Speak Out 4/25: Creative Fiction
Posted by Mr. Reed on April 25, 2008
Last week, we emphasized the need to create a character with a conflict. As you continue working on your longer fiction story, develop your character with “show not tell” details, flashbacks, and other characters.
April 26th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
‘ROIDS
By: Alexis Baxter
Chapter 1
Christina is a great basketball player. Her last two games she averaged 30 points. But there is one issue she is 4 feet tall. This is Christina’s senior and that means this is her last year to try to get a scholarship to a good college with a good basketball program. Christina is so depressed and if she doesn’t play college basketball she will probably commit suicide. Christina wants to get tall so bad to where she takes steroids because someone said that steroids make you taller. So she goes and buys steroids to the corner runs home, locks herself in the bathroom pulls out the needle and the steroids.
She looks in the mirror and stares at herself for a few minutes. Then she takes the cap off the needle puts it close to her thigh, but her mom knocks on the door “ Christina honey are you okay because you’ve been in their for awhile”. “I’m fine mom” then she thinks if I get caught using it will break my moms heart so she puts the cap back on the needle hides it in the bathroom. She walks out the bathroom turns on the TV and the Warriors were playing. The commentators were saying “You need height to play basketball and the warriors don’t have it.” So she turns off the TV runs into bathroom pulls out the needle and shoves it into her leg. She starts to cry then falls on the bathroom floor depressed and ashamed.
An hour later she walks out the bathroom and goes to her room and cries herself to sleep. The next morning Christina wakes up grumpier than usual and she notices that she has grown some hair above her lip. She shaves it off and goes to school. At school that day Christina is hanging out with her friends and for no reason she is getting annoyed and bothered and runs off pissed. Her best friend Alexis sees her leave and runs after her “CHRISTINA….. CHRISTINA WHATS WRONG?” Christina stops running and says “Leave me alone you get on my nerves.” Then Alexis says “You know have an attitude I don’t even care you dumb midget”. After she says this Christina is furious “Don’t ever call me a midget you fat darkey” that sets Alexis off and two seconds later their fighting. Both of them are kicking slapping and punching each other. Finally a teacher stops the fight and says “STOP IT YOU TWO YOUR FRIENDS YOU SHOULDN’T BE FIGHTING LIKE THIS” at the same time Alexis and Christina both say “she started it”. Then the teacher says I don’t care who started it your both in trouble. Now go to the office you dumb girls.” An hour later Christina and Alexis are both walking out of Mr. Light’s office with detentions. Then Christina says “But Mr. Light I have basketball practice if I don’t go to practice I can’t play in the next game.” He says “sorry but it’s the consequences of fighting”. Alexis snickers and says “That’s what you get dumb ass”.
As their sitting in detention they are trading off dirty looks at each other and at the same time Christina is getting a craving for the juice, So as soon as she gets out of detention she went down to the corner and bought some steroids. After she got it she went straight home and ran to the bathroom and stuck the needle in her leg. After she was done she walked out like nothing even happened.
April 26th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
“Taxi! Taxi!” I call out as the yellow hovercraft came to an abrupt stop. “Weston Enterprises” I told him and gave him a few credits to get there a little quicker than usual. I sat down and tried to relax, and fell asleep once again. As the taxi cab came to an unexpected stop. I looked outside and see the biggest skyscraper I had ever seen. It probably would of took up two blocks worth of buildings and it looked like the building would just keep going up as if it could reach the moon. There are five moons and two suns that surround our planet. The first four moons are not that exciting but the fifth moon, Rendezvous, was said to be a forgotten world which used to have or still has alien life. Many go to the moon for research, in hopes of finding these aliens, or their treasures, but few of them come back to tell the tale. One of the suns, Angeal, is always visible but every ten years; the sun Genesis covers the other, making the weather uncomfortable. The temperature rises up to two thousand degrees and everyone on our planet needs to get cover for the day. Some do not make it in time, and our left out if they do not make it on time.
I get out of the cab and pay him with a few more credits and walk inside the building. There were thousands of people inside, but they all looked alike. They all had the same black suit and golden pin with a big “W” on the left part of there torso. I looked around and I saw a big statue of a man with a metallic right arm. I read under the statue and it read: Mr. Weston, clone number four. Clone number four? There is more than one Weston? I started for the info booth. “Can I speak to Mr. Weston? It is an emergency.”
“You will have to wait. Mr. Weston is in a meeting, but you can check out the exhibit room while you are waiting. I went over to an elevator and went up to the scientist room, to find out what there was and what they were studying. When I got up there I saw that they were working on another project that would cure these soldiers and would make them stronger. “This can not happen. We can not have more of these monsters roaming around.” I went up to one of the test tubes and without thinking, smashed it open. A siren went off and a few men came in holding guns. “Stop where you are or we will shoot.” I ran over and started pummeling into walls. Two more men came and shot darts at me and I started feeling drowsy. After a few seconds I fell over and blacked out.
April 26th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
Etsu’s Quest
“It’s such a beautiful day. Wouldn’t you agree Akira?” Etsu asked with delight. “Yeah, whatever you say.” Akira answered with fear in his voice. Etsu didn’t understand any of it. It was a gorgeous day, the sun was shinning, the air was cool, and the world seems to be at peace. But for some odd reason, everyone around her was startled by something. Even the usually playful lion cub, Snow Cub, seemed to be on the lookout for something, or someone. “Look you guys,” Etsu sighed, “we’re never going to find my parents at this rate, so I’m going to ride ahead.” “No, Etsu, you need to wait,” Kisho howled. Before Etsu could even turn around, an arrow was shot from the trees and pierced her left arm. Etsu’s horse, Hathor, tried to calm down after that scare. If only that was the end of it, but five men wearing armor with the King’s insignia on them. “Get away from her.” Akira howled, “What does the King’s dogs want in a place like this?” “Our business is none of your concern.” One of the soldiers grinned. Two of the other men began to approach Etsu. “If you lay even a finger on Etsu, I’ll,” Kisho was cut of by a wicked laugh from the five men. “You’ll what?” one of the other men smirked. The two men approaching Etsu pulled out their swords and pointed them towards her. “Get any closer to us and we’ll slit that pretty neck of hers.” The two men laughed, “Don’t worry about your cute friend here. We’ll take good care of her.”
“Why don’t you stop being cowards and fight like men.” A voice called out. The source of the voice stepped forward from between the trees. A young man probably of twenty holds a magnificent silver blade in his hands. He had black hair that covered his earns, and he had light brown eyes that seem to be filled with anger every time he glanced at one of the soldiers. “Stay out of this boy.” One of the soldiers scowled. Three of the men ran toward the stranger ready to strike, when the young man simply dodge them. The twins watched as they fell over. The two who were guarding Etsu ran off in fright. “Any man who is not able to fight shouldn’t go looking for one.”
The stranger began to lecture, “It would seem that these men were drinking rose wine which effects doesn’t kick in till a few hours later. My name is Kiyoshi, or the quiet one. So what’s your name, and are you alright?” He walked towards Etsu and helped her up. “My name is Etsu,” she responded, “ it means delight, but I probably feel a lot better if I didn’t have this arrow in my arm.” “Here let me help you with that.” Kiyoshi offered, “I know a few things about treating injuries and sicknesses. Hold still now.” It was horribly painful for Etsu trying to get the arrow out. “You can open your eyes now.” Kiyoshi giggled, “I was able to get it out and wrap your arm with one of my sleeves. You should be alright as long as you let it rest for a while.” “That was very kind of you Kiyoshi.” Etsu blushed, “You didn’t need to tear off one of your sleeves for me.” “Don’t worry about it.” He seemed to be blushing as well, “Perhaps you should come back with me to my village. I could get you some proper care there.” “Well,” Etsu began, “it might not be a bad idea.” “Except that we still need to find your parents Etsu.” Akira interrupted, “And after all, we wouldn’t want to intrude on anyone.” “Etsu, you’re looking for parents. Do you by any chance have any clue to who they were?” Kiyoshi asked with surprise. “Not really,” Etsu said feeling guilty for not having any memory of her parents, “except for my necklace.” Kiyoshi examined the piece of jewelry, and jumped with excitement, “Etsu, do you know what this is?” Etsu had no idea what he could possibly have discovered from that small trinket. “This is the symbol of one of the rebellion troops. The pearl represents the leader of the valley they live in, and the star represent what valley they do live in.” Etsu, Akira, and Kisho all were stunned from how much Kiyoshi knew about the rebellions. “When you place the necklace in the water, the tip if the star points toward the valley it was made in. If we follow it, we could probably find out who your parents are and where they are now.” “Are you serious?” Etsu exclaimed with new hope in her heart, “Will you hope us then?” “Of course I will.” Kiyoshi said with a warmly smile, “I’ll assist you in any way I can.” “Well, if that’s decided,” Kisho began, “how about we continue our journey towards a river and find out which way we need to go. Now stop standing there like a bunch of statues and lets get a move on.”
“So Kiyoshi,” Etsu began her usual questioning, “where are you from? Why are you here? And how come you can handle Snow Cub so well?” The young cub had fallen asleep in Kiyoshi’s arms about an hour ago and seemed to be at peace. “Well,” he began to explain, “I come from the village of Harc, and the reason why I am able to handle Snow Cub so well is because my family owns a farm just outside the village and often times we’ll take in lost lion cubs who were separated from their families, and then we would raise them ourselves.” “That’s so generous of you and your family.” Etsu complemented on his good deeds, “But why are you here?” “It’s a long story, but since we have nothing else to do, I probably could tell you.” Etsu, Akira, and Kisho gathered their horses around Kiyoshi’s to learn about their new comrade’s past.
“It all began when I was only seven. The King’s men began to attack the village, we put up a good fight, but in the end we still lost. To keep the soldiers from executing every man that held a weapon towards a soldier, a deal was struck. The deal was that once a boy in the village had turned ten, he must leave the village and train to be a soldier. Once the boy had turn sixteen, he was free to return to the village, but if called upon, he must go back to fight beside the soldiers. So for six years I trained my hardest in hopes that I would be strong enough to be allowed to return home earlier. My two older brothers, Haru, and Jiro, along with my younger brother Mamoru, were all killed either in battle, or executed for speaking their mind. I was one of the few who didn’t have to be a part of any battles. Once I had turn sixteen, I was escorted back to my village only to find that another death had waited for me. When I had returned, my mother had to inform me of the cruel death of my father. He was traveling to a nearby village to trade some goods. Word had reached the villagers that his four oldest sons were training with the King’s army. The villagers took their rage out on my father and cruelly beat and stabbed him until he was finally dead. My uncle Masa, had found his body in a near by field. News had reached the King about his horrific event, and to gain our loyalty and support, he had ordered two hundred men to burn the village to the ground and imprisoned everyone over fifth-teen. All the children were taken to the capital, Taka, to be educated and pay off a debt of nine hundred gold pieces that would then go to my village. As for what is now become of the adults of that village, I am unsure of.”
“So then you’re loyal to the King.” Akira smirked, “You’re just another one of the King’s dogs.” “You have no idea how wrong you are!” Kiyoshi barked, “The fact that he even punished those who weren’t even involved with my father’s death only increase my hatred towards him. And if that weren’t enough, he used a terrible tragedy to gain more for his self. He could care less if my whole village was destroyed. The fact that I left my village is that I heard a rumor that he might be sending some of those children to our village so they can repair any past and future damages. I was afraid that the rumor was indeed true, and I was afraid to confront any of them. I tell myself now that the children are not to blame for my father’s death, but I fear that I might look in their eyes and only be able to see the monsters who took my father away from me and my whole family. I’m afraid of what I might do in a situation like that.”
“I’m so sorry,” Etsu said while trying to think of something that might comfort her new friend, “I never had a real family, so I have no idea of how painful it must be to have someone that is so special to you and then to have them taken away from you so suddenly. I feel so sorry for you, and I want to help make you happy, but I hope I never will have to go through something like that.” “It’s alright.” Kiyoshi began to smile, “I don’t need you to be sorry for me, and it’s alright to hope that what has happened in my family won’t happen to yours. In fact, I also hope that you won’t ever have to go through the same pain I did.” “Hey guys,” Akira intervened, “I know you two are having a special moment here, but the sun is already setting and we still haven’t set up camp for the night. Now this is just my opinion, but I think that story time should end now and that we all should focus on finding a good place to sleep tonight were we won’t get caught off guard.” “Yeah, right.” Kiyoshi blushed turning away from Etsu, “I guess we should put up camp for the night. I’ll go look for some firewood.”
“You know Akira,” Etsu began to lecture him, “you shouldn’t act like such a jerk towards Kiyoshi. He’s been through so much already, so maybe you should stop acting like a child for this one time in your life.” “Etsu, Akira had good reason to act that way.” Kisho interrupted, “The fact is we know that he trained with the soldiers and that he is supposed to serve the King anytime he is called upon. He knows too much about the rebellions for someone who never fought in battle. For all we know he could be a secret agent sent by the King to spy on you and even arrest you for planning on leading a rebellion attack.” Etsu was shocked by this possibility, “No, Kiyoshi wouldn’t do something like that, and even if he was a secret agent, he has nothing on me. I have no plan on leading any rebellion attack, all I want is to be with my parents.” “Yes Etsu we know that,” Akira added to the conversation, “but the King doesn’t see you as a young girl who just wants to find her parents, he sees you as the daughter of rebellion leaders who want to have a conference with other rebellion leaders and plan an attack against the King.” Etsu had never thought about this before. It made perfect sense, the King has thousands of soldiers, and he could easily send one out to spy on her. But she couldn’t help but contradict the possibility that Kiyoshi could be a part of such a plot, “I understand the predicament that we might be in, but at the same time even if the King did send a spy, it doesn’t have to be Kiyoshi. I know that we have to consider the possibility that he is a spy and that he might turn on us at anytime, but we also must consider the fact that he is a strong fighter and he knows more about the rebellion’s valleys then any of us.” “I see.” Kisho decided to finish for her, “We will act like nothing has changed. We’ll act the same around Kiyoshi as we have been, but we will also stay on our guard just incase he is a spy. We’ll discuss a watch plan between the three of us so the person that’s awake can warn the rest of us if he decides to pull something. On the outside, Kiyoshi will remain our friend and loyal companion, but on the inside, Kiyoshi is our possible enemy and a threat to out plans to reunite Etsu with her parents. I hope that we’ll soon know the truth about the situation, that it will prove that he’s not a spy sent to bring us into custody by the King, and that we will not have to punish him for such a crime and tear in our new friendship. Can we all agree on that?” “You know I agree.” Etsu cheered. “You know I agree all the way with you.” Akira confessed. “Then prepare yourselves, for even if Kiyoshi is not our enemy, the King will surly send others to do his bidding.”
About an hour later, Kiyoshi returned with twenty sticks. He arranged them to make the fire and took a seat next to Etsu. “I’m sorry it took so long.” He apologized, “I wasn’t sure how many sticks I should get for the fire. All well, I guess it doesn’t matter now. We all have been trying our best to make camp these past couple of nights.” “Kiyoshi,” Etsu responded with a stern look, “we only need ten sticks, so if you would be so kind enough to return sooner that would be very much appreciated. Now if you don’t mind, I think I’ll go for a walk.” “We’ll come with you,” the three tried to urge her. “No,” she answered, “my only companion will be Snow Cub.” The young cub ran over to were Etsu stood and jumped into her arms. “Snow Cub is the only companion I’ll need tonight.” Etsu turned away from the others and began her walk into the forest, with Kiyoshi following from close behind.
“Etsu,” Kiyoshi hollered, “please wait up. Allow me to talk to you.” Etsu stopped walking and gave a stern look towards Kiyoshi. “Is their something you would like to tell me Kiyoshi?” she questioned. Kiyoshi looked up at Etsu to see a tear running down her cheek. When he looked into her eyes, he knew immediately what as the matter. “Etsu,” he began to talk slower, “do you truly believe I would harm any of you? What could make you think such a horrific thing? Yes, I trained with the King’s army, but I have loyalty or respect for that monster. I would never harm an innocent soul, especially you Etsu.” Her eyes started to burst out tears as she ran to embrace him. “Kiyoshi,” she cried, “I don’t know what to do. I’m not sure what to believe anymore. What will I do if we find that my parents are no longer part of the world of the living and our journey was for nothing? What will I do then? I don’t believe I could return home after such a devastating hit towards my heart.” “Etsu, I want you to listen to me.” Kiyoshi began trying to comfort her with a gentle voice, “If something has happen to your parents you have us, me Akira, Kisho, and even Snow Cub. I know that they’ll take you to their village to live the rest of your life in luxury, and if not them, you can always come to live with my and my family. We don’t have much, but you are always welcome to stay. In times like these, we all need someone to open up to. We need some kind of new hope that things will be all right, because if we don’t, what’s the point of continuing life. Having no hope, no friends or family, having no purpose all together, is when a person is already dead. Do you understand Etsu?” She nodded thinking about a memory she had from seven years ago.
Etsu went to explore in the trees by the village. She was always exploring or looking for some kind of adventure. She began to climb up one of the trees when she spotted a boy looking up on her. She climbed back down and took a good look at the boy; he was probably ten, the same age as she, and he had short red hair and green eyes. Etsu noticed that the boy was on crutches. “It’s okay to ask about them.” The boy grinned, “I’ve been a cripple for my whole life, but I still haven’t lost my spirit. So anyways, what’s your name? My name is Akiyama.” “My name is Etsu. Akiyama, if it’s all right, I’ll like to ask you why you’re so happy when you can’t even do the things that most kids can like climb trees, or run through the forest?” “Of course I can tell you.” Akiyama giggled, “I might not be able to do most of the things that you can, but that only allows me to work harder in the things I can do. For example, since I can’t spend my time climbing trees, I used that time to practice drawing. My Aunt and Uncle will sometimes sell my art and give me half of what we got.” “Wait, so you saying that your Aunt and Uncle sell them. Then what happened to your parents?” Etsu continued her questioning now thinking about her parents. “My parents died when I was very young so I don’t remember them. My Aunt and Uncle then took me in.” he grinned, not seeming to be the least sad about it. “How can you through the fact that your parents are dead and you’re a cripple?” Etsu exclaimed. “Well it’s because I want to live. If I keep treading on what I can’t change, then I’ll never truly live and I have already stopped living. What I need to do is find a purpose. At the moment my purpose is to continue my art so my Aunt and Uncle don’t starve and to make sure they’re happy. Well, I better get going. My Aunt and Uncle will be leaving soon. Goodbye Etsu it was nice talking with you. I hope we meet again someday.” “Goodbye Akiyama,” Etsu yelled, “I’ll miss you.”
“Etsu, come on Etsu, I think you fell asleep.” Kiyoshi whispered in her ear. Snow Cub was sitting next to Kiyoshi legs glaring curiously at the scene. Etsu was being hold in Kiyoshi arms still and had drifted to sleep so suddenly. “Alright then,” Kiyoshi grinned, “I guess that I’m going to have to carry you back to camp. Goodnight Etsu. You’re now free to dream away. I’m right here to protect you.” And with that being said, he carried Etsu back to camp, placed her on her mat, and covered her up with her wool sheet.
April 27th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
‘Roids
By: Alexis Baxter
Chapter 2
At dinner that night Christina was quiet and unusual. Usually she will talk up a storm at dinner with her mom. “Christina how was your day?” then Christina replies “Don’t ask me questions woman”. “Excuse you young lady you better watch who you’re talking to” “whatever you old bat” Christina says with an attitude. “Go to your room now and your grounded for 2 weeks” “Whatever I really don’t even care” Christina says.
Christina goes in her room and lies on her bed and stares at the ceiling. And stares, and stares, and stares, and stares. After an hour of staring at the ceiling Christina gets bored and decides she wants to leave. So she puts some shoes on and hops out of the window. As Christina’s walking down the street she see’s some guys playing basketball so she walks over there and watches for a couple of minutes she decides she wants to play. “Aye can I play?” with a snicker one of the guys say “You think you can handle us seeing as you’re a girl and like 3 feet tall and all”. Christina replies in a ticked off voice “I bet I can beat all yall” the guys all laugh and decide to let her play.
Christina is on a team with 2 guys one is fat and tall and that other guy is bony and tall. For the first couple of minutes didn’t pass the ball to her at all. Then finally she blocks a pass and steals the ball. She’s running down the court stops at the three-point line and shoots. “Damn girl you might actually be good” says one of her teammates then Christina says “ I know so pass the ball from now on”. 10 points later the guys on the other team start to get mad so one of them decides he wants to foul her. Christina steals the ball again and gets another fast-break as she’s running down the court the guy who wants to foul her is right behind her. Finally he passes her gets in front of her plays good defense but Christina thinks she can get around it so she tries to drive to the basket but mid-way there he pushes her and she falls hard on her arm. As she’s lying on the ground she tries to move her arm but it hurts to bad. She gets up after awhile and runs up to the guy who pushed and says “YOU BIG DUMMY YOU BROKE MY FREAKING ARM.” Then he says “Baby girl you wanted to play with the guys so I treated you like one”. When he’s done talking she flips him off and walks away.
When she gets home 15 minutes later she realizes since her arm is broken she cant get back in through the window. So she goes through the front door and when she opens the door there sitting on the couch is her mom looking at her straight on the eyes. “Where have you been young lady” says her mom “out” replies Christina. “Well your grounded for 6 more weeks and if you say one more smart remark its 7 more” her mom says with a stern voice. Then Christina says “ooh im shaking in my boots” “That’s 7 more weeks” says her mom “and got to your room and don’t even think about leaving again”. Christina goes to her room slams the door and sits on her bed holding her arm. Ten minutes later she is lying on her bed holding her arm still and asleep.
April 28th, 2008 at 12:52 am
The Bank Robber and I
By: Danny Skau
Chapter 1
The job
It was 12o’clock noon on a dry September day. The heat was almost unbearable as it shone down a busy city street of New York. The flow of traffic was futile and the attitudes of inpatient drivers were eminent. But if you took a closer look you would find many more details. A colorful blue jay sat perched atop an electric line tempting an obnoxious dog tethered to a nearby fencepost. But just as a blind man and his seeing dog crossed the street they were barely avoided by a police car going at least 45 in a 25 mph area. He wasn’t the only one though, closely following him were at least 9 police cars shooting out from all the side streets to meet up in front of a local bank.
As they parked their cars in a barrier out front, I could see the hairs on their necks standing straight up like trees in a forest. One approached the door and flung it open only to be welcomed with a cloud of smoke. At that second, things seemed to be calm but just as he began to turn around, gunshots were heard and the officer dropped to his knees and his eyes rolled back in his head.
Several hours had passed but no progress was made. I could see from behind the one block perimeter closed off with caution tape that they were beginning to feed edgy. Then the smoke began to thin and a woman stood there shaking with her hands pressed against the glass. She had something around her neck a note that with some focused eyes could be read as “cops, we have 30 hostages, two of which are officers. Meet our demands and they live. Send an officer to the front of the building with a suitcase filled with $100,000,000 dollars in $20’s”. That was just too much for me. I began to crawl underneath the tape without knowing what I was doing.
I made my way past some men dressed in bullet proof jackets and large batons. They I was stopped. “Excuse me, sir; do you work for the police?” “Yes, sir” I answered as I flashed him my badge, “I’m undercover detective John Bertolli, age 32.”
“And were you assigned to this case?” “No sir, but I would like to help. I have 4 years training in hostile negotiation and 1 year in a secret Navy Corps agency that trains spies”. “Well right this way sir, let me show you what we know so far.”
After a few hours of vigorous work, the entire police department of New York and I had mapped out a plan to infiltrate the bank using the air ducts in the ceiling. We suited up and armed ourselves with some advanced technology for spies, including a micro repel machine that slowly lowers a 200 pound man down about 100 feet of wire, a pair of multicementocular goggles that not only allowed me to see in the dark but also to see through walls. We made our way across the street and to the front of the building.
A quick look at my watch told me it was 3:00am, the perfect time to sneak in unnoticed. Inching carefully across the outer wall and over to a 3’ x 3’ vent about 1 foot off the ground, we called on our walkie talkie for a drill, but before they could respond one of the men in the back passed one up. After removing the thick metal grate, we all cautiously lowered ourselves to our bellies and began to crawl. Within minutes we came to a small opening with a grate over it, that was slanted at an angle. I peered down only to be greeted by some disturbing voices. “Well boss there all sleeping, so if you want to we can start the executions.” “Alright get the silencer on my pistol.” I couldn’t let them do that, so without asking I kicked in the grate and attached my reppeller to the top of the vent and lowered myself in. In shock to myself I found that my actions were unnoticed so I pulled out a collapsible baton and snuck up behind the first of three henchmen. Whack! He dropped to the ground silently, where I applied handcuffs to subdue him. Then I moved on to the next one, and then the next one, until I walked into a room where at least thirty bodies were huddled up together for warmth. Then from behind me I heard a menacingly chuckle that made my nerves shudder.
As I turned around I came face to face with a 9 caliber pistol aimed at the middle of my forehead. “This is the end of the line for you, you disgusting little shrimp of a man.” he barked. I was frozen in the spot like a deer in headlights. The only motion I was able to make was to close my eyes. I new it was coming and there was nothing I could do about it. BAM!!!
The next thought that popped into my head was, am I in heaven? But just then there were voices that sounded like they were coming from afar. “John, John are you okay?” I had somehow survived. I felt up and down my shivering body to find a place of injury, but there wasn’t one.
As I sat on the back of the Ambulance and watched the police department hall out three quiet men with bumps the size of baseballs on the back of their heads, a fellow officer explained how he and the rest of the officers had followed him down into the bank. He told how they had seen me cornered by a man dressed in all black wielding a pistol, and right before he shot they took him out. “But why did everything go black?” “You must have passed out or something.” “Oh well thank you for saving my life I owe you one”
Five years later I retired and currently live with my family in the downtown section of New York City.
Chapter 2
The Note
It has been 6 years since I retired and things are finally looking up for me. You see I have been in a slump for the last 7 months. I got divorced, lost custody of the kids and currently live with my buddy spot, a Jack Russell that I rescued when his previous owner became tired of him and tossed him down a sewer drain. “Hey Spot come here boy” I called as he raised himself from the covers of his bed. “Ruff!” he responded. “Come here boy I need to go to the post office and drop off some bills. So here is your breakfast buddy, hope you like kibble and bits.” As I walked out the door and through the hallway, I could here the faint sounds of spot lapping up his food as if he hadn’t had a bite of food his entire life. As I chuckle to myself about the amount of food he was getting all over the floor something caught my eye. A letter addressed to a Detective Bertolli. I hadn’t gone by that name since the summer 6 years previous to now. Not wanting my suspicions become great I quickly zipped open the envelope and pulled out a folded piece of parchment. It was written with letters cut out of magazines and then pasted down. It read….
D E A R D E T E c T I V E ,
M Y N A M E I S N O T I M P O R T A N T . I’m C O M I N G F O – R Y O u …..
As I read the last four words I had to grab the handrail to stop myself from falling. Who would want to kill me? After thinking it over I decided it would be best if I just stayed home. But they new where I was living, they sent the letter directly to my address. I rushed back to my door, after fumbling briefly with my keys; I flung the door open and quickly made my way to the window on the other side of the apartment. I yanked on the chain to lower the blinds and then took a stick of wood that fit in-between the wall and the sliding part of the window.
I was alone that day with only my pistol set beside me on a side table, and Spot laying lazily upside-down in a warn armchair as I watched re runs of “I Love Lucy”. Every second I expected a knock on my door followed by a bang, but it never happened. As I slowly became more and more relaxed I dosed off only to be woken up an hour later by a reporter on the television. I reached over to grab the remote that was being crushed my spots tongue hanging freely from his open mouth, when I finally realized what the reporter was saying. “-alleged bank robbers Pete Zahut and Ben Dover have escaped from San Quinton Maximum Security Prison using the ventilation ducts which ironically was the exact way they were single handily arrested by one of New York’s Finest, John Bertolli.
April 28th, 2008 at 2:27 am
Fate Gone Wrong Part 2
The next morning Briar came down into the common room of the inn to see both girls dressed for a day of riding and ready to go. As soon as Lily saw him her eyes lit up “we got you breakfast as soon as you eat we can go”
As Briar sat next to her she slid a plate covered into steaming food in front of him.
“Thanks”
All she did was smile and nod.
Briar ate in silence and was soon done. The girls didn’t hesitate as soon as he had finished eating and the serving woman had taken his plate they dragged him outside. As Lily stepped out the door she stretched in the meager light. Samantha managed to locate the stable boy and talked to him briefly before he disappeared around the corner of the inn. A few minutes later he reappeared with the horses saddled and ready. Briar looked them over.
The horses themselves matched their owners perfectly. Lily’s horse was a spirited young mare that prance around and pulled playfully at the reins. It was the color of sand the tail and main slightly lighter. Samantha’s horse was the complete opposite. It was a large drum, dark as night. It stood patiently as Samantha stepped up to it and stroked it, whispering softly in its ear as she fed it a sugar cube. Briars own horse was a simple, sturdy creature. It was dark brown in color, a small white star in the middle of its fore head. Being mild tempered and reliable briar knew that it had been a good idea to bring it instead of his fathers other horse, which had been a tempered stallion that hated to be ridden.
Briar mounted up and looked around, both girls were settling themselves into their saddles. He smiled “all right lets go”
They set a brisk pace, managing to get out of the city before the streets became overly crowded. They traveled until midday before stopping to eat lunch. As soon as they had left the city they had settled into an uneasy silence, nobody having anything or knowing what to say but as they settled down to eat Lily could take it no more.
“You people are the worst company I’ve ever had” she declared “I might as well be traveling with a couple of sacks of sand for all the entertainment you two supply!”
Samantha rolled her eyes “it’s not like you’re very entertaining either Lily, you’ve been just as silent as we have.”
Lily “hmphed” and looked away silent for the moment but it didn’t last long. No more than a minute had passed before she decided to try and start another conversation.
“So Briar where do you come form?” her question earned her a frown from Samantha but Briar didn’t notice.
“I come from up north from a small town called Wintersprings,” he said.
“Oh really?” Lily asked, pouncing on a chance to keep the conversation going “did you live with your family? Do you have any siblings? What did you do in your spare time? Or did you have any spare time? Did you have a job? Were you a blacksmith or are you going to Sallima to learn the trade?”
Briar struggled to answer the never-ending flood of questions that ended up lasting the rest of the day. Never once did Lily run out of things to ask. Samantha remained quite during the questioning frowning at her hands that she had rested on her saddle horn. The vacant look in her eyes told Briar that her thoughts were someplace else.
As the sun began to sink behind the horizon they set up camp and started their dinner. Lily continued to interrogate Briar until the food was ready; they ate in silence, much to Briars relief. After they finish eating they all got ready for bed quickly. It had been a long day. As Briar banked the fire and settled down into his bed roll he notice Samantha was looking at him. As soon as their gazes met she looked away, rolling over so that her back was turned to him. Instead of questioning her he decide to let it go, if she had something to say surely she would have voice her opinion and besides Lily was already asleep and he didn’t want to disturb her. Shifting into a more comfortable position Briar fell asleep.
As Briars soft snores began to emerge from his bedroll Lily sat up. “You’re beginning to doubt him,” she whispered smugly. It wasn’t a question.
Samantha sat up with a sigh “maybe you were right maybe he doesn’t have it in him” her voice was sad and sounded defeated.
Lily smirked “so much for confidence” she snickered lying back down.
Samantha sat for a while longer staring at Briars sleeping for before she to lied back down and let sleep over take her.
To Be Continued…
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Broken Promises:
Stalking Murmurs
3 weeks later…
Harry had still not found his father but he felt he was getting close, he could just feel it in his hands and all through his body. He was just waiting for the right moment to strike. He was watching the news to catch up on the evidence they had found on his cases,”This just in, the DNA test is here and chief detective David Hultintide is about to read it himself” said the newscaster…”So? What does it say?”.There was a long pause during the interview.
” I’m sorry but I cannot divulge this information to the press at this moment.” said David.
This confused harry because he did not know what was going on. He didn’t like being confused, in fact it angered him. So he planned. He planned his next murder. ” This one is going to be very, very special”, said Harry to himself “I’ll get him at his own home…I make him divulge the information…”, he began trailing of with his words” I’ll make you speak David Hultintide, I’ll make you speak.”, he said shouting to the heavens.
Later that day after David had seen the results he was ragingly headed towards the chief detectives office. He busted into the poorly lit, cramped little room the chief liked to call an office. “What is the meaning of this?!,” He yelled to the police chief, who was enjoying a nice jelly filled dough-nut, “Is this supposed to be some sort of sick joke?!”
“Your one to talk detective!,” He said, surprising David, “When I saw your DNA show up at the crime scene I was just as angry as you were. I’m gonna need you to leave your badge and gun at the front desk with Bethany…”
“What do you mean chief?”, He asked almost humbled “,I’m expelled from the force?!”
“I’m sorry David” ,The chief said to console him “, It may be temporary, we don’t know yet. But if you committed this murder you are expelled from the force permanent, you understand me? Now get out of my office…”
A week later David had began to become dressed and began drinking again. He had lost the one thing in his life he needed. His life was falling apart at the seems. He was a suspected murderer and his drinking had been televised by interviewers several times. He was humiliated.
Harry on the other hand was surprised when he heard that David had been thrown off the case. They hadn’t said who’s DNA was found at the murder scene and he didn’t care any longer now he was just killing more people leading him closer to his father. He was eventually going after David but decided to wait until he had more kills under his belt. He thought it might have been a trap so he killed the same amount of people. He had killed over 75 people now and was waiting for a hundred just so he could have his final kill. He had always promised himself 100 would be the number of his final kill. Despite it being his father or not. But he had lied. He would kill none other than David Hultintide so he could find the DNA report and find the suspects which would lead him to his father.
May 4th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Chapter 2
Beginning of the End
Though his preparations kept him very busy, Bant still found time to be with his loving family and fix up the house as best he could. The shutters finally closed and the roof was considerably patched, but there was a definite need for improvement.
The times finally came when he had to leave for his long journey to find the Erapuz’s. Comically Bant had nicknamed his journey the End because the end was so far away it would seem like forever to get there. He had to cross-perilous waters, scorching deserts, and thick wild jungles all alone. The only things he could bring was stuffed into his large leather backpack or in the pockets of his oversized flannel shirt covered in patches of fabric to keep the winter bite out of his bones.
“Goodbye, darling. I should be back in the fall…next fall,” whispered Bant while placing a soft kiss on her pink lips.
“Goodbye sweetheart. I will think of you everyday. And pray as best I can. Be safe, please! And don’t get into trouble, that’s the last thing you need!” joked Reng.
“Be careful Daddy. Don’t get hurt! Will you bring me back a pony?” questioned Reney.
“Of course I will. And a magical swan like in all those fairytales you read. And don’t forget that you are my little princess”, said Bant with heavy eyes.
“I know Daddy. Come back soon.”
“Where did Gant run off to?” asked Bant caressing the front yard with his eyes.
“O I don’t know. Probably in the woods. He said to tell you goodbye,” yelled Runey.
“Thank you very much Runey. Take care of Mama while I’m gone and keep Reney out of trouble…” replied Bant.
“Of course Dad,” whispered Runey, “I won’t let you down…”
And with that, Bant left. He started out West, following the sun and the Steaming River. He figured it would be the safest route and the fastest after all. He walked towards the mountains. The tall mountains had been a noted sign in anyone’s journey for at the top of the highest point on what the people of the land called the “North Pole” the rocks aligned to form an arrow facing towards the North. It was a very peculiar sign no doubt, but it was very useful to everyone on a long journey.
The End was beginning to seem even farther than expected. Poor Bant had only been walking for three hours and he was tired enough to just turn around and return to his small cottage on the tree branch, but of course he couldn’t and luckily didn’t.
Through the warm breeze, Bant continued to walk. One thing he found odd was that there was no sound to be heard. Bamrics, as you know, have an excellent sense of smell, sight, and hearing, which enables them to be very sly and deceiving. The only sound that could be heard in the thick forest was the sound of his heavy breathing in his flannel shirt.
After a while, Bant stopped for a short rest on a log that extended quite a ways. “What’s that?” thought Bant as he heard a rustle come from the bushes, “A squirrel no doubt. Nothing to be frightened of!”
The rustle came again and this time louder. Fear began to build up in Bant’s gut. Had his journey to the End really only taken him to the Forest of Mir? What a true disgrace this would be to his family.
Bant picked up a long stick from the blackened forest floor and raised it over his head. His arm slowly moved down as he reached the mysterious bush and then… “Don’t hit me! It’s me, father! It’s Gant! It’s Gant!”
“Gant?” puzzled Bant, “How did you go this far without me hearing you, or seeing you for that matter?”
“I am excellent at making sure I stay hidden. I can fit into odd places if needed and I learned how to walk so not even the birds hear me. It’s just something I picked up being in the woods so much I guess…”
“That’s pretty impressive son…You need to get back home, now! Why did you follow me?”
“I wanted to come. I knew you would only say no if I asked so I asked myself, what would Jesus do?”
“This is no time for jokes, I am serious!”
“Okay. I wanted to go for the adventure. I want to see the world and actually do something with my life! I hate having my life planned for me!”
“Why do you think I mine so much,” chuckled Bant.
“We’re more alike then I thought,” Gant noticed.
They walked along in silence as the sun set behind the “North Pole”. The journey to the End would not be taken alone, but in the presence of two brave men who would encounter things beyond their imagination.
May 4th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Chapter 3
Crossing the Abyss
Five days of walking and little talk was getting to Gant. He had been used to being alone in the forest, but the though of crossing the Gorpon River was building a bubble of nervousness in his mind. “What will happen if we run into them?” asked Gant. It was the first time he had talked all day.
“Never really thought about it, and I don’t plan to.”
“Well you need to think about it!” retorted Gant. Everything had seemed so calm and peaceful in the Forest of Mir he knew with ease, but the River was a deadly one. Snakes swam menacingly through the water. Crocodiles danced in the moonlight, eyes glimmering with evil delight. He had never even somewhat attempted to cross the Gorpon River for fear of drowning, being eaten by the crocodiles, or even getting attacked.
“What are you so afraid of Gant?” questioned Bant in an unhappy tone. “There’s nothing to be afraid of out here besides some silly reptiles. We could dodge them when needed, and just climb across in the thick branches. Look up, my boy!”
“Father, those branches are much less than sturdy. They have been hanging there for years and you can already see the broken ones in the Gorpon River. Covered with blood no doubt!”
“I will hear no more of this nonsense. You can easily see that the Gorpon River is too dangerous to cross by boat and there isn’t any crocodile for miles. I’ve been listening for their low groans like you told me about and I haven’t heard a single thing.”
“Very well father,” said Gant as he started up the thick pine tree.
“No, my boy, if something should happen to you and I return home fit as a fiddle I could never forgive myself. I must go first to clear a path and then I will call you over, hum? See to it that you don’t leave this shore. And I would stay behind this tree incase the, the, the you know what’s come!”
“I will father, don’t you worry. I wouldn’t want to run into one of them!”
“Right O, call you in a minute, my boy!” and with that Bant scrambled up the tall tree and disappeared into the dark canopy. Gant could hear the rustling of old Bant while he crossed the sinister slime-water below.
A hiss began to creep up the shore like a mist enveloping Gant’s strong head. It grew and grew until it was too loud to bear! “Father! Father, get down from the tree! Get to the shore! They’re coming! They’re coming father! Get down, get safe! O Father!” screamed Gant. Fear trembled through his body like the vibrations of a massive drum.
A screech filtered through the silent darkness. It filled Gant’s head with a hypnotizing snare and it took all Gant’s strength to ignore the horror that was building inside him! There was only one thing he could do; he must save his poor father from the beast.
The ran up the tree and clawed his way through the thick brush above the River. His hands were bleeding without fail and his face felt like it was being dismembered by thousands of needles. He kept on; despite the searing pain that was captivating his body.
“Father, where are you!” yelled Gant. Tears were running down his face, cooling the blood that covered it.
“Over here! Over here, my boy!” Gant tried to follow his voice, but the hissing was too loud to concentrate.
“Father, keep calling! Keep calling for me so I can find you!” screamed Gant. He was loosing his voice, mind, and skin. Everything was hurting and the only thought left was sudden death. One false grip and Gant would be food for the ugly reptiles below.
“Take my hand!” said Gant as he found his father. He looked around. “Gorgons, gorgons! Father the Gorgons are coming! Quickly, quickly!”
Bant reached for his hand, but it slipped. The blood that covered his hands made them slippery and hard to hold on to. “What can I do? What can I do!” thought Gant, his hope fading like a dead candle.
“Fall! Father, fall! The Gorgons have scared away all the evil reptiles in the River. Gorgons can’t get wet! Gorgons can’t follow us into the water! Jump, father, jump!”
And with that, Gant grabbed his father by the waist and pushed him into the mud-water below. The Gorgons were hurling stones and insults upon them, but they were covered by a large rock downriver.
Unfortunately, this would not be the last time the two brave men would run into Gorgons. Next time they would be more prepared, but for now, they had to rest and recover form the scratches and bruises both of them so deeply had made.
May 11th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Novella Chappie #1!!!
The crisp melodies of a violin rang through the outskirts of New York City in the middle of a bitter winter day, some fresh particles of snowflakes glistening on the winding roads. As they walked along, children and couples would pause slightly to let the magical harmony whisk their minds away from their thoughts of strain and negativity, and let them live the moment. “Who is this brilliant artist?” The couples whispered amongst themselves. That musician was perched atop her window sill, wielding her great-grandmother’s violin beneath her shoulder, with its bow dancing in a duet along with the rhythm of the song. She put on a great show for the audience, visible from the sidewalks, pretending she wasn’t aware of the growing crowd. She secretly smirked on the inside, but also on the inside was the whole reason why she was playing. As she began the rallentondo marking the conclusion of the song, the spectators began to applaud her, and she muttered the final words to herself only:
“… But I’ll be-he stro-ong and wait for you…..” Her bow departed the strings in dead silence, but then the audience began to wildly praise her work. “Thank you,” the artist weakly muttered, blowing her kisses to the people. Abruptly, she shut the window, and the crowd subsided like sand in the wind, sensing the end.
She had been smiling, but now it had began to fade. She closed her eyes and hummed the same tune pleasantly to herself.
“Ellen!!” The call of her name triggered her to shoot open her eyes and consequently fall off the sill.
“What, Vess?” Ellen countered with agitation.
“You got the biggest group of people outside I’ve ever seen! It’s like you were preaching to them or something! They were, like, hypnotized by you.” Ellen opened her mouth to object to her barrage of comments, but Vess cut her off. “They might as well have church right here now, yeesh,” She scurried away into her room, firmly leaving her words imprinted in the room.
“Ugh, Vess, why are you my roommate?” Ellen muttered to no one in particular. She liked Vess, sure, but she thought she was too into her own life and never seemed to have time for anybody else. With a very sudden burst of inspiration, she grabbed her purse from behind the couch and trotted into the main hallway which was surrounded by the colors of spring on the walls and hung portraits of quaint farms from her homeland. Ellen noticed a thin sheen of dust growing on one of the pictures, so she delicately rubbed it some of it off with her fingers, enabling her to view it more clearly. She sighed suddenly, and she couldn’t bear to grieve over her sweet home Nebraska. Instead, she decided to get out of the depressing home.
“Hey,” Ellen called, trying to make her voice pierce the door to Vess’s room. Ellen cleared her throat. “Hey!…… Vess?” She started toward the door, but just as she was about to turn the knob, it was opened for her. She gasped in horror at the sight of her roommate. She was dressed in a bath robe with her dark brown hair done into a hideous beehive (although she wouldn’t tell her that).
“What is it?” Vess asked harshly. She heard Ellen gasp and didn’t like it.
“Oh, I wanted to know if you wanted to go have dinner somewhere tonight; I don’t have any plans…”
“Well I do, later” With that attitude still in the air, Vess slammed the door right in front of Ellen’s face. She stared at the door for a few seconds, deeply hurt by Vess’s words, but she walked down the hall and out the door anyway.
May 11th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
My Sister Didn’t Kill Herself
By Katie Sunderland
Prologue- My sister Megan and I were four years apart. We didn’t like each other that much during childhood because we fought all the time. You know how siblings’ fight she says something sarcastically like, “Nice hair Hallie,” and that would just get my insides cooking. But, when she moved out of the house into a small apartment in Santa Barbara I visited her all the time. On those visits, it’s like she brought out the true “me” and I didn’t care what other people thought because it was just us against the world. It’s like we were conjoined at the hip, we did everything together. Megan was so full of life; not one day would pass where she wouldn’t do something fun or adventurous. So, when I went to stay with Megan for my spring break and found her hanging in her closet I didn’t know quite what to think. But, one thing I did know was, my sister didn’t kill herself.
I looked out the car window into the clear blue sunny sky. I had my iPod blasting in my car and I was singing at the top of my lungs. You see, I was so excited because I was heading down to Santa Barbara to visit my sister for my entire spring break. “I’m going to have so much fun,” I thought to myself as I sang the chorus to one of my favorite Ashley Simpson songs. I pulled into the parking lot of her apartment building and stepped out of my car. It was breezy out but it was a hot breeze and felt good compared to the cold weather we’d been having up in Tahoe. I grabbed my suitcase out of the trunk and took the stairs up to apartment 3C. I knocked on the door but Megan didn’t answer. I started to get a little bit worried, but I just figured she’d gone to the store or something like that. So, I used the spare key underneath the Welcome mat and let myself in. I walked into her room to set my suitcase down when I saw her. It was the most frightening thing I’ve ever witnessed. She was just hanging there by a belt in the closet. My first instinct of course was, “Nice prank Megan, I’m really scared.” But, it looked too good to be a prank my sister would pull on me and that’s when I started panicking. I couldn’t do anything, it felt like my body just couldn’t move. But, luckily my vocals could still work because I just screamed my head off until the person in the next apartment over came running in.
When the neighbor ran into the room she was just as shocked as me but she lurched forward and slammed the closet door shut so I wouldn’t have to look at Megan anymore. I didn’t quite know what to do. So the neighbor lady Marge called the cops and sat me down on Megan’s bed to wait. I sat there in shock, not knowing what to feel or what to do. I was thinking, “Okay, I’m going to wake up from this nightmare any second and Megan’s going to be okay.” But, she wasn’t okay and I never woke up.
When the cops arrived I told them exactly what happened and how I found her. When they were searching the room to see if there was any visible evidence they found a tape recorder with only one thing recorded on it. “Hello my name is Megan Shepherd, I’m 22 years old. And, I’m going to kill myself. I have done some things wrong in life and I apologize for them but I can no longer live with myself. I’m sorry it has to end like this. I love you mom, dad, and Hallie.” When I heard that recording of my sister, it didn’t sound like her. Megan lived life to the fullest, so why would she want to end it? None of this was making sense. It’s almost sounded like someone made her record that message and killed her themselves. This is everything that went through my mind as I heard the policemen listening to the message over and over again. By what seemed like the 50th time I’d heard it I had only one thought in my head. That I would find who killed my sister and make them pay.
Chapter 2
I really wanted to stay in Megan’s apartment and look around a little. But, the police officers said I shouldn’t stay for “psychological reasons.” So, the officers took me to my car and escorted me to a hotel where I could stay until I left in the morning. One of the nice men even walked me to my door. And right before he turned to walk away I asked him a simple question, “The homicide team isn’t going to investigate my sister’s death are they?”
He replied in his tired voice, “No, I’m sorry. It’s just the city doesn’t have the money to investigate every death you know? And, it really does appear she killed herself. Despite what you believe.”
“Yes, I understand. Well, thank you for walking me to my door,” I said in a disappointed voice.
“No, problem glad I could help. Well, sleep tight.”
“Thanks,” I said as I was yawning. But as I lay in the nice comfortable hotel bed I thought about my poor sister and couldn’t shake the thought of her being murdered. I eventually fell into a sleep to the thoughts of Megan being murdered and had a nightmare about how it could have happened. The screams of fright, the yells of pain, the scared looked on her face right before she died and that’s when I woke up in a cold sweat. I looked around the room a little scared myself. I realized that the dream was too real and could’ve really happened. I said to myself, “I need to defend my sister’s honor.” She would not die looking like a scared, college manic depressant. No, I decided I would go back to that apartment in the morning and look for clues as to how my sister died.
I woke up early to get to the apartment building before anyone could really see me. I used the spare key that the police officers never confiscated and let myself into the apartment. As soon as I stepped in the room a chill went down my back raising the hairs on my neck, almost as if Megan was still in the room. I turned on all the lights so I could see everything in sight. I didn’t quite know what I was looking for but had an idea. I would search and see if there was a struggle between Megan and someone else, if there was evidence of another person living in the apartment or staying there as a guest, just something to prove this was a murder. And, that’s when I saw it, a small shard of glass in the back of the room. When I went up to see exactly what it was I realized it was a piece of a mirror. I picked it up, using my leather ski gloves, and examined it. As I searched around the room to see where there had been a mirror hanging I remembered there had been one hanging by the front door.
I thought about where I would put the pieces to a broken mirror if I had to clean it up, which made me think of the trash. I walked over to the trash container under the sink and saw that someone had emptied the trash already.
To be continued…
May 11th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
Prologue
Gazing out, across the fading horizon, Izzy focuses and refocuses on a dark figure silhouetted against the watery sky. At the edge of the beach, where the sand breaks the water’s force, Izzy stands in wait of the distant shadow. Her deep hazel eyes force tears through the fierce, salty, wind. She runs, slowly closing the distance between her and the mysterious phantom. She runs until her lungs cry for air, he seems so close, but never seems to be close enough. She can see his bronze hair against the darkness of the coming night. As she runs she thinks, “Wow, he’s farther than I thought.” Regardless of this unspoken thought she continues running towards the boy, as the sun fades to a dim, yet intense red, blood red. She never seems to get any closer until…
Chapter 1
She awakens, chilled by a light sweat, from her dazed slumber. She groans as she realizes it is yet another Monday morning, even if it is Memorial Day. “Nothing ever makes Mondays any better,” she thinks as she sinks deeper into her bed, though she cannot sleep. Izzy makes a fleeting glance at her bedside clock and moans at her realization, “Three more hours until I can officially wake up,” she thought. Her thick comforter is now a shield meant to help her shy away from the sun’s coming rays; a few of the strongest rays make it through the thick blanket and onto Izzy’s icy skin. Rising to get out of the soft bed, she steals a glimpse out of her bedroom window and spots a dark figure gazing up at her window. Tip- toeing softly across the room she stares out at the man, or rather boy, a caliginous outline against the white snow. He swiftly turns towards the rising sun, Izzy follows his gaze, the sun was nearly up. She turns back to the boy; he was gone, as if with the full appearance of the sun.
This strange occurrence set her mind on edge, she could not think of a possible explanation for the stranger’s appearance. Her alarm sounded, startling her out of her dazed thoughts, had it three hours already? “Well,” she thought, “At least I can finally get up.” She put on some warm clothes and trudged outside through the thick snow. She walked, not really worrying about where she was headed. Entering a bright clearing and she sits trying to piece together the strange disturbance of her morning. “Why had he been staring at the window like that?”
Sitting in the sun, so intent on figuring out the mysterious boy, she does not notice the dimming of the light, or arriving of the night. While she contemplates the happenings of today, determined not to write it off as a trick of the light or the “imagination”, she can hear the low growl of some feral animal, not far off in the distance. She looks up; a large black wolf is crouched low, not 20 feet from her. “Wow, emphasis on the ‘not far in the distance’” she thinks. Rising slowly, from her seat on the log half- buried in a light lanket of snow. She slowly turns to see the clearing is full of the large beasts. Izzy begins to panic, feeling like a gazelle in a lion’s den; there is no visible breach in the wolves’ tight circle. The sun is almost down. She is without a weapon, the circle is getting tighter, and she can see the hot breath of the wolves. The long fangs of the dogs are clearly visible against the dark night’s shadow, drool is perceptible. The trees that, very few hours ago, looked and acted as a safe haven, guarding her from the distractions of the outside world, were now like the prisons of Alchatraz holding her in wait of the wolves attack. Her heart beats faster with every step of the pack; the wolves come to an abrupt stop and, once again, stoop into a low crouch. “This is it,” she thinks, the largest wolf crouches and leaps. She gasps and winces away from canine. A dark flash hits him. Through her fingers she can see that it is completely dark, only the brilliantly large moon lights the night. She looks to the dark mass of the wolf’s body; a figure is hunched over the massive beast. Not just any random shadow it is the shadow. The one from her dreams… the boy outside her house. She instantly recognizes the soft brown eyes and thick bronze hair. Does this figure have a name? She racks her brain for any possible clues as to what it could be. While she thinks, the boy calls to the wolves “Go!” amazingly enough, the wolves oblige. He slowly turns to her, when she looks into his unforgettable face, the name comes to her… Damien.
May 11th, 2008 at 11:35 pm
Chapter 2
Izzy awakes the following morning, startled into consciousness. Drenched in a heavy perspiration, Izzy rises with a sense of forbidding about her. She can just, barely, remember the terrifyingly wonderful dream of the previous night. Thinking back to the horrid, feral beasts of the nightmare, and the sudden shift of dark to sudden light by the appearance of the mysterious Damien, a light knock at the door jerks her back to reality.
“Izzy, wake up and yes… you have to go school today,” her mother calls.
“Ugh! Thanks…yeah right!” she mumbles in disapproval, “Eleventh grade, the pinnacle of idiocy”. She rolls out of bed, recoiling swiftly from the icy wood- paneled floor. Her room, decked out with Panic! At The Disco!, Fall Out Boy, and My Chemical Romance posters, a cluttered desk, and her orange tabby cat sprawled across her bed complete the caricature of Izzy Violetta. “Hmmm… what to wear, what to wear?” she ponders, while studying her dismal supply of clothing. After twenty minutes spent searching her pathetic excuse for a wardrobe, she gives up, settling on gray sweats and an expired CAL sweatshirt. She was, once again, dressed like an alien headed to a distant planet… a planet swarmed with Abercrombie and Fitch, Hollister, and Aeropostale junkies. “Ouch!” a hot curler awakens her from her bewildered thoughts. Focusing on preparing for another sure-to-be-full-of-boredom day, she hears the honk of a horn. “Be down in, like, two minutes!” she calls to her bestfriend, Alice. She rushes down the stairs, naturally, tripping on the last one. Up in a flash, she is out the door and in the passenger seat of Alice’s black BMW. It is cozy in the car’s black leather seats. The heater is blowing consistently and “Build God, Then We’ll Talk” is faintly audible in the background. It is a great contrast to the chill of the crisp early morning wind. A hazy shield, the sun just scarcely visible behind the vaporous clouds, covers the sky. A light fog hangs in the air, eerily shrouding everything in the tiny town.
“Did you hear about the new family on, E. Worchester?” Alice inquires.
“No, well yeah, kind of.” Glancing over she notices Alice’s bewildered expression, “Well I mean I heard my mom talking about them”
“Oh, well I heard they have a son… in the eleventh grade!” This unloading of information was like a ticket for the all-you-can-hear Alice express line. Alice prattles on about the new guy for the entire seven-minute drive to Glenfield High School. Arriving late, as usual, the girls quickly depart and run for their first classes. Izzy walks into her Calculus class, stalking to her desk with all of the eyes of her peers on her back, again. But, of course she has to sit in the very first row, in the desk farthest from the door. Making her way to the desk, she quickly looks over the familiar faces, checking for any new additions. There are none that she can see. The teacher, Mr. Breyers, continues with his droning on about his dull mediocrity. The class rushes by in a blur, while she secretly reads Blood and Chocolate, for the billionth time. The bell whines, signaling for the next class. Izzy gathers her belongings and walks to her locker, where she exchanges her Calculus book for one of World History. Walking to World History, she spots Alice in the hall, waving.
“OMG! Guess what!” Alice exclaims.
“What?” she calmly replies, not half as enthusiastic as Alice.
“You know, the new guy?”
“Yeah… what about him?”
“He’s in my Biology class!”
“Um… congratulations?”
“He sits right behind me and, oh my god he is gorgeous!”
“Really?”
“Yeah, he has longish bronze hair and amazingly, deep brown eyes. He can literally dazzle you with that alluring smile!”
“Oh, well I’ll keep a look out,” she gives Alice a quick smile, “Maybe he’ll be in my next cla-” The bell interrupts their gossiping. “I’ll see you later, Alice!” Izzy bellows, already running for class.
Rushing, again, to her next class, Izzy busts through door 36- G into a sea of astonished faces. Izzy slams into her seat gasping for breath.
“Late again I see, Ms. Violetta,” her teacher, Ms. De Cheval, always used last names; Izzy always hated that. What can she not remember any of their first names? She swiftly bends to retrieve her books, placing them on her empty desk. Looking up, she notices the head in front of her. “Hmmm… nobody ever sits there. Huh- bronze medium-length hair, broad shoulders…” The shrill sound of her teacher’s voice interrupts her confused thoughts.
“Excuse me, but why don’t you come up and introduce yourself,” Mrs. De Cheval asks. The boy slowly makes his way to the front class and turns to face his peers. Izzy gasps loudly, flabbergasted.
“Hello, my name is Damien De Lucia,” the boy announces.
May 12th, 2008 at 12:27 am
‘Roids
Ch.3
By: Alexis Baxter
After last night Christina was really tired so she woke up kind of late. When she got up she realized that her arm was hurting even more and she had gotten a pimple. So she pinched it, but it wouldn’t pop. She got dressed madly and went to the kitchen to get some breakfast and her mom was sitting at the kitchen table. “So Christina how did you sleep?” her mom says nicely.” Fine, but can we go to the doctors today my arm hurts and I think it’s broken” then her mom says “So what exactly did you do last night?” Christina gets mad “Nothing just takes me to the doctors.” “Okay but sooner or later your going to have to tell me” “Whatever just take me to school.”
As Christina is arriving at school she see’s Alexis and all of her friends. She gets out of the car and walks up to them and says “Hey” no one says anything “Hello?” she says loudly. Finally Alexis replies “Why are you over here?” then Christina says “It’s like that now whatever I don’t need yall anyways.” Christina walks away friendless and mad.
She goes to first period and sits in her normal seat which is right next to Alexis. When Christina sat down Alexis raised her hand and said “Mr. Ching Chong can I change seats I don’t feel very comfortable right here?” Mr. Ching Chong says “Sure go behind JJ” “Thanks.” Alexis moves and mumbles whore when she walks by Christina. Christina would usually get mad but she had a game today so she couldn’t get in trouble again or she couldn’t play. During class Christina was mad but tried not to show it. Finally class was over and she ran out of the classroom faster than you can say Flabbergasted. The whole day Christina was quiet and said nothing because she had no one to talk to and she was in pain, and trying to figure out how she was going to play in today’s game with a hurt arm. After thinking for awhile Christina decided she wanted to play and didn’t care if it got hurt anymore and after the game she would go to the doctors. But before the game she had to take some ‘roids.
Its now 5:00 p.m and it’s tip-off time Christina’s arm is getting worse and worse but she’s trying not to let it show . Five minutes into the game and Christina has the ball she’s dribbling it down the court with a player on the other team all over her. Then she stops running and the girl is still staying with her and Christina says ” You know im going to score on you right now” and the girl replies ” No your not because im about to do this” and the girl steals the ball right out of her hands and Christina stood there and looked dumb. Her teammates got mad and told her to stop playing around. The whole game Christina’s arm was hurting which made her play like crap. Since she played like crap her team was losing.
Its 65-75 in the 4th quarter about seven minutes into the quarter and Christina is on the bench and her coach is really mad. One of her teammates just fouled out so she has to go in for her and play. When she stands up she feels dizzy but she still goes in and plays. As the game goes back into play Christina has the ball and she is getting dizzy again but this time her eyes are blurry. She starts to blink a lot and looks around and suddenly she falls out on the floor in the middle of the game.
May 12th, 2008 at 12:35 am
‘Roids
Ch.4
By: AlexisBaxter
While Christina is laid out on the floor people are yelling her name “CHRISTINA!!CHRISTINA!!” Finally they call 911 and 10 minutes later the ambulance is there. As Christina is on the stretcher in the back if the ambulance she wakes up and all of a sudden the EMT is saying” Christina, Christina can you hear me?” Christina mumbles “Yes where I am?” the EMT replies “You’re on your way to the hospital you passed out during your game.” Christina starts to cry and says “Am I going to die” “No”.
When they arrive at the hospital they rush her out of the ambulance when she gets in the ER doctors came running out of nowhere and start rattling flash lights in her eyes to check her vision. They take her to the nearest room and check her pee for drugs and alcohol.
Finally after laying on the bed in her room for hours her mom shows up worried and in tears ” Honey are you okay” Christina replies” Yea mom” she replies ” Do you need anything?”.
As their both talking the doctor walks in and says ” Christina when we tested your pee their were high amounts of steroids in it.” Her mom turns and looks at her and says ” Christina have you been taking steroids?” Christina replies in tears “Yea I just wanted to get taller”. Her mom was mad so she walks out of the room. Christina still crying asks the doctor if she is going to be ok. He said “Yes as long as you stay away from the steroids”. Then Christina asks if he can take an X-ray of her arm and the doctor says yes. He takes the X-ray and an one hour later he came back with the results.
Christina’s arm is broken in 2 places after she hears the news she gets so mad to were she knocks everything from the desk next to her on the floor. Then she asks the doctor how long will she have to wear a cast and he says “About 6 weeks”. When the doctor is done talking he walks out and when he walks out her mom walks in and says “Are you going to be ok” Christina replies ” As long as I stay off of the steroids oh yea and my arm is broken in two places and im going to have to wear a cast for 6 weeks.” “Well I bet you wont do steroids again” ” You know what mom im in enough pain already I don’t need you to add on to it.” Her mom replies “Well the doctor says your going to have to stay in bed for a couple of days” ” Ok mom”. For the next couple of days Christina lay in her bed and scratched her arm with a hanger while being depressed.
May 14th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
Chapter 1
It was late one night- the frigid air whistling through Bitsy’s golden hair while it shimmered under the light of the almost full moon. She was restless, just thinking of walking back to her house and trying to sleep caused despair to overwhelm her. Bitsy was always on of those sensitive girls. One who would shut herself off from anything in her past that was too hard to handle. But lately that hadn’t worked; the memories kept flooding back. Memories of that one day, over a year ago now.
FLASHBACK
“Mom, I’m going to go camping this weekend with my girlfriends. I hope that’s okay”
“Bitsy! I thought you were going to stay home with your father and me!” her mom exclaimed.
“But school just got out! We have to celebrate the coming of summer! I mean, I’ll be home a ton this summer, it’s just this one weekend!” I argued.
“I still don’t know. I’ll have to talk with your dad about this.”
END FLASHBACK
‘The beginning of the end,’ Bitsy thought to herself, ‘or at least for some.’
Bitsy lifted her arm and checked her watch. It glowed 1:06 brightly, illuminating her face with a green haze. Deciding to head back to her house, Bitsy turned and trudged along the way she had come, slowly making her way home.
The next morning she awoke groggily, having only managed little snippets of rest between the nightmares. She was almost instantly aware of the smell of pancakes wafting through the house.
“Mom must be up already,” Bitsy murmured to herself. She slowly pulled herself from the bed and started to get ready, pulling off the clothes from last night and replacing them with plaid shorts and a nice blue blouse. On her way out the door, she slipped into her flip-flops, and then continued down the hallway, stopping once to make sure her brother, Joe, was awake- he was, like always. When she got to the kitchen, it wasn’t her mother she found cooking. It was Joe, standing there with a goofy grin spread across his face, and a spatula raised in his hands.
“Want some pancakes, Bits?” he asked, already piling some on a plate.
“Okay, what is up… why are you making breakfast and being nice?” Bitsy retorted, obviously prepared for him to scream ‘April Fools’ even though it was the middle of July.
“I was just making breakfast. I didn’t know that that was a crime nowadays” he responded.
“So where’s mom?” Bitsy inquired. Just ten her mom emerged from the hallway. By her disheveled look, you could tell she had just woken up. She walked over to the counter and made herself a cup of coffee. Bitsy finished up her pancakes, and then started clearing her plate.
“Hey mom. Can I take the car today?” Bitsy asked on her way out of the room.
“Sorry, I have to drive to Carla’s today to prepare for next weeks party.” Bitsy’s mom is a party organizer; Carla is her most frequent client. “I’ll just drop you off on my way there, but I think you can have the car tomorrow.”
With that, I finished getting ready and we left for school.
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:05 am
Chapter 3
Izzy stares at the boy in utter confusion. “How could he be here, he was just a dream.” Face growing hot and surely red as a fire truck, Izzy raises her hand.
“Yes, Ms. Violetta?” her teacher asks.
“Can I be excused?”
“What for?” she asks with a sneering smirk.
“Uh… the bathroom?”
“Okay, you may be excused, take the pass.” She hands Izzy a black and white GHS lanyard. Leaving the class, she notices Damien giving her an ephemeral glance. Once out the door, Izzy sprints to the nearest bathroom; fortunately, nobody else has the faint realization that his or her “dream” is, indeed, a reality. The high school bathroom is decked- out head to toe in black and white tiles. Stalls are of black exterior and white interior, while the mirrors just display the same dull bathroom, resembling the school in three words… apex of boredom. One splash of visible color on these dreary walls could wrap- up the excitement of Izzy’s entire three-year experience at GHS.
Pushing through the swinging door of the stall, Izzy slams the lock tight and takes an uncomfortable seat on the restroom toilet. Izzy stares at the random nonsense about who’s dating who or who’s hot and not. She reads the gossip, intent on not hyperventilating. “Why was he in my class? What is he doing here? How is he here? Who is he?” she contemplates, thinking aloud, still baffled by her latest discovery. “Okay, maybe it is just a coincidence, or some supernatural occurrence… right,” she states, thinking audibly again. With her face in her hands, Izzy mutters continuously under her breath until the shower bell startles her, warning PE students of the seven minutes left to change. Walking slowly, Izzy reaches the door to her wretched classroom and halts, to take a deep breath. She opens the door and faces the classes humored stares (apparently she had been in the bathroom for longer than she had originally thought), and takes her seat behind Damien.
As she takes her seat, Izzy stares at the clock wishing for it to suddenly speed through the painful three minutes left of class. The piercing bell rang, finally. She quickly stuffs all of her books into her bag and literally ran from the class to her locker, where, of course, Alice was already awaiting her.
“Uh… how was World History? You look a bit shaken,” Alice asked.
“It was fine. Umm… the new guy, Damien, is in my class. In fact he sits right in front of me.”
“Oh my gosh! Your soooo lucky!”
“He’s in your class too you know.”
“Yeah, but, like all the way across the room.”
“Oh.”
“You don’t seem to excited, I mean he is practically a god… are you okay?”
“Yeah I guess I’m just a little tired, or completely and totally freaked…” she says mumbling the last bit.
“Well, okay then, I’ll see you after class then.”
“Yeah, okay. See’ ya.”
“See’ ya.” Izzy rapidly replaces her History books with ones of English and walks to class (yes, actually walking). She paces into the classroom and takes her seat as the bells begin to ring. The class zooms by in a blur of Shakespearean monologues. Halfway through the class she notices the boy next to her, Schyler Yarrow, rise and go to give his report, it took the rest of the period, which means… “Oh crap,” she murmurs, remembering that her own report was right after his. She groans grimly, with the idea of the ridiculously long night ahead, required to finish the unbelievably extensive report. Izzy lies her head on her arms and begs the bell to ring right now! The bell rings, how ironic. She stands, grabs her books, and rushes out the door. Her fourth period class goes by so quickly, she can hardly recall any of the new science material supposedly learned today. Izzy runs to the cafeteria and meets Alice in line.
“Hey, you look better,” Alice states.
“Yeah, I think I was just anxious fir lunch,” she replies.
“Did you happen to have Damien,” Izzy hated the extra emphasis her best friend put on all hot guys names, especially this one, “in any of your other classes?”
“No, you?”
“Nope.”
“Oh…” this little, itsy- bitsy word set Alice off on one of her Alice modes, talk now ask questions later.
“I hope we get another class with him; I mean seriously you could sum up that boy in three words, Greek Freaking God! I mean honestly…” Izzy pretty much zoomed out the next five, ten, or fifteen minutes of the random gossip. Izzy studies the dull, familiar lunchroom twenty or so tables, the exposed salad bar and ordering counter; the newest additions, to the drab interior, being the preposterous posters on the walls, staring out at you with creepy, gay eyes. Yes, this was her high school cafeteria, blech. She makes a disgusted face at the same old boring lunchroom.
“Holy crap… there he is right now, going to the-”
“What, where?” Izzy asks, interrupting.
“There over by the nonsensical, overzealous poster of ‘succeeding’,” speaking of the absurd quote of the power-of-succeeding-is-education (A.K.A complete and total balderdash) poster on the cafeteria wall, “and the beginning of the lunch line, oh wait now he’s walking by the soda machines.”
“Oh I see him now.”
“I don’t even think he-”
“He’s coming over here.”
“Really, how do I look?” Alice asks completely serious now.
“Fine,” responds in a pessimistic tone. The boy, Damien, walks by the table without even a break in stride; while Izzy, on the other hand, holds her breath in wait for his terribly voice to pierce the lunchroom blare.
“Well that was unfulfilling,” Alice states after, Damien departs from the lunchroom. The first bell rings, signaling the six-minute break to get to class. Alice and Izzy, once again, take their leisurely time getting to their sixth period classes.
“Do you want to go to the mall tonight?” Alice asks, hopeful.
“Can’t,” Izzy responds sarcastically, “apparently threatened expulsion for multiple tardies does go over well with the rents.”
“How long?”
“Two week, which really means one, and no reading. But, that last one they can’t really help, so its only a week on house arrest.”
“Oh well then we’ll go this weekend.”
“Okay, adios,” Izzy says turning towards sixth period PE.
PE is a fast-paced rush of flying limbs, rackets, balls, sticks, and hurdles, all varying with the unit of torture. Yes, all of these disastrous combinations were, of course, coming from Izzy. After PE (A.k.a. a medieval torture strategy), is finally over Izzy dresses quickly and heads to seventh period art. She paces to her locker to retrieve her sketchpad and notebook and walks to class. Upon entering the class Izzy sees a golden head seated in the far corner at the front, to the right of her easel. “Gahhh!” Izzy exclaims loud enough for just on head to turn. She takes her seat next to the bronze- haired boy, and turns away before catching his dizzy- making eye.
“Couldn’t I have just this one class without him. Couldn’t he take, like, band or something?” she thinks, “Ugh… stupid Damien!”
May 26th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Ch 2
Flashback
“Bitsy!” It was her best friend, Jamima. “Did you convince your mom to let you come yet?”
“No, she said she has to discuss it with my dad first”
“Well your dad is cool, he’ll probably let you come, right?” Jamima inquired with a hopeful expression on her face.
Bitsy was about to respond, but the bell interrupted her and they ran off to class.
End Flashback
“Bitsy! Are you okay? You’ve been out of it for the past few weeks. You keep zoning out!” Jamima noted with a concerned touch to her voice.
“Huh… Oh yeah, I’m fine” Bitsy was going to reassure her some more, but the bell cut her off, and she had to rush off to first period. She sat down in her seat and waited for class to begin.
“Class we have a new student today,” Mr. P announced. “Please welcome Fiyero to our school.” With the final words, a tall, slightly tanned guy walked into the room. He had an air of grace to him, and the classroom’s lights shined brilliantly on his wind blown, bronze hair.
When he came to sit next to the only open seat, which was right next Bitsy, she felt all the girls’ glares on her. She knew that his beauty should stun her, but she wasn’t, she was thinking how much Jamima would like him. She did have one thought though, ‘God, he’s gorgeous!’
For the nest couple of minutes, Mr. P assigned the class their day’s work then set them loose. Bitsy started in on her work, right away, wanting to get it done before the period was over.
“Excuse me, Miss, but would you mind sharing your textbook with me, there don’t happen to be any lying around, and I was hoping to start the work,” the new kid asked in a heavily accented voice.
“Oh, yeah, sure. My name is Bitsy by the way.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Fiyero.”
After the class, Bitsy made her way to Calculus, which she knew she would have with Jamima.
“Oh my gosh, Jamima! There is this new kid, Fiyero, and he is in my Science class” Bitsy exclaimed in greeting.
“Sounds like someone’s got a new crush!” Jamima sang at Bitsy.
“NO!” she responded in her defense. “You know I like Boris too much to do that to him! I was thinking about you! You should meet him. He is heck of polite, and he is gorgeous. His name’s Fiyero, it’s an exotic name, don’t you think?”
LATER
The seventh period bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Bitsy quickly made her way outside to wait for her mom. When she got home she sat down and started in on her homework. Her phone started ringing suddenly.
“Hello,” she said while picking up the phone.
“Hey Bitz, it’s Boris” came an answer from the other end of the line.
“OH! Hey, how’s your trip going?” she asked.
“Um… not so well, I have something I need to tell you” he responded nervously.
“What, is something wrong, did something happen?” Bitsy answered back, rushing through the words, now nervous.
June 1st, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Chapter 1 (revised)
The crisp melodies of a violin rang through the outskirts of New York City in the middle of a bitter winter day, some fresh particles of snowflakes glistening on the winding roads. As they walked along, children and couples would pause slightly to let the magical harmony whisk their minds away from their thoughts of strain and negativity, and let them live the moment. “Who is this brilliant artist?” The couples whispered amongst themselves. That musician was perched atop her window sill, wielding her great-grandmother’s violin beneath her shoulder, with its bow dancing in a duet along with the rhythm of the song. She put on a great show for the audience, visible from the sidewalks, pretending she wasn’t aware of the growing crowd. She secretly smirked on the inside, but also on the inside was the whole reason why she was playing.
Yeah, that “brilliant artist” was me. I know, I know, violin in New York on a “winter day” sounds cheesy, right? Well, it’s actually the truth. I’m from Nebraska, originally, (yeah, how many New Yorker’s do you know that can play the violin?) but I came here for… reasons… but I’ll fill you in, don’t worry…
I began to dramatically slow my playing, marking the end of my piece, meanwhile the crowd was absolutely adoring my music cheering loudly, until the bow finally released its kiss with the strings. It was dead silent after word; I guess they were in awe or something. But even so, I ended up shutting my window immediately. When they all left, my big-mouthed roommate Vess scrambled in from the snow that had just started outside. She adjusted her flat navy blue hat and scarf, and her gigantic wool coat gave her the look of a snooty rich English woman, and really that wasn’t too far from the truth, to be honest. At the time I saw her come in, I closed my eyes thinking she didn’t see me on the sill and began randomly strumming my violin, humming the last tune I played to myself.
“Ellen!!” Upon hearing my name unexpectedly, I slipped of my spot and banged the back of my head into the carpeting.
“What?!” I countered, agitated.
“You got the biggest group of people out there that I’ve ever seen! They were like, hypnotized by you!” I opened my mouth in an attempt to end her barrage of comments, but she kept… on… going… “…Well they should just go ahead and have church right here! I tell you that you need to go onto Broadway with that stringy-thing, but I don’t know why you don’t, I mean you really got the talent that those guys want in that crazy business-” I childishly threw both my arms high above my head, imagining that my “magical powers” would make her stop talking, and… it worked!
“Vess…” I sighed, “look, I haven’t been feeling too well…. y’know… emotionally? And so I’d appreciate it if you stopped nagging me about this, and that, or whatever, capeesh?”
“Oh, here we go! ‘Not feeling too well emotionally’. Hah! You’ve been feeling like this for almost two months… as long as we’ve been roommates! You need to get a grip on your life! If you don’t you’ll never be happy again, and-” Once again I called upon my magic. “Don’t do that to me? I’m trying to help you!! It’s all because you came looking for your “lover”! Yeah, you always say how much you two “love each other”. Well you know what else? Maybe there’s a reason why you say he didn’t tell you that he was coming over here to New York, maybe…” And she kept rambling, and rambling, and rambling on, and with each of her sentences piling atop each other in my mind, my fists got whiter and whiter… until I just snapped. I reached out with my hand and I struck Vess in the cheek with my palm. I told myself that it was just because I got caught up in the moment and I didn’t want to hear anymore from her; and while that was true, I found it was really because I was just in plain denial… and as much as I wouldn’t admit it… she was right.
She stared at me in utter outrage. “How… dare you! You ungrateful… little…” Well, she only said that much, but it really stung me on the inside because she was my only friend that I had in the whole state. Despite it all, I stubbornly decided not to take back my actions. With no more words that could be said between us, I hastily grabbed my handbag and slammed the door as I left the condominium, and drove off toward the city. I knew that I wouldn’t see her there when I returned.
June 1st, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Chapter 2
I slammed the door to my silver Toyota shut and barged over the curb onto the sidewalk, entering the daily bustle of a day in New York City. The frigid winds trickled up my overcoat, and some outdated newspapers rolled around my feet. There were some bums on the side of the sidewalk, beckoning to me, begging for anything. And usually while I’d feel sort of sympathetic for them, I wasn’t exactly in the “best” mood, so I just averted there gazes and kept walking along. I was shuffling for blocks and blocks and I just kept thinking, more and more about just the problems in my life, almost as if there were no positive sides anymore. I suddenly broke my own chain of thoughts when an inviting Italian cafe caught my eye, and deciding it was the best stop I’d find that night I rushed inside.
I shrugged my shoulders.
“I’ll have the eggplant soup,” I decided at last. It didn’t really sound too good but hey, who knows?
“Oh, great choice!” The waitress replied and superficially grinned excitedly. “It’ll be right out!!”
‘Oh my God can that smile get any bigger? I’ve never seen anybody want a tip that badly!’ I thought to myself. “Hmm,” Was my only response to her. I staked my elbows out on the table and stressfully messaged my temples. I wasn’t doing to well! I’d been thinking nonstop throughout the last two or three days; now, even the slightest idea was threatening to pull me into a severe migraine. Desperately attempting to occupy my mind, I grabbed the cup of coffee that I had ordered earlier when I stepped inside, and I took a long sip. I moaned and shut my eyes, letting the rich flavors of the coffee pull me into another world filled with bliss. I flickered my eyes open once again, and the warmth of the coffee rushed out to give entrance to the bitter feeling of loneliness.
I peeked over at the other side of the room, encountering couples lighting the room with their hysterical laughter, and every seat filled and lively. I turned away and noticed only me, myself, and I were on my side.
“Here’s your soup!” Oh. It was her again.
“Oh, thanks,” I responded. She set it down delicately then rushed off to another table for the evening crowd starting to arrive. I sat there until eleven at night; just me, and my soup. But once again I was thinking…. about how in the world I had ended up there… in New York. It led me all the way back to a day back toward the end of my senior year, at Lawrence High, in the heart of Yelson, Nebraska, my hometown:
I was sweeping through the energetic halls of the school on an exciting Monday with my friend Lily to our next class, AP Art. They were crowded with laughter and squeals, as we neared our classroom door. Just as I was about to walk inside, Lily grappled onto my arm and prevented me from entering.
“Hey, Ell, I forgot to ask you… you’re going with your boyfriend to the dance this Thursday, right?”
“Huh? Um… well yeah, of course!” I answered awkwardly, grinning and closing my eyes.
“Good, because I am too, and I just wanted to make sure!” She playfully wagged her index finger at me. We started to walk into the class together. “You’ve already asked him, haven’t you?” After I heard Lily ask me that, it struck me that I hadn’t asked him yet!
“Oh, shoot I can’t believe I forgot! Hold on, I’ll ask him right now!” I redirected my eyes toward John’s seat in the classroom, but all that I found was dead air. “He’s not here…” I whispered to Lily, as we took our seats right beside each other. “That’s impossible… I haven’t talked to him in two days, but he said for sure he’d be here today to take me and some other friends to the movies later…”
“Maybe he just got sick, y’ know, at the last minute?”
“No…” I was about to contest Lily’s conclusion again, when I suddenly noticed the distress in our Mrs. Du Bois’s eyes, our teacher. To get the attention of our class, Mrs. Du Bois very loudly cleared her throat. The chatty class instantly looked up to her in attention. I knew that the change from her usually jolly demeanor was a very bad sign. Our teacher cleared her throat again to get her voice together in order to talk.
“Class,” She started in a very frail voice, “ I’ve just been informed before class that John has gone missing… no one knows where he is… so today let’s just watch a video to take things easy today. No notes.” everyone took a sigh of relief to hear the plans for today, but then caught distress in their eyes, too; John was gone! I can’t even describe how I felt. I almost had a panic attack in class; I slammed my head into the wooded desk and began to sob uncontrollably into my sleeves as Lily hovered over me with a big hug, whispering for me to calm down in my ear. I really don’t think I ever did. I was sent to the office to go home… I needed get a grip, for everyone’s sake.
I reached home by walking three miles to our quaint farm on the east side of the town. I sprinted into our small white home in the middle of the land and tumbled onto my bed. When I ran by my mother reading the newspaper on the table, she chased after me.
“What in the lord’s name happened?!…. oh. I suppose you’ve heard the news…” From beneath my pillow, I nodded and wailed even louder. “Ellen!” My mother called sternly. “Would you calm down?! I understand you are in sorrow, but even so… John’s dad called… he says that he knows John drove off in his car to go to New York City, but he didn’t explain why.” I took the pillow off my face.
“He wants to be an actor…” I told her.
“Hah! An actor? Yeah, good luck… I still ask myself what it was you saw in that boy. Well, anyway, I’m sorry about what happened to you, dear… it must really hurt.” My mom pecked me on my cheek, and for an instant that day, I felt like smiling. “It’ll all be okay, Ellen; you should try to get some rest, now.” Complying with my mother I shut my eyes, but beneath my facade I had bigger plans.
At about two or three in the morning, pitch black as it was, I began gathering some essentials that I might need… for my journey to New York. I had already decided. I was going to leave, and no one would sway me from going.
‘Alright, I think that’s everything…’ I thought readily to myself. To my distaste, the floor boards began to creak with each move that I made. I tried to find another way so they wouldn’t make so much noise, so I leaped to exit the house via our carpeted hallways. Just as I grabbed hold of the knob, the lights sparkled to life, and the culprit? My mom.
“Ellen, I can’t believe you would actually try to leave to go to New York.” My mom’s voice had a surprisingly calm tinge to it. But even so, I was awestruck.
“How-How did you–” Mom chuckled at my stuttered response.
“Ellen, I know you!” She trotted over to me, and put her silky palms on my shoulders. “I did the same thing when I was younger, and it was a mistake!”
“But, Mom, I have to go! Me and John… It’s our destiny!”
“Would you listen to yourself?” She shook her head. “Almost word for word… Look, Ellen…”
She began reprimanding me, but I was busy trying to find an alternate escape route…
“…And while you were sleeping, now this is important…” I didn’t care what she was about to say I had to leave! I took the opportunity to shove the door wide open and sprint to my car. “Ellen!!” she called after me, and reached out her arm to try to stop me. I jammed the key into the ignition and drove off without another word. “I have to tell you…” was all I could hear of her lost words as she fell to her knees in disbelief.
June 1st, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Chapter 1
By Saniya Kishnani
We’re finally here, Emma thought to herself as the seatbelt light turned on.
“Can you believe it, we are actually in Tokyo!!” Her best friend, Clara, exclaimed.
“I know. It’s so exciting!” She replied. “I can’t wait to get to Tokyo Disney.”
“Yeah, same here, I wonder if it’s anything like the Disneyland in California.”
“Passengers: please put your tray tables up, your seats up, and your seatbelts on. We are getting ready to land in Tokyo, Japan.” A husky male voice announced over the loud speaker.
It took another hour for the senior class to get off the plane, get their luggage, and get to the hotel. Once we they to the hotel, they were given our room keys and sent up to our rooms. Emma was staying with Clara, Emily, and Sarah. It was mandatory that they were with the same gender in the rooms.
Sarah slid the key card through the slot and as soon as she opened the door, the smell of freshly baked cookies wafted to them. They smelled delicious, especially after the disgusting plane food they had been eating. The four of them rushed into the room and looked for the cookies. Each of the girls grabbed one of the cookies that were on the table and devoured them.
“Mmmm….these are awesome cookies!” Sarah exclaimed.
“I know. They are amazing!” Emily cried.
“Did they give us milk too?” Clara asked
“Um…I don’t think so,” Emma said, looking around, “But, I can go get some.”
“Okay, do you want me to come with you?” Emily asked.
“Sure, that would be great!”
The two girls grabbed some money and the room key and headed out the door.
As they made their way down to the lobby and to the small store in the hotel, they talked about school, the trip, and other things to pass the time. As soon as they entered the little store, Tokyo Shoppe, Emma saw him. The someone that she never wanted to see ever again. She froze at the entrance to the store.
Emily came up behind her and shook her shoulder, “Emma, what’s wrong?…oh…I see.” She said, spotting him.
Soon, Emma is pulled out of her thoughts and she whispers shakily, “Let’s get out of here Emily…we can get the milk from somewhere else.”
“No!” Emily retorts, “You have to face your fears someday. Come on, I’ll be right beside you the whole time.”
“Sorry, but I think I’ll just wait outside, you can get the milk.”
“Nope, I’m not going in if you don’t”
“But,-”
“But nothing, we are going in whether you like it or not,” And with that she dragged Emma inside the store. Emma tried to protest but she wasn’t able to because at that very moment, he turned at looked right at her.
June 2nd, 2008 at 12:12 am
Chapter 2
As soon as they made eye contact, it all came flooding back to Emma. All those memories that took years to bury them in the back of her mind. She was frozen where she was. He walking towards her and no matter how much she tried to force her legs to move, she stood there, unmoving.
“Hi there Emma, long time no see.”
“Um… yah sure.”
“What’s wrong, are you scared?”
At that comment, Emma came back to earth. “No, you jerk! I’m not scared, and if I were you, I would not be talking to me!”
“Oh and why is that? You don’t want to remember all the good times we’ve had?”
“That’s so far from the truth that you would probably be in Antarctica right now, you’re so cold.” Emily defended.
“Hey, Emma, do you want to walk with me back to our rooms?” He asked.
“You know what Billy, why don’t you just leave me alone.” And with that, Emma walked away, Emily trailing close behind.
The next day, the senior class went to Tokyo Disney. On the tram ride to the park, Emma and Emily told the others what happened at the store.
“I can’t believe your ex boyfriend would say that!” Clara exclaimed.
“Yeah, I know, he is so pathetic.” Sarah said.
“Just because you guys were in a relationship once, doesn’t mean he has the right to treat you however he wants. He’s a jerk!” Clara voiced.
“Thanks Clara, I think I’m just going to stay away from him this whole entire trip.” Emma replied.
“Yup, I think that would be best for both of you,” they all agreed with that.
After the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, the girls went on Splash Mountain. Emma didn’t want to get wet, so she waited at the exit for them. While waiting, someone came up and tapped her shoulder. She spun around to face the person. “Oh, it’s you!” she exclaimed.”
“Yes, it is me,” Billy replied. “Are you happy to see me?”
“You wish! Why are you here anyway?”
“Well…I was actually wondering if you wanted to go on Haunted Mansion with me.”
“In your dreams! I would never go on any ride with you.”
“But why, you used to like me didn’t you? Or was our relationship a lie?” He asked grabbing her arm to keep her from going away.
“I used to, but that was two years ago. I didn’t any more, so I broke up with you. LET ME GO!!” She replied and broke free. As soon as she said that, the other three girls came up to them and told him to go away.
“Fine, but, I’ll be back!” and he spat as he stomped away.
All throughout the day, whenever Emma was alone, Billy would always come up to her and try to get her to do something with him-just the two of them. And every time, she blew him off. The truth was that they went out in tenth grade, but then Emma liked someone else and she broke up with him. He started becoming very rough and abusive after that, and ever since, she had tried to keep her distance.
Just as they were about to leave, they stopped to watch the fireworks. For the tenth time that day, Billy came up to Emma, grabbed her hand and dragged her away trying to get her alone with him.
Unfortunately for him, she was able to scream, “Help!!” before he could do anything. The people nearby heard her and pulled Billy off of her. One man even called security. The Tokyo Disney security let Billy off with a warning and Emma was joined back with her friends.
June 2nd, 2008 at 2:17 am
Chapter 3
The next morning, they were off to Tokyo Disney again. This time the girls split up. Emma and Clara went together, and Sarah and Emily went together.
After Space Mountain however, Clara felt sick. Her stomach was aching badly. She even threw up twice. Emma thought she had food poisoning. Because of that, the two girls headed back to the hotel. Once they reached the hotel, Clara realized that they didn’t have any medicine in their room. She went to Tokyo Shoppe and Emma headed up to their room.
Throughout the day, Billy was stalking them. He followed them through the park and went on all the same rides and even followed them back to the hotel, trying to find the perfect opportunity to get Emma alone. He wanted to get his revenge for her breaking up with him. It was her turn. When the girls split up at the hotel lobby, he was in luck. He followed Emma up to her room.
Emma opened the door and set her bag down on the couch. She didn’t bother to lock it because Clara would be coming up in a couple minutes. She was hungry so she went into the kitchen to grab yesterday’s leftovers. As she grabbed them out of the fridge, she couldn’t help but feel a certain eerie chill go down her spine. She felt like she was being watched. She took out the Chinese food and emptied it out into a plate.
Then, suddenly, she heard the pitter patter of foot steps. She abruptly spun around and was shocked to see Billy standing there before her… pointing a gun to her face.
“Aaahhhh…” Emma yelped and her plate fell to the floor.
“Billy, wh…wh…what are you doing? Put the gun down!”
“Nice to see you too, Emma.”
“Billy, just listen to me for a sec-,” Emma was cut of by a BANG.
“Now it’s your turn, to feel the pain.”
“Ah..” Emma went down, clutching her left shoulder. He had actually shot her.
“I’ll end this once and for all today… just wait and see Emma,” he threatened.
Emma grabbed a steak knife from the counter and dove behind the island, adrenaline pulsing through her veins – masking the pain, as she tried to get away. As she ran, the blood poured out of her shoulder. She needed something to put over her wound. The closest thing she could grab was her pillow that was thrown haphazardly across the room that morning as the girls were getting ready. She clutched it to her wound as the pain started to make itself more evident every second.
She needed a place to hide. Her knuckles were turning white as she clutched the knife in her hand also. She ran down the hall searching for a place to conceal herself. Ahaa! The closet! Quickly, she stumbled to the closet and shut herself in. She left the sliding door open a crack so she could still see through it. It gave her a perfect view of the main room and the front door.
Meanwhile, Billy cursed under his breath as Emma dove behind the island, “Shoot!” he muttered. He walked around the island and found that Emma’s wound had left a blood trail. “This should be easy,” he hissed as he followed the trail.
It led him out of the kitchen and down the hall, past the bedroom, and then stopped. He continued to walk down the hall and into the main room. He paused just as he turned the corner into the main room and looked around.
Emma’s breath caught in her throat as Billy came to a stop just in front of the closet. Emma had to keep her moth covered to keep herself from screaming from the pain. Her shoulder was really hurting now. The throbbing threatening to take over.
At that moment, the front door opened and both Billy and Emma turned to see who it was. Clara froze as soon as she saw Billy and his gun. He raised the gun to her and said, “Don’t you dare move!”
No!! Emma thought. Don’t do it. This can’t happen! The pain started clouding her vision and she knew she had to do something fast.
Clara then made a huge mistake. “Where is Emma?” she asked, taking a step forward.
“I told you not to move. You’re going to pay…with your life!”
Just as he was about to shoot, Emma screamed, “NO!!” and she emerged from the closet and stabbing him multiple times. But she was too late, he had already fired the shot. Billy and Clara both collapsed on to the floor.
“No, Clara, don’t leave me!” Emma cried, staggering over to Clara. Sobbing, she bent over her best friend and tried to see if she was still alive. Emma could feel the adrenaline dying down and the pain coming back full force. Sobbing and breathless, she called 911.
EPILOGUE
The paramedics came within a couple of minutes and they found a dead girl, dead boy, and a girl barely holding on to life. They put the one that was still alive on a stretcher and rushed her down to the ambulance.
The nurses put an oxygen mask on her and hurried to the hospital. On the way, they were checking her vitals and trying to keep her alive.
Emma managed to whisper, barely clinging on to her last breath, “What happened to my friend?”
“I’m sorry,” one of the nurses said kindly, “But both your friends didn’t make it.”
And as the nurse said that, her heart rate flatlined.