEEIK!” I gasp as I tumbled to the ground. I must have tripped over one of those grass clumps. There was just enough daylight for me to find my flashlight and sleeping bag. Unfortunately my good luck had just run out for my flashlight broke when I took that tumble. Oh well, I’m not going back inside for a new one.
I stumbled into the woods feeling around because my eyes were useless. I felt a near by tree, its bark rough and sticky in some spots. I could just imagine the leaves rustling above in the wind that had now picked up. I felt small and alone. Maybe Dad was right, I was too young to do this by myself, and I needed a friend to come with me. But I’m a big girl; I’ll just find my tree house and stay there. But what if I... my thoughts were cut short. I stumbled over a branch. I was expecting a large CRACK when it snapped but I never did, all I heard was a bush rustle to my left. My heart skipped a beat leaving my body tense but I kept on moving.
In the day time it is amazing how easy it is to find a tree house but at night it’s impossible. Why did I have to be such a klutz and drop my flashlight? OH MY GOSH! How didn’t I remember?! It was exactly 1 year from today that Maribeth moved. Maybe that’s why I was so mad at Mom and Dad, and that was why I was so irritable today.
A low growl rumbled through the air stopping me dead in my tracks. The temperature had probably dropped 20 degrees but the noises kept me overly warm. That’s when I hear it, the confirmation that it was a bear or wolf come to eat me. Loud breathing coming from behind me. The only puzzling thing about the breathing was it was quick breathing, like if it was scared. I slowly turned around still feeling blind when I couldn’t see anything in front of me. I cautiously took a step for-AAAAAAAAH!
“AHHHH!” I lept backwards and fell into a rock scraping my palms. I continued screaming letting it all out but the tense feeling never left my body.
“AAAAHHHH!”
“AAAAAHHHHH!” Wait. I suddenly stopped screaming.
“AAHHHHH!” I no knew that I was not alone. Pushing away from the rock and hoping not to fall on top of the person I ran into.
“Hello?” I questioned timidly. “Who’s there?” I continued. A flashlight snapped on and pointed right into my eyes. When I shut my eyes I saw white spots all over my eye lids. Finally, the spots cleared and I reopened my eyes and started taking a good look at the (I noticed it was a girl) girl I had run into.
“Uhh hi” I said.
“Uhh hi right back at you.” she replied.
“I’m Acadia and you are...?”
“Sam.”
“Where are you staying tonight?”
“I was going to pitch my tent but you scared me!” We both chuckled a little when we thought about how scared we had been.
“I have a tree house around here somewhere if you prefer.” I offered hoping that she would say yes and she did.
“Do you mind? I admit that I’d love someone to sleep next to.” Sam replied.
“I don’t mind at all. I need to borrow your flashlight though to find it.”
“Oh yeah, here.” Sam said as she handed over the flashlight. I directed it into the top of the trees. We both used our eyes and scanned along with the flashlight. It finally landed on my tree house. Ahhh... I let out a deep breath as all my fears melted and my heartbeat slowed back down to normal speed. I grabbed my sleeping bag that I dropped while meeting Sam and together we marched over to my house in a tree.
Once inside we laid out our sleeping bags and crawled inside.
“So what are you doing out in the woods at this time of night?” Sam asked.
“Well I kind of got mad at my parents and ran away. What about you?” I wondered.
“Same here and thanks for sharing your tree house its really nice I mean... well you’re nice for letting me and your tree house is nice.”
“Haha” I laughed.
“Do you come out into the woods often?” I questioned.
“Yeah, you could say that I bet you do if you have a nice tree house like this.” Sam replied and she was right maybe sometime we could hang out I kept thinking... a new friend. “I kind of... need a friend.” I said.
“I would never be your friend! Just kidding I think we would be great friends.” We had switched off the flashlight but I knew Sam had a huge smile plastered on her face because I know I did.
Wow, I thought to myself, friend friends can be made in the weirdest situations and in the strangest places. The first day I met was a little fuzzy but I still remember. I had just arrived at lunch, from recess, and I was stripping off my heavy coat and gloves. Once I was done I had sit down, I pulled out an apple and took a bite. OWWW! It knocked my tooth loose and now it was bleeding so I headed to the nurses’ office with a tissue in my mouth to stop the bleeding. When I got to the nurses’ office I let out a groan. The nurse that was in today was helping a young boy that had scraped up this knee badly. Another girl that looked by age and had dark brown hair was also waiting so I knew my stay would be a long one. I slowly and quietly opened the door which was already slightly ajar. I took a seat in the chair next to the brown haired girl.
She gave me a huge smile and asked, “You loosing a tooth too?”
I couldn’t help but smile back and say, “Yeah.”
“I’m tired of waiting here do you think you could maybe pull mine out?”
I giggled innocently and replied, “Okay but only if you pull mine.” That’s exactly what we did and from that day on we were best friends doing everything together. Friend can be found everywhere and anyone can be your friend if you give them a chance. If I had said “eww no way” to Maribeth in the nurses’ office then we wouldn’t have become friends. Friends, I have realized, are important parts of our lives and without them, life is very boring. If I had a friend that would come camping with me Dad might had let me go camping without me running away. Maybe it was good, in a way, that Maribeth left because it left room for me to make new friends like Sam.
“Night Sam.” I whispered
“Night Acadia. Don’t let the bed bugs bite.” On that note I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
The next morning Sam and I went our separate ways. My parents forgave me and they walked me to my bus stop for once. I climbed on when the yellow vehicle came to a halt and I took a seat next to a boy abut my age.
I smiled my prettiest smile and asked, “What’s your name?”

Zoe K.'s Short Story

The Change

I stomped away from Lisa, but today she wasn’t being Lisa. She was what I called her when she was
being stupid and snotty…. The Brat. My three year old sister was like all girls in this neighborhood,
careless and dumb. My neighborhood was nothing but white houses and a tree in the in the middle.
That and nothing but dumb old girls.
"Leave me ALONE!" I barked. The Brat tilted up her nose and strut away like a little diva. These were
the times I thanked my lucky stars that I was a boy. To me, girls were stuck up and rotten. Almost on cue
to my thoughts Candy Carls strode into my driveway, texting.
"Sup, twerp," she jeered.
"Whaddya want?" I snapped, angry at her for bullying me at my own house.
"I’m babysitting Lisa, duh! BTW, where is the lil’ brat?" Candy tilted up her nose just like Lisa and set
off to find her.
"Girls," I scowled under my breath. As I ran my fingers through my greasy dark hair I decided I needed
to escape this female chaos so I grabbed my skateboard and began to roll down the street. I thought
about my mom coming home from work soon… She was the only girl I loved. But as soon as I closed my
eyes to take a deep breath I smacked heads with someone and toppled to the ground. I felt whoever it
was get pulled down with me. I heard my board continue to roll down the street. I dared not open my
eyes, afraid to see an angry older kid ready to kick my 13 year old butt.
"Hello?" a small voice questioned.
"Oh, no." I thought. This was even worse than a bully, it was a girl. I sighed and opened my eyes. She
was blonde, wearing a white dress, absolutely plain.
"Oh, thank god! I thought you were dead!" she exhaled with relief. I rolled my eyes.
"Yeah, right! I can’t die just from a skateboard!" I scoffed, pushing onto my feet.
"You’d be surprised," she replied gently, looking as though she were seeing the past. "Anyways, I’m
Sunday… But you can call me Sun." she opened back into reality and held out her hand. I stood there,
waiting. She seemed puzzled.
"Aren’t you going to shake it?" She asked.
"No."
"Oh, okay. Well do you like this neighborhood? I just moved here and I think it’s lovely." Sun put her
hand at her side, but she insisted upon keeping up the conversation. I gave her the honest truth.
"No. I hate it here. And now you’re just one more girl, and one more problem. This dull, white
neighborhood is full with stuck up girls , and you, another girl, are the LAST thing I need." That last part
I admit, was a little harsh. I immediately regretted it as she quickly turned and skated away, nearly
crying. I too, turned and around and glumly slumped home, forgetting my skateboard.
Suddenly I realized that Candy could help me. I slammed the front door shut and scurried throughout
the house in search of her. Finally I found her, rummaging through the cabinets, not even watching Lisa,
in search of a snack.
"Candy? What’s that new girl’s address?" I asked. Candy turned to face me.
"Who? Sunday? That sweet 13 year old?" she asked. I quickly nodded. Candy told me the address and I
sprinted upstairs to my desk and began to write. Here’s what I had before I had got stuck in a jumble of
correct placing and a loss of words to say:
Dear Sun,
I stared at the empty paper in front of me, ready to eat out my feelings and scrap together the remains
into words, I just didn’t have a clue how to start. Yesterday I would think that writing a letter to a girl
would be crazy, but now I felt like she was special, and that this was the right thing to do. Dad would
want me to do that, but he was on a year-long business trip. I began to write everything I was thinking.
Dear Sun,
I met you today and acted rudely. It was not your fault, it was mine. I was in a bad mood. I-well, I am
sorry if I hurt your feelings. I guess that’s all. –Jay (John) Tyler
I placed the letter in her mailbox that very night and found a letter in our mailbox the next day.
Dear Jay (John) Tyler,
I forgive you. Meet me at the big tree trunk in the middle of the cul-de-sac. –Sun
A smile stretched itself across my face and propped up on my cheeks. I hurried out to the tree and
saw her in the distance. When I got closer I saw that she was wearing roller skates and was holding
a black pair out to me.
"Today, I’ll teach you to roller skate!" she squealed. I wasn’t sure about that.
"I don’t know…I’ll fall." I stammered. Sun laughed heartily.
"What does that matter, as long as you get back up and try again, right?" her face seemed to glitter. At that moment I realized that Sunday was different for the better.
"Yeah, you’re right." I replied, taking the skates and plopping them onto my large feet. I was surprised that they fit me.
"I noticed your oversized feet yesterday." Sun explained to me.
"Gee thanks."
"No." she continued with a chuckle, "Lemme finish…when I decided to go roller skating with you today I borrowed my brothers skates."
"You have a brother? Is his name Moon?" I asked, surprised.
"That’s not very funny, and no…his name is Otto, but I call him Ottie. He’s 18." Sun must have not
thought that I was kidding, because she seemed a tad insulted. We began to slowly roll down the
street, and I quickly clutched my pale hand to Suns wrist as she rode beside me. Soon I became
better at keeping my balance. Even later I could talk to her as she did tricks to make me laugh. Soon
I was almost as good as her.
"Where did you come from?" I asked her one day as we glided around the huge tree.
"My mom," she replied.
"No… before you came here."
"Oh…. Well…. Um…. I’ve lived all around the world, so I can’t really say." She sighed. I was
confused.
"If your parents can afford to live all around the world, why would they bring you to boring old Michigan?" I asked.
"They want to settle down, I guess." She shrugged. She told me about running with the bulls in Spain, climbing the steps to the top of the Eifel Tower, and seeing the pyramids.
"That was a LONG car drive." Sun explained.
"Why didn’t you fly to Egypt?"
"My brother’s afraid to… and so am I. So we drove all the way from Nairobi, Kenya."
I was surprised. She had really seen the world.
"Wow," was all that I could mumble out my lips. Another day Candy pushed me away from her, and Sun showed up behind me just as I yelled,
"What did you do that for?!" Candy flashed me her ‘I’m not caring’ stare and turned away. Sun seemed to be dying on the inside.
"Why did you shout?" she questioned.
"Because she PUSHED me!!!" I frowned. I knew that seemed wrong.
"And what good did that do you?" she almost seemed upset, and I think she was.
"Well… It got my anger out." I replied.
"That’s NOT the way to get your anger out… Not at all." She slowly turned away and began to skate
home. It reminded me of the day I had met her. After that, I wasn’t sure why she felt so strongly
about getting mad at people. I mean, Candy deserved it anyways.
The next day she approached my front door, smiling.
"Hello!" I heard by my front lawn. I ran outside and greeted her with a question.
"Why are you here?"I asked. "I thought you were mad at me." Sun laughed.
"I’m never angry… Just hurt sometimes." She explained. I could read the sadness behind her smile.
I wanted to run, far away where she couldn’t see me, all alone so that I could cry. But there was
nowhere to go, so there I was, in my driveway, bursting into tears. My regret of hatred and rudeness
peeled away my last layer of dignity and spilled out my eyes. I couldn’t believe all the times I had
been so mean, it was like a bomb that I had dropped, too take it back, and I watched it explode.
"I’m sorry," I sniffed under wheezing and sobs. Sun looked at me with sympathy and wiped my
face with her sleeve.
"Wait one minute," I told her and went back indoors. I saw Lisa playing with her dolls, seeming
Lonely.
"Let’s play outside today,"
"Really? You wanna play wif me?" she asked once I let her go from my embrace. I hurt me to see
her so surprised.
"Yes, I’ll go get Candy. You go outside and meet Sunday." I smiled. Lisa, excited to meet a new
friend, trotted outside, auburn curls bouncing behind her.
"CAAAAAANNNDYYYYY!" my call echoed throughout the house. Candy hurried downstairs and
yanked out a headphone from her pierced ear.
"Who’s hurt?"
"No one," I replied with a grin. "Lisa, Sun, and I want to play a game of baseball with you." Candy
froze, then smiled as she walked down the steps and next to me.
"I’d love to, twerp." She joked with a light punch in my arm. "Play ball!" Suddenly a large man
strode into the doorway, holding Lisa. I realized who it was behind the blinding light and rushed
toward him.
"Daddy’s home," Lisa whispered with a smile as she clutched his neck. I threw my arms around
him and couldn’t help but grin…
"I love this neighborhood."

Steven S.'s Short Story

Where’s Marty?

Marty arrived at home, exhausted from his day at school. He threw his backpack on the floor and plopped down on the couch to watch TV, (Marty’s usual when he comes home). At around 5:00, he completed his homework like everyday and afterward, ran upstairs to his room. Marty’s room was filled with lots of things because he was spoiled, being an only child. He usually needed something to keep him entertained. Marty lived in New York and never, ever cleaned up after himself. The bed was messed up, his I-Pod was on the ground, and his cell-phone was buried somewhere in the heap of blankets Marty called his bed. Lastly, there was a lot of chipped paint coming off his blue walls. It seemed as if his room could be considered a tornado! Marty decided to go on the computer. He logged on and played some game. After playing for a while, Marty got bored and decided to check his email.
Marty’s new email stated, to: Marty-Don’t take the air train today, I’m warning you. You might not come back alive! You’ve been warned Marty, beware! Marty was horrified at what he saw.
Marty figured it was just a friend playing a joke on him but, when his mom came home and told Marty they were going to a garden show tomorrow and taking the air train, Marty was a little frightened.
They waited for Marty’s dad to come from work so they could all head over to the garden, which according to Marty’s mother would have many games for kids. Marty just wanted it to be over as soon as possible so he told his mom that he was fine without visiting the “kid’s corner”. Marty’s mom told him it was fine if that’s what he wanted and not long after they talked about it, Marty’s dad arrived home from work. “Let’s go”, Marty’s mom announced. Everyone piled into the car as they started for the gardens but most importantly, the air train!
As they drove, Marty tried not to think about what might happen at the air train but that was all that he had on his mind. The closer they got, the sicker Marty felt. As they pulled up to the parking lot, Marty was hesitant to get out of the car. When he did get out, it seemed perfectly fine and somewhat peaceful. “It probably was a joke”, Marty laughed.
“What?” his mom asked.
“Nothing”, Marty replied as he wandered off into the gardens. Marty told his mom that he would be in the cookie making area in the “kid’s corner”, mostly because he was hungry. So Marty went off to create a cookie while his parents traveled off to see the flowers. “I knew I’d end up here”, Marty mumbled, as he wandered off into the “kid’s corner”. As he got closer to his destination, someone in a dark, leather jacket stopped him and said, “hold it right there Marty!”
Marty was terrified! He hadn’t been stopped at the air train, but could this be the email sender? Marty usually didn’t follow directions but he wanted to know what this man was up to so he asked, “what do you want?”
“I was just going to ask where you were going.”
“Why do you care”, Marty asked in a nasty voice.
“Look kid”, the man said, “where’s your parents?” Marty was just about to run off when the man pulled some duct tape from his pocket and put it over Marty’s mouth!
Marty tried to escape but he was picked up and carried away. Too bad the stupid “kid’s corner” is near the entrance, Marty thought. Now nobody will see me get taken! As Marty was being put in the car, right before the door was shut, Marty punched the kidnapper square in the nose!
“Ow”, the kidnapper yelled, cursing under his breath. He slammed the door on Marty and headed for the air train, where he told Marty it would be over for him!
Marty didn’t know what to do. What’s he going to do, run me over? Marty was confused so he just tried to clear his mind and remember all the crime fighting movies he’d seen. Maybe they could help with his problem, being kidnapped. They were just movies, but it was worth a try. Then Marty remembered! The characters would take something from the back of the car and hit the kidnapper (or in his case the driver). So, Marty looked around in the back seat. When he did so, he came across a bat. Marty figured it was for if Marty had been too difficult. Marty was hesitant at first but he told himself it would have to happen if he wanted to get out of the car. Marty picket up the bat and swung at the kidnapper, right in the gut! The kidnapper pulled the car to a crawl and before he could turn around, Marty had taped his mouth and ran out of the car with the bat. Marty wanted to be sure the kidnapper didn’t chase after him. He started to run back to the gardens to find his parents so he dropped the bat and went to go search. Marty was able to get there fast, mostly because the kidnapper barely made it three blocks without getting hit with a bat by Marty. He searched for them at the gardens but they were nowhere! Finally, he ran into them in the “kid’s corner”! They were looking for him.
“Mom, dad!” Marty yelled with joy.
“Where were you?” they asked. “I was kidnapped but I escaped and…” Marty paused. “I’m glad I’m back.” As they drove home, Marty thought. I guess I’ll listen to directions more carefully, to prevent this from happening again. I should probably stay close to my family as well, instead of wandering off all the time. Wow Marty thought. I’ve learned a lot. Maybe this wasn’t so bad after all.

Sophie L.'s Short Story

Carrie Goes to Hollywood

The house is quiet while Carrie sleeps on her soft, white blanket. All curled up in her crate in daddy’s office, this is her favorite spot.
Mom and I are watching Animal Planet on T.V. The man on the show talks about a contest for the smartest dog. My mom smiles, “Sophie, do you want to enter Carrie in the contest? “Yes!” I say with excitement.
A few weeks had gone by since we sent Carrie’s photo to Animal Planet. It was a hot summer day when I went to the mailbox, and there it was! An invitation for Carrie to do some tricks on Animal Planet!
Carrie hears my family talking about her going on Animal Planet and thinks to herself “I’ll be famous and rub noses with all the movie star animals! I’ll be so rich; I can buy a crate with one-hundred rooms!” For weeks Carrie prances around the house very happy, and excited about becoming a movie star…until the plane ride.
Carrie was shaking as she was being put into the crate, in the animal section of the big airplane. “This is nothing like my nice cozy crate at home” Carrie says with a whimper. “Maybe going to Hollywood wasn’t such a good idea after all” Carrie thinks as she falls asleep.
“Oh, boy! There’s my family!” Carrie jumps up on Sophie, very excited to see her, she accidentally pees on her. “I’m so sorry Sophie; I’m just excited to see you”. Sophie’s mom says “Don’t worry Sophie; we’ll get you a new shirt when we get to Animal Planet”. “Then let’s hurry up and get there because I feel gross!” Sophie says in horror.
We finally get to Animal Planet and Carrie sees six of the one-hundred and one Dalmatians! She got so excited she jumped up on one of the Dalmatians and barks in her ear. This made the Dalmatian angry. Suddenly a woman comes over and yells, “Don’t you jump and bark in my dog’s ears! Don’t you know they’re movie stars?! You better behave or I’ll have you thrown out of here!”
Sad, after being yelled at, Carrie walks over to get her picture taken. The camera man is very nice and Carrie starts to feel happy again. “Smile,” says the camera man. Carrie is smiling proudly as she poses and hears the clicking of the camera. Through the flashing of the camera lights Carrie sees the famous Beethoven from the Disney Channel! Carrie gets so excited; she runs towards Beethoven and knocks over the camera man! “That’s enough”, yells the camera man, “get that dog out of our studio!”
Back at home, all curled up on her soft, white blanket. Carrie thinks to herself, “It’s nice to be home where I belong”.

Kyla H.'s Short Story

Secret, No More

I woke with a start as a ruler slapped my desk.
“Campbell McKarthy!” my teacher’s voice rang in my ears. My head snapped from my desk. All eyes were on my teacher and I. I groaned and put my head back on my desk.
“Campbell do you feel okay?” my teacher asked.
“Yes,” I mumbled.
“Okay then pay attention to the lesson,” my teacher ordered.
“Okay,” I mumbled.
“I wish that dream would come back. That dream was a weird one,” I thought to myself.
Soon the bell rang. Thank goodness, school was finally done for the summer! My best friend, Amanda, sat with me everyday on the bus. We talked about every subject there possibly was, except not today. Today’s bus ride was really quiet for both of us. Finally Amanda asked, “What was wrong with you today?”
“What do you mean?” I asked back.
“You fell asleep in class you never do that ,” she shouted kind of sassy.
“Yeah I had a weird dream,” I whispered.
“What was it?” questioned Amanda.
“It was about my mom. She was riding a horse, then she fell off it. Her scream scared me, but then I woke up,” I answered.
“But your dad told you she left you guys when you were only two,” Amanda reminded me.
I pulled my long blonde hair into a ponytail.
“Yeah I know, it was just a dream,” I exclaimed.
We sat in silence once again. When my stop came, I bounded off the bus and ran strait to the barn (my favorite place to be).
“Hey Jessie,” I said soothingly to my horse. Jessie trotted over to where I was. I stroked her smooth mane. Her coat was a brown gold color. I thought it was the best color ever! My dad said I was a horse because I am always in the barn. As I was talking to my horse, my dad called my name, “Campbell,”
“Yes,” I called back.
“Telephone,” he yelled.
I sprinted out of the barn and exploded through the back door. Dad handed me the phone.
“Hello,” I said out of breath.
“Hello,” said the voice at the other end.
“Who is this?” I asked.
“It’s Amanda silly,” Amanda giggled.
“Oh I didn’t recognize your voice,” I breathed.
“Hey, you know about your dream, well I was thinking that we could go to the library and see if it has any information about your dream, because maybe it was real,” she explained.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I shouted over the phone, “it was just a dream,”
“No, no, no you didn’t let me finish what I was going to say,” Amanda whined.
“What,” I grumped.
“Well my mom said that there was a horse accident eleven years ago, but then she walked out of the room and she had a weird look on her face,” Amanda whispered.
“Oh my gosh, and I am thirteen,” I breathed.
“Yeah I know, that’s why I called,” she explained.
“Ok, I’ll meet you at the library,” I yelled. I hung up before she could say anymore.
I pedaled as fast as my bike could go, until I ended up at the Council Grove library. Amanda was already there, sitting on the steps to the library.
“Hi, sorry I’m late,” I shouted as I climbed off my bike. We raced into the library and went strait to the computers.
“What year was it that your mom left you?” Amanda said out of breath.
“Um, 1994,” I thought out loud.
“1994 info,” Amanda exclaimed as she typed in 1994. As a huge list of information came up as I held my breath. Amanda scrolled down and at the bottom there was a link that said Horse Racers in 1994. Amanda clicked it and at the very top it read “EMILY McKARTHY’S DEATH” as the title. I gasped. So did Amanda.
“My mom….. she’s…. dead! Why would my dad lie about this?” I screamed.
The librarian put her fingers to her lips.
“Emily crashes into another horse and falls to the ground in the Council Grove horse race in 1994,” Amanda read out loud. I felt hot tears rolling down my face. Amanda looked up at me, she had tears in her eyes as well.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
I turned and ran out of the building and left Amanda to read the rest of the article by herself. As I pedaled home I couldn’t help but think why my dad kept this secret from me for so long. Just then a waterfall full of tears exploded from the back of my eyelids.
I slammed my new orange bike on the ground and ran up to my room. I threw myself down on my big brown and pink bed and covered my head with my soft, fluffy pillow. I cried and cried and soon I found myself asleep. I dreamed of my mom. When I woke up my dad was standing in the doorway.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” he said soothingly.
“Go away,” I yelled, “I don’t want to see you!”
“Alright,” he said, “but you have to promise me you will tell me in the morning.”
“Morning,” I thought, “did I really sleep that long?”
“Fine,” I mumbled. I listened to his footsteps die away, then I hopped up from my bed and grabbed my cell phone to text Amanda. But Amanda had already beat me to it. There were seventeen texts from her. Most of them said, “I’m sorry,” or “R U ok?” But one that really caught my eye read….. “I was able to get my mom to say where your mom was buried.”
“Oh my gosh,” I whispered.
“Where is it?” I texted back. She responded right away.
“In the cornfield at the back of your house,” Amanda texted.
“Really?” I texted.
“Yeah,” she texted.
“Okay, I will go back there tonight but I want you to come with me,” I texted
“Alright,” she texted.
“Meet me at 10:30 tonight,” I texted.
“Okay,” she texted.
I fell asleep texting with Amanda but when I woke up it was 10:39. I hopped out of bed and opened the window. I gust of wind hit me in the face as the window creaked open. Amanda was at the bottom of the window looking up. I peered down, it was a long way down but I think I could make it. I jumped. When I hit the ground I felt a sharp pain in my right ankle.
“Ouch!” I screamed.
“Shhh, keep it down or else your dad will hear us!” Amanda whispered. As she said that, footsteps came around the corner of the house. It was my dad.
“Campbell, Amanda?” he asked.
“Yes,” we said in high voices.
“What are you two up to now,” he questioned.
“It’s a long story,” Amanda explained.
“Oh, I see well I would like to hear that long story inside,” he exclaimed.
I looked at Amanda for help to get up.
“Um, Mr. McKarhty,” Amanda shouted.
“Yes,” he questioned.
“Well Campbell jumped out of the window and hurt her ankle,” Amanda exclaimed. My dad walked over, picked me up, and carried me inside. It was nice and warm inside. My dad set me down on the couch.
“Okay, so now about that long story you promised me,” my dad said questioningly.
As Amanda talked, my dad iced my ankle, and I thought. Suddenly it hit me, the only reason my dad kept this a secret from me was so I was able to learn when I was given consequences I would just have to learn to over come them.

Katie P.'s Short Story

Up and Down

I sat there, waiting, staring out of the window, just tossing my lucky red ball up and down in the air. Where was Megan? She called me an hour ago from the restaurant where her family was having dinner and I had been waiting ever since. I clearly recall Megan saying she would be back from the restaurant in 30 minutes. We were going to get together as soon as she got home. Up and down, up and down, I tossed the ball as the seconds ticked away on the clock.
I met Megan on the day that my family and I moved in next door to her several months earlier. I remember she came over with her parents and a basket of delicious chocolate chip cookies. The cookies were still warm from the oven and their delicious aroma filled our entire house. I also remember my dog, Chestnut, jumping up, trying to get the cookies from Megan's basket. Megan was obviously a little nervous around our jumpy little beagle, but she smiled anyway. We instantly became great friends.
I continued to stare our the window, and finally, after five more minutes of waiting, the big, gray SUV pulled into Megan's driveway. I always thought it looked a bit like the tank we saw at the military museum. I ran out the door as soon as I spotted it.
"Hi Rachel!" Megan shouted as she jumped out of the car. "I'm sorry that we are late, the snow slowed us down."
"That's okay," I replied.
I couldn't believe it. I barely even noticed the snow. Tiny snowflakes fell from the sky. It was my first winter in Massachusetts. I was excited because I knew it would get much colder and whiter than in Florida. I had only seen snow once before. But, the snow also meant that I wouldn't be playing soccer all year round. I was forced to quit my
1
team before we moved and I hated quitting, even if I was forced to.
"I'm sorry, Rachel. I know I just got home, but I have basketball tryouts. Do you want to come?" Megan asked. "I would like having a friend there."
"Sure!" I said, "but I have to check with my folks." I turned around and saw my dad walk outside. "Hey Dad, can I go to basketball tryouts with Megan?" I asked.
"Sure!" he shouted back. "You can even try out for the team. It will help you keep you in shape until soccer season."
"Thanks Dad! I shouted. I tuned back to Megan. "Lets go!" I said.
"Okay!" Megan replied. "Tryouts are at the Basketball League gym with Coach Bells, just down the street. We can walk."
We started walking down the road which was starting to be covered in white. Up ahead, I could see a sign with the word BASKETBALL written on it in big orange letters. We turned onto the driveway to see a big square building with BASKETBALL LEAGUE printed on the side in dark orange letters.
We walked through the snow until we finally reached a red door with a big window in the middle. Bells rang as the door opened. I looked in to see a nice bright lobby. There were several large plants near the windows and a bright orange rug. We walked around chairs and tables until we got to the door to the court.
About ten girls our age were sitting on the bleachers. They looked nervous and excited at the same time. As we took our seats, a woman wearing an orange shirt walked in and blew a whistle.
"Is that Coach Bells?" I asked Megan in a whisper.
"Yeah," Megan whispered back.
Everyone stood up, except for me. I wasn't planning on trying out for the team. I
took out my little lucky red ball and started tossing it up and down to pass the time. 2
"Girls," Coach Bells said, "to try out, first state your name, then you will do your best to pass me, then shoot. Don't worry, it won't be hard."
"You first," the coach continued, pointing at Megan, who was at the end of the line.
"My name is Megan," she stated confidently.
"Okay Megan," Coach Bells replied, "let's see what you can do."
I watched in awe as Megan dribbled the ball smoothly around the coach and down the court, and made an amazing shot. I starting clapping along with the other girls.
"Great job!" the coach exclaimed, taking notes on a clipboard.
Everyone in the line tried their best. One girl could barely make it halfway across the court. She really didn't seem like she was trying very hard and didn't even really seem to like playing basketball.
The next day, we all returned to the gym to hear the results of the tryouts. The coach announced who made the team. Then, Megan raised her hand.
"Yes?" Coach Bells said.
"Aren't we one member short?" asked Megan.
"Yes, sadly there weren't enough people at tryouts. Well, there were, but Phoebe didn't really want to be on the team, she was only joining her friend for support," Coach Bells said. "We'll have to hold another tryout soon."
"She quit? But, if we don't have a full squad, we'll lose practice time!" a girl named Ashley complained.
"Do you have another suggestion? Does anyone?" asked Coach Bells.
"There's Rachel," suggested Megan. "Why don't you give her a try, Coach?"
At the sound of my name, I snatched my ball from the air and looked over at
Megan. Oh no, I thought. She wasn't really asking me to tryout, was she? She wouldn't
3
make me do it, would she? She knew basketball wasn't my sport, but I also knew that it was her favorite. The whole team stared at me with pleading eyes.
"Please just try, " Megan pleaded.
I knew I should try. I owed her for all of those times when she helped me. I was terrified since I'd never played on a basketball team before. But, I knew I was a pretty good athlete. What should I do?
"Please," Megan begged. "I know basketball isn't your thing, but you're good at every sport you try. Please!"
I didn't want to make a fool of myself in front of all these girls from school but I didn't want them to think I was afraid, either. I didn't want to let Megan down. She was my best friend. There was no time to find an excuse. I had to make a decision immediately. What could I say?
"Okay," I muttered. "I'll give it a try."
I stood up and walked slowly down the bleachers. I remembered the other girls' tryouts. It looked just like soccer, but they dribbled the ball with their hands. I'll just use my soccer moves, I thought. My hand-eye coordination wasn't that bad. I was always tossing around my little lucky red ball and didn't drop it very often. And, I had played a little bit of basketball in gym class. I felt like I was shaking all over as the coach passed me the ball.
"Let's go," she said.
I slowly started dribbling the ball and then as she approached, I dived around her bouncing the ball with my left hand. I saw that she was watching me as I dribbled toward the basket. With every step closer, I was shaking a little less and finally I passed the three point line and flung the ball at the hoop. To my surprise, the ball breezed through the net.
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"Nice shot! You made it!" Coach Bells shouted over the cheers of my new teammates. "Be at practice next Saturday at noon!"
I walked back outside with Megan.
"That was so awesome," she exclaimed. "You were great!"
"I was lucky," I said. "I'm not a basketball player. I got to the net with an open path and the ball just happened to go in. I've never made a basket before in my life. I've barely even played basketball before.! I don't think I even know all the rules. I don't want your team to lose because of me!"
"It's our team now. Besides, I could help you practice," Megan suggested as we walked up to our houses. "I'll see you tomorrow and we can practice."
"Okay," I replied.
I walked up the driveway and I saw my dad getting into the car. He must be going to the store, I thought.
"How'd it go?" he asked.
"I made the team," I replied unenthusiastically. "They needed another player, I got lucky, and now I'm the newest member of the Jamestown Jaguars junior basketball team."
"Congratulations!" he exclaimed, "I'm proud of you."
"Don't be. I'm not sure I want to play. I don't want them to lose because I don't know what I'm doing. I think I should quit."
"Quit? Don't be silly, Rach. You know that quitters never win and winners never quit. You're a winner. You tried something new and you made the team. You're an excellent athlete and you can easily learn the rules to the game. Your mom is going to be proud of you, too. And you'll be playing with Megan, you'll like that," Dad pointed out.
"Listen, I'm going to the store to pick up a couple of things. You can come with me and
5
then we can go to the rec center. We can practice a little together. What do you say? I used to be a pretty decent basketball player, myself."
"Yeah, right, Dad. Okay," I replied.
I pulled the car door open and climbed in. My dad had recently opened a new recreation center on the other side of town and I hadn't seen Dad's new place yet, so I was looking forward to it.
After picking up some cereal and vegetables for my mom, we continued on to the rec center. As we pulled in to the parking lot, I noticed the big blue letters that spelled SPORTS on the front of the building. Sports were a big thing to my dad. I knew he appreciated that I was an athlete like he was. I started tossing it in the air like my little lucky ball. I guess I always do that when I'm nervous. Dad turned the key in the lock and the door swung open. He led me past the pool and racquetball courts and opened a door to the gym and tossed me a basketball.
"Why don't you set the timer? We have to be home by 4:15," my dad reminded me.
I glanced at the clock. It was 3:30pm, I thought, so I had half an hour before we'd have to leave to get home on time. I went over to the control table and set the timer. It was just like the timer in the last recreation center my dad had run. Then, I switched on the scoreboard to record how many baskets I made.
I stood at the middle of the court, keeping my eyes on the net. I can do this, I thought, tossing the ball up and down as I stood with my feet frozen to the spot. Look how well I did at the tryout. Finally, I managed to move my feet and dribble down the court. I could handle the ball pretty well both left-handed and right-handed. This isn't too tough, I thought. The net was straight ahead of me. I flung the ball through the air. It bounced off the backboard and landed back in my hands. I decided to try a couple more
6
times. Shot after shot, the ball refused to go in the net and I chased it around the gym. I dribbled in a little closer. I shot from the left side and I shot from the right side. The scoreboard still read 0 and the timer only had fifteen minutes left. I couldn't believe it. I felt horrible. I was trying to help Megan and I probably just ruined her team's chances of winning.
"How's it going?" my dad asked as he popped his head in the door.
"Just great, Dad," I responded sarcastically.
"I'm sorry, Rach, I have a problem I have to deal with. You're going to have to keep practicing alone today," he called as he closed the door.
It was just as well. I didn't want my dad to be disappointed in me. I shot some more and some more, hoping that time would help. It didn't. The ball went up, but came down on the far side of the backboard. I shot it up again, and it dropped short. I just couldn't make a shot. Suddenly, the buzzer blared. I glanced up at the scoreboard knowing what it showed. My score was 0. I hung my head. What was I doing? What was I going to tell Megan? I had to quit now so that the team could find another player. I didn't want to be embarrassed in front of all of those girls, and in front of the coach, and my parents! Quitters never win and winners never quit. How many times had I heard that in my life. Was I a quitter?
I woke up the next morning when the phone rang next to me at 10:13am.
"Hello," I mumbled into the phone.
"Hi Rachel!" a cheery voice bubbled from the other end of the line. It took me a moment to realize it was Megan.
"Hi Megan," I replied.
"I was wondering if you wanted to go to the gym to practice a little. I could help give you some tips on basketball," she offered.
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Should I tell her I wanted to quit and that yesterday had been total luck? She'd be so disappointed. What should I say?
"That would be great," I muttered, not knowing what else to say.
I thought it might be easier for her to see how poorly I played and then tell her I was quitting. I really didn't want to embarrass myself in front of the other team members nor in front of anyone else coming to watch a game.
"I'll meet you outside at 10:30. Is that okay?" Megan asked.
"Sure," I replied. "See you then."
I put on my light blue sweat suit and my sneakers and pounded down the stairs. I grabbed a freshly baked banana muffin and a clementine for breakfast and poured a tall glass of Tropicana orange juice.
A look at the clock told me it was 10:20. As I gobbled down my breakfast, I glanced out the window and saw Megan saying goodbye to her parents.
"Mom, is it okay if I go to the gym and practice basketball with Megan?" I asked as she poured herself a cup of coffee.
"Wow. You're pretty enthusiastic about basketball all of a sudden," she noted.
"Not really, Just nervous," I muttered, tossing my good luck ball up and down a few times.
"It's fine for you to go," Dad added. "Good luck."
I slumped out the door, pushed through the bushes between our driveways, and was at Megan's side. We jogged down the driveway and down to the gym. When we pushed open the door, we saw our coach sitting in the lobby.
"What are you two doing here today?" she questioned, barely even looking up at us as she typed something out on her laptop.
"We were just going to get a little practice in," Megan said, "to help Rachel with
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some of the basics."
"Okay then, you can do that," Coach Bells agreed.
"Thanks," we shouted as we pushed open the door that led to the court.
A bright orange basket full of orange basketballs was right next to the bleachers. Megan grabbed one ball for herself and passed another one to me.
"First, we'll go over dribbling," Megan began. "You're not allowed to hold the ball and run. That's called traveling. You must always dribble the ball when you have it and are moving on the court."
Megan starting bouncing the ball as she continued. "The best way to dribble is with the pads of your fingers, not with your palms and not with your fingertips. That's how you'll have the best control of the ball."
"Like this?" I asked as I started to dribble the ball.
"Perfect," Megan replied. "Now, it is important to always know exactly where the ball is. It's good if you can do it without looking directly at the ball. Usually you can see it out of the corner of your eye and also be aware of where your opponents are."
What Megan told me made sense, but seemed difficult for someone who spent most of her life coordinating her feet more than her hands. As I was contemplating everything Megan had explained, she beckoned me over to one of the hoops.
"When you shoot, have one arm bent pretty much under the ball, and the other hand on the side guiding the ball," Megan told me. "Once you have the position and you're on target, you can shoot!" Megan released the ball and it swished through the net. "Now you try," Megan continued.
I stepped onto the spot Megan had just occupied and threw the ball to the hoop. I made it!
"That was awesome!" Megan exclaimed. "You're a natural!"
9
For the next hour, we practiced shooting and even played a short one-on-one game. I started feeling more at home on the court and even made a couple of baskets. Megan and I practiced every day that week. Practicing with Megan was fun and I was starting to get excited about playing. Maybe I could help the team. Maybe I wasn't so bad. And…it's a fun sport! I decided not to quit and instead of sitting around at home tossing my little red ball in the air, I started constantly carrying around a basketball and tossing it up and down in the air. I felt more and more at ease with the orange ball.
When the following Saturday came, the coach told us that since everyone knew the basics of how to play, we could start a game that she would referee. She wanted to see how we worked together on the court. I was on a team with Megan and we worked together well after practicing all week together. I scored seven points, intercepted two passes and stole the ball twice. My team won 29 to 23. Playing a real game was a lot of fun.
"You did really well," Megan stated enthusiastically as we walked home.
"Thanks!" I replied. "You did, too. I was amazed I could do that well. Before working with you, when I was practicing at my dad's sports center, I couldn't make one basket. I was ready to quit, but I didn't know how to tell you."
"Maybe you do your best when you're playing with others, " Megan suggested.
"I think your instruction really helped," I replied. "Before, I was just kind of throwing the ball at the basket. Now I feel like I know how to shoot. The ball goes up and swish, down through the net! Two points! Thanks," I told her as we approached our houses. "Thanks again for convincing me to play. I'll see you tomorrow."
"You're welcome," Megan acknowledged. "Bye."
I jogged across to my house and I burst through the door and saw my mom baking cookies.
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"Hey, Rachel! How did practice go?" she asked looking up from rolling balls of dough.
"It was great! Coach Bells let us play a game. I scored seven points!" I screamed.
"Seven points! That's fantastic!" my mom shouted back. "In a while, we can eat these cookies to celebrate! But stop screaming!"
"Okay," I whispered. "By the way, Coach Bells informed us that we have our first game on Friday. That's in only six days. We're playing against the Harwinton Hawks."
My mom nodded. "Okay, we'll be there."
I ran upstairs to share the good news with my dad.
"Hi Jessica," I murmured as I passed my older sister in the hall. She just nodded, and I saw she was texting her friends.
I practiced every day with Megan at the league court, and Coach Bells always complimented us on our skills and improvement. At practices, we would begin with the basics, and then play a game. We all gave 100% every day. I was learning more and more each day. I couldn't wait until our game against the Hawks. I learned that they were the league champions each of the past three years. It would be a tough game.
Every day, I would stare at the clock, hoping it would go faster.
Finally, the day came. I went to the gym with Megan and Coach Bells handed out our uniforms. Number 20 was on my uniform. After everyone changed in the locker room, we went out to the court to warm up. At noon, people starting filing in to the gym and filling the bleachers. I saw our opponents emerge from the visitors' locker room wearing dark green uniforms. They looked dull next to the bright orange that we were wearing. The announcers sat behind the score table and one of them switched on the scoreboard. We were about to start.
"This is so exciting," Megan exclaimed as she walked up beside me.
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"I know," I agreed 100% with Megan.
Coach Bells had assigned positions at the last practice and announced the starters. I was a starting forward and Megan was a starting guard. We all took our positions as the fans settled into their seats and quieted down.
The whistle blew. The Hawks took possession of the ball. A tall, dark haired
girl ran down the court and tried for a three point shot. The shot was low, so I jumped up and knocked the ball out of the air and hit it to my teammate, Ashley. She caught it and passed it to Megan who dribbled down to the other net for an easy lay-up.
"Great job, Rachel," Coach Bells shouted from the sidelines over the cheering crowd. "Good pass, Ashley. Nice shot, Megan."
When the buzzer sounded for halftime, we were ahead 22-19. Our team gathered on the chairs beside the court.
"You girls are doing a great job!" the coach exclaimed.
Everyone got a quick drink of water and a few minutes of much needed rest before we headed back to the court. The game started again. It was close throughout the second half. With ten seconds left on the clock, Coach Bells called a time out. The score was tied.
"Now," Coach Bells declared," we can do this. This is how we'll do this. Ashley, you'll inbound the ball to Megan. Rachel, you'll go up to the top of the key and Megan will get the ball to you. Make sure you're open. I nodded and so did Ashley and Megan. "Ashley, once you inbound the ball, cut to the outside corner. Rachel, if you have a shot, take it. If not, Ashley is our back up. Get the ball to her if you can't take the shot yourself. Got it?"
With everyone agreed, "Go Jaguars!" we shouted in unison.
Play began again. Ten seconds left. Ashley got the ball to Megan with nine
12
seconds left. I was at the top of the key but was covered. Eight seconds left. Megan dribbled up to the three point line. Six seconds left. I dodged around the tallest of the Hawks as Megan passed me the ball. Four seconds left. I turned to spot the basket. Ashley was covered. Two seconds left. A quick side step around their guard and I flung the ball into the air as the buzzer sounded. The ball bounced up off the rim and then dropped…swish through the net!
I just stood there, amazed. I looked up at the scoreboard and it read HOME-46,
VISITORS - 44. Everyone was jumping for joy!
"You did it!" Megan shouted as she ran over to me. "We won! We beat the Hawks! We've never beaten the Hawks before!"
"We did it!" I exclaimed, "together."
After everyone settled down, I found my parents in the crowd.
"You were amazing," my mom cried with tears of happiness in her eyes.
I couldn't believe it. This was my first real game and I made the buzzer shot. I had almost given up. I had wanted to quit. I owe a lot to Megan. I would never have been able to make the shot without her. I would never have even tried. Friends are really important in life. She helped me learn that you should never give up and that if you really set your mind to something, you can do it. Winners never quit. I'm going to remember that lesson for the rest of my life.

Taylor H.'s Short Story

The Worst Day Ever

“Mom, Mom, can I go show Lindsay the tree?” Anthony shouted across the kitchen.
“OK, just watch your sister and be safe,” Mom said as Anthony and Lindsay walked out the door. The two kids went into the woods. Anthony showed Lindsay the tree.
“That’s the one,” Anthony said as he walked through a pricker bush. As he started to climb the tree, Lindsay wondered off on him. “Oh no, Mom is going to be mad at me for not watching Lindsay. Oh boy, how am I going to find her? Maybe if I call Silas, he can help me.” So as Anthony went to reach for his phone, he heard his Mom quietly in the distance.
“Anthony, Lindsay time to come home,” Mom said.
“OK,” said Anthony, “ in just a minute.” As Anthony was on his way out of the woods, he started to get very teary eyed because his sister was gone. “I am going to stay in these woods until I find my sister and if I don’t find my sister, I will stay in the woods forever and suffer the same way she.” As Anthony started to look again, his Mom called.
“Anthony,” she shouted.
“Yes, Mom,” he muttered.
“Time to come in,” Mom said.
“I can’t,” he said.
“Why?” she replied.
“I lost something and I can’t find it.”
“Do you want me to come and help you?”
“I was going to say yes but I said no” as I talked to myself. Then I said “No thank you, Mom.”
“OK,” Mom scolded. As I started to look for my sister, my friend, Silas came along and I saw him and shouted, “Silas.”
“Oh, there you are. What are you doing back here?”
“Showing my sister the tree we always climb.” As I turned around,
I covered my face.
“What’s wrong?” Silas asked in a whisper.
“I think my sister is gone.”
“How did that happen?”
“Well, I went to climb the tree and when I came back down, I looked for Lindsay but she wasn’t there and I yelled her name but she didn’t respond to me. Can you help me look for her?” Anthony said.
“Sure.”
“OK, good,” Anthony said. “I’ll go this way, you go that way.” As the boys looked for Lindsay, Anthony’s mom came in the woods. Anthony’s mom stopped them.
“Boys?” mom said.
“Yes.”
“What are you doing?” mom asked.
“Nothing,” the boys said awkwardly.
“Tell me what happened.”
“OK. Fine. I went to climb the tree and Lindsay walked away from me.”
“Oh great,” mom said.
“We are looking for her,” Anthony said.
“OK but you better find her or else,” mom said.
“OK. OK,” the boys said in a panic. As the boys went off in the woods to look for Lindsay again, they heard something. “Did you hear that?” Anthony said in a yell of joy.
“Yeah,” replied Silas.
“Do you think that is her?”
“Oh yes.”
The two boys went further into the woods. As they got closer, the noise got louder.
“Hum, hummm, hummmm”
“Lindsay?” the boys yelled.
“Yahhhhh,” Lindsay said.
“Stay there, we’re coming,” said Anthony and Silas.
“Ok,” said Lindsay.
As the boys were getting closer to Lindsay, they felt a little rumbling on the ground.
“I think it’s a rock slide. Run, get Lindsay,” said Anthony.
They started to sprint and when they got to Lindsay, they grabbed her and got out of the woods.
“I think we should leave now,” Anthony said. The three kids got home and that’s when Anthony remembered that they were having a party.
“I hope mom told everyone that Lindsay had gotten lost.”
“I think she did,” Lindsay said.
“Yah, I think everyone is going to be cheering that you are home,” said Anthony.
The kids walked in and mom and dad hugged and kissed Lindsay and then Lindsay went upstairs and took a shower and was glad to be home.

Angus L.'s Short Story

The Card of Agony

By: A.L.
Author of online hit Notes of Victory!

"Mom! Mom!" Joe Bush screamed as he tore off the school bus and dashed into his house.
"Mom! Hey! Mom! Mom?" he called desperately, out of breath and panting.
"Mom‟s outta town, dude. C‟mere and help me cook these hot dogs and baked beans for the tailgate, and then we‟ll go out and toss the football," Joe‟s dad, Jay Bush, announced, drawling.
"I hate tailgates, and tossing a football‟s pointless, anyway. It‟s too silly," Joe shot back angrily, and couldn‟t help but think back to the day where he had developed this attitude.
"Joe, always strive for success. It pays off, and you‟ll be happier. So, study hard, and don‟t engage in silly activities," Joe‟s mom, Georgia Bush, lectured.
"Aw, don‟t be silly. Look at me!" Jay Bush drawled.
Joe knew his dad was rich and famous because he was lucky. Joe‟s mom had earned fame by working hard. Joe vowed only to listen to his mom, and never to listen to his dad.
"So, ya gonna cook those „dogs?" his dad asked him.
Joe suddenly snapped back into focus, and stomped up the wide, wooden front staircase. He strode into the telephone room and dialed a number.
"Yes, who is this?" a fuzzy, distorted voice came through the phone.
"Hi, it‟s me. I finally got an A+ in all my subjects!" Joe announced excitedly.
"Great! Good for you! Now, remember to study hard and work hard, and not to do silly things. When your dad goes to tailgates, go to your friend John‟s and study," Georgia Bush, Joe‟s mom, lectured over the cell phone.
"Sure, Mom. Where are you, anyway?" Joe asked.
"I‟m at Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris, on a short-notice business trip. Bye, Joe," she explained, and hung up.
Joe went to bed cheerfully, delighted at finally achieving one of his most important goals. For years, he had nailed all the "close but no cigar" report cards and test grades to his bedroom wall, and studied there for hours every day. Now, he had finally earned a perfect report card. He fell asleep congratulating himself.
The next day, Joe was called to the front of his classroom
Joe rolled his eyes at his best friend, John Smith, then said, "Yes, Mrs. Miney."
Joe didn‟t like Mrs. Miney. He thought she was too casual, and didn‟t teach anything but bad habits. She even played "toss the ball" games when they were supposed to be learning.
As Joe came to the front desk, Mrs. Miney gushed, "Oh Joe, I‟m so sorry! I mixed your report card with Adam‟s. Here you go," and handed him a manila envelope with "Joe Bush" scribbled on the front in black marker.
Joe immediately wanted to vomit.
"Adam!" he thought angrily.
Adam Ralanuck was the smartest 5th grader in the school. Joe was extremely jealous of him, since he was one of the only people smarter than him in the school. He got A‟s without apparent effort. Many people enjoyed studying with him.
Joe began to shiver, and there seemed to be a hollow pit in his stomach. He quickly stuffed the envelope into his folder, in fear that the grades would not be A‟s.
"Adam, please come to the front desk," Mrs. Miney called.
Joe strained to hear the whispered conversation at the front desk. He heard "misplaced report cards", "grades actually are", and "so, this is the correct report card".
"Hey, Joe," Adam smirked as he passed Joe‟s desk, "you might want to study more. A lot more."
Joe felt like giving himself a slap on the head.
"Of course I need to study more! I only study for three hours a day. Now I need to study for four or five hours! I need to succeed! My life depends upon it! Study more! Work even more! Never rest, ever! Everything is worthless except work! Never, ever play! If
you do, you‟re worthless!" Joe raged silently in his mind. He wanted to be studying, not filling out a worksheet about the things he had to study!
Joe awoke from his trance as Mrs. Miney announced,"Okay class, it‟s time for recess!" as the bell rang and children started to charge out the door.
"Excuse me, Mrs. Miney, but I would like to stay inside and study today," Joe called over the excited babble of kids rushing out the door.
"Oh, Joe, don‟t be silly!" Mrs. Miney laughed. "Just go out there and have fun."
Since Mrs. Miney was the teacher, Joe had to obey her. With slumping shoulders, he stomped out the door.
On the bus ride home, Joe finally summoned up the courage to look at his report card. With hands sweating and legs trembling, he slowly ripped open the manila envelope.
Inside the envelope was a yellow sheet of paper declaring, "D.C. East School 5th Grade Report Card." Joe nervously unfolded the paper and carefully examined the markings on the paper.
Everything appeared to be A‟s, and now…
"Wait…," Joe thought.
"What!" Joe screamed at the top of his lungs. "A B+ in math? What?! No!" he wailed in distress. "This is unacceptable! Be better! Study more! Get one hundreds or else!" he continued threateningly.
"I just can‟t! No! Why me?! I can‟t take it! No! No! Study! Now! I can‟t!" Joe continued, wailing, oblivious to his best friend, John, trying to comfort him and have him calm down. Joe continued to sob and kick and his friends were unable to help him with the B+ that tainted his report card.
"Stop for Joe Bush!" the bus driver called over the noisy racket in the fifth grade section.
"Joe, your stop!" everyone chorused.
Joe was still like a baby, kicking, screaming, and overall unaware of his surroundings. He could not bear the B+ that tainted his report card. He buried his face into the science test study guide.
"Element- the base materials of the world; cannot be separated into smaller components," Joe mumbled.
"Electron- the negatively charged part of an atom; located in the electron cloud. Electron cloud- the outer shells of an atom, outside the nucleus," Joe continued.
"Hey!" he suddenly yelled, irate. "Quit distracting my studying! You‟re so annoying! Stop it already!" And before anyone could tell him that it was time for him to get off, his face was buried in the study guide again, with his report card still lying on his seat, next to him.
"Nucleus- the center of an atom; where the protons and neutrons are," he mumbled to himself.
"What? Huh? Wahhh!" he suddenly screamed as the bus driver marched up the aisle, stuffed Joe‟s things in his backpack, then picked up Joe and dropped him down on the
front lawn roughly. Joe glared at the bus driver‟s bushy, bearded face, then marched into his house and shut the door like he was trying to break it.
Joe ran up the stairs, and found his dad there.
"Hey, dude. C‟mon, let‟s toss that football," Jay Bush drawled. "We‟ll be goin‟ to a tailgate at FedEx Field, the Redskins‟ stadium today. Let‟s go," he continued in a lazy, carefree voice.
Joe screamed some inaudible words, and then pushed his dad into the bathroom he was standing right outside of. He ran into his room, slammed the door shut, and promptly punched the lock button, loud and clear.
"Do not disturb!" he screamed angrily.
Joe pulled out the study guide from his backpack, and immediately began studying. He studied all night, and fell asleep without dinner, with the study guide still in his hand.
The next day, as Joe descended down the stairs, Jay Bush announced, "Mom‟s comin‟ back tonight, dude. I‟ll see ya after school. Later."
After school, Joe slumped back home.
"Why, Joe, I‟m so proud of you!" Georgia Bush declared happily. Joe hadn‟t told her about the report card mix-up.
"Actually, Mom, I got almost all A‟s, but a B+ in math," Joe explained miserably. "The report card got mixed with Adam‟s."
Georgia suddenly stepped away from Joe, with an angry glare on her face.
"Oh, Joe! Why did you get a B+?! You know much better than to do that! Get up to your room, now! You need a spanking! A B+ is completely unacceptable!" Georgia stormed angrily, yelling. "A B+! How could you?! Get up to your room, now!" Georgia slammed her hand on a table.
Joe stomped up the stairs loudly. Georgia followed him, and as soon as he stepped both feet into his room, Georgia grabbed him, turned him upside down, and spanked him forcefully ten times. She then threw Joe roughly onto his bed, and screamed, "What do you have to say for yourself, you miserable excuse for a person? No dinner for you! You will study with me from now until midnight! Is that clear?!"
Four hours later, Joe and Georgia were taking a ten minute break.
"Okay, maybe I struck the wrong tone here," Georgia finally admitted. "You should learn how to cope with failure. I‟ll teach you how to right now. First of all, when you fail, stay calm. Second of all, do the best you can, and if you did, its good work. And lastly, if it‟s not 100%, and you still tried hard, I would be happy. That‟s what I wanted you to do, not having a fit over a B+. I thought that you got that B+ because you slacked off your studying, and didn‟t try hard enough. I guess that maybe you forgot something on an important test."
"That‟s what happened, Mom," Joe whispered, too stunned to say anything else.
Joe quickly relaxed about his grades. At that moment, he had changed. He was no longer a worried boy who fretted about his grades. He was a focused, determined boy who did not let setbacks hurt him.
Joe never did get better than Adam. But he did live a happy, successful life.
Joe was then a better person. He coped with failure after that, and that drove him to success. Joe showed the world what a great man he was.

Dedications
This piece is dedicated to:
Mrs. Hartle and my parents.
-A. L.

Maria G.'s Short Story

College Catastrophe

“Jess, slow down!”
“No, Andrew! Superstar was a racehorse! He should speed up!” Andrew nudged Superstar and they shot forward.
“HA!” he yelled back. Andrew and Superstar slowed to a stop under a tree. Starlit and I quickly caught up.
Even though six years separated us, Andrew and I are as close as can be. He is like a priceless ruby gem. Well, he isn’t a possession like a gem, but I love him with every bit of adoration my heart holds. I know that I can always count on him to be there. He watches over me, and I adore that.
I slid off of Starlit. I let my whole body fall to the grass. I moved around until I found a comfortable spot. If you moved to Nantucket, the pinks, blues, and purples would hit you like a slap in the face. Not to mention the reds, oranges, and yellows, of course. Sometimes, if you make no noise at all, rabbits or chipmunks might come up to sniff you. Once, a deer actually sniffed my shoulder. Then, it licked my neck!
Andrew slid from his mount. He adjusted himself next to me. We seemed perfect and content. But, my gut felt twisted. It foreshadowed something terrible.
“I finished high school in June,” Andrew began. This can’t be good. “The next part of my life is college. Three different ones want to take me. UCLA,” cringe, “the University of Phoenix,” cringe, “and Duke. Thoughts?” None of them. Uh-uh. No. Massachusetts or bust. Somebody wake me up!
“Worst penny you ever spent. I got nothing.” Andrew laughed at that. Oh darn.
“Let’s head back.” Sure, Andrew. Act like nothing’s wrong. Everything’s just peachy! He was right though. The stars began to poke out. He and I walked back to the stable. We set up our horses for the night. Then, we went home-without speaking.
The next morning, only Mom sat in the kitchen. I asked were Andrew was. Maybe he hadn’t woken up yet. But no, of course not.
“He is in his room researching the college he chose to attend. Your father and I are exceedingly proud of him.” No! Why is she acting like nothing’s wrong? Won’t she miss him?
“Okay. Thanks,” I murmured. I slipped out of the kitchen and up to his-I can’t bare even thinking his name anymore-room. I thought, ‘Will I ever see him again? He’s leaving for…the c-word.’ The phrase burned. ‘The C-word.’ Mom told me he chose one of…’them.’ Ew. I leaned on his white wooden doorframe. He skimmed a page of text across the other side of the room. His back faced me; just like it would when he leaves.
“Dude, I can see you in the monitor. What’s up?” He seemed his normal self-cool. He swiveled around on his chair to face me. I need to ask now.
“Where is it?” He knew what I asked about. He knew why I refused to look at him, too.
“Phoenix,” he mumbled. This can’t be happening! I turned and bolted to the hayloft. As I climbed up each wooden ladder rung, tears fell from my sad, helpless eyes. I pulled my diary and pen from the bottom drawer of the worn out blue chest at the other end of the loft. I flopped on a blanket covered hay bail and started to write.

Diary-
I hate him! Why did he choose Phoenix? Why? He knows college kids can’t find

jobs often times. He knows airfare costs a lot of money. Why diary? Why does he

want to move so far away? Does he hate m

The pen broke. Ink splattered everywhere.
Mom reminded me that he’d leave tomorrow, too. He’d be in the air waiting to land in Phoenix. He would be excited.
“Starlit,” I called, “you down there, girl?” She nickered. She listened, waiting for my rant. “I’ll miss him. He can’t see me cry. I’m to narcissistic. There’s only one way,” I paused, “I can’t see him leave.”
I slept in the hayloft that night.
The next morning, I awoke to the sun glaring at me. It looked about ten, but I doubted myself. At noon, I’d never see Andrew again. I rolled off of the hay bail and stumbled over to the worn blue chest. I could feel the hard residue from crying on my cheeks. I found a picture of Andrew and me, my favorite one, and slid it into my pocket. I backed down the ladder near Starlit’s stall. I decided to ride her.
We were far out when the ‘worst case scenario’ happened. I tumbled from Starlit’s back and a jagged wooden peninsula hit me. Wham! Right in the face. Starlit whinnied for me. I reached up and patted her muzzle.
“Hey girl,” I muttered. I wished that Andrew wasn’t on that plane to Phoenix. I noticed a bloody gash in my left leg.
“Oh no,” I breathed. My shirt turned red, too. Am I going to die? My startled expression encouraged it to race faster down my chest. I willed myself to get up. Only one way home-to ride. I saw the stable perched on the horizon. ‘You have to get home!’ I thought. I crept up a large rock nearby and swung my unharmed leg over Starlit’s back. I pulled the rest of my body up. My right leg dripped my blood from the thigh down. However, my torso was much worse. I rubbed my hand across my body. Stomach-fine, chest-fine. My neck spat out more blood. I started to feel light-headed. The forest around me went in and out of focus. Starlit and I made it to the stable and I passed out.
Or died.
Or both.
“She’ll be fine, Mrs. Daniels. Make her keep those bandages on. She went out alone, right? Doesn’t Andrew usually go riding with her?” That doesn’t sound like an angel. More like Dr. George.
“Andrew went to college. At the University of Phoenix, Doctor,” pride was all I heard in her reply. She doesn’t miss Andrew. She’s not worried about me.
“Oh, good for him. I must be going.”
Great. Leave me alone with Mom. I’ll be given the gift of a grave! I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Joy of al glorious joys. Help, oh help. Can I get eaten by a pack of wolves instead? Please?
“Hello, Jessica.” I must be in a lot of trouble. She used my full name.
“Hi?” It sounded more like a question. What did she want?
“That was a nasty fall-”
“I didn’t fall. A branch hit me in the face.”
“Oh,” was all she said. Right. But, she continued. “Well, I am going into town today. You could come with me. We’ll take the scenic route. See some flowers and birds?” Kindness? That’s her motive? I could try it.
“All right. I’d like that.” I started to walk to my closet, but Mom stopped me.
“I know that we don’t have the best of friendships. I want to forage what I can. Will you help me do that?” she pleaded for my help. Wow.
“Sure, Mom.” It hit me. She actually cares about me. And I was an individual person-Jess Daniels.