Attack of the SYCHO Clan “If you want Nina back, you`ll have to

Attack of the SYCHO Clan
“If you want Nina back, you’ll have to come and get her,” the text read.
10 Years Earlier
“Hey! How ‘bout you become my bwood bwoder and I become your bwood
sister?” A 5-year-old Nina asked me. She stared into my plain brown eyes with her
round, deep green eyes. It was as if she was staring into my soul, but in a good way. We
were drinking freshly made lemonade with freezing cold ice in her backyard after
running all over its vivid green grass playing tag. Her long, curly brown braids were
getting frizzy. It was probably due to the extreme humidity that day (I have an older sister
so I know these girly things). “Yeah! Buh how would we do dat?” I wondered; I was a
slow child back then. “Isn’t it obvious? All you have tah do is pwick both of our fingers
with a needow den touch dem togeder so dat da bwood mixes, silly goose!” Nina
answered all in 1 quick breath. “Oh.” I replied. So we explored all the creaks and crevices
of her house to find a needle. When we found a needle, we pricked both of our index
fingers. Luckily, it didn’t hurt very much. We then pressed them together and mixed our
blood.
4 Years Earlier
“Mr.Tomson is SO annoying! I think he always gives me homework from the
textbook on purpose. I honestly believe he wants us to all turn into a younger version of
the hunchback of Notre Dame!” Nina proceeded to rant on about how heavy her book
bag was. “Wow. Mrs.Sween barely gives me any homework, and when she does, it’s just
a worksheet that isn’t due for, like, a few weeks.” “I hope you know how lucky you are,
Sid.” Nina replied. “No worries, I know. Thank goodness there’s only 1 month of school
left ‘till summer vacation! Hey, have you read the Harry Potter series yet?” I never liked
talking about how I always get less homework that Nina, so I was glad to change the
subject to Harry Potter and summer vacation. We proceeded to talk about our plans for
the summer, even though we both knew we were going to hang out with each other and
go swimming.
The next day… “Breaking news Nina! Mr.Tomson is leaving for summer
vacation early!” I shouted to her. “I know, right? I thought I just might die before this
year ended!” Nina replied. “I feel so sorry for you! I know Mr.Tomson was your favorite
teacher ever!” I said, emphasizing the “favorite teacher ever” part. Nina glared at me,
but I knew she didn’t really mean it. We always teased each other like that, and we both
knew it. For example, up until this year, she teased me about how I used to spike up the
front of my straight blond hair with hair gel. You can even see it in my school pictures
from grades 3-5! It looked ridiculous. Teasing each other is like a tradition between the
two of us.
Current Time
Hi everybody. I’m John, and I’m going to be the narrator from here on out! Sid
already explained his childhood, so I’m going to explain his other “hood” (ha-ha), but
I’m only going to explain the important parts. I’m new at this thing, but Sid trusted me.
Ok, so, Sid was at his small house eating some Smart food popcorn from a bottomless
green bowl when he remembered he’s supposed to get the mail. So he got up from his
extremely comfortable couch, put down his huge bowl of popcorn, and walked all the
way outside to his mail box. To him, it felt like it was a thousand miles away, but in
reality, it was only a few short yards away. Today was Sunday, AKA Sid’s lazy day. He
opened the mailbox, grabbed the mail, went inside, and nestled back into the soft tan
couch. “Poop! This stupid bowl of popcorn’s empty!” Sid complained to no one in
particular,”Oh well, I have to check my email anyway…” So he left the couch,
disappointed, to go to his laptop. Which just so happened to be way upstairs in his
bedroom. He climbed the stairs all the way up the whole 8 steps. When he logged onto
his gmail account (fakeemail@gmail.com), he saw a sender he didn’t recognize.
“MagicalTruth@wizardwitch.org? What’s that?” Sid wondered out loud. He decided to
check it out.
“Sid, you’re a wizard. This is not a joke. Other information will be sent in the mail
tomorrow. Along with that will be a ticket to Tennessee, where our secret headquarters
are located. YOU MUSN’T CONTACT ANYONE ABOUT THIS. ~ Bill Jobs”
“Well, that’s strange.” Sid said, “But nothing magical or mysterious ever happened to
me, like it did for Harry Potter.” Suddenly, his door opened with a loud BAM!
“Oh Siddy! I always knew you were special! After all, you were always tall for
your age…” Sid’s mom managed to say through her sobbing, “I just never guessed you
would be a magical being! Oh, no need to worry honey, these are tears of joy! Bill Jobs
also emailed me!” “Um, mom, I think this weird “Bill Jobs” guy is a fake…” said Sid.
“Let’s just wait and see if a ticket to Tennessee actually comes in the mail tomorrow.
Until then, you have to believe that you are a wizard,” Sid’s mom replied, “Oh my
goodness! This is so exciting!” As day turned into night, and night turned back into day,
Sid might have forgotten about the wizard thing, but his anxious mom didn’t.
“Siddy-Poooooo! I was right! You ARE a wizard!” Sid’s mom shouted at the top
of her lungs, “The letter came in the mail today with directions to the headquarters and
the plane ticket!” “Oh my god mom! It’s like 4:00 in the morning! Let me sleep, sheesh!”
Sid replied. What was extremely awful for him was that he couldn’t fall back asleep.
Secretly, he whispered, “Accio socks!” Sid was actually very excited. He’d always been a
huge fan of the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling. “Get packed Sid! You’re not going
to school all week!” Sid’s mom shouted. At first, Sid thought the week would go as slow
as a snail, but it went faster than the blink of an eye.
“Let’s go Sid!” “Coming Mom!” The week was over and Sid had to leave to the
Delta airport right away. That’s where the airport for the ticket was. The airport was
about an hour away and it was 3:25, so Sid was leaving so that he isn’t late. Normally, he
would have been excited about it, but Nina texted him about a million times the past
week asking him where he was. He wasn’t allowed to respond. The car ride was filled
with “I’m so excited” and “I can’t wait ‘till we arrive!” from his mom. The plane ride
was dull, he rode alone. “Finally, we’re here!” Sid exclaimed as he exited the plane, “I
thought the ride would never end!” Only then did Sid realize Nina didn’t text him for a
while. His mistake was not to think anything of it. He followed the directions to the all
powerful headquarters (get on the yellow and green striped bus at 9th street, get off at the
last stop, enter the 3rd brick building to the left, ask for Steve Gates). He got a simple
lesson on basic spells that didn’t require a wand, when he got a text.
“If you want Nina back, you’ll have to come and get her,” the creepy text read,
“Go to the nearest prairie. Come fast if you really care.” It gave Sid chills. “Sorry! Got to
go! I’ll meet you tomorrow at 5:00!” Sid shouted. He had to save Nina no matter what.
When Sid arrived to the nearest prairie (it was only about 5 minutes away
walking), he saw a clan of things. They had the basic build of a hyena, but on their fur
was a poisonous looking purple and red, with dirt all around. Also, they had long, bat-like
wings with spikes on the edges. What grossed Sid out the most about the wings was the
fact that there were some blood red stains on the spikes. Their faces had evil grins on
their faces. “Why hello their, Sid,” the thing’s crackly voice said, “Have you come to join
us for tea?” The things started cackling, a million psychopaths. “What did you do with
Nina,” Sid questioned. It was actually more of a command. The things were creepy, yes,
but Nina was the best thing that ever happened to him. “Oh my, where are my manners?
I’ve aught to introduce myself,” the same psychopath replied, “I am Augusta, the leader
of the SYCHO clan. We are the most respected clan of shaquannas on planet Earth.” “So
that’s what those things are; shaquannas,” Sid thought silently. “Forget about tea, we’re
fresh out. But you might like to have this,” Augusta stepped aside, as did the other
shaquannas, and gestured to Nina. She was tied up in a chair, gagged. A muffled sound
greeted Sid’s ears. “LET HER GO!!!” Sid shouted at Augusta. He knew Nina’s worst
fear was to be tied up in a chair and gagged so she can’t cry for help. “Why would I? She
is pretty valuable, after all,” Augusta replied. “What do you mean?” Sid asked. “What?
Are you saying that you don’t already know?” Augusta teased. “Know what!?” Sid
wasn’t feeling very confident anymore. “When you mixed blood with this here girl, some
of the magic in your blood transferred into hers! You are really slow,” Augusta said to
Sid, “Wizards these days,” she said to the other Shaquanna’s. That caused a great deal of
cackling. Sid’s ear drums were about to burst when Bill Jobs popped up. “You left five
minutes early! It’s especially important to stay for the whole lesson when you’re a
beginner! Oh…” Bill stopped when he saw the SYCHO clan, “You again!” Suddenly Bill
was boiling with anger, “I thought I banished you when you murdered my wife!”
“Ummmm….. That was different!” Augusta claimed. “Yeah! What she said!” the other
shaquannas quickly agreed. Suddenly, the atmosphere changed. The SYCHO clan looked
downright terrified, but Bill looked ready to attack a stampede of rhinoceroses. Bill took
a quick stomp towards the evil clan, and they flew away super fast, screaming. The only
traces of them left were Nina- still tied to the chair, still gagged, paler than a vampire, and
the cackling of the creepy shaquannas’ laughs rattling in Sid’s heart. Together, Sid and
Bill untied the tight knots that held Nina still. They also got rid of the gag. Nina fell,
coughing, to the hard, dry, cracked ground. “Nina! Speak to me!” “I’ll *cough* miss you
*cough*!” Then her petite body went limp. “She’s dead.” Sid said, “I’ll never see her
alive ever again!” Sid started sobbing. “I expected that to happen. When that evil pack of
shaquannas murdered my wife, they poisoned her, just in case I rescued her. Then, no
matter what, she would die right in front of me,” Bill’s almond shaped blue eyes flooded
with tears, splashing his rectangular glasses. He ran his large hand through his short,
grey-black hair. Soon enough, he was sobbing with Sid.
Ten Years Later
“Nick, you’re a wizard. This isn’t a joke. Other information will be sent in the mail
tomorrow. YOU MUSTN’T CONTACT ANYONE ABOUT THIS. ~Sid Desmond”
Genevieve Diehl
Boght Hills Elementary
12 years old, 6th grade
Chjinova
Katie clutched her bamboo stick, determined to make a good impression. She used to be
a slave in the countryside. I know what you're thinking... "But we won the Civil War. There
should be no more slavery." Well, Katie's old owners never cared about the Constitution.
Neither did her neighborhood. So, they had slavery and never told. Hey, it's the truth!
Katie had escaped by fighting a life or death battle, and although she had won, she
was captured again by a secret society known as FAFCC. Now, Katie sort-of, may have trash
talked her way into another fight.
Well, here she was again, aboard the FAFCC airship. She had been given a bamboo stick
(which they apparently called a beginner's pole) and was now charging, making a skilled move
by sliding between the opponent's legs and whacking him hard in his rear. Surprised with pain,
he dropped his bamboo stick and Katie grabbed it just as she slid away. Her opponent whirled
around and came at her with his fists. Katie followed her very feisty instinct (which is what got
her in this mess) and randomly whacked him in the ribs. He turned, hands on his knees and
panting, not even noticing Katie running at him with her stick in the air. But he sure felt it when
she hit him in the back bone, hard. As he fell to the floor, she ran to the exit of the room. The
guards tried to stop her but she did the same slide move she did with the opponent, evading them.
Katie ran through all the hallways she could find. She heard them chasing her. She made
a sharp left and crashed into a table full of potions. Opening her eyes just in time she ignored her
headache and crawled under a table covered by a tablecloth with more potions on top. She
waited as she heard the beating footsteps of guards run past. "Idiots," Katie said with disgust.
“Find her! I don't want that dangerous brat anywhere near this airship!" a low voice said
as he ran with the others. Katie rolled her eyes. Yeah, she was the brat.
After two minutes of waiting Katie crawled out of her hiding spot and observed her
surroundings. Which one of these potions could get her the plop out of there? She tapped the
glass containing a black potion and a white skull formed inside the gooey liquid. "Not that one,"
she said. She tapped all of them, some dragons and other skulls. Finally she saw a pink sparkly
one. It was the last one. "This has to be it," she thought. She ripped off the cap and drank a
drop. It tasted like cookies! She drank half the bottle but suddenly she got dizzy, making her
headache worse. Not knowing, she fell to the floor unconscious.
When she awoke she was definitely not in her world anymore. A jungle scene
surrounded her, except the plants were alive, like a bunch of meat-hungry Venus flytraps SNAP,
SNAP, SNAPPING. Katie's eyes opened. Just before she could scream there was a deep growl.
The plants clapped their jaws shut and hid in fear. Katie's eyes darted in and out of the thicket.
She noticed two piercing, yellow eyes staring back. It leaped out of the bushes about to pounce
on Katie, but, as surprised as she was, she whirled away, its claws just missing her hair.
She took a glance and marveled at the beautiful but deadly creature. A wolf. But this
was like no other wolf. This huge wolf had beautiful glistening white fur that sparkled in the
sun, piercing yellow eyes, golden teeth and a beautiful bushed tail, but before Katie could finish
admiring the creature it whirled around and breathed fire at Katie.
Terrified, Katie lunged behind a rock. A beautiful, fire-breathing wolf. She felt the
scorching hot flames, heat almost touching her. She peeked over the rock. Right there was the
wolf, about to breathe in her face, but Katie, finding courage, clamped its mouth shut and hopped
on its back. Suddenly she felt the wolf stop struggling. She felt two long big objects appear at
her sides. Oh no! Apparently this wolf was winged! A fire-breathing wolfasus. Just great.
The wolf shot in the air like a torpedo, wings beating. The wind stung Katie's eyes and
blew with force on her ears. To make matters worse, now the wolf was spinning. Katie couldn't
hold on much longer. Oh, what was the use, who cared about her anyway? "Fine," she managed
to scream, "You win." Katie let go.
She felt herself plummeting towards the ground, falling through the clouds. She was able
to see the wolf's fire, but the flames stopped. Suddenly the wolf was coming after her. Coming,
coming as fast as it could, but why? She saw the piercing eyes stare at her so Katie closed her
eyes tight. She never felt herself hit the ground. She seemed to still feel wind in her hair. One
eye opened, then both eyes. She saw the sky, but she was not falling. She looked down.
Whoa! She was riding the wolf! He looked at her. She thought she saw a smirk creep on
his face. "You were kind. I declare you the winner. Therefore, I am loyal to you. First you
must go to the Kingdom. They need you." “Wow,” thought Katie. “A talking, loyal, winged,
fire-breathing, piercing eyed and totally AWESOME animal. Mine!”
"So," she said, "how long does this loyalty last?"
"Forever," the wolf said enthusiastically. Then he did a flip in mid air and sped
through the air.
"Whoo hoo!" Katie screamed as he swerved around invisible objects. She could
see the Kingdom coming into view. It seemed to all be made out of white marble, except for the
ground which was grass with stone walkways and paths. The house roofs where stone, too,
except you saw tufts of grass poking out along the outer edges and cracks of every rock . "It's
beautiful," she marveled.
"The people's hearts are as well," replied the wolf, "but their Queen has passed."
Katie fell dead silent. "That now means that the plant is dying. This plant keeps the Kingdom
alive. Without a Queen, the plant dies. When it dies, everyone dies. We must do something."
Katie wasn't sure what to do. She knew the wolf was... Katie realized she was tired of
calling him 'the wolf.' "What's your name?" Katie asked. The wolf smiled, "Chjinova.”
Chjinova softly landed at a peninsula which seemed like it was meant for landing.
"Everyone has some kind of pet assistant. Some fly, some do not," Chjinova said,
reading Katie's thoughts.
“Whoa,” Katie thought.
"Yeah, I can read minds," he said, apparently doing it again.
Katie immediately thought, "You're a doofus."
“Hey!!" Chjinova whined. Katie scratched him behind the ear. A grin spread across his
face. Alright, a fire-breathing, winged, mind-reading, piercing eyed, talking, loyal ALL MINE
friend. "Oh, no!" said Chjinova staring at the setting sun. "There's not much time left! Hop on!"
Katie hopped on as he dashed to one of the marbled houses. Except this one was
different. It had cobwebs on every corner and it was one of the few that had a brown marbled
perimeter around the door and windows. The windows were cracked; in fact, it was the only one
with windows. The door was also wood, with a special cut into it. Chjinova seemed hypnotized
by it, but suddenly he broke free and walked inside.
Inside was bad - all made of wood, with cobwebs everywhere. In the middle of the floor
was a wooden table with a crystal ball in the center. Chjinova laid himself on the ground. “Ask
it what to do about this problem.”
Katie approached the ball. "Uh... how do I protect the Kingdom and... yeah?" The
crystal ball formed a face with makeup on it. "You... shall become..." but it fizzled out and the
face disappeared. Katie looked at Chjinova, who was now standing, looking desperately at the
ball. "Come with me," said Chjinova. Katie followed. He opened his wings, signaling her to
mount. Katie mounted. He flew to the castle, higher than the other Kingdom below. This castle
was pure beauty and grace, made of pure white marble, gold, diamond and stone. Katie must
have looked hypnotized like Chjinova had, because he barked, "Come back to me!!”
"Sorry," Katie mumbled. "It's just so..."
"I know," he agreed. He flew higher to the clouds where the guards wouldn't see him.
"You know," Katie said as she reached her hand out to touch the clouds, "I didn't see
anybody in the Kingdom. No pets. It was deserted."
Chjinova hesitated. Then he said, "They must all be dying. We may be too late." He
flew faster. They peeked under the clouds. They were above the whole castle, she could tell, but
more specifically, they seemed to be above a garden. Chjinova dove down towards the most
beautiful plant there. Katie tucked her face in his fur to avoid rough wind.
He landed softly, which stunned Katie considering how fast they dove. Katie jumped off
to admire the beautiful rose plant. The wonderful red color made her stare. "Touch the biggest
one. It's on top. Hurry! We don't have much time," Chjinova said desperately. Katie looked at
him, annoyed. His piercing eyes made her obey. Great. Well, Chjinova could make people do
what he wanted, too. Chjinova rolled his eyes in irritation. He knew that she’d said that.
Katie touched one of the stamens. There was a blinding light. Katie spun a bit. When
she looked down she was in a ruby red dress with ruby diamonds on her head as a crown. She
also had on a ruby necklace, bracelet and ring. Shoes with rubies too! Katie whirled around to
look at Chjinova. He was in golden armor that matched his eyes. "You are the princess!” he
said excitedly.
Katie heard guards coming, yelling "Intruder!! Intruder!!" Chjinova must have heard
them, too. He walked up to Katie and stood next to her, opening his wings to show strength. He
bared his golden teeth. The sun shown upon them, making them look more beautiful, powerful,
rare, spiritual.
When the guards arrived, they stopped, dead in their tracks. After a while, staring
cautiously (and in amazement) at Chjinova, they kneeled. Chjinova smiled.
“I can hear the people already,” he said, proudly.
The guards gave Katie a tour of the castle. It was almost as good as the outside. It was
everything you could imagine in a castle. Everything was white marble and gold.
******
Katie had now spent a whole day as a princess at the Kingdom. She was still
confused.
One question rang in her head: “Why me?”
Chjinova appeared in the doorway. “Do you want an answer?”
Katie nodded. Chjinova walked in. His armor looked washed. He noticed her
looking, and gave her a golden smile, literally.
Chjinova told her that she was the queen’s daughter all along, but her own sister was
jealous of her royalty. So, she not only put her in slavery, but was the farmer’s wife… Katie’s
slave owner. Katie nodded. She was happy that it now made sense. Chjinova said that there
would be future battles, and asked Katie if she was ready.
Katie stood up. Of course, she was ready. “I am.”
And that is the end. Good story, huh? Yeah, Katie and I have won every battle we
go through. You’re confused and wondering “who is the narrator?” I know it. I’m reading
your mind. Well, don’t tell, but my name is Chjinova.
Zaidalyn Schiappa | age 11 | 5th grade
Dragon Fire
One day, Talia, a sixteen year old girl with thick blonde hair, deep blue eyes, and golden tan ski,
was walking to Callie’s Cupcakery. She saw a grey stone cave on her walk to the cupcake place,
and being the adventurous girl she was, she went inside of it.
“What’s that oddly shaped shadow?” Talia thought as she walked inside.
“Roar!!” she heard, but only for a second. She saw fire coming at her, screamed, and got
knocked out. The shadow turned out to be a fire-breathing dragon!!
In about two hours, Talia woke up in a very odd land.
Talia noticed that the whole place looked colorful, kind of like a town where the
Easter Bunny would stay. There were even painted eggs and baskets with candy. Plus, to top it
off, the grass was a colorful, fun looking green.
“Where am I?” Talia said to the nearest person... but wait, that wasn’t a person.
Since the person was, well, not a person, she decided to ask “What are you?”
“I’m an elf named Ezasparus!” said the creature excitedly.
“And where am I?” Talia asked again since the elf hadn’t answered before.
“You’re in Dragon Fire.” said Ezasparus.
“Huh?” said Talia in a confused voice.
“Did you go into a stone cave and see an odd shadow?” asked Ezasparus.
“Yes, why?” questioned Talia.
“Well, the way you get into this world is by a certain dragon breathing fire at you. Once
that happens, you wind up unconscious and wake up here! Every dragon has their own land,
which is why you are in Dragon Fire, as opposed to other lands.
“Wow! So... how do I get home?” Talia asked.
“Ooh, umm, if you want to get home, you need to travel through the four areas that make
up Dragon Fire and get to the portal that brings you out of here.” said the elf.
“How will I find the portal?” Talia asked, sounding completely desperate.
“Trust me, you will find it, but I cannot tell you where the portal is. Plus, I gave you a
hint by telling you that you need to go through the fourth area.” said Ezasparus.
“Thanks! Now is there any way I can get in contact with you if I need help?” Talia
asked, hoping for a yes.
“Yes. If you clap your hands three times I will appear, but this will only work once, so
choose your time wisely,” said Ezasparus.
“Okay, bye,” said Talia, and she started walking away while the elf said bye back.
Talia had been walking for about two miles when her legs started to cramp and she saw a
sign that said “Leaving area one, where everything is happy and pretty. Entering area two,
where there is happiness with some minor squabbling.”
Talia noticed that this area looked exactly like area one, just a bit darker.
Talia decided to run through this land since she saw some minor squabbling. Even
though minor squabbling wasn’t too bad, she didn’t like hearing people fight. After area one she
felt so used to all happiness around her.
Finally she got to a sign that said “Leaving area two, with mostly happiness. Entering
area three, where things are scary and mostly nothing is happy.”
Talia thought that she was stepping into a whole new galaxy when she left area two.
Area three was almost pitch black, except for a few places, which looked like area one.
“Hello, Miss,” a man with a creepy smile said to Talia. All she could see was his smile
because he was wearing a black face mask that covered even his nose and eyes and layers
covering his whole body. “Would you like some tea?” he asked in a creepy voice to match his
creepy smile.
“No, thanks,” Talia responded.
“That is not the correct answer! Put your hands behind your back! The tea thing was
fake, you’re being arrested!”
Talia decided to run just as the man was taking off his mask. He didn’t try to catch Talia
since he didn’t know the criminal was her because of his mask.
Talia kept running and ran straight into world four without realizing she was there. She
realized that this world’s color wasn’t the darkest, it was between area one and twos’ shade. She
had not been looking where she was going and accidentally bumped into a woman with long
black hair, a plump belly, and bluish-blackish eyes. It was the queen!!!!
“Kill this girl!” shouted the queen. This gave Talia the feeling that area four would not
be as easy as the other three. Talia even thought about clapping for Ezasparus, but just yelled
“Help, Help!”
The queen explained to Talia that the killing wasn’t meant for her, it was meant for a girl
that was very violent and occasionally went on angry rampages. The queen also explained that
area four really wasn’t that bad. The sign at the beginning of world four was supposed to be a
decoration since world four didn’t want a sign. People thought it was truthful, and the sign said
bad things about the world, so it got a bad reputation.
“Do you want to come to my castle and meet my son?” asked the queen randomly.
Talia said “Yes,” but she was suspicious because this seemed like an odd request, seeing
as she had only just met the queen.
The two finally got to the castle right before the sun set and the queen called for her son.
“Kokus, come down here! I’ve got someone I want you to meet,” said the queen to her
son.
“Hi, my name is Kokus,” said the queen’s son to Talia when he came down to where
Talia and the queen were.
Talia looked first at his messy, short brown hair, then at his big brown eyes. Finally,
after looking at him, she said “Oh, sorry. Hi, I’m Talia.”
Kokus took her to the castle’s kitchen to get some food and then they talked for hours.
The queen told Talia she could sleep at the castle for however long she would like. Talia ended
up staying a week.
Kokus knew from the conversations that he had with Talia that she needed to get to the
portal, so he brought her up to his room.
“Where are you taking me?” Talia asked curiously.
“To my bedroom, because my closet is the portal to get back to the cave,” said Kokus.
Right before Talia was about to step through the portal, Kokus blurted something out.
“Will you marry me?” Kokus asked.
Talia thought a lot. She knew that this was one of those fairytale things since it happened
so early, plus, she was asked to get married to a prince! Even if he wasn’t a prince, it wouldn’t
have mattered. “I would love to, but I need to get home,” said Talia.
She was sad to be leaving, even though she hadn’t been in Dragon Fire for more than two
weeks. She knew that she would miss all the friends she made there, then she remembered that
even if she left, she could still get in touch with Ezasparus!!!! That made her feel better about
leaving, but she was still sad. Finally, she left.
Epilogue
Once Talia had finally gotten home after getting some cupcakes from Callie’s Cupcakery, she
felt really sad. She decided she would use her claps right now. Ezasparus came and Talia was
so happy to see him. She told him that she made a big mistake deciding not to marry Kokus.
Ezasparus decided to do something nice. He decided to plan a wedding for Kokus and Talia. A
week after the wedding, Talia and Kokus decided to live outside of the dragon’s cave that can
bring them to Dragon Fire so they had easy access to both worlds. They lived happily forever
and ever.
The End.
Ellie Shamlian
Fifth Grade
10 years old
Moonlight
“Emily, we’re going to be late for the airport! Get your bags and put them in the car,
please!” Mrs. Samps said.
“Okay Mom,” 12-year old Emily Samps said. Emily had long, brown hair and deep
brown eyes. Emily, Emily’s mom, Emily’s dad, and Emily’s 10-year old sister Angelica headed
to the airport in their blue minivan. When they got to the airport, they went through security and
wandered to their gate. When the plane was ready to board, the family got ready to go on the six
and a half hour flight to England.
In England, it was about twenty-five degrees Celsius. “That plane ride was really long,”
Angelica complained. Unlike Emily, Angelica had dirty blonde hair and blue eyes like the sea.
After they were ready to get a cab to their hotel, Mr. Samps made sure they were ready to leave
in two days to go to Paris, France. Transylvania would be the last destination, and the family
would stay there for four days.
*
*
*
“I’ve always wondered what Transylvania looked like,” Emily pondered. “Legend says
that vampires live in those woods over there and at night they come out and bite people while
they’re asleep.” The thought sent a chill up Angelica’s spine. She looked into the dark woods.
The streets were mostly deserted, making the town seem like a creepy ghost town.
“Well girls, nobody’s biting my neck, that’s for sure,” Mr. Samps mentioned jokingly.
The Samps’ couldn’t know what was in store for their trip to Transylvania. The people that lived
in town all knew to put garlic outside their door, but the Samps’ didn’t.When the family checked
into the hotel, the manager told them that they had their room ready.
When everyone got settled in, Mr. and Mrs. Samps announced that they were going to go
out for dinner by themselves so the girls could rest. As soon as they left, Emily and Angelica
turned on the television quietly and soon fell asleep. After sleeping for thirty minutes, they
awoke because they were both light sleepers. When they woke up, it was nine-thirty p.m. and
Emily noticed a dark figure moving across the room. The figure had a bad vibe. It was wearing a
red, short-sleeved shirt, and black leggings. The second thing she noticed was the moonlight
shining through the window. Tonight, there was a full moon. Before she knew it, she felt
something on her neck like a mosquito bit, but five times worse. Suddenly, she fell asleep again.
She woke again at ten-fifteen p.m. with her parents surrounding the cots she and her
sister were sleeping on.
“ Emily, what happened to your neck? How come it happened to your sister’s neck also?”
Mrs. Samps wondered out loud. Confused, Emily looked at her still sleeping sister. She had two
red holes in her neck. No, it couldn’t be... Emily wondered.
“ Oh, we accidentally scratched ourselves,” Emily lied. Surprisingly, her parents bought
it! She wasn’t positive what this was, but she was going to find out. Her parents let her go back
to sleep.
In the morning, Angelica woke up very abruptly. Everyone else was still asleep. The
night before, Angelica heard noises and her parents talking, but she kept her eyes closed. She got
out of bed and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth. When she went to get up, she felt herself
speeding to the bathroom instead of walking. When she looked in the mirror, she saw something
that looked like a vampire bite. She almost screamed before she stopped herself. Angelica woke
up Emily and asked her what happened the night before. Emily told her about the dark figure
biting her and her parents seeing a bite on the girls’ necks. Angelica helped by telling Emily her
speed and her bite.
“Well, that’s it. All the clues add up. We’ve been bitten by vampires!” Emily said.
She and Angelica decided to take a walk in the woods to calm themselves down.
Crunch! Crunch! The leaves and twigs made a lot of noise.
“Do we have to do this? I’m scared,” Angelica whispered so no one could hear her but
Emily. Someone tapped on Angelica’s shoulder.
“Ahh!” Angelica whipped around, screaming.
“What are you doing?” the vampire who tapped on Angelica’s shoulder said.
“Umm....we were just umm....,” Emily said.
“That’s what I thought,” the vampire said.
“We were wondering if you knew who bit our necks last night,” Emily said.
“Why would I tell you?” the vampire said sarcastically. He then ran away.
“Hey Angelica, he dropped something,” Emily said quietly. It said:
Ben:
I need you to get them to go to the old restaurant on the corner of the street near
their hotel at nine o’clock a.m. today. I have some unfinished business with them.
Make sure they come alone.
- Melinda
“Well, right now it’s eight thirty. Why don’t we go see what this is about. I’ll call mom
and dad and tell them we should be home by ten o’clock. The cafe is next to our hotel.” Emily
declared. The two started to walk to the old restaurant on the corner.
“Do you know a ‘Melinda’?” Angelica asked.
“No, but I guess we’ll find out who ‘Melinda’ is,” Emily responded.
The two girls swung open the door of the restaurant. They saw a dark figure standing in
the corner.
“Did you find the note?” the woman asked.
“Yes, and we were wondering why ‘Ben’ didn’t relay the message,” Angelica calmly
stated.
“We knew you would find the note and come here,” the lady responded. She walked
toward the girls. They recognized her from the airport, the streets, their hotel lobby, everywhere!
She had been spying on them.
“What do you want?” Angelica bravely asked.
“You have the ring to stay a vampire. I want it. In two days, I won’t be a vampire
anymore. You see, you are only a vampire for one hundred years, not forever like mortals think.
Ben dropped the ring when he bit you two. Just get it from your hotel room and I will give you
the non-vampire ring,” the odd woman said. The lady had black hair and light skin. Her eyes
were green like damp grass in the spring.
“Okay,” Emily murmured. Emily and Angelica were gone in a flash. In an instant, they
were back.
“Here,” Angelica said. She gave the lady the ring. The lady’s eyes seemed to light up.
She gave Angelica the ring to not be a vampire anymore.
“How do you activate it?” Emily asked.
“ Just put the ring on for five seconds. Then you won’t be a vampire anymore. The ring
also lets you never get bitten by a vampire again,” the lady replied. There was an awkward
moment of silence between the three.
“Bye!” Angelica said, sounding very perky and excited. Emily and Angelica walked to
the hotel. They went up the stairs to their room and put the ring on for five seconds each. They
realized their parents were not there. There was a note on Emily’s bed. It said:
Went to get breakfast for the family. Back at ten fifteen.
- Mom and Dad
*
*
*
The airport was noisy and crowded this time of day. Emily remembered the adventurous
days that she spent in Transylvania. Anyways, she was glad to go home to sunny Maui. The skies
in Europe had been gray and rainy. She felt as though she would always remember this vacation.
Not many people could say they went to England, Paris, and Transylvania. Even fewer people
could say that they were bitten by a vampire. Emily stared down at the ground. She had hidden
the ring where no one could find it very easily. She dug a hole in the woods that only vampires
dare go in so that no mortal could find it. The hole was dug under a huge tree and was eight feet
deep. Angelica and Emily had agreed never to speak of what happened because it would be too
awkward. During her visit to Transylvania, Emily had bought a souvenir. It was a bobble head
version of Dracula that she found funny. The girls loaded onto the airplane with their parents
while Emily reminisced. It was good to be going home.
Victoria Shamlian
Age 10
Grade 5
Stranded!
The three sisters were enemies. They hated each other. Chelsea, who has wavy,
red/orange hair and brown eyes, Lindsey, who has curly, brown hair and blue eyes, and Skylar,
who has straight-as-a-pencil, blonde hair and green eyes, had hated each other since they set eyes
on one another. All three of them wanted to be in the spotlight. As they grew up, their recitals,
concerts, school fundraisers, and sports events conflicted with one another. For example, Chelsea
might have had a swim meet, while Lindsay had a dance recital. They would fight until they got
what they wanted. In this case it was having their parents come to their event. Finally their
parents decided to send somebody in their place. Then if this happened the third (in this case it’s
Skylar) would tease and make fun of the other two because her event was a different day and
their parents went. Eventually their parents didn’t go to any of their events and moved in across
the street. They moved because they were sick of all the fighting. The sisters had to work it out
themselves. Then their parents suddenly disappeared. The sisters only had themselves.
****************************** 5 years later *************************************
Clunk! All three sisters woke with a start. “What was that?” they all wondered. With a
wink of the eye they were whisked away to Candyspace.
When they “landed” in Candyspace, they looked around in awe. Being the oldest,
Chelsea decided to speak first. “Um, where are we? Candyland or something?” she asked a
gumdrop as he passed by.
The gumdrop answered, “Candyland! Where do you think we are? Earth?”
Since Lindsey didn’t want Chelsea to do all the talking she answered, “Duh.”
“Well then,” the gumdrop outraged, “YOU’RE INSANE! We’re OBVIOUSLY on Mars!
Or what we like to call ‘Candyspace’. We call this place Candyspace because on Earth
everybody calls it Candyland, but since were in space-”
“Little gumdrop dude, we got it. That’s why you call this place Candyspace, yada, yada,
yada. But do you know how to get us out of here?” Lindsey asked impatiently.
The gumdrop looked mortified, “Get out? There’s no way! If there was, we’d all have
been gone a while ago!”
“But why?” Skylar butted in, “Why would you want to leave? You’re candy!”
“Yes I’m candy now, but I wasn’t always a gumdrop. I came here like you, all weird and
confused. I went to the king begging to go home, but he just laughed and turned me into a
gumdrop! I haven’t seen the real world in five years! I haven’t seen my children in five years!”
the gumdrop burst out.
“Maybe the king didn’t like your reasoning,” Chelsea reasoned.
“Is ‘Can you please help us get home?’ bad reasoning?!” The gumdrop almost exploded.
“Maybe he liked your wo- wait did you just say us?” Lindsey questioned.
“Yes, yes I did. I came here with my wife. She’s in the lollipop forest. It calms her,” the
gumdrop said.
“Well then, let’s go get her so we can all go to the king and go home!” Skylar burst out.
“That’s a great idea!” Chelsea exclaimed. “But first, what’s your name?”
“James.” The gumdrop answered.
“That’s our dad’s name,” Lindsey thought, but she brushed aside the coincidence, “Let’s
go!”
******************************************************************************
Once they got to the Lollipop Forest, the three sisters started looking for a female
gumdrop, probably pink or purple. They looked everywhere. Just then they saw a lollipop with
eyes. “Ahhhhhh!” Skylar shrieked. “Why does the lollipop have eyes?”
“Found her!” James replied. “I turned into a lame green gumdrop, and she turned into a
rainbow lollipop! It isn’t fair! Wait, don’t say that James. Nothing in life is fair.”
“Our daddy used to say that all the time,” Skylar said.
“Well my kids would always say ‘It isn’t fair!’ so I told them, nothing in life is fair,”
James explained.
“Hello,” the rainbow lollipop came up and said to the group, “My name is Lilly. Who are
you?”
“I’m Chelsea, that’s Lindsey, and that’s Skylar,” Chelsea answered.
“Strange, those are our children’s names, but they are much older than you, I think,” Lilly
said.
“We’re going to the king and asking him if he could help us get back home,” Skylar said,
“James said he would come with us and we thought you would like to come too, so let’s go!”
******************************************************************************
The walk to the castle was brutal. There were many Crunch bar speed bumps, ginormous
Whoppers that were boulders, and a humongous Hershey Kiss as big as a mountain. They were
exhausted when they finally got to the castle.
When they approached the castle, the five some looked around in awe. Except for the
walls ( which of course, were gingerbread) the entire thing was made of candy, from the sugar
glass windows to the licorice and honey door hinges. Skylar was first to speak. “Let’s eat it all!”
They all laughed, and James muttered, “Looks a lot different than when I came here last,
and that was only last week!”
“Come on! Let’s go in!” Lindsey pleaded. So in they went.
When they walked in they were in a big hallway. At the end stood ginormous doors that
could only be the king’s room. So, they ran down the hall and in they went.
The first thing they saw when they got in was a giant Hershey’s candy bar. Think of king
size but 30 times bigger, and in human shape with arms and legs and a face. Skylar was in
heaven. “Um, excuse me Your Royal Highness,” Chelsea said as she and the others, besides
James, did a curtsy, “we have come here for you to help us get home.”
“You want to go home?! Why would you want to? This place has candy! Like an all-youcan-eat buffet! But for free! If you wish to go home I will not help you! If you ask again I will
banish you from Candyspace. And since this goes all around Mars, you will die. Now have a
good day! I don’t wish to see you soon! Bye!”
As they turned to leave Lindsay said, “Wow, he’s harsh. Wait! Where is Skylar?”
Just then they heard a piercing wail. They all turned around quickly. They saw Skylar
EATING the giant chocolate bar. “Yummy!” she called out.
“Skylar!” Chelsea shrieked, “That was our way to ge-”
At the same time Skylar got to a little above the arms a hot pink box fell out of where his
heart would have been. On it read, “I’m ashamed to admit that you have defeated me. You have
found my weakness. My weakness was defending myself. I give you this box to transport
yourself and whoever is with you back home. I hope I was delicious. Good bye and farewell.”
Everyone was shocked. “Skylar! What did you do!” Chelsea exclaimed.
“I was hungry so I ate him,” Skylar answered, as if it were obvious.
So they all stepped in the box. Skylar was last, but before she left she ran over to the
chocolate bar’s bed, reached inside, and pulled out a handful of mini chocolate bars, “Jackpot!”
Skylar whispered, then, with her chocolate, she stepped in the box and went home.
When Skylar got home she couldn’t believe her eyes. She was actually home! James and
Lilly were there too, in human form! She found Chelsea hugging James, and Lindsey hugging
Lilly, “What’s going on here?” she yelled to them.
Chelsea answered, “Mom and Dad are home.”
“No they aren’t, that’s James and Lilly,” Skylar said matter-of-factly.
“Yes, but they are also our parents,” Lindsey butted in.
“So, you’re Mommy,” Skylar asked pointing to Lilly, “and you’re Daddy?” she asked,
pointing to James.
“Yes,” they both answered in unison.
“FINALLY!!!!” Skylar called out to no one in particular.
Julia Brzac
Boght Hills
Age 11, Grade 6
The Enchanted Locket
Sydney’s eyelids flickered. Her eyes were the color of a deep, blue sea. She saw the
luminous, golden beams of sunlight peek through the blinds of her bedroom window. “Happy
thirteenth birthday Sydney,” she thought. As Sydney slowly lifted her head from the soft pillow,
she felt her fiery, chocolate-brown hair tickle her fair skin. She yawned gently, and opened both
of her eyes. Sydney tied her long, wavy hair into a loose ponytail. She gazed across her bedroom
at her sky blue walls and thought about the dream she had had that night. Her mother was a fairy
with sheer, lavender wings. She was telling her to open her silver locket. When she was about to,
her dream ended. She never got to see what was inside. Sydney touched her locket. The shiny
heart was suspended from a fine chain. The engraving showed an outline of a fairy with an S on
her arm. Sydney wore it all the time. Her mother had given it to her when she was six and had
told her, “You will be able to open it when the time comes.” As a little girl, she had gotten
frustrated when she had tried to pry it open and it wouldn’t come free. Afterwards, she had never
seriously thought about unlocking it until the dream. She was just waiting for the day her mom
came to tell her how to open her locket. That day was closer than Sydney thought.
“Happy birthday!” her parents shouted as they came through the door holding a cake. The
cake was circular and fluffy; vanilla frosting was spread neatly on the cake. In pastel pink icing,
the top of the cake said “Happy Birthday Sydney.” There were thirteen, pink and white striped,
lighted candles in a circle around the words. Pastel pink flowers danced around the side of the
cake. The smell of her father’s delicious cake made the birthday girl’s mouth water. It made
Sydney’s face light up and she flipped her silky, white comforter over and jumped out of her
bed.
“Make a wish,” her mom said with a smile. Sydney blew out all of the candles. Buzz.
Sydney heard her phone vibrate indicating that she had gotten a text message. Sydney got her
phone from her dresser that said, “Happy birthday” from her best friend Talia. When Sydney
turned around she got a scoop of frosting in the face from her dad.
“Hey!” she said laughing as her mom snapped a picture. Sydney wiped the frosting off
with a tissue and threw it out.
“C’mon,” she said. “Let’s eat breakfast.” Sydney and her parents hurried downstairs to
the kitchen.
“Mom?” Sydney asked. “I need my locket to-”
“Shhh,” Sydney’s mom cut her off. Sydney looked at her mom and wrinkled her forehead
in confusion, but her mom motioned her to keep quiet and follow her when her father wasn’t
looking. They came to a blank wall in their house.
“Sydney you must promise never to tell anyone about this not even your father,” said her
mother looking dead serious.
“Okay, but what?” asked Sydney impatiently. Sydney’s mother looked around then
snapped her fingers twice. Suddenly, a shiny, gold door appeared out of nowhere. Sydney
jumped. After she got over how the door magically appeared, her heart raced with excitement to
see what was beyond it. Sydney’s mother opened the door and they both stepped inside. Sydney
had no idea what she was in for.
Sydney’s jaw dropped. Everywhere she looked there were witches and wizards on flying
carpets, goblins, and ghouls. There were fairies, unicorns, and dragons, too. There were odd-
looking trees and plants and leprechauns counting their money. The sun was smiling. She saw
princes transforming themselves into frogs, mermaids talking to dwarfs in a language she
couldn’t understand, trolls and giants playing games. When one creature passed by another they
would smile and she would hear them say “Badrigadrum.” They seemed to shake one of their
hands around when they said it. Sydney guessed it meant hello. The lived similarly to humans.
There was a mall where a mermaid was casually swimming through. Sydney also saw a goblin
filling up what looked kind of like a vehicle with fairy dust. She saw an ogre, and knights in
shining armor guarding what looked like the biggest castle she’d ever seen. The castle was made
entirely of gold. In front were four soaring columns with sparkling diamonds, rubies, and
emeralds. Two massive, cherry red doors with brass handles stood ajar. The sight was
hypnotizing.
“Where am I?” Sydney asked.
Her mother answered, “This is where I grew up. It’s called Faritopia. Time passes slower
in the other world while we’re here since we’re not permanent citizens of Faritopia. Believe it or
not I’m a fairy and so are you.”
“I thought fairies had wings,” said Sydney.
“They do, but only when they’re transformed,” her mom said. “I’ll show you.” Her mom
closed her eyes and uttered a few words Sydney couldn’t make out. Sparks appeared spinning
rapidly around her mother. Her mother was concealed inside the dust. Then, all of a sudden they
stopped and disappeared. Sydney saw a diminutive version of her mother. She had almosttranslucent, lavender wings just like in her dream. Her mom had now changed into a fairy and
had on a purple dress that was covered in little crystals that glistened in the rays of the sun.
“Wow!” Sydney exclaimed. “How do I change myself into a fairy?”
“You close your eyes and imagine yourself as a fairy. Next, you say, “La fairy changerio
fablo,” responded her mother. Sydney did exactly that and within moments she was a fairy with
pastel pink wings. Sydney also wore a pink dress with tiny crystals that flowed.
“Now how do I fly?” asked the young fairy. “Tell me everything about this dimension.”
“You think of flying and snap your fingers twice,” her mom said. “To maneuver yourself
you simply point toward where you wish to go. If you want to turn around, you turn yourself
through the air and point in the right direction. To stop and land, you just think it and snap your
fingers twice. This is the same for anything you yearn, but sometimes you have to use spells. It
doesn’t work on our money and anything you would have to pay for.”
“What do you use to pay for things?” inquired Sydney as they strolled on the sidewalk.
“The currency we use is gold coins, but they’re not just any gold coins,” replied
Sydney’s mom. “You would tap one of the coins and it would become the exact money you
would need. To make money, you would plant a money tree. The better you take care of your
tree the more gold coins it will sprout. People only do jobs they would normally do, such as
fairies that are in charge of the bank. They use their magic to keep the gold safe. We’ve never
been robbed.”
“Got it,” said Sydney. “What’s in that enormous castle?”
“Well, we have a king and queen,” responded Sydney’s mother. “Our king’s name is
King Edward II and our queen is Queen Elizabeth I. They have a daughter your age named
Lucille. She will be the queen when Queen Elizabeth steps down. The king and queen are in
charge of keeping the evil monsters and beasts away from our land. Their crowns hold special
power that can give them any super power that can do pretty much anything. Let me introduce
you to the royal family. Don’t worry their family has the power to speak any language.”
“I can’t wait,” said Sydney. Together, they walked up to the knight next to the steel gate.
The excited girl’s mother said something to the guard and the gate opened. They walked in; a
butler that was outside led them in to the most beautiful castle she had ever seen. The floor was
made of polished marble. Reflective diamonds hung from a large, glistening chandelier. Sydney
heard footsteps as King Edward and Queen Elizabeth entered. Sydney’s mom introduced her.
The fairy was especially courteous as she, her mother, and the friendly king and queen talked.
They were interrupted by a loud alarm. The king and queen looked at each other. The
blood disappeared from their faces as they rushed to a fountain of water that was spinning.
Everyone gasped as they saw in the fountain an ugly, orange creature laughing a low, evil laugh
as it threw sparks at the town from the sky. The sky turned dark. People panicked and screamed
and rushed inside their homes. The king and queen told them that something they couldn’t
control was taking over and destroying the town. Sydney’s mother whispered and told her that
her locket will open if she goes outside. It will release extraordinary power that can overtake the
wicked monster. She told her that she must be careful. It’ll be dangerous. The four of them
established a plan. Sydney got ready.
Sydney put the invisibility cloak over her head. The brave fairy knew the plan, and
wasted no time. She flew herself to the highest tower. She tiptoed until she saw the nasty
monster. She held up the locket towards the monster. The locket talked. It told her to tap it twice.
She followed the instructions without hesitation. She could hear the creature’s laughter, but she
pushed it out of her head and focused. The locket popped itself open. It poured out a radiating
light blinding the monster. It shrunk and disappeared into the mist. “I did it!” the hero thought.
She took off the cloak. She took a step; then stopped. She felt a dark shadow towering over her.
It wasn’t over.
Sydney whipped around and saw a horrifying sight. The monster was back and bigger
than before. “No!” Sydney thought then burst into action. She did exactly what her mother had
told her. She saw herself destroying the monster and snapped her fingers. It didn’t work. Her
locket was out of magic. She flew to the monster and tried again, but it just kept getting bigger.
She did the only thing she could think of. She tickled the beast. It started giggling and wouldn’t
stop. The monster fell to the ground, and Sydney flew down with it. She didn’t stop until ten
knights came running and magically chained it up. One of the knights smiled at her since he
couldn’t speak English. The triumphant girl beamed. She had just saved Faritopia.
Later on, the king told her how thankful he was. The queen hugged her. Her mother
squeezed her hand and told her that she had just proved what a mighty fairy she was. The queen
granted her the special power of invisibility. Now, she was officially a fairy of Faritopia. Sydney
and her mother returned back to their home promising to come back. When they got back, they
stopped dead in their tracks. They saw Sydney’s dad and heard him say, “Where have you
been?!” Looks like that was going to be fun explaining. Sydney left that job up to her mother.
She chuckled. The memorable fairy kept a mirror that she could use to check on Faritopia. She
would never forget her amazing adventure.
Hibah Vora Age 12 Grade 6 Boght Hills Elementary School
The Exchange Student
Websites. I love them. I love them more than anything. I am constantly on websites.
Seriously. Constantly. Gmail, Hotmail, Google, Yahoo and lots more. Everyone has favorites.
Mine? I have no idea. I’m on so many, I can’t choose. Others go on websites, too. Websites I
can’t stand. When my family members go on websites I don’t like, I get rid of them. Move to
better websites. Sometimes, I get sick. I hate that. It makes me really slow. Luckily for me, this
doesn’t happen very often. Other times, I get sick on purpose so that the family I’m staying with
does what I want them to do. I think of them as my family, even though we’re not related.
Fortunately, my family likes most of the same websites that I do. Unfortunately, they don’t know
what I can do. But it’s for the best, when you think about it. Who knows what would happen if
someone knew?
Let me introduce you to the Summer family. I am Lily. I don’t mean to brag, but even if
I’m the newest, I am definitely the smartest in the family. Without a doubt. I love anything to do
with the mind.
10-year-old George Summer is Mr. Average. Average height, average weight, and
average mind. The only thing that’s not average is his hair length. It’s really long. George’s
hobby? Also average. The usual for a boy his age: soccer. Every chance he gets, George is
kicking a ball around outside. One rainy day, he tried playing inside, but then his soccer ball
nearly broke a window.
Twelve year-old Daisy Summer is NOT average at all. She has an above average mind,
but she is not as smart as me. She is much prettier than most people. She earned her name by
looking like a daisy. She doesn’t look like George who (no offense) could be named Mud
because of his brown eyes and straight brown hair. Daisy has shimmery gold hair like daisy
centers, and eyes as green as daisy stems. She is tall like a daisy, and usually wears something
white like daisy petals.
Mrs. Rose Summer treats me well. She doesn’t think I should have to work all the time. I
wish I could tell her I like working. I like working a lot. Mrs. Summer sometimes looks up
flowers or plants with me. She loves, loves, loves flowers. Why else would she have a daughter
named Daisy? And, her name is Rose! If only she knew that my name was Lily and that I had
chosen that name for myself. Lily is not my real name. My real name is really hard to pronounce.
It is Korean. I just call myself Lily. Mrs. Summer really likes books. She rarely reads with me,
though. She has never read a fantasy book. She sticks to nonfiction, mystery, and just about
anything non-fantasy.
Mr. Fred Summer, like Mrs. Summer, treats me well. I like him. He spends more time
with me than Mrs. Summer. He loves music and creating spreadsheets. I think he plays every
single instrument known, but I’m not sure. I can tell he loves music because he always is looking
up instruments and sheet music.
Now, enough about the Summer family. Let’s get on to the weekend of June 12th and
13th, two of the most important days of my existence. The weekend started out as usual. Daisy
woke up first and got dressed. Daisy always wakes up first, even before Mrs. and Mr. Summer.
Anyway, she got dressed and made her perfect hair even more perfect then it was when she woke
up (by combing it and putting in a daisy barrette). As usual, she then woke me up and went on
her favorite website, Hotmail. Why she emails her friends in the early morning is unknown. It is
also unknown why she has to wake me up so early; why not email her friends using the
Summers' iPad? By then it was 8:00, and Mr. and Mrs. Summer were awake. By 8:45, George
was dressed and was itching to play soccer.
Mrs. Summer had just finished making breakfast. Everyone was eating, still normal,
right? Then Mrs. Summer said she had a special announcement. I perked up at this, curious. Was
the announcement about me? Probably not, because the Summers never talk about me, and that’s
fine by me.
Mrs. Summer seemed very excited, and she paused dramatically. “Does anyone want to
know the news?” she asked slyly.
“Yes, yes, we do! Tell us! Tell us!” Daisy and George yelled in unison.
“We’re getting a new exchange student, this time from Germany,” said Mrs. Summer.
My first thought? So much excitement for this?
Mrs. Summer continued. “Remember the last one, from France? Pierre? He always
wanted to Skype his parents, but the computer wouldn’t work. Remember how Pierre cried into
his beret when the computer wouldn’t work? Or, how he threw his baguette on the floor and
stormed to his room crying when his parents’ faces froze on the screen?” Daisy and George
rolled around in laughter.
“Now, now, he was just homesick,” scolded Mr. Summer. “Now let your mother
continue.” Daisy and George sat up and listened.
Mrs. Summer continued. “That’s part of the news. The other part is that sometime this
week, we’re going to get a new computer! Isn’t that great?”
Daisy and George beamed in surprise and happiness. My second thought to this full
announcement- Wait, we’re getting a new computer?! A new exchange student? And my third?
NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
George started talking excitedly. “This is great! Our old computer, is like, really slow. It
always has a virus.”
Daisy nodded enthusiastically. “I feel like the computer just does what it wants to do. Of
course,” she added, “that’s impossible, so we just have a really bad, slow computer.”
I was confused. Why was everyone so happy? I was really scared. Terrified is more like
it. Why did I have to go? I was much better than some German exchange student. The Summers
had been so nice to me. I was so happy when they said Bonjour and I got to live here (I speak
many languages, but I am the best at French). But now, the Summers are saying Au revoir to me
and Guten Tag to some new exchange student. It shocked me! But mostly, it frightened me.
What were they going to do? Were the Summers just going to throw me out like a lump of
metal? Give me away? Rip me apart? Melt me?! (Okay, those last two were unlikely, but still
possible).
I thought I should have a say in this. Wait, if I did, the Summers would know my secret,
but would that be better than going? No, well I guess it actually would be, but then….ugh, why
did everything have to be so confusing? I’m smart, but this I could not figure out. I sighed,
wishing I didn’t have to go, until Daisy came and put me to sleep.
I woke up early the next morning. Well, Daisy woke me up when she started emailing.
As soon as I was awake, I heard a voice and listened. I wasn’t eavesdropping, I just overheard.
“Really, you think that? I’m surprised. I ordered this new, advanced computer all for you,
and you complain?! If you feel that way, you can just have our old computer…. Yes, that is what
I said…. What? Excuse me? Oh, yes, of course, I’m sorry, you’re right. Okay, great! I’ll see you
soon! My family is excited to meet you. Goodbye!” Then there was a click. I waited. Then,
another voice spoke. It was Mr. Summer!
“What happened?” he asked.
Mrs. Summer answered casually, as if it was no big deal. “Oh, Hans, the exchange
student just called. He’s arriving early tomorrow morning! He asked about the computer. I told
him about the new model, and he said that wasn’t good. It was a very advanced computer too! I
told him that if he didn’t want the new computer, he could have the old computer, which we are
getting rid of the day after tomorrow, so he’ll have to Skype his parents using that old computer,
but then I apologized and hung up.”
I just overheard all that. You heard it yourself. See? I am not an eavesdropper! But the
phone call made me realize something. I feel guilty about it. And I’m going to try to stop this
mistake I’ve made. It is because of what I can do. I can switch websites, or freeze up whenever I
want. When my family said the computer was bad because of a virus, that was my fault. I
thought it was funny when Pierre cried, so I froze on purpose. But I won’t do that with Hans.
Maybe, if I behave really well tomorrow, the Summers will keep me. If I don’t have a virus. So I,
Lily, will fight that virus. Because, you see, I am a computer.
Sophie Dvorak, Age 10
Grade 4, Boght Hills Elementary
THE FAIRY GARDEN
“OW!” Gregorio was lying on the ground, holding his head and crying out in pain.
One minute, he was walking through the large fairy garden, the next; he was on the ground with
a searing pain in his head. Holding his head, he slowly stood up, brushed some dirt off of his
pants, and looked behind him to see what he had tripped on. He saw a wooden bridge connecting
two fairy gardens. It was badly splintered in the middle. “How did I miss that?” Gregorio
muttered to himself. Then he remembered the bells, the loud bells he had heard ringing in his
ears.
Suddenly, Gregorio heard the bells ringing again, this time mingled with the faint
sound of laughter. He whipped his head around to see what was making the noise, but saw
nothing. Gregorio shook his head to rid himself of the thought that he was hearing things. It’s
just my imagination, he thought, his head still throbbing. Good riddance! he thought as he gave
the bridge a nice swift kick. Gregorio didn’t care much for fairy gardens, nor for the wee folk
who supposedly lived in them. The rest of his family, however, loved fairy gardens, fairy stories,
and just about anything to do with the tiny people. In fact, Gregorio’s parents had brought the
whole family to Ireland so that they could attend a workshop on fairy gardening. At the moment,
they were in County Cork, visiting a very large, very boring garden.
While Gregorio continued to walk, he threw a crumpled up piece of paper he had found
in his pocket into one of the fairy gardens as if it was a trash can. The small plants, little wooden
houses, and small tin benches and tables that decked the fairy gardens had no meaning to him.
Wondering how long it would be until they were able to leave, Gregorio sighed and kept walking
through the seemingly never-ending garden.
“Gregorio?” his mother called. Thankful that at last they were going away from this place
of boredom and strange bells, he ran back to the entrance of the garden. As he did, he heard more
bells, louder this time along with what sounded like… a gasp, and cries. “Is anything wrong,
Gregorio?” his mother asked. Gregorio shook his head.
“It’s, well, nothing. Just, did you hear something? Like, a bell noise?” His mother stared
at him strangely.
“No. Why?” she replied.
“Never mind,” Gregorio replied hesitantly, trying to convince himself that the constant
ringing was just his imagination. The sooner he left this place, the better.
Suddenly, Gregorio’s father walked towards them frowning, his graying beard blowing
up into his face with the wind. “I have bad news and good news,” he said. “I’ll tell the bad first.”
“Well, there is a loose flock of sheep blocking the roads outside of the garden, and we can’t
leave until tomorrow. But the good news is…” he straightened up and his blue eyes gleamed.
“There is a hotel right here at the fairy gardens! I booked us a room overlooking the gardens!”
“Oh Frederick, that’s wonderful!” Gregorio’s mother cried enthusiastically. “Isn’t it,
kids?”
Gregorio’s sisters jumped up and down yelling hooray. Gregorio faked a smile. “Yes,
it’s great.” Inside he was thinking ugh, a whole night with these fairy gardens nearby. Gregorio’s
father led them all through the fairy gardens again. The whole time Gregorio heard bells and
even small voices speaking in strange languages. He felt the occasional soft warm breeze disturb
his neat brown hair. He kept turning around and swatting at the air, after which he heard more
laughter. He thought it was his sisters teasing him, but whenever he looked behind him they were
doing something else. He heard the noises all the way to the hotel and through the night, until
finally he fell asleep.
Gregorio awoke with a start. It was midnight. He heard voices calling him. Gregorio,
come…they whispered. Come… come…come to us… Quietly, Gregorio jumped out of bed,
hurriedly got dressed in a sweater, and sneakily exited the hotel. He softly closed the door behind
him and walked towards the back of the hotel, back to the spot where he had broken the bridge
earlier in the day. He knew something must be going on, and was going to find out what it was,
once and for all. He figured he would find his sisters hiding outside, ready to jump out and scare
him.
As Gregorio neared the broken bridge, the voices stopped. Gregorio bent down to look at
the fairy garden. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light. Gregorio turned away and shielded
his eyes. When he looked again, he almost fainted. Sitting on the intact part of the bridge in front
of Gregorio was a small figure. He was clothed in garments made out of leaves. On his head was
a small wreath of entwined willow leaves with a shining yet minuscule jewel. He had a short neat
gray beard and very pale skin, almost pure white. He was surrounded by a golden aura. Out of
his back were two delicate wings that resembled that of a butterfly, except they were transparent.
Gregorio looked in awe, staring at the figure with his mouth hanging open. He couldn’t
believe it. He was in the company of a real live fairy!
The fairy stood up and cleared his throat. “Beannachtaí, Gregorio. Táimid, na tire sí,
fáilte chaoin tú ar - oh, I suppose you don’t speak Gaelic,” the fairy said, disappointed, noticing
Gregorio’s puzzled expression. “Or do you?” Gregorio didn’t answer. He was very, very,
confused. The fairy sighed. “Tut, tut.” He looked at Gregorio. “You know, you really shouldn’t
stare. It’s rude.” He sat down and straightened his leaf outfit and began again. “Greetings,
Gregorio. My name is Egroeg. The Fairy Folk of this Fairy Garden and Home welcome you.
“But, how can this be?” Gregorio stuttered, cutting off the fairy, once he had gathered
enough courage to speak. “Fairies don’t exist. Everybody knows that, except little kids.”
The fairy stopped talking. He muttered something that sounded like “rude, rude, rude,
humans!” He snorted. “Humph. Than explain this, then?” he turned around. “Cairde, nochtann
féin!” There was another flash of light. Suddenly every part of the entire fairy garden was
crawling with fairies! Gregorio screamed. He tried to run away, but Egroeg pointed at Gregorio
and he was pulled back.
“See, Gregorio? We do exist. We have since the very beginning of time.” The fairy said
this softly. All the other fairies were very quiet, listening, seeing what was going to happen. The
fairy kept talking. “Gregorio, do you remember when you broke that bridge near my house?”
Gregorio nodded. “Well, someone was standing on that bridge when you broke it. A fairy
named Oirogerg, in fact. He landed on your head when the bridge broke.” With that, Gregorio
started jumping up and down and running his hands through his hair while he processed the
thought. There’s a FAIRY in my hair! All the fairies watching him were laughing, and he heard
the strange bell sounds. That’s what the bell sounds were earlier! The fairies laughing! And the
movement in his hair must have been the fairy himself moving around! Gregorio shuddered. The
fairy raised his hand. “Fear not, Gregorio. Oirogerg has left your head. He shall arrive soon; he
is just recovering from his stay in your hair.” Gregorio relaxed, but only slightly. As the fairy
said that, another fairy fluttered down from a fairy house far up. The newcomer landed beside
the original fairy. He too was clothed in a leaf, but he held a fairy-sized staff. He raised it and
pointed it at Gregorio. Gregorio flinched, bracing himself for some terrible fairy magic to be
unleashed on him. The fairy began to speak in a very deep, hypnotic voice.
“You, Gregorio,” he said, “need to clean your hair.” Gregorio relaxed more, relieved that
he was not going to be turned into a frog or a newt’s eye or something. Egroeg began speaking
again.
“Gregorio, these are bad times for the fairies. There was a time when we were treated like
gods. But now,” the fairy said bitterly, “our once glorious kind has been reduced to myths and
legends. Only the little ones, the children, believe in us anymore. We fairies rely heavily on
belief. If we are not believed in, we will die. And with us, the world’s nature will die, too. We
are the protectors of the natural world. We help the flowers grow, help the animals survive, and
stop trees from falling down. We pick up the garbage that people leave. By the way, here is your
piece of paper that you dropped earlier. And nature provides us a home to live in. The once
beautiful spots in the world are now factories and buildings.”
Oirogerg began to speak now. “Gregorio, it was no coincidence that you broke that
bridge and I fell on you. I think that you are the right one. Even though you never believed in us,
I hope that you now understand our importance.” He looked around at all the other fairies.
Chills went down Gregorio’s spine at the words of the fairy. “Right one for what? What
do you mean?”
Oirogerg smiled. “Before this meeting, you didn’t think much of our kind. Now we think
you have gained a new understanding of our importance. So spread the word to help us. Save the
beautiful nature around us before it is too late. Go now. Grow your own garden. Plant a flower,
or a tree. Preserve the planet, our home. And most of all, believe. Believe in us. Believe in
fairies. Before it is too late.”
“But- why me?” Gregorio asked. “I’m not young. Why not choose a smaller child?”
Egroeg started to talk. “You are older. You will be able to make a bigger influence, and
help others of your own age to believe.”
Oirogerg poked Egroeg with his staff. “The sun is coming. Soon, the mortals will come
out. We need to leave.” The fairy nodded. He looked at Gregorio one last time.
“Remember: before it is too late.” He whispered. Slowly, every fairy started to glow a
bright gold. With an immense flash they came together and vanished with a huge wave of light.
Gregorio held his head. He couldn’t believe it. After he had teased his sisters so much for
believing in fairies, now he had actually seen them. He now realized how important nature was
to the world. He felt shame when he thought of how he had littered and polluted. But now, he
would be a helper to the fairies. He would change his ways.
Gregorio left the fairy garden just as the first rays of the sun came up. He entered the
hotel room as his parents were waking up. “So, Gregorio,” his mother said. “What do you want
to do today?”
Gregorio thought about what had happened.
“I want to make a fairy garden.”
Sam Dvorak, age 11
Grade 6, Boght Hills Elementary School
The Gymnastics Queen
Hi! My name is Serena and I go to Sunny Falls Elementary School. I am also a gymnast.
My coach is really kind but I need to pull my back layout in order to win the big meet
that is being held this weekend. This meet determines if I am on the team. Plus, my
coach won’t let me add my side aerial, or my back layout back extension rolls in my
routine. Anyway, she said I need to get my round off back handspring layout in my
routine first, so now I just need to focus on kicking my butt in the gym to get my round
off layout.
Today was my first day of school this year and I am a nervous wreck because I
just moved here a couple months ago and have never been to Sunny Falls Elementary
School. My stomach has butterflies in as I walk, thumpity-thump, down the window
filled hallway. The principal said that I would be in Mrs. Converse’s class. Immediately,
I got a really queasy feeling in my stomach as the hallway seemed to end. The principal
said to take a turn left and go to the end of the hallway and a right into Mrs. Converse’s
classroom. As slow as a slug at its slowest pace, I seemed to drag myself down the now
seeming dark hallway. Still feeling frightened, I saw the end of the hallway. I took a
deep breath and forced myself into the book filled, noisy room. As I walked in, everyone
stared, except for one girl who was sitting in the back of the room. She just sat there
feeling sorry for me. How would she understand what I’m going through though?
Maybe she used to be the new girl? I started to visualize me doing a perfect side aerial
and completing a perfect round off layout. It was all perfect, and then a girl that seemed
to be pretty full of herself came up to me and said,
“What are you doing just standing in front of the class” the tall girl with dark
eyebrows said rudely interrupting my final pose in my routine. She narrowed her
eyebrows at me and her dark blue eyes stared meanly into my eyes. I said I was
visualizing my gymnastics routine and she laughed and said it was for babies. The
teacher signaled the tall girl to sit down and asked me what I like to do. With a big sigh, I
got a grip on what I was going to say and responded,
“Gymnastics.” This time the whole class laughed, other than the blonde girl that
seemed lonely, she didn’t laugh at me. Then I recognized the girl. She was in my
gymnastics class and just moved here two weeks ago. I felt bad for her as she seemed so
lonely but in the gym she’s so lively and talkative. That is probably why I didn’t
recognize her. Mrs. Converse showed me my seat right next to the tall, mean girl with
her friend sitting on the other side. Across from me sat another one of the mean tall girl’s
friends. Loudly, the bell rang. The tall, mean girl whose name is Kristen kept
whispering about me in her friends ears as they snickered. Finally, Mrs. Converse told
them to stop talking, but that didn’t stop them. I could hardly listen to Mrs. Converse
talking about where to put our stuff with them whispering in the back round. Once again
Mrs. Converse told them to stop talking but this time she gave them warning cards which
she was explaining right now. All three of them whispered one more time and started
passing notes. Kristen accidently passed the note the wrong way and it landed in my
hands, I read it. It said that this:
“The new girl is such a big baby and thinks she is all that with her gymnastics. Don’t you
agree?” Mrs. Converse noticed the note in my hands and told me to go get a green card
and to see her after class to explain myself. At that moment, I felt like crying. When it
was recess time, I asked the girl that is in my gymnastics class to play. Her name is
McKenzie and she is really kind. In the field we took turns doing fifteen back walkovers
in a row followed by some round off back handsprings. I showed off my straight arm
side and front aerial into my front handspring punch tuck. All of a sudden, when I
attempted my round off layout tumbling pass, a hand pushed me upwards into another
back handspring, as if I was floating in the air! McKenzie continued to show me her
round off back flip layout. She was so fantastic. She was almost guaranteed a spot on the
team even though six clubs are performing with at least fifteen people in each, with only
ten spots to make the team. Anyway, today after school I walked to gymnastics practice
with McKenzie and we talked about the big meet and how mean the girls in school were.
When we finally arrived, we changed into our leotards and ran into the big gym on the
floor. We did our stretches and performed our routines that we have been working on for
like two months now. McKenzie was so graceful. My coach tapped me when it was my
turn and everyone stared. All attention on me just like it would be at the meet. This
would be great practice. I started my routine with a pose and went into my ring leap and
into my front flip punch. I did a round off handspring then a back walkover into my
scale. I did a turn and finished my routine with my round off, back handspring, back
pike. I glared at my coach. I could tell she didn’t regret my decision to do a back pike
instead of a back layout. We moved onto the beam, bars, and vault. After that we had
practice but during practice when I was practicing my floor routine I saw a girl that
appeared right in front of me in the middle of nowhere. No one else seemed to see her so
I did my round off pike, but something seemed to hit me and I went into my layout. I saw
only air. It wasn’t my coach or one of the little kids running by, but when I stuck it the
girl I saw before just said:
“You’re welcome” and walked off. That was totally creepy. I asked all of my
teammates if they saw her but they all had no clue what I was talking about. Maybe it
was just my imagination even though it felt so real. Next time I tried my back layout I
stuck it. It was like I was Gabby Douglas or something. Next thing I knew my coach
was spotting me on a back layout, back handspring. She said if I could improve it in time
I would be able to pull it off for the meet. the magic girl came again and I asked the
coach if I could show her the layout back tuck. She said to try. The girl shot out this
magic wind. It was so weird but when I attempted the skill I stuck it and I had straight
legs in my layout and was in a tight ball in my tuck. Again my coach told me if I could
do this for the meet that I would be almost guaranteed a spot on the team. Again the girl
vanished. I showed my routine on bars to my teammates. My coach thinks I’m ready to
learn a release skill. Today was the best day that I ever had in gymnastics I thought to
myself as I walked home. All of a sudden the girl appeared in front of me. The one that
guided me on how to do a round off, back handspring, back layout, back tuck and pretty
much got me a gold metal for team tryouts. No one else could probably complete that
tumbling pass that was going to tryouts. She gave me some horrible news. She said
unless I had full faith that I could get a gold metal tomorrow and that she was real; she
could not help me with my gymnastics tumbling pass and her release skill. I just said, “I
believe I can win, and I believe in you,” and I truly meant it. Just like the poster I owned
that was in my room. It said if you can believe it, you can achieve it.
The next day was the last practice before the tryouts. The mysterious girl helped me with
my release move on bars, on my floor routine, on my back handspring tuck off the vault,
and even a round off back handspring tuck off the beam. I felt like I was superhuman.
Even my coach said I have a great shot at the gold metal. I could just picture it; the gold
metal dangling around my neck with bright lights shining on me. All eyes and lights on
me, it would be perfect. At school though, it wasn’t perfect. Those mean girls were
getting meaner by the minute. First it started off with them just mentally hurting me but
they started pushing me around. My shoulder was starting to hurt. That day though the
girls seemed quieter and at the end of the day at school you do not know what one of the
backup mean girls asked me! She asked if she could come to my gymnastics meet. I just
stood there not knowing how to answer. She said that the truth was Kristen was just
making her pretend to not like gymnastics but really it was her dream to become a
famous gymnast. I just said,
“Sure. I would love for you to come.”
“Cool” she exclaimed, as she proceeded to skip away. Later that day I told
McKenzie about her asking me to come. She thought it was one of their tricks but she
was really convincing. She introduced herself and said her name is Caroline. We walked
to the meet together. There I saw my parents, my sister, my cousin, my friend Emily
from my old school, and Caroline. It wasn’t a trick. That’s good news I thought relieved.
They all smiled and gave me the thumbs up sign. I waved back and lined up to perform
my routine and I heard the mystery girl say:
“Since you truly believe in me, I will tell you my name after the meet but
this time during the meet I am not going to help you. If you truly believe in me, than you
will stick your landing. Just remember what you can do, I know you can do it. Within a
blink she disappeared. What! I needed her to do my dismount off the beam, and to do
my release on bars, and to my back handspring back tuck on tumble track and my floor
routine that had the tumbling pass. She just bails out on me at the biggest meet in my life
so far at the last minute. I was so astounded and angry I wanted to just drop out of the
meet. Suddenly, I remembered what the girl said,
“If you truly believe in me and in yourself than you will stick everything
perfectly.” Having trouble believing that statement, they called my name on the loud
speaker to go next on bars. I hopped to the bar as I skipped onto the bar and I did a mill
circle into a squat on. After that I jumped to the high bar and swung into a giant, and into
another giant. I did my release move perfectly and I stuck my flyaway. It was the
smoothest flowing, and most challenging routine I had ever performed. I smiled like
never before and finished my routine with my arms up. When it was my turn on the
beam, I did the same thing. I stuck it with my feet on the ground, arms up, and toes
pointed. I did the same thing for the vault I ran at full speed and did a back hand spring
into my back tuck like it was as easy as breathing. When they called my name for floors
I panicked. It was usually the event, I wasn’t nervous about because it was my best event
but I added in a front and side aerial, two new tumbling passes, and a standing back
handspring back tuck. I took my place on the mat signaling I was ready and the music
started to play. My song was fur Elise. I did my easier tumbling pass first into my ring
leaps and back walkovers into a couple stretches and my two aerials. After that, last but
definitely not the least, I ended my routine off with the hardest tumbling pass I had.
Round off, back handspring, back layout, back tuck. When I stuck it I was relieved. I
saw the girl smile but out of nowhere this magic wind came and blew her into a little girl.
I could hear her say that her name was McKenna. Well what was McKenna like after
that? That’s a whole new story. The fact is that after the meet, McKenzie, Caroline and
Serena are now friends even if Kristen hates their guts. Who cares, too bad for her? Plus
McKenna was starting at their school next week. She would also become part of the
friendship group. Serena and her friends lived happily ever after.
Amber Crain
Age: 10
Grade: 4
The Important Rule
A little girl at about the age of one took her first step outside into the bright California
sun. When her first foot stepped out the door she grew big, silver wings. She ran inside because
she was so scared. When she stepped back inside, the wings disappeared. She ran up to her room,
and locked herself inside the house. Her parents tried so hard to get her outside but she never
listened until…..
12 years later…..
The same girl sat on her soft bed. She had long dark brown hair, hazel eyes, and wore big
sweatpants with a t-shirt. Her name was Miya. I need to go outside. I need to see the world. I
can’t lock myself in here my whole life, she thought. She wanted to go outside again, but she was
too nervous about what will happen to her if she did walk outside. She was scared, but anxious to
go outside. She decided to take her chances and go outside. She got out of her bed, put a pair of
jeans on with a gray t-shirt and walked out of her room. Thirty seconds later she arrived at the
front door. She took a deep breath and opened the door. Just like when she was one, she stepped
outside and grew big silver wings. This time before she could run back inside, the wings started
moving and flew her to a garden. The garden was full of colorful flowers that seemed to dance
(literally) and made small noises as though they were singing. Suddenly, she heard a deep voice.
She could hear the voice so clearly, she thought she was dreaming.
“You are magical now,” the voice spoke. “You must listen now or trouble will happen.”
Miya stood there like a statue, too afraid to move or speak.
“You must not fly closer than three feet above any water. You mustn’t know why you
can’t fly close to water and I DON’T want you to figure out why,” said the voice again.
Miya stood there for another few minutes to see if the voice was going to speak again, but
1
she heard nothing. She kept her eyes wide just in case she saw a figure that the deep voice
belonged to. She was too afraid if she blinked she would miss any movement. She stayed there
for a while longer, than she began to fly back home.
Am I going crazy? Am I imagining all of this? she thought.
When she got back to her street there was a problem, a pretty big one actually. Where all
the houses used to be standing was now a forest of trees. Where the paved road used to be was
now a small skinny path. Miya looked down at herself to see if she changed and she did! She
now looked like a fairy she had seen in pictures in a fairy tale book.
“What happened!,” she called out to no one in particular. She didn’t expect a response,
but she could have sworn she heard a small voice.
“You are in a fairy tale book,” she heard the small voice say.
“H- h, how did this happen,” Miya said in a nervous voice.
“I’m not allowed to say, but I do have some advice before you fly off. I highly suggest
you listen to the deep voice you heard in the garden. Follow what he told you and nothing bad
will happen.”
Before Miya could answer, her wings flew her up in the air and far, far away from
California. I’ve got to learn how to control these wings, thought Miya. Soon Miya was having so
much fun flying around. She felt so free and she loved how the wind gently blew her hair. Miya
got so distracted by flying, she didn’t realize she was getting so close to the water until she was
nearly underwater. She tried to fly away, but just then she realized she didn’t have wings
anymore; she was now a mermaid with an aqua, sparkling tail.
Oh my gosh, she thought to herself. Is this what happens when you fly too close to water?
Miya had a million terrifying thoughts like, What if I’m stuck here forever and What if a shark
2
eats me. She got so distracted by her thoughts that she didn’t realize a dolphin came over until
she heard, “Hi, I’m Sparkles the dolphin.”
The dolphin was pink and was very sparkly (as her name already explained). She also had
a very friendly smile on.
“You can talk!” Miya managed to say. She was so shocked she just heard a dolphin
speak.
“Sure I can,” the dolphin replied. “Anything can happen in a fairy tale book. Why don’t I
show you all around the great, blue sea.” Sparkles had no clue Miya wasn’t supposed to be
underwater breaking a very important rule.
“Oh, okay,” replied Miya.
Sparkles swam much faster than Miya. It was hard for Miya to swim because she was not
used to having a tail. The dolphin soon realized that Miya was struggling so she swam slower,
swimming side by side with Miya.
“Why don’t I show you my home first,” said Sparkles.
“Sure, that sounds like fun,” replied Miya.
Miya was used to swimming now and she was having a ton of fun. They soon arrived at a
coral reef, but not just any coral reef. This coral reef was the most beautiful coral reef. It was all
different colors like pink, orange, blue, and yellow. Rainbow trout swimming all around it made
the coral reef look even brighter. Miya was even more surprised to see other dolphins that looked
just like Sparkles, some were purple and some were pink.
“This is my home and these are all my friends,” Sparkles said while pointing at all the
other dolphins.
Miya was speechless. She was just so amazed at the beauty of the coral reef.
3
“Wow!” was the only word Miya was able to get out.
“Let me show you the inside,” Sparkles said in an excited voice.
Sparkles showed Miya every part of the coral reef. It was the most colorful thing Miya
has ever seen. Sparkles introduced Miya to her six other dolphin friends. Miya and Sparkles were
just about to leave the coral reef to explore more of the ocean when Miya saw a huge, dark
shadow coming towards them. When the shadow got closer, Miya could make out the shape
better. It looked kind of like a shark but it was dark green and looked kind of furry. Miya
assumed something that scary had to be a monster. Then, Miya saw the scariest part; the
monster’s teeth were one foot long.
Those teeth could bite me as easily as a knife cuts through butter, Miya thought. Miya
looked over at Sparkles and she shared the same terrified look on her face as Miya.
“What do we do?,” Miya whispered to Sparkles, so the monster didn’t hear. The furry
monster was slowly approaching and if they didn’t do something fast they would turn into a
dog’s chew toy.
Miya and Sparkles were about to go back to the coral reef to hide but before they could
move a foot they both were trapped in a cage. Not just an ordinary cage, a cage held by a huge,
green, furry monster.
“AHH!!!” Miya and Sparkles both screamed in unison.
The monster did not say a single word. It just carried them off in the cage to a really dark
part of the water. It was so dark Miya could barely see Sparkles who was right next to her.
They soon arrived at this big box. The monster put the cage holding Miya and Sparkles in
the box and didn’t let them out the whole night. The good news was he didn’t do anything to
harm them. In the morning, the monster let Miya and Sparkles out of the box to swim, and that
4
night he put them back in the box. This routine lasted for about a week.
Then, one day he didn’t open the box. He kept them in the box all day.
“Why do you think he kept us in the box?” Miya asked Sparkles.
“I don’t know, but I hope this doesn’t mean that something really bad is going to
happen.”
“You thought I was nice, didn’t you?” they heard the loud voice say.” You thought I
wasn’t going to harm you! Well, you were wrong!”
Right at that moment the monster opened the cage and held Miya and Sparkles in a tight
grip. He was just about to put them in his huge mouth when Miya screamed,
“GET ME OUT OF HERE!”
All of a sudden Miya saw flashing lights. Before she knew it she was back in fairy form
but she was standing once again in a cage. She then saw a shape emerge from one corner. Right
before her eyes she saw the most beautiful person she has ever seen. She had long blonde hair
and beautiful, bright blue eyes. She wore a sparkling silver dress and a matching crown. She also
had huge, shimmering wings and held a glistening wand.
“I am the Crystal Fairy Queen,” Miya heard the voice say. “I am the queen of all the
fairies in Magical Adventures. That is the storybook you are in now. I have been told that you
have disobeyed a rule. The rule about not flying closer to the water than three feet. The rule you
heard the voice in the garden tell you. Therefore you are kicked out of this storybook and shall
never return.”
“I understand my punishment, but before I leave, may I ask you one question?” asked
Miya.
“What is it?” replied the Crystal Fairy Queen.
5
“Why am I in a fairy tale book? How am I in a fairy tale book?” asked Miya.
“Well,” replied the Crystal Fairy Queen. “I cast spells on a few children, when they are at
a very young age, so kids can learn that magic does exist. I also do this so we have more visitors
in the storybook, but since you disobeyed an important rule I ask you to leave.
“Won’t I still remember all of this when I get home?” asked Miya.
“No, when you go from a fairy tale book back to regular time it erases any memories you
had from the fairy tale. Now, no more questions.”
The Crystal Fairy Queen waved her wand in a circular pattern, then there were flashing
lights and before Miya could say another word she was out of the storybook.
Miya was now sitting on her own bed, in her own home. Miya didn’t miss a second of
her regular life. It was the exact same time and day as it was when she stepped outside. Miya
doesn’t even know she left. She thinks she has been sitting on her bed this whole time.
Brianna Morris
Age 11
th
6 Grade
6
Acog: The Last of the Dragons
Darkness was our cover as we slipped in and out of the shadows from the old willow
trees. We had to hide or our father, who was the king, would have sent his guards to catch us out
past curfew again. We couldn’t get caught again. Arthur and I still had scars where Father had
whipped us. We ran in and out of wooded paths as the guards tried to find where we had gone.
Arthur, Jewel, and I stepped into a cave to catch our breath.
The rock walls in the cave looked as if they had been scratched by something large and
dangerous. The back of the cave looked like it was more than a mile away, and we heard the
sound of water trickling down the back wall. We heard a loud grunt as if something had heard us
come in. Two, large, green eyes shot out from under scaly eyelids. Everyone was greatly
alarmed, but no one dared to let out a scream. Instead, Jewel took her sleeve, covered her mouth,
and screamed as loud as she could letting out only a faint squeak.The monster owning the eyes
showed no sign of fear or desire to hurt us. Arthur, being the stupid one in the group, decided to
walk closer to the beast. He yelled,”This thing is a dragon, I thought they were extinct.”
In a deep, gravely voice, the monster said,” Rare perhaps, but not extinct. Also, this thing
has a name. My name is Acog, and I am the last of the dragons.”
Arthur jumped back in surprise and stared at the dragon. The dragon moved to rearrange
itself letting us get a look at its enormous body and wings. Jewel looked as if she might faint.
Then I remembered that our father had guards chasing us. I told Arthur to remember to be quiet.
Arthur said,”Don’t worry, we lost them. Stop being such a chicken.”
I kept telling him that the guards were after us until he finally agreed that we should go.
During that whole conversation Jewel was standing there, staring at the talking beast before her.
I snapped her out of her trance and pulled her out of the cave telling the dragon that we may meet
again tomorrow. On the way back to the palace everyone was silent letting the events that had
just occurred sink in. Once we had gotten to the palace and up into our rooms we went to bed
thinking about the dragon in the cave.
The next morning I woke up at dawn to meet Arthur and Jewel at the large gate leading to
the palace. No one was awake but the patrolling officers guarding the gate. They happily let us
go past, through the gate and up the hill leading to the woods. From there we tried to retrace our
steps from the top of the hill to the cave. It was pretty easy because we could see where we had
broken branches and bushes as we ran away.
When we got to the cave, Jewel and I were hesitant, but Arthur wasn’t. When he realized
no one was following him he turned around and was about to say something when we heard the
same gravely voice that we had heard last night. It said,”Hello. I’ve been waiting a great deal of
time for you to return.”
Jewel yelled back,”What do you mean, the sun hasn’t even shown it’s face yet.”
The dragon replied,”Well, dragons don’t sleep at all, so I have been waiting a great
amount of time. With that said, you may come in.”
When we walked in we could see the cave more clearly now with the sun almost
completely in the sky. There were animal bones scattered upon the floor and blood staining the
walls. I concluded that the dragon was a slob.
I told the dragon, “If my father ever finds you, he’ll have you killed.”
“That’s what I need you for,” the dragon told me. “I need you to train with me so that we
can prove to your father that I am not a monster and can be quite useful. If needed I can fight in
any war for your kingdom and it would win. If I want to I can breathe fire.” I thought on that for
a while. I called Jewel and Arthur over to have a chat with me. I was surprised at myself for even
considering training this dragon.
Once Arthur and Jewel reached me, Jewel immediately said no. Arthur was all for it. He
thought that if we trained this dragon, Father would actually spare it. After a long discussion we
all agreed to go ahead with the training. We walked up to the dragon and told him the good
news. All he said was, “Then lets get started.”
We decided that the only thing that would impress father would be riding the dragon and
having him breathe fire, so that was what we worked on. We used Jewel’s advanced sewing and
knitting skills to create a makeshift harness. We also decided that since the dragon understood
English, we would use simple commands like up, down, left, and right to steer the dragon and
the word fire was the command for breathing fire. The only hard part was flying itself. If we tried
to fly in the cave we would hit our heads and fall, but if we went outside we could easily be seen
by the castle guards. We decided to go to the meadow behind the mountain that we always
climbed when we were little. I was the only one to try taming the dragon. I told Arthur and Jewel
that since I was the oldest, I would be the one to ride him. I said“Up!”, and the dragon
immediately flew upward knocking jerking me backwards. I said left and right and Acog turned.
I thought about how if I commanded Acog to breathe while I was at a downward angle, the fire
would hit me in the face. So, instead of heading down while commanding him to breathe fire, I
headed upward at a slight angle and right as I told him to breathe fire, I told him to fly the
opposite direction, keeping myself far away from the flames. When I looked back to see the
flames it looked more beautiful than the evening sky. The flames were in a tight compact ball
speeding down to the earth far below. I came down soon after deciding that I had taken enough
time to fly.
Later, Arthur Jewel and I decided that it was time to go back to the palace. On our walk
home I was talking with Arthur and said that maybe in two days, which was Midsummer’s Eve,
we could fly the dragon over to Father while he was at our annual Midsummer’s Eve party and
show him what we have accomplished. When we reached the palace the bright and brilliant sun
was just starting to fall under the mountains. We ate our suppers thoroughly and quickly so we
could get to bed and wake early to see Acog. The getting to bed part was much harder than I
thought it would be. I tried to fall asleep, but every time I tried my eyelids would shoot back
open. I eventually fell asleep thinking about impressing Father with flying dragons.
I woke up first the next day and went to wake Arthur and Jewel. When I got to Jewel’s
room I found her awake sitting in her rocking chair. I said good morning and reminded her to
bring her sewing supplies because the seat for Acog’s saddle was uncomfortable. Then I walked
across the hall to Arthur’s room. He was sound asleep. After shaking him roughly, he finally
rose. He got dressed, grabbed a couple of things from the cabinet to eat, and we began our long
walk to the cave.
When we walked into the cave the first thing we noticed was that Acog wasn’t there. We
heard his familiar growl from behind the mountain and concluded that he was probably
practicing flying. We walked quickly, eager to see Acog. Like we had thought, Acog was flying,
and it looked as if Acog was not trying to go as fast up and down. Instead he went up at an angle
and used a lot less force. After our greetings I told Jewel to start the new saddle while Arthur and
I helped Acog.
I was the first one to try today. I mounted Acog and told him to go up. Acog went up at a
slow and steady pace, which forced him to a while before getting to a good height. I was flying
low when I heard yell,” It’s ready,” from Jewel. I landed and then ran over to her and grabbed
the saddle. I mounted Acog and took off. The saddle felt much more comfortable as I was flying
with Acog. It felt like I was just playing with him. I came down to the ground and announced
what I knew everyone was thinking. “ He’s ready,” I said firmly. We took turns flying until dusk
and then went home. When we got to the palace we saw Father directing people about where to
put things and where the feasting table would be the next day. We casually walked by him as if
nothing was on our minds and he gave us no remark. We ate in the large dining hall alone,
thinking about the day that awaited us. I finally choked down the last of my mushroom stew and
then went off to bed. I was very tired and fell asleep immediately.
I woke up early the next day, but saw that Arthur and Jewel were already outside through
my large bedroom window. I got dressed, got a snack, and then went down to meet Arthur and
Jewel. When I reached the bottom of the stairs I could see people already lining up for the great
party that was going to start in a while. We snuck through the back gate so we wouldn’t get
tossed around in that mess and ran up the hill to the cave. This time we found Acog in the cave. I
asked,” Are you ready for your big day?”
He replied, ”As ready as I’ll ever be.” We went to the meadow to get ready and then
waited for the loud cheer when Father would let his guards open the gates. The time finally came
when we heard the cries of excited people waiting to get in. We all got onto the saddle and
prepared for takeoff. I told Acog, “UP!” and up he went. I steered him towards the castle and
reassured him that everything was going to be all right. We got to the castle and I told Acog to
start heading down. In our descent we heard cries, and people ran out of the way. I told Acog
to,”Show them the heat,” and he did just like we had practiced. Then we landed. Father had his
men armed and commanded us to get off. I said, “Father, hear us out. This dragon has shown
great bravery and intelligence and deserves to be spared. I know that you think that you have to
kill dragons, but that’s simply not the case. You need to stop killing dragons like this one
because they are of great use and nearly extinct. This one says that he will fight in any war
against any military and will use his fire-breathing skills.”
Then Acog piped in, “And I can talk, too.”
To my astonishment, Father had his men stand down. Then he agreed. The crowd burst
into chatter with mumblings of, “What?” and, “Huh?” and, “That doesn’t make any sense!” but
Father stood his ground. He said, “I will happily second your opinion because you are coming to
the age where your opinions will matter, and if this dragon will fight, then so be it.”
We were all very surprised that after that, Father kicked everyone out and we had dinner
by ourselves quietly. From then on we lived happily ever after, with our friend Acog the Dragon.
When I became King we fought in many wars and had great adventures together. I, Samuel was
awarded for my bravery by being announced king by my father when the time was right, but that
is the beginning of another story!
Brian Cunningham
Age 11
Grade 5
The Secret of Bedington Manor
Thomas Helger was a tall, elegant, fashionable man who lived in Bedington
Manor, on 31 Austrian Street Salzburg, Austria. Tom was a man of strong character and
great kindness and passion for living beings. He lived in his mansion with trusty butler,
John, a cook who made delicious food, Mary, a maid, Lola, and Beethoven, his loving
dog. Beethoven had broken his hind leg in an accident and couldn’t run. Tom believed
that music could heal animals, people, and the nature. Being the skilled musician he was,
in his free time he worked on his dream, to make music that could heal.
Tom knew that music has a soothing effect. He had found out that different
animals react to different notes in different ways, like how an A notes bothers a cat but a
mouse loves it. But his quest to find music that can heal was not completed and he would
spend hours trying to find notes, which were not just soothing, but also healing.
Tom performed at many concerts and was well known in the state because of his
talent and skill. Tom would spend many of his evenings practicing violin. Tom normally
practiced two if not more each day. He always started of with a challenging scale like a
two-octave C scale. Then after practicing for an hour he would do a mini concert for
John, Mary, Lola, and Beethoven and then he practiced a little more. He was just doing
this at the time.
“Bravo!” John said.
“ Just magnificent,” Mary exclaimed.
“A piece of art,” Lola said.
“Woof,” Beethoven said.
“Thank you, thank you,” Tom said, “I must get back to practicing now.” Tom
went to the music room. The music room had a chair and table to compose music, his
music stand, his violin, and his sheet music piece. After getting ready Tom started
playing ‘The Magic Flute’.
When he finished playing, a big, black hole opened in the back wall. But instead
of a scary feeling, it had a positive comforting feeling, which was almost inviting. “What
could this be?” Tom questions as anyone would. Tom called John “John, could you bring
me a flash light.”
“ Right away” John called back, “but May I ask why do you…” he stopped
speaking as he stepped in and saw the hole.
Tom swiftly took the flashlight, “ Thank you John. Mind you stay here,” Tom
says to the stunned John.
Tom walked in through the dark hole with the flashlight in hand. That pathway
took Tom into the medium sized room. As he shined the flashlight around he saw a
vintage violin and piano, a chair and a table. On the table there was a pile of unfinished
and a pile of finished music pieces. He saw the manuscript of ‘Mitridate, re di Ponto’. “A
music studio?” Tom said in disbelief. He looked around and saw paintings of Bach and
some furniture with melted candles. Surprisingly all looked very well kept as if
somebody was still using it. Tom knew it was late in night and he stepped out, thinking
he will come back next morning.
As Tom stepped out he told the flabbergasted John “John we have a new Music
studio we can use.”
Next Morning, Tom woke up early. He looked outside and saw some birds
chirping on his window as if they were singing in a music note. Tom has his inspiration
for the day and he wrote down that piece in his memory. He refreshed himself and went
to his the music room, this time with a flashlight in his hand. As he stepped in the room
Beethoven walked in the room. “ Good morning Beethoven. Did I wake you up?” Tom
asked affectionately.
“Woof,” Beethoven answered.
Once again Tom took his violin and started playing the notes as sung by the
morning birds. And Voila! The pathway to secret music studio opened again. Beethoven
followed Tom in through the hole. Tom started looking at sheet music and to his
astonishment; one of the sheets, which he thought was unfinished last night, was finished
today. “I must be dreaming,” he said to himself .The sheets were signed by Mozart. Who
could that be? Were these actually the compositions of The Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?
“Oh no, that’s my fantasy,” thought Tom. He spent some time looking at the pieces and
he knew it needed something more. He looked around the room and had a strange feeling
that he was not alone there.
When John woke up he saw Tom researching on the computer. “What are you
researching, Sir.”
“Mozart,” Tom said, “For a new piece to practice.” As Tom searched on the
Internet for Mozart, he was surprised. He discovered that, the house he was living in was
once owned by Mozart, The Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Tom pondered about it for a while and all these gave him extra faith that he can
find music that can heal and he is not alone in his quest. He knew he had to finish the
unfinished pieces. He had no idea how to finish the pieces. Tom pondered for days and he
was still pondering on a rainy day. Tom listened to the rhythm of the rain tapping on the
window. As he listened to the rhythm, he wrote it down. The pitches were naturally
coming to him. Tom played the song with this for an ending as Beethoven watched as an
audience. As Tom finished playing Beethoven got up and ran out the door and in the
living room yapping all over the place. “Wait, Beethoven.” Then it struck him,
Beethoven’s leg was healed and he is trying show that to us. Tom ran out of the room and
rushed to the living room. “ John, Mary, Lola come here.” They all rushed to the room as
fast as they could, prepared for the worst.
“What happened?” Mary asked.
“Beethoven’s leg healed,” Tom answered. Upon hearing this Beethoven stopped
running around and quietly sat next to Tom. “Am I right boy” Tom asked Beethoven.
“Woof” Beethoven said in agreement.
“ But how” Mary asked. Tom told them how he used the rain’s pattern to finish
the song. They were stunned when he finished. “ Don’t tell a anyone what I’ve just told
you,” Tom commanded. They nodded in agreement. After that Tom spent months
collecting rhythms from nature and using what he knew to finish the music sheets. Soon
he started to use his music to heal animals, and disases. News spread and some were
happy while others were calling him fraud. Finally Tom decided to share his combination
of Mozart, music and nature to the world. A local station came to uncover the truth .
When Helga and Fred from the local station came Tom sat them down in the
lavishly furnished living room.
“What’s the breaking news here?” Helga the news reporter said sharply.
“Let me show you,” Tom said walking them to the music room. Inside the room
Tom called for silence. “It might not work if it’s noisy,” Tom explained. Helga gave a
suspicious look to Tom at this remark. When it was silent Tom started playing ‘The
Magic Flute’
“If your showing me you can play a new piece then your wasting my time I’m
going,” Helga said.
“Wait, there’s more,” John said.
“What else is there? Can you play two pieces?” Helga said snickering. Just then
the hole to the studio opened. “What is this?” Helga said directing her words to Tom.
“A music studio that I found a few months ago,” Tom said with pride.
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier,” Helga the reporter said, “Fred start filming,”
Fred the cameraman turned on his camera and started filming. “ This is Helga with
breaking news! Tom Helger just found a secret music studio. Tom may we go in?” Helga
questioned.
“Yes but we will need flashlights” Tom said gesturing to John. John brought two
flashlights in a flash. He gave one to Helga and one to Tom. Tom led the way with a
flashlight in his hand.
“ Tom, how exactly did you find the studio?” Helga asked Tom.
“I was practicing ‘The Magic Flute’ when the hole opened for me.” Tom replied
coolly, “And these pieces that you see can heal. Most of them were finished and the
unfinished I finished for Mozart the original composer.”
“ Interesting! That’s it for breaking news. I’m Helga and this is Fred signing off.”
Helga said to the camera. “Great story.” Helga said to Tom with a smile. Helga and Fred
left proud of their news.
After that the news spread like wildfire through out the world.
At Bedington Manor they watched the breaking news. After the news they had a
hearty dinner and went to sleep, knowing all is well with the world.
Varun Mondaiyka
5G Boght Hills Elementary
April 2013
The Unipoosey Gem
Long ago, there were two unicorns living in a country named Colortwiblemosey.
Colortwiblemosey was very colorful and it was a suburban country with lakes and mountains.
The air in Colortwiblemosey was always full of fresh sparkling mist. There was no such thing as
grass in Colortwiblemosey. Instead, the “grass” there was just edible unicorn mints. Unicorns
only lived there.
The two young unicorns’ names were Stripe and Squiggle. Imagine a unicorn that has a
silver horn, purple eyes, and a body that was covered with rainbow stripes. That was Stripe. She
was two years old in the unicorn world, which is ten years old in the human world. She also had
the power to shoot stripes at an enemy by just tapping her horn. Imagine a unicorn that has a
silver horn (just like Stripe), blue eyes, and a body that was covered with rainbow squiggles.
That unicorn was named Squiggle. Squiggle also had a special power similar to Stripe. She
could shoot squiggles at an enemy by just touching her forehead. They had a lot of talent.
Stripe and Squiggle had met at a small, brick walled, square shaped, rainbow colored,
plain, boring orphanage called the Colortwiblemosey Unicorn Orphanage. Right after they met,
they knew that they were best friends. They thought that they were so alike!
One hot, humid day, Squiggle found a copy of The Daily Colortwiblemosey Newspaper
on the ground. She showed it to Stripe. “Look Stripe! I found a copy of the newspaper! Let’s
read it together!” Squiggle said. Orphans thought of the newspaper as a treasure and if any
unicorn orphan found a copy of any kind of newspaper, they would treat it like a billion bucks.
They would treat a newspaper as if it was a billion bucks because in those days poor unicorns
couldn’t afford to buy one. “Okay Squiggle. Let’s read!” Stripe said. They started reading. The
cover story was about the evil pegasus Fireball that lived in the land Shackalo in the pegasus
world. Fireball had the Unipoosey Gem! It was the gem that controlled every single unicorn life.
The gem could save or kill the unicorns!
The best friends knew for sure that Fireball would use the Unipoosey Gem for violence.
Stripe thought, We’re going on an adventure to Shackalo, the Pegasus World. Squiggle thought,
We can do this. Every single unicorn will be relying on us. They said out loud, ”We can save
the unicorns! We totally can do this!”
During the day, the unicorns, Stripe and Squiggle, started packing up for the trip. Stripe
packed her magic wand from wizard school, her flashlight, some batteries, her blanket, and she
packed her book about the Unipoosey Gem. Squiggle packed her pillow, her stone that mixes
any kinds of stripes and squiggles together, and she packed her guide about pegasus’ and dragons.
The two young unicorns were all ready and set to leave Colortwiblemosey!
At 8:30 sharp (a little past the orphanage bedtime), Stripe and Squiggle snuck out of the
orphanage. They galloped into the dragon land Boopaweeker because that was the one and only
way to get to Shackalo. Boopaweeker was a very dirty and rusty country. Stripe said to
Squiggle, “It’s so dark!” Of course it was dark in Boopaweeker. Inside Boopaweeker, the
unicorns felt queer, like something was watching them. That was true. Something was watching
them the whole time.
The two unicorns saw two nasty looking dragons that were black from head to toe. The
only thing that wasn’t black about them was their eyes. Their eyes were brown. The dragons
asked the unicorns, “Who are you and where are you going?” The unicorns answered,” We are
Stripe and Squiggle and we are going to the land of Shackalo.” The dragons said,” We are Pipe
and Smokey and we are also going to the land of Shackalo.” Then the unicorns asked,” Why are
you going there?” Pipe and Smokey answered, “To get the gem and destroy it! For once in a
lifetime we don’t have to see unicorns! Yes, that’s exactly what we want! ” The unicorns were so
mad that steam almost came out of their silver horns.
The unicorns went through Boopaweeker with Pipe and Smokey torturing them with
pipes and smoke. Once, Stripe and Squiggle got hit so badly by a pipe that they had to cry out,”
Help!” At the spur of a moment, a unicorn with wings came from nowhere. She said,” I am
Squiggle’s grandmother, Sparkle. Go away dragons! Stop tormenting these poor little unicorns!
Youngsters, I have a plan to get the Unipoosey Gem. Just follow me.” The two unicorns were
dazed. They followed Sparkle as if she were a commander of an army.
Pipe and Smokey were afraid of Sparkle so they stopped tormenting Stripe and Squiggles,
but the dragons had a plan to capture the two unicorns in a magical unicorn trap. ”Let’s do it!
We have to go ahead of the unicorns secretly in some way.” Pipe and Smokey said.
Meanwhile, Stripe, Squiggle, and Sparkle tried to use the things they brought to find the
end of Boopaweeker and the entrance of Shackalo, but there was no hope. While the three
unicorns were still trying to find the end of Boopaweeker, the two annoying dragons sneaked
past. The dragons thought that nobody had seen them, but Stripe had been looking for wood
with her magic wand in one hoof/hand and she had caught them red-handed. She waved her
magic wand and she said,”Colortwiblemoseyboopaweekershackalo! Ruin these beastly, horrible
dragons! I never want to see them again ever in my life!” Pipe and Smokey disappeared in a
thick cloud of dirty smoke.
To tell the truth, Smokey had used his own smoke to disappear. He was positive that
unicorn magic spells did not work on dragons. Smokey and Pipe took a big breath of relief and
they thought, We’re safe! Right after the two dragons had thought that, Pipe and Smokey
disappeared. This time Smokey and Pipe had not used anything. They had just vanished.
The unicorns, Stripe, Squiggle, and Sparkle were so glad that they were free from
dragons. They kept on looking for the end of Boopaweeker and finally, Sparkle found a map at
the entrance of a small black volcano. It showed the way out of Boopaweeker and into Shackalo.
Stripe, Squiggle, and Sparkle all knew that they had almost reached the entrance of
Shackalo, but Sparkle felt sick. “Go on, my dears. Leave me here. I’m too old to go on, but get
the Unipoosey Gem for me and for the other unicorns. You must do this. You must!” said
Sparkle. Stripe and Squiggle said, “We can’t go without you, but if you want us to go, we are
going.” Sparkle said, “Good bye, my children.” Then she rose up into the sky.
Stripe and Squiggle were still wiping their tears when they reached the entrance of
Shackalo. Shackalo was a mostly white country. It was very shiny there were also rainbows,
sparkles, and other beautiful things there. The lakes were shimmering all the time. There was no
doubt that Shackalo was one of the most beautiful countries in the world. After they reached
Shackalo, they asked the guard at the entrance, “Can we meet the royal pegasus Fireball?” Stripe
asked. The guard answered, “Yes, of course. In fact, she is expecting you two. To meet her, go
up the stairs that are right in front of you, and then go to the room that is directly in front of you
when you get upstairs.” Stripe and Squiggle exchanged looks that said, Why is Fireball
expecting us? She hardly knows us. They were both suspicious. The two unicorns went up the
steep stairs and they reached Fireball’s room. They knocked very lightly and Fireball opened her
bedroom door. When Fireball opened the door, Stripe and Squiggle noticed that the clever but
evil pegasus was smirking. The two unicorns exchanged looks that said, Why is Fireball
smirking? “What are you doing here, unicorns?” Fireball asked. “You already know why we are
here.” answered Squiggles. Stripe said,” Give us the Unipoosey Gem.” “Here is the gem.”
Fireball said when she almost handed the Unipoosey Gem to Stripe. Stripe reached out to get the
Unipoosey Gem when Fireball snatched it back. Fireball said with a sly grin,” You dummies!
You never noticed that you were in a trap! I knew that unicorns were dumb! Now I’ve proven
it!” She used her power to glue fireballs to the door and then she flew out through the roof with
the precious Unipoosey Gem that controlled the lives of every single unicorn in the world.
“We’re trapped!” shouted the unicorns in unison like a chorus (but this wasn’t a chorus).
This is just a dream, Stripe. It’s a dream. Wake up, thought Squiggle. Am I cuckoo or
something? You’re crazy, Squiggle, thought Squiggle. But they were not in a dream and they
were not cuckoo or crazy. They were trapped.
Right after the unicorns said, “We’re trapped!”, Squiggle had a spectacular idea. She
said to Stripe,” Let’s mix our powers together with my stone and then we can shoot our powers
at the fireballs!” Stripe said,” Great idea! Your idea’s amazing!” Then, they mixed their
powers (after tapping Stripe’s horn and Squiggle’s forehead) and they shot their powers at the
fireballs. They finally got out of Fireball’s room.
Outside, Stripe noticed Fireball in the air with the Unipoosey Gem in her paw/hoof/hand.
Fireball said when she thought that Stripe and Squiggle were listening, ”Now I am going to use
this weird, annoying gem to take all the unicorn lives away, so get out of my way, you spoiled,
teeny-tiny, annoying brat unicorns!” Spontaneously, another flying unicorn came by. She said,”
My name is Sprinkle, and Sparkle sent me to help you two unicorns. Squiggle, your
grandmother is alive and she is still watching you and Stripe.” The two unicorns said in a rush,
“Help us take the Unipoosey Gem from Fireball. We have to hurry! If we don’t hurry, Fireball
will take each and every unicorn’s life away, including your life and ours!”
The three unicorns, Stripe, Squiggle, and Sprinkle leaped into action. They used their
special, unique powers to fight evil Fireball. Finally, Fireball felt so dizzy from the stripes,
squiggles, and sprinkles that she let go of the Unipoosey Gem on purpose. “You three unicorns
can have the Unipoosey Gem this time, but next time, my darling, adorable, powerful, brave
daughter Hayawigger will get the Unipoosey Gem and she will make you three annoying,
scaredy-cat unicorns have it!” She took a deep breath, and she stomped back to her room.
Sprinkle, Stripe, and Squiggle flew back to the Colortwiblemosey using Sprinkle’s magic
dust. At the tiny, boring unicorn orphanage, Sprinkle told Fallowiyo, the person in charge of the
orphanage that she wants to adopt Stripe and Squiggle. Fallowiyo made Sprinkle sign a contract
that she would adopt Stripe and Squiggle as her daughters. She signed the contract, and the two
unicorns got to live with their new mother.
Later, when the three wounicorns (the unicorn word for woman unicorn) reached
Sprinkle’s home, the two young unicorns had a feeling that Sprinkle would never ever in the
world desert them. Sprinkle kept the Unipoosey Gem safely in a glass box that looked like a
transparent cube. Also, she vowed not to take the gem and run away. After Stripe and Squiggle
got used to living in Sprinkle’s home, Hayawigger tried to come and get the Unipoosey Gem
from Stripe and Squggle’s home for her cruel mother but she never succeeded in getting the
Unipoosey Gem. Every time she attacks with hay, the three other unicorns use their even more
powerful powers to block the hay. Soon, Hayawigger surrendered and the unicorns lived happily
ever after in their fantastic, “nicely” enchanted home.
Jenny Ham
Age 9
Grade 4
Boght Hills
The Wings of an Angel
“Kimawana!” Jewle (pronounced JA-well) yelled telepathically to her best friend as she
sprinted after her.
“Sorry, what did you say?” asked the long, haired girl coming to a shrieking halt.
“My gosh, Kimawana!” spat Jewle in disgust, “I thought you had gotten the hang of
telepathy! You said you had!”
“It’s harder than you think it is, to do telepathy while you’re running like a madman!”
“Well then, how come I can do it?” asked Jewle skeptically.
“For one thing, you were running slower than me, and two, you’re my tutor so of course
you should be better than me!” said Kimawana, who was starting to feel ticked off.
“Ah, well, let’s forget it this time and go back to your mind strengthening training instead
of your body strengthening exercises,” said Jewle.
“Aww! Come on!” whined Kimawana, flapping her small delicate hands around her head
from where grew long, luxurious black hair, “I loved the body exercises. I’m going to miss the
10,000 pound dumbbells, the 10 mile sprints, and the 1,000,000 push-ups.”
“Okay, but if you only train in strength, you’re going to be a big, fat sumo wrestler, not a
magic creature.” Said Jewle reasonably. “You need to train in your telepathy and magic skills.”
When Kimawana finally gave in, she and Jewle returned to the cottage of prophecies.
“Also, you need to study the wonderful history of our homeland, Chalar, Kingdom of
prophecies and predictions. Now, if you don’t mind I’m going to my flying class.” And with that,
Jewle unfolded her large angel wings (did I mention that Jewle is a blue and silver African
wildcat with large, feathery angel wings?) and flew away. When Jewle had left, Kimawana left
for the library where she looked up the history of Chalar. Chalar was a very large and beautiful
kingdom that had survived for many generations. The main castle had many turrets where
prophesiers made predictions. She was flipping through some of the old tomes to find something
interesting (which was very unlikely for there is nothing more boring than the history of Chalar)
when she found a book labeled: The Angel Jewels, A Legend. Kimawana pulled the book out
and opened it. “The Angel Jewels were rumored to contain the power of the angels. In the right
hands, the jewels can save millions of lives, but in the wrong hands, the jewels may destroy
billions of lives. There are two angel jewels. One of them is a jewel but a pure gold jewel in the
shape of an angel halo. The second one is a diamond in the shape of a heart. No one knows their
exact location even though this riddle has been passed through the years it states:
✴❈❅ ❐❁▼❈ ●❉❅▲ ❏❐❅■ ▼❏ ❁●●✎ ✢◆▼ ❍❁■❙ ❄❁■❇❅❒▲ ❙❏◆ ◗❉●● ❆❁❃❅✌
✢✥✷✡✲✥✁✁✁✁✁ ✴❈❅ ❐❁▼❈ ❉▲ ❄❁■❇❅❒❏◆▲✎ ✴❒❙ ▼❏ ❆❉■❄ ▼❈❅ ❊❅◗❅●
▲✎ ▼❏ ❍❁❋❅ ❙❏◆❒ ❐❁▼❈ ❅▲❉❅❒ ◗❅ ❇❉❖❅ ❙❏◆ ▼❈❅▲❅ ❃●◆❅▲✎
The only part that has been deciphered is this. “Beware! The path is dangerous. Many
people have searched for the angel jewels. None of them have ever come back.”
“What are you reading?” asked a familiar voice coming up behind Kimawana.
“Jewle!” Kimawana shrieked, jumping at least seven feet into the air (no, this is not an
exaggeration she normally jumps twenty feet in the air)
“Sorry I didn’t mean to startle you, but it’s curfew. If you don’t want to get in trouble you
better leave.”
“All-righty then. Just let me check out this book and I’ll be right with you.”
Kimawana left as soon as she had checked out the book.
“What book did you get?” asked Jewle.
“The Angel jewels, a legend,” replied Kimawana, who was now engrossed in the book
once again.
“Oh! That reminds me of a silly dream I used to have when I was a kitten. I had always
wanted to find the angel jewels.”
Kimawana cut her off, “Jewle, do you know what this means?” while pointing at the
riddle.
“Of course I do!” said Jewle surprised. “All tutors know the language of the fairies.”
“So, what does it say?” asked Kimawana in a challenging voice.
“It says – The path lies open to all. But many dangers you will face, beware! The path is
dangerous. Try to find the jewels. To make the path easier, we give you these clues.”
“One second.” Said Kimawana, “I thought the book said that only one part of the riddle
had been deciphered! That Beware part.”
“Really? Weird. Well, come one, let’s go. The first clue says that we need to go to the
ancient mountains.”
“WHAT!? You want us to go?”
“Yep! Let’s go!”
The next morning, Jewle and Kimawana left out as if to go training but actually to go to
the ancient mountains.
Ok, after hours of climbing over rivers, streams, hills and small mountains. OH MY!
They got to the tall and jagged peaks of the ancient mountains.
“Ummm… Are you sure this is safe?” asked Kimawana staring up at the mountains.
“No.” replied Jewle “Let’s go.”
They climbed through a large gash in the mountain and felt the ground fall away.
“Lightonus,” whispered Jewle and a ball of light appeared in front of them.
“Thanks, Jewle.”
Just then, a voice came out of the shadows. “Who are you? And, why are you here?” A
girl walked towards them. A girl with a large grey eyes and long, thin blue hair.
“Who are you?” asked Kimawana challenged her.
“I asked you first, but my name is Shalawa. Now, I ask you again, who are you?” Sparks
flew from her eyes (literally).
“We’re Kimawana and Jewle,” said Jewle elbowing her way past Kimawana, “we’re here
to find the angel jewels.”
“If you want to get them, you’ll have to get past me. I’m their protector,” hissed Shalawo.
“Ummm, can we talk about this?” asked Kimawana.
“Okay, my one favor to you before your death!” said Shalawo lazily.
“Come here Kimawana,” whispered Jewle as Shalawo turned around. “The second clue
says that the beast hidden in the cave, Shalawo, has a weakness of races and strength. She’s good
at magic, not power.”
“Well, that’s my specialty,” said Kimawana, flexing her arms and revealing her bulging
arm muscles.
“Are you ready yet?” demanded Shalawo.
“Yes,” said Kimawana, determinably.
“You may choose the challenge. I will defeat you at any fight,” said Shalawo.
“All-righty, I choose a mile long race. Winner will pass or kill the other,” announced
Jewle.
Kimawana noticed the determined look on Shalawo’s face falter for a second but this did
not last, she said, “Okay, let’s start.”
“I start you off!” announced Jewle, “Kimawana, Shalawo, go the starting line, that old
tree in the opening of the mountains. All right, ready, get, set, Go!”
Kimawana tore into a sprint while Shalawo ran slowly, cursing fluently under her breath.
A few seconds later, Kimawana landed next to Jewle after leaving past the finish line.
“Good job, Kimawana!” purred Jewle, “you beat her!”
“No surprise, now come on, let’s get the jewels while she’s still running!”
“For the first time, you’re talking sense. Come on.”
Kimawana and Jewle re-entered the cave, Jewle made a ball of shimmering light again
and Kimawana grabbed it and ran ahead.
“One second!” yelled Jewle after Kimawana, “The third clue says Right, Left, Left,
Right.”
“That sounds like directions. Let’s follow them.
“You’re right, they DO sound like directions.”
Right, Left, Left and Right, they ran.
Suddenly, there was a light ahead.
“I think I see them!” cried Jewle in an excited voice and she ran faster than Kimawana.
Soon, she arrived at the cavern where the jewels rested.
As Jewle entered the chambers, the jewels, which had been in the middle of the room,
sitting on a dusty pillow, started glowing and floating. Just then the jewels floated towards Jewle.
They glowed and went right into Jewle! Her eyes glowed, and her body collapsed. A few
moments later, Jewle rose, then right after that, Kimawana ran in.
“Jewle!” shrieked Kimawana, “Have you found the jewels?”
“Leave me alone! I don’t want to talk to you!” hissed Jewle glowering.
“What!?” Kimawana demanded.
But Jewle didn’t answer; she just walked over to a corner, unfolded her wings and slept.
Kimawana quickly opened The Angel Jewels, A Legend. She flipped through it until she
found a chapter called “Warnings”.
“The angel jewels may possess the first person to lay eyes on it. Possession may include
severe change in personality or glowing eyes. The only way to destroy it is the spell Mortalius
Morphic. The incantation is its name.
Kimawana sighed. She stunk at magical charms, but she was desperate. As soon as she
thought this, she felt herself get warm. Suddenly, she knew what to do. She leapt into the air and
started chanting “Mortalius Morphic, Mortalius Morphic”. As she chanted, large angel wings
sprouted from her back and she started to get surrounded by golden light that pulsated magic
energy. On the fifth chant, a jet of gold light flew from Kimawana’s hands and hit Jewle. The
jewels that had been in Jewle came out. The jet was so strong that the jewels exploded.
Kimawana fell to the ground. She ran to Jewle whose body was limp and she wasn’t
breathing.
“Jewle! Jewle! Wake up!” Kimawana shouted as she shook her friend.
But Jewle did not stir
“No, no, you can’t be dead, Jewle! I just did a spell perfectly and now there is no one to
congratulate me!!” Kimawana sobbed.
“What are you talking about, idiot?” asked Jewle, groggily lifting her head and looking at
Kimawana like “Shut the hole that makes the words.” “Where are the jewels?”
“They’re gone! I destroyed them!”
“You destroyed them! Congratulations!”
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you very much! Now, can we leave?”
“You’re right! Let’s go!”
And off they went, back to the kingdom of Chalar.
The End.
Pauline Meunier
Boght Hills Elementary School
Age 11, Grade 6H
The World of Flute
Once upon a time, a girl named Melanie had the power to talk flute. She had blond hair,
and her hair was always in pigtails, with the same flute barrette in her hair. Her flute sounds had
a lot of sounds and gestures. She named her flute Melody. Melody for the sound. The surprising
part was her flute could walk! To make her walk, Melanie had to say “Melody, oh Melody rise
up your feet, walk, oh walk, my Melody oh walk!” She (Melody) would rise. Her flute would
talk to her and one day, the flute said: B, A, F, G, E, D, C. That meant I must take you to flute
world! Melody said it was the most wonderful place! There is one problem. Bertha the evil witch
is trying to get to the switch. She is a very powerful witch; she can easily can take out her wand
and kill you. But, you have a wand. My piece! The switch is an object which makes all flutes to
disappear. “OH NO!” That means you will disappear!” Melanie said in flute language. Melody
said: B A G D E F DE AB D B C F. That meant no, I will not because I have the magic to not
disappear thus, Melanie was very happy. She loved her flute a lot. That Sunday, Melody and
Melanie left to flute world. When they reached, it looked beautiful.
Then, Melanie saw different notes she had played. B natural, B flat, F sharp, E flat, 8th
notes, 16th notes, and more! They found a map. Behind the map, there was a box. Melanie
opened the box. There was a diary marked property of B.M. “WAIT!” said Melody. “Those
initials are Bertha’s!” said Melody. “B.M. stands for Bertha Miller.” They opened the diary.
They finally found what Bertha had been writing that day.
After, they read the diary. The diary said “Me, Bertha will vanish all flutes! My hatred of
flutes is burning like fire. The only flute that won’t disappear is Melody! I will have to fight and
get the piece that loses, or disappears Melody. My anger is sizzling inside me! My hatred sizzles
for her owner, Melanie. I just have to use “bible babble” for her owner, Melanie. Then I will
have to use the same spell and shatter Melody!
Then, Melanie and Melody were stunned! The good part was they had the map and diary. “Wait”
said Melody. “There is something else in the box.” There was a letter. It was to someone named
Melody. MELODY! That was Melanie’s flutes name. “Psst, Bertha!” Melody had to transform.
Melanie had to snap, clap, snap, and touch Melody. The process happened. Melanie put the diary
and map, box in her pocket book. She quickly put Melody in a case that wasn’t her normal case.
Then Melanie walked freely like she didn’t know her. Surprisingly, Bertha just waved. Then,
Bertha just ran and disappeared. Melanie made Melody go back to a walking flute. Melody told
Melanie to read the letter.
The letter said: Dear Melody, this is Bertha. By the way, I hate you. I hate you more than
anything. My cobra will help me obtain powerful and unbeatable powers! Your owner looks
HORRID, well it seems like it. You know I’ve never seen her. My cobra is at 6 penickerdoodle
Wow! The letter is unfinished. Melody and Melanie wondered the last few words. They even
thought why did Bertha want to tell them the address of her cobra? Finally, Melody said: “PW, It
could be Penickerdoodle Wenicker.” Bertha grew up there. Melanie saw a picture. A picture of a
cobra! Yuck! It had bulging red eyes, with a spotty tongue, and black and brown stripes. The
problem was, they would have to split up. Melanie would stay at flute world, while Melody goes
to PW. First, before leaving, both of them embraced, and then Melody left. She had a plan. First,
Melanie would take her piece and keep the piece safe. Then, Melody would act dead. Then,
Bertha won’t have to worry to get to the switch. Then, they would pop up and Bertha will vanish
forever. They LOVED this plan a lot.
Next, Melanie gave Melody a piece. A fake piece. She had written a note saying to
Bertha her piece was missing. This was their new plan. Melanie put the note exactly were Bertha
had her special seat. No one would even dare to sit there.
The note said: Melody’s piece is missing! I hope you don’t try to find it. Without the
piece, Melody and I can’t get to the switch without the piece! We left it South from flute world.
Well, at the end of flute world.
Sincerely, Melanie, Melody’s owner
Then, Melanie peeked and saw Bertha reading the note. Bertha jumped in happiness and
she ran south. Then Melanie secretly ran south and put the fake piece at the end of flute world.
WAIT! She never realized what was at the right of her. THE SWITCH! She used Melody’s real
piece to quickly transform to North. She called Melody. Then Melody came from PW. They had
fixed in Melody’s real piece. They walked, so they can reach the switch. Then, Melanie realized
that there was a note sticking from the note B, and C. Well, 2 notes sticking out of the 2 keys B
and C. They picked the key note C first.
It said: Dear Msss. Owner and Melody,
You are ssso dumb. Bertha isss halfway to the sswitch. You are going north but the ssswitch isss
sssouth! HA HA!
Sssincerely, Bertha’sss cobra
Oh no! They thought. Then they took Bertha’s note: It read: Dear owner of Melody and
Melanie, you thought I would get tricked by your note? My cobra lets me have the power to see
everything happening around in flute world! I saw people gossiping, and your FLUTE. It was a
great sight. MY eyes were in happiness. I saw so many things hidden like gold necklaces, silver
bracelets, Pandora bracelets and more! I can’t believe my beautiful luck. Don’t think I didn’t see
you embracing and leaving and picking my BOX. Ha ha! Well, I wonder if you know the
BIGGEST secret about me and your (Melanie (s) flute! Well, I will tell you. 10 years ago, I and
Melody were on a team. She wasn’t named Melody then. She was named Lilia. We were the
biggest wanted gang in flute world. We stole fairies, pixies, star dust, the tooth fairy, Santa
Claus’s elves, Rudolph, the saint Patrick’s elves, pixie dust, monster babies and more! Then,
flute world was very pretty. It had a lot of notes. Then we got to the switch. We then turned off
the switch and set the bombert. Then Melody called the flute police, arrested me and disabled the
bomb and clicked the switch. That’s why I hate her. I bet my cobra had told you that the switch is
south. Ha Ha to you! The main point is, I got to the SWITCH! Flute World has a bombert. They
blast all flutes! The bomb is set for 1 day! I wonder if you poor little doggies who run around
trying to get to the switch and are going the wrong way will never reach the switch!
Sincerely, Bertha
Scared, both of them were shocked. They felt like screaming. So that was why they never
reached the switch even though the flute GGS said 15 more minutes but it always beeped wrong
way! They should of listened to the flute GGS. Then, Melanie burst in tears. Melody said, what
happened? “It’s all because of you! If you never joined Bertha’s gang, we wouldn’t have been in
this situation. I hate you! I hate you hate you hate you! YOU, I say you are the one that made my
life more miserable. I should have picked the neat clean shiny one with the case with butterflies!
I now feel like I should have picked the neat and clean one. Said Melanie. Then, Melody
apologized. She then had to leave because Melanie didn’t like her.
Two years later, Melanie was crying a lot. Melanie was sitting on the remains of flute
world. She wanted Melody back. She regretted what she said. She called Melody. They both
embraced. Then they ran south and saw a big purple mouth. It said they had to say a tongue
twister. Then Melanie and Melody said the tongue twister together: How much wood could a
wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood? Then the mouth said the code to the
switch was 4567. Then, they ran into Bertha. They declared war. Melody and Melanie took out
there wand. They couldn’t get Bertha. Then Bertha broke Melody. Melanie, with tears in her
eyes killed Bertha with the killing spell called dimension! The cobra died too. Melanie then left
the remains, punching in the code, clicking the switch and leaving. Melanie’s friend Dana found
the remains of Melody. She fixed it. Melanie couldn’t speak a single note of flute. Surprisingly,
Melanie’s friend Dana returned the flute. Melanie formed a BIG smile. She did all the things to
form Melody. Then they talked, talked and talked. Finally, flute world was saved. Finally,
Melanie got back her power of talking flute. Melody also got her power of talking human.
Finally, finally, finally!
Aarohi Vasavada
Boght Hills, Grade 4, Age: 9
We Are Who We Are
“Yeah right,” I say, chugging the basketball through the net. I dribble the basketball
around and go for another shot. “Forget it Mandy. A time machine that can take you back to the
time of the dinosaurs? Impossible.” Mandy gives me her “Oh, are you sure about that?” look and
grabs the basketball from my hands. We go into her house and say hi to her family, while we
skip two steps at a time to get to Mandy's room. She takes the basketball and sets it on the floor
with a small bounce. Mandy pulls me over to a wooden ladder. We climb up, but slowly. Her bed
is the upper one of the bunk-bed she and her older sister share.
Mandy and I have the same bedspread, because we both went shopping together when we
moved here. We decided on a pale yellow one, with soft lines of pink. There's also orange
dandelions throughout the sheet, and that made it remind me of a car trip my family had taken,
how we blew our dandelions with all our breath. On her bed are magazines sprawled
everywhere. Mandy's mom passes all the magazines that come through the mail to Mandy, even
the ones with the coupons and advertisements!
“Layla”, Mandy starts with that annoying voice that reminds me of my own mom, “I
think we should give this time machine a try, who knows, we could go back to the time when we
were born and retake all the tests we have ever taken! Or even when our parents were born, to
see what life was like!”
Before Mandy can go any further with her crazy ideas, I interrupt her, which gets me
another annoying look, but I pretend not to notice. “First, I want to make it clear, that we
probably won't even be able to afford this annoying and useless time machine.” Except, to my
disgust, Mandy tells me that we have no problem affording the time machine, since the cost is
only $30 dollars. Mandy also adds that she wouldn't have even thought of buying the time
Page 1 of 6
machine if she couldn't pay for it. There goes little “Miss SmartyPants” I think, but don't say.
Okay, I'm trapped. There's no way I'm going to be able to get my friend's mind off this. The
Peller family phone saves me though, and I thank my mom silently for calling me to come home.
That night, as I sleep, I have a challenge. I must get Mandy Peller's mind off that time
machine.......and fast.
I kept tossing and turning that night, and guess what? I was dreaming that dinosaurs were
attacking Mandy and me, since we use the time travel device to the prehistoric times. “Hmm,” I
think sarcastically in my head, “I wonder where that dream came from?” So at school, with a lot
of compromising, I decide that I'll buy the machine with Mandy, after school.
After school is over, I find myself walking with a happy Mandy, skipping in front of me,
telling me to hustle or the store would close. “Yeah, like the store would close, it's only 3:00 in
the afternoon.” I think. But I know much better than that, so I follow Mandy with long strides,
through the crispy autumn leaves. We go into the store, find a box, which seemed to be the first
one taken. I knew this meant something, but hey, I didn’t say anything.
When we reach home, I suggest having a snack. Mandy give me an expression, which
says “Wow. Do you really think this is a good time for a snack?” I sigh, staring at that delicious
pack of Oreos that could have been in my stomach by now. We go off to my room, and set the
box on my bed. For a few moments, Mandy and I stare at each other awkwardly, as if expecting
the other person to do something. I break the silence, and start tearing white tape off the box.
Mandy starts tearing off another side, and soon we are done. I feel her staring at me, but I don't
stare back. I just start opening the flaps, and to my discouragement, I see different parts, nails,
tools, and instructions in the box. I am not a good inventor or a person who has patience if I
make a mistake. So I flop down sideways on my bed. I feel really tired from the Physical Tests
Page 2 of 6
we had to take during gym, and that took away a good amount of my energy. Mandy taps my
shoulder, lightly. I look over at her.
Mandy begins. “Look, I'm pretty sure you're not up for this. But I really want to get this
done today......or at least get it half way done. Okay?” I lift myself up, but fall back down. She
ends up lying down too, so I guess I'm not alone. Mandy and I do the building lying down on my
bed. There are 5 huge square parts, and they make up the perimeter of the machine, we figured.
There are screws and nails, so I have to go downstairs to get the screwdriver. There is a part
looking like a vent that I think noise is going to come out of. At one point we get really stuck,
confused between two different types of nails. Since we just emptied the bag out, the different
nails are all mixed together. I'm thankful my Lego maniac brother is home to help us get it sorted
out, and we are back to work. Then we screwed in all the nails. I thought it was strange that
building it was so easy. Why would it be in such a big box? The only thing you have to do is use
nails and a screwdriver to put the 5 parts together along with a couple screws. Also, there are
some pipes on the inside of the square parts. It makes the time machine heavy. But the thing is
that there is a special part to it. Two actually. There's a tiny red button, and a regular-sized blue
button on one of the pieces. I thought that was very strange, but went along with it.
We're almost done when I get tired, but I really want to finish the job today so I don't
have to worry about coming over some other day. When we finish, which is at six thirty, I look at
the time machine. It is a box with a small red button and a regular-sized blue button. That is not
that impressive from my view. After we are done, we talk about whose house the time machine
will be at. We finally agree on it at Mandy's house-I think that's a good thing because I don't
want to break it.....that would be horror and Mandy would be mad at me, definitely. Plus, Mandy
was the one who was so excited about this machine in the first place, so I think it's fair.
Page 3 of 6
Tomorrow we decide to try it out, but I am nervous. I really am. Like what if the machine
actually works, (which I hope won't) and my family finds out that I'm not there and starts a
police search for me? I would so get grounded, that's for sure. Actually I mean, I would get
grounded if I could actually return home. That's a weird feeling. It's also very scary. “How did I
agree to test it out tomorrow?” I ask myself. “How could I?” I barely knew if this would actually
work. I put a pillow on my head and go off to sleep, turning throughout the night.
I wake up the next day, delicious smells of pancakes wafting through the air. I get up,
then remember what was happening that day. “YIKES!” I whisper loudly to myself. I had
completely forgot about it during the night. I hop out of bed (but not happily in case you thought
I was) and casually walk to the kitchen. I hurry up and eat my breakfast, brush my teeth and hair,
and put some clothes on. Then I grab my bag and yell bye to my mom. As I rush to my bus-stop,
I see a faint figure waving to me. Yes, it was Mandy, and of course she was excited. We hop
onto the bus, and find an empty seat for the both of us to sit in. We silently wait for the traffic
light to turn green and our bus to move, and when it finally does, I wish that it hadn't. It's then
when Mandy starts talking. Explaining her plans about the time machine, talking about different
time periods she'd like to travel to, and so on. At last we exit the bus, and get separated by the
mob of people getting off their buses. I walk to homeroom, next gym, then Science, and finally
to lunch. Mandy and I sit next to each other.
Our conversation turns to the part I don't want to talk about, and I am a hundred percent
positive Mandy doesn't want to talk about it either. We just go over some basic concepts, like
when to come to my house and reminding Mandy to bring the machine. Then the bell rings. We
hurry off, exchanging quick byes. The day soon ends. I put my backpack in my room, and rush
downstairs to answer the person who is ringing the bell. Mandy. Of course. So we go outside and
Page 4 of 6
help each other get the “thing” out of the box. We are to press the blue button, then say the place
we want to go to, and finally press the red button, according to the handy instructions. To Mandy
I ask, “Any ideas of where to go?” She pauses, then responds. “Well, let's at least press the
button to check it out.” Mandy and I share a long look at each other. I look up at my house, and
hear my mind saying, “Farewell, house.” I look up at my room, tears starting in my eyes. I can
see my green curtains, shimmering in the afternoon sun. I then look at Mandy and I see her
gazing at her house, just two houses down the street. She has watery eyes. Then, I see Mandy
looking back at me, and a tear has started to roll onto her cheek. I feel water coming through my
eyes and out it comes. We both just sit there, looking at each other. At one point, I can't really
get any more tears out of my eyes, and I just sit there with my face drenched with tears. Mandy's
tears have stopped too, and I am about 99% positive we are not going to use the time machineunless Mandy still wants too, and the chances of that are about 0%. Suddenly, Mandy reaches
out and hugs me. It's awkward. Definitely not something I was expecting, or was prepared for. I
hug her back though, and I feel....better. After like ten seconds, Mandy finally breaks apart from
me. She presses her lips firmly together, and stretches out for the blue button. I am shocked. I
watch her. Eventually, she gets herself to press the button, with a quick, firm push. But what I'm
wondering is, will this work if we haven't said the place we want to go? All a sudden I feel like I
want to leave. But I never had the chance to.
It feels different here. My friend looks at me, bewildered. We have landed......somewhere.
I feel nauseous, but thankfully am able to stop myself from throwing up. I don’t remember how
we came here. The time machine seems to have come along with us. It sat right next to me. It's
very eerie. The world around us feels like it has stopped. It feels like we are in the plains, I can
only see land beyond us. The only colors I can see are red and orange, and that is the color of the
Page 5 of 6
grass in this place. Mandy and I lean back and listen. After a dull roar, a man starts talking. He
has a sharp, low voice. We get closer to hear what he's saying. The whispering man says, “My
kind customers”, then stops. It's very weird. Just as I'm about to lean back, and now be sure this
time thing was the worst thing in the world I had ever spent my money on, he starts again. “You
have been very brave, to get this machine, when it seems like a toy that won't work. But so you
know, you did not waste your money, and you are probably relieved. This device, though, does
not take you to Florida, or Maine. It won't take you to California, Nevada, or Arizona. It will not
take you to any place in the world, or even out of this world, say Venus? This time machine will
take you to the world of believing, and bravery. It will take you to a place in your heart, where
you feel those brave moments, those times when you did something that made you feel good.
You should always feel good about yourself. Forget those bad grades on that report card, the
time that person said something you didn't like. You have no time to waste. Life is short. But
how you feel, can take as long as it needs. You don't need to travel anywhere, you are already in
a place suitable for you. Just remember, it doesn't matter where you are, what you are doing, or
how your surroundings are to just put a brave, believing, or kind thing in this world. You are
who you are, and who you will always be.” Then we were whisked away again, before we could
make a single peep. In about 20 seconds, we were at my backyard again. Mandy, now
dumbfounded, just gave me a blank look. “I'm not really in the best mood to talk right now”, I
say. She just nods, and stands up to leave. But, we hug again before we leave, Mandy and I.
We keep holding on, then break apart. We give one another a little nod, and walk off to
our homes. After all, we are who we are.
Name: Alvira Tyagi Grade: 4th Grade Age: 9
Page 6 of 6