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Build school spirit and raise importance of community service Encourage student participation in clubs and extra-curriculars Provide reliable local and school news and events Acknowledge and recognize student achievement Provide opportunities to develop personal & inter-personal skills

About USOUR MISSION

Spartans Speak is a community magazine run by students at North Surrey Secondary. The magazine is sponsored by Mrs. Cameron and Mrs. Hall and led by a department team of five. The current department heads are Michelle Chen, Tessa Morin, Amirah Wood, Sam Kirk, and Hannah Dodson. For a full list of our members and positions please check our table of contents page!

The club consists of 30 active members. We have approximately 45 total members including contributors, free-lancers, and student reporters. We hope to expand our reach farther into the community this coming school year, so if you are interested in being part of the Spartans Speak team, contact us through our support email.

To date, we have published three editions. While there are no more additional physical copies available, we will be uploading PDF versions of our magazines online on our website soon. As always, like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter for up to date news and announcements regarding Spartans Speak and North Surrey Secondary!

ABOUT US

SUPPORT/FEEDBACKsupport@spartanspeak.ca

SUBMISSIONSwriters@spartanspeak.ca

TWITTER ACCOUNTtwitter.com/spartanspeak

FACEBOOK PAGEfacebook.com/spartanspeak

OFFICIAL WEBSITEspartanspeak.ca

CONTACT US

GENERAL MEETINGSWednesday lunch, Room 222

WRITING DEPARTMENTWednesday lunch, Room 222

EDITING DEPARTMENTThursday lunch, Room 222

MEETINGS

WHAT DO I DO?

Simply send us your best shots of the season or the writing that you’re most proud of, to our support email by November 20th.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?

All winners for writing and photography categories will have their work published and $10 - $25 gift cards will be awarded.

FOR MORE RULES PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE. SCHOOL

RULES STILL APPLY.

CONTEST ALERT!

Spartans Speak is hosting its summer and autumn writing and photography contest and we want you to be part of it!

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MEETINGS

FOREWORD

SPARTANS SPEAK IS BACKagain this school year, and we’re coming into September with a few changes up our sleeves. Not only did we make our approach to submissions and deadlines more streamlined, we’ve also changed from publishing bimonthly to monthly. This means that we’ve reduced the number of pages per edition by half, but increased overall the number of publications for this year. Rest assured though, we will have exciting new articles that couldn’t quite make it into our publications on our website.

WHILE WE ARE ON THE TOPIC OFour website, past and future publications will be available, in a short while, in PDF format for online viewing and sharing. All our upcoming meeting dates are listed on our website as well, along with a polling feature so we can efficiently obtain feedback and much more from our readers! As always, our support e-mail is open for any feedback and suggestions related to Spartans Speak.

I WELCOME BACK ALL OUR members and extend a greeting to our new members of the team. I also welcome our new assistants-in-training. They will undergo a rigorous training program, which will prepare them to take on administrative and department head roles once the current heads, myself included, graduate from high school. This passing of roles will take place later on this year, after evaluations and decisions have been made; as such, I am very eager to work with our future replacements. I know we will be thrilled when the time comes to announce the new team who will be taking over management of Spartans Speak!

CHANGE IS IN THE AIR, IT’S NOT just Spartans Speak that is undergoing changes; North Surrey too, has changed much over the summer, and I think we can all agree on that. There’s a new bell schedule. There’s an improved library space. There’s a brand new school website, which

many teachers have started using for their classes. The school is trying to go paper-less this year, with more emphasis on technology usage. There’s more focus on personalized learning. Briefly, all these changes make me think back to last year, when Spartans Speak interviewed Mr. Puri for the June edition. He said to us then that “as much as we feel comfortable doing things the way we’ve always done… it’s not a bad thing to come outside the comfort zone and embrace the change that’s out there.”

WITH THIS SAID, I’M SURE THE 2012 / 2013 school year will be spectacular. I’m delighted to be part of this year’s graduating class. I’m even more delighted to be able to work with everyone at Spartans Speak, meeting our new members and training our assistants.

Let’s make 2012 – 2013 the year!

MICHELLE CHENSPARTANS SPEAK PRESIDENT

WHAT’S NEW AT SPARTANS SPEAK?WE’RE BACK AGAIN.

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ABOUT US p.2FOREWORD - Michelle Chen p.3 CLUB LISTING - Arthur Chen p.5

Content

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TEAM LISTING

General Information

AN INTERVIEW WITH MME. CROWE - Sukhdip Gill p.6

Interviews

THE JOURNEY OF LIFE - Laveniya Kugathasan p.9IS IT REALLY, DESTINY? - Rachel Wang p.11THUMP, CREAK - Devyn Bohun p.12 DELETED - Henry Guo p.13

Short Stories

FEAR - John Yang p.7 THE SUGAR SURGE - Chris Huynh p.8

Articles

EntertainmentHALLOWEEN MAKE-UP EFFECTS- Tessa Morin p.14HALLOWEEN FILM FEATURE - Mikela Fong p.15HALLOWEEN COSTUME IDEAS - Tessa Morin p.16GANGNAM STYLE - Richard Sun and Cindy Le p.16VANCOUVER FASHION WEEK - Aron Wong p.18

DIRECTORSMichelle Chen (Design)

Sam Kirk (Public Relations)Tessa Morin (Writing)

Amirah Wood (Editing)Hannah Dodson (Treasurer)

WRITERS

Chris HuynhDevyn BohunRichard SunRachel Wang

Jennifer LeJenny HeCindy Le

Michael SalloumHenry Guo

Sukhdip GillAron WongMikela Fong

Laveniya KugathasanPeter Deng

Bailey LawrenceAjit Joseph

Heewon Oh

EDITORS Aleema Khan

Eric JangJohn Yang

Amita Mahey Nancy Nguyen

DESIGNERS

Franklin Leung Khoa NguyenDean Kwon

Celina ChangVirginia Chang

Aaron HoKatie Ho

Nourhan SalehJulianna Menezes

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Oh September, that funny month.

At North Surrey it is the month of many starts and startling new things. For one thing, the end of summer has brought us a new tide of

rookie Grade 8’s. Most importantly, September means that it is time to start working again and to begin studying and learning to face new challenges. But North Surrey is not all about the academics; we have

a wide variety of clubs, teams, and groups here at school - ones that take school spirit and learning beyond the classroom level.

ARTHUR CHEN

CLUBS AND SOCIETIES

clubs listGET INVOLVED @ NORTH SURREY:

SPARTANS OF SOCIETY (SOS)

S.O.S. is the Interact Club of North Surrey and works with the local Rotary. This club is great for those who want to give back to the community, help the less fortunate, learn leadership skills, and complete volunteer work.

HARMONY IN ACTION (HIA)

While S.O.S. targets the community, Harmony in Action works to support the many unfortunate individuals in the world. This club runs various events (such as the 30 Hour Famine) to raise awareness and funds for the needy people of the Earth, who often do not have access to the most basic resources. CAR CLUB

Members of this club modify cars and race them in competitions against other schools and clubs. More information is needed about Car Club, so if you are a member or the sponsor teacher, please contact us at support@spartanspeak.ca.

PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB

Have an interest in capturing the perfect moments? Then join the Photography Club! Join fellow aspiring photographers to learn many tricks of the trade and essential photographing skills.

SPARTANS SPEAK MAGAZINE

That’s us! Spartans Speak is North Surrey’s very own magazine. Write, edit, and design for the school magazine! This club is open to people of all sorts - you do not have to be a good writer or designer to join the club - you only need a passion and interest to learn!

ENVIRONMENTAL CLUB

The Environmental Club, as its name suggests, aims to improve the environment in the local area. From battery drives to environmental bake sales, this group is ideal for those who wish to improve the environment around us.

MATH CLUB

Lovers of math - rejoice! The North Surrey Secondary Math Club is the place for all those who have interest in Math. The Math Club teaches many mathematical tricks and also helps prepare individuals for math competitions, such as the Gauss and Pascal.

NS STAND STRONG

Stand Strong is a bullying-prevention team that works to create a safe and bully-free environment at North Surrey Secondary. They often do presentations to classes to educate students on the effects of bullying.

GRAD COUNCIL

Grade 12 students, unite! Grad Council plans, organizes, and holds many fundraisers throughout the year including car washes, cake walks, and bottle drives. These funds go towards graduation event costs and fees.

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Q: HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TEACHING AT NORTH SURREY?

Mme Crowe: For thirty three years.

Q: HAVE YOU BEEN OR TAUGHT IN A FRENCH SPEAKING COUNTRY?

Mme Crowe: I lived for two years in Ivory Coast West Africa, which is a French speaking country. I taught English to French speaking students.

Q: WHAT DO YOU FIND DIFFERENT [IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM] BETWEEN IVORY COAST AND CANADA?

Mme Crowe: Ivory Coast follows the French school system. The students take a lot more subjects at one time and they have to pass a lot more standard exams. It is not

uncommon for a student to fail in the French school system. Many of my students were retaking English for the second or third. The Canadian system is far more supportive of each individual student.

Q: WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ABOUT THE COMMON PHRASE THAT “FRENCH IS HARD?”

Mme Crowe: French has to be learned step by step. If the class

is structured, if a student practices every day, French should not be hard.

Q: HOW DO YOU THINK THE TEACHING OF FRENCH HAS EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS?

Mme Crowe: In French, we focus on speaking more than on writing. We have developed many techniques for teaching oral French. What I would like to see as education evolves in our province is a balance between the continued personal interaction with the teacher and the use of technology.”_______________________________

You can view the interview in its entirety along with our past interviews and features on our

website at spartanspeak.ca.

AN INTERVIEW WITH MME. CROWE

INTERVIEWSUKHDIP GILL:

REACH FOR THE TOP

Reach for the Top is a Canadian trivia game in which information from a broad range of topics is tested. This club is very competitive and attends a provincial tournament once a year.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

IF WE HAVE MISSED YOUR CLUB, please email us at support@spartanspeak.ca with information and we’ll add yours to our extensive list of clubs. This list is based off on last year’s selection of clubs - this is just a quick list to get you started to participating in extra-curriculars and exploring new opportunities.

STUDENT COUNCIL

North Surrey’s Student Council plans and runs many school events including the ultra-popular school dances (current organizers of INSOMNIA) and Spirit Week!

MODEL UNITED NATIONS

Model United Nation members attend conferences and represent countries all around the world. They debate about global issues and policies, and take classroom knowledge to a whole new level.

“THE [IVORY COAST] STUDENTS TAKE A

LOT MORE SUBJECTS AT ONE TIME AND

HAVE TO PASS MORE STANDARD EXAMS.”

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YOU’RE STANDING ON TOP OF A skyscraper. You step closer and closer to the edge and take a glance at what lies below you. As you stand on the thin line between the steady roof and the two hundred and fifty metre drop, you feel a heavy burden on your chest. You lift your foot off the ground and onto the space right in front of you. At that moment, this feeling in your chest overtakes you and immediately pulls you back. What is this feeling you ask? This is the emotion that watches over your life, the safety button in your body, known as fear. WHAT IS FEAR? AS MOST PEOPLEknow, fear is an emotion, an emotion that triggers a “warning” system within your brain. Fear is a survival instinct that nearly all living organisms share, which tells the body that you are in danger and to take appropriate precautions. For example, after watching horror movies based around clowns, you might develop a fear of clowns and tend to stay away from them in the future. Fear is what triggers the “fight or flight” choice, which decides whether you would stay and fight what is causing the fear or to rather run in order to survive. When prey encounters a predator, fear is what tells the prey to hide or run if it knows that it cannot fight its natural enemy. There are many other fear responses that mankind has developed throughout history, such as increasing adrenaline in our body

to increase your strength and speed, and widening the eyes so that you can better see your attacker. These responses occur instantaneously and do so to protect your life. YOU MAY BE WONDERING WHATcreates fear in the first place. Are we naturally born with knowledge in our brain that tells us what and what not to be afraid of? Not really, as fear is more likely formed by the environment in which one lives. It can easily be influenced by another person.

Theoretically, fear is something that can be “learned” through our past experiences or someone else’s. After a disturbing accident, it is highly possible that the person will be subject to the growth of a phobia (fear of something). It does not matter if we are even involved in the accident; as long as you have at least seen the fear in others. Although people do not like to be scared, fear is what sustains life. Without fear, the human population would have faced extinction.

JUST AS MUCH AS FEAR IS GOOD for us, it can be equally bad. Through fear, we proceed to act (fight or flight), but extreme cases of terror freeze up the body instead of moving away from the cause of our fear. The body comes to a state of paralysis during the initial adrenaline response in which we stay still so that we can avoid detection from enemies that could possibly be drawn to movement. An example of this would be when you cross the road and see a large truck coming at you. Instantly, the body freezes up because of the sheer size of the threat.Nowadays, that one second that you fail to take action could easily cost you your life. WITH MANY FEARS PRESENT INthe world today, one must keep in mind that our worries are actually evolutionary traits which we are lucky to have. In a sense, we must keep our fear in good shape so that we can distinguish between the safe and dangerous decisions. We should not be discouraged by fear and instead be proud that our brain is looking out for us. We strongly live on and flourish in life thanks to the emotion that we so closely relate with negativity.

_______________________________ JOHN YANG

ARTICLE

“FEAR IS WHAT TRIGGERS ‘THE FIGHT OR FLIGHT’ CHOICE.”

“FEAR ... WATCHES OVER YOUR LIFE.”

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WHAT IF THE SWEET SUGAR OUR world loves so much is secretly a spoonful of a slow and subtle death? The question is no longer “what if”, but “why” as the statement has been confirmed by many natural health and nutrition specialists worldwide. A primary component of sugar called fructose is undeniably one the most harmful and commonly consumed molecules in the common diet, responsible for many diseases suffered throughout the lives of adults, teens, and especially children. To a majority of the population, sugar is the biggest health threat of the common diet.

FEW DIFFERENCES EXISTbetween drinking alcohol and eating excessive amounts of sugar. Alcohol can metabolize in the brain and thus poison the judgement of people who consume it; other than this difference, there are no more differences between the two. The fructose component of sugar can only be metabolized by the liver, and too much can cause liver failure due to a toxic overload. Much like how drinking causes an addiction, fructose can inhibit one’s satiety hormones, making this person unable to satisfy appetite even after having eaten enough. Specifically, fructose will cause cells of the body to rapidly burn their energy molecules, starving them of the energy required to perform cell functions and as a result they simply die off. As many cells in the body die, their genetic material

breaks down to form uric acid. The end result of this is increased blood pressure, and a higher risk of having a heart attack.

SUGAR IS FOUND VIRTUALLYeverywhere and is in almost everything we eat. All processed goods such as packaged foods, fast food items, sodas, any type of candy, and even things not intended to be sweet, contain sugar in the form of high fructose corn syrup. It’s true that

sugar is incredibly difficult to avoid in today’s food unless people constantly monitor their nutrition labels. The limit on daily intake recommended by Dr. Mercola, a natural health expert, is to “keep the total sugar consumption below 50 grams per day.” This is quite a shock considering how easy it is to go over the limit of the “recommended” amount of sugar per day; people should make an effort towards reducing their sugar intake. Even

fruits should be moderated as they contain many naturally occurring sugars. Of course, fruits are not nearly as bad to eat since they contain many nutrients and antioxidants to negate the harmful effects of fructose.

AS WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUTour health on a regular basis, it’s crucial that we are not fooled by the common propaganda implemented throughout advertisements, “common knowledge”, and perpetuated statements. Some people may view sugar as a “source of energy” because it contains glucose. This is true to an extent; however, sugar may give a short boost of energy, but it is a very inefficient way to get energy. The boost does not last long and could be replaced in every aspect by complex carbohydrates such as brown rice, grain spaghetti, and whole grain breads. However, relying on carbohydrates for energy is not the best thing to do because glucose is metabolized more during intense activity, not regular everyday tasks...

_______________________________ CHRIS HUYNH

Sports and Health writer Chris Huynh tackles the issue of the dangers of sugar, right in time for Halloween. The full article can be found under “Editorials” and “Health” on our website at spartanspeak.ca.

article

THE SUGAR SURGE

“NATURAL HEALTH

EXPERT DR. MERCOLA ADVISES ONE TO

KEEP TOTAL SUGAR CONSUMPTION BELOW

50 GRAMS PER DAY.”

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As I slowly rot away, I think about my life and how rapidly it had gone by. I still remember being a kid, having fun with my mates with no care for my future. However, all I can think about now is my past. I realize that I will die soon, but for some reason, it does not bother me anymore. I feel satisfied, as if I have just completed an invisible checklist. I am now ready to die, and I start reliving all my memories.

The life of a youngster is so simple. We have nothing to do except grow; grow round and large! However, the older we became, the more mature we were. We were curious about our futures. There was no one to tell us what would happen; all we had were stories about how some of the older ones rotted to death just because they grew ugly and weren’t round or large. My favourite older brother, who is very handsome, told me that I needed the right amount of nutrients and sunlight to grow up to be perfect. As the days went by, I grew and grew, yet I never knew how I looked like. I would ask the others to get their opinions, but they would only say I looked fine. However, I always had a doubt that maybe my siblings were just trying to comfort me.

One morning, in the beginning of autumn, I woke up to the sound of leaves crunching. The ground was trembling. At first, I thought it was a squirrel, but then I realized squirrels were too light to make the ground tremble. I looked up and saw a gigantic creature moving clumsily around us, inspecting us with its beady eyes. I became nervous, wondering if he was going to eat us all. But my handsome brother told me not to worry. The creature was going to take the best of the best away for adoption. Brother had said that adoption was where the creatures took us away and decorated us for the fall. We would be set alight and we would be the center of attention of all those creatures passing by. Just hearing Brother say that had given me a warm, tingly feeling. I felt the urge to be picked; I craved for the attention. As I sat up straight and tried to look my best, I wondered what would happen if I was not picked. As I was about to ask Brother, he was picked up by the creature and was moved to a box on the road. The creature came back and examined some more. It looked like it was about to leave and I had an uneasy feeling that I was too repulsive to be picked. I started daydreaming about all how I would become the old grandpa who had never been picked and the younger ones would tease me of my appearance. As I began to snivel, I was suddenly lifted off the ground. The creature had chosen me! I looked around at my other siblings and they all wished me luck for my journey ahead. The creature cut my roots and it stung a bit, but I did not pay attention to the pain. I was just glad I was picked.

The creature dropped me harshly into the box along with Brother and some other cousins that I did not know very well. I looked at Brother, waiting for him to say something, but he just looked plainly at me, unsurprised. I started to worry that Brother was mad at me, so I asked, timidly, if he was not glad to see me.

“Of course I’m glad to see you. I knew you would be chosen anyways. You’re the most beautiful one out on our farm!” he replied. I was shocked.

THE JOURNEY OF LIFE

stories

BY LAVENIYA KUGATHASAN

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“Everyone had always told me I was fine exasperatedly, as if they were trying to hide the fact that I was revolting.”

“They were jealous,” Brother said simply. With that, the conversation ended and I thought to myself about my adventure ahead as the box moved forward along the long path.

After many hours, the box came to a complete stop. The creature came back with other similar looking creatures and they started carrying us away. We were set down into another box, but open this time, and the creatures then left. As I speculated at my surroundings, creatures of various sizes came to peer into the boxes, and stared at each one of us. Two small creatures pointed at Brother and made loud strange noises. I looked at Brother, but he had a mournful look in his eyes. I asked Brother what was bothering him and in reply he said, “The creatures will soon take me away and we will be separated.” I wonder how he knew, but of course, Brother was always very smart. As he had predicted, the small creatures struggled to pick up Brother. “Farewell little brother. It is highly unlikely that we will ever meet again.” Brother looks away and continues to speak. “I will never forget you young one. You have been a true brother and no one can replace you.” Brother looked me in the eye one last time, “Goodbye” he said, and before I could have thought of anything to say, Brother was gone.

I continued to replay the moment with Brother repeatedly in my head. I never knew Brother loved me as much as I loved him. It touched my heart that all along, someone had cared for me. As I was lost in my thoughts, creatures peered at me and left and I did not take any notice. I lied there, deeply in thought about sentimental values and after a short while, I see myself on a creature’s lap moving quickly on a path like before. However, this time I could look outside and it was startling to see where I was. The area was crowded with structures of various sizes. Everything was so hectic, opposite of the farm I lived in before. I looked back at the creatures inside and it began to stroke me, making weird high pitch noises. The other creature in the front said something back in a much lower voice. It almost looked as if they were connecting with each other by saying all this gibberish. I listened, and watched them peculiarly as they continued with their conversation.

Soon, we arrived to a box that looked so big and complex. This was where the creatures probably lived. The creatures carried me inside, set me on a cold surface high above the ground and pulled out very sharp tools. They started cutting pieces of me and I was terrified. Every time they stabbed me, I screamed but the creatures pretended not to hear me and kept cutting and pulling out my insides. I braced myself thinking that life was over.

After some time, the pain stopped. I was still alive and I wondered why I had not died yet. The creatures were standing, with their hands together and were baring their teeth at me. I winced, thinking that they were going to eat me. Instead, they alighted me, just as Brother had told me, and placed me outside. It was very dark outside so I seemed to illuminate the night sky. There was a piece of metal where I could see my reflection in and I was astounded. I looked beautiful. My shape and skin tone was better than anything I had imagined. Brother had not lied; I was beautiful. The creatures had cut out different shapes in me and though the holes, I was glowing, glowing glorious and proud. The younger creatures gasped as walked past me and pointed so the others would see. They admired my looks and giggled in excitement. As each creature passed me, I felt majestic and magnificent as if I was on top of the world.

What more could a pumpkin wish for?

“ONE MORNING, IN THE BEGINNING OF AUTUMN, I WOKE UP TO THE SOUND OF

LEAVES CRUNCHING.”

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I first saw her through a windowpane. That was the first of many thoughts. Thoughts that I had never had before. I didn’t mean that I was in love. I suppose I could have been, but it didn’t play out that way. In that first moment, I just saw her.

She was standing at the end of an aisle, leaning against the bookshelf, holding a book, reading it. One hand was clutching a bag slung over her shoulder. Her knuckles were white against the dark fabric, making me briefly wonder what book that this girl who had caught my attention must be reading. But that was before I saw her hair. Long, red tendrils reached down her back and curled slightly around a dainty, pale face. They danced and swayed as she read her book, and it may have just been reflected light, but there was a golden halo around her. She was a candle flame that flickered inside me. A voice automatically formed lyrics inside my head. Shaking off the stupor that had come over me, I went to her.

I had never really meant to go into the bookstore. My intention had been the bank across the street. Only that was a lie. My intention seemed always to have been this redheaded figure. But what was the point in leaving, now that I was here?I pretended to be examining all the books one by one, as if there was no other purpose in me coming to this bookstore. Walking up one aisle, and down the under, my shuffling finally brought me to where she was standing. I cleared my throat, wondering why it suddenly felt so dry. She looked up from her book - at long last - and said, “Sorry,” and sidestepped past me in the narrow aisle to stand on my other side. Well, I supposed it was a comfort knowing that I was good at acting; she thought I wanted to look at books!

I tried again, “Excuse me, what book are you reading?”

She glanced up, and replied, “Oh, I’m not entirely sure, I found it on this shelf and it looked rather interesting.” Hastily, and somewhat reluctantly, she closed the book and pushed back onto the shelf.

“Oh. That’s cool. So you like books?” I wanted to hit myself right now.

“Erm, yeah, I’m studying English – because I want to be a writer later on.”

“Writer? Wow, that’s pretty hard, eh? I’m studying music here.”

“Oh, at the university, right? Me too! I’ll probably see you on campus sometime.”

“Yeah, that’d be really nice. I’d like that. Umm . . . I mean, well . . .”

She started heading towards the door, seemingly not noticing my strange behavior. “Well, see you around.”

I didn’t have anything else to do, having paid for my book, so awkwardly left the store. Thoughts of her drifted throughout my mind the rest of the day. My colleagues at the music studio told me I was on fire today coming up with lyrics. They didn’t know just how accurate they were. It was as I was driving home, when I turned on the radio.

IS IT REALLY, DESTINY?

stories

BY RACHEL WANG

12

“And the police are looking into the death of a young female victim who died in a car crash. It was a hit-and-run case at approximately 11:00 this morning. Witnesses are wanted concerning the death of the young lady who remains unidentified as of now. She is a Caucasian female around 20, weighing 125 pounds and 5 feet 4 ½ inches tall. She has long red hair and . . .” but I wasn’t listening anymore.

The next day, I went back to the bookstore. I can’t say I know why. The cashier regarded me warily – did she think that I had anything to do with her? I paid no attention to her stare and headed instead to the aisle where I had seen her through the window. I walked slowly past the books with my finger brushing the spines of all the books; when I reached the exact spot where we had been standing yesterday, I stopped. My finger landed on the book I recognized as the one she had been reading yesterday. It was titled Destiny.

Thump. Creak. Thump. Creak.

You had been lying in the centre of your bed, frozen, for what seemed like hours. The deafening ticking of your wall clock pierced through the eerie emptiness of the night, accompanied by the creak and moan of trees leaning with the wind outside your window. Beneath those constant hums crawled the odd sound that slithered down the hall and under your door to expand within your room, brushing its cold fingers against the back of your neck.

It had started nearly an hour ago, the unusual sounds beginning as slow, rhythmic scratches on your window. You had forced your eyes shut, and worked to convince yourself that it was merely the wind playing tricks on you. After several drawn out moments, the scraping stopped. However, just as you were beginning to nestle yourself into a comfortable position between your mattress and comforters it started again, though this time the soft, strange scratching started at the very end of the hallway. Slowly but surely it moved forward, a soft thud now accompanying it as if someone in heavy boots was attempting to creep across the aging wooden panels of the hallway floor. The scratching hesitated long enough for you to overhear the slow groan of your brother’s door opening, and consequentially the shrill squeaking of its hinges as whatever was moving outside closed the door behind it. Like an itchy blanket, the uncomfortable silence fell over the house again; it wrapped itself around you, pricking your skin with its ragged threads, encouraging the hair along your arms and neck to stand on end.

Time and the ticking of your clock stretched on, the odd, unnatural sound barely making it passed the wood of your brother’s door. You kept your eyes squeezed stubbornly shut, as the familiar squeak and groan of the door at the end of the hall reopened and closed. Thud. Scratch. Thud. Another door -- the door of your parents’ room, you realized -- slowly creaked open, and once again, the perpetrator gently closed the door behind them. More unrecognizable sounds, though in between those clips of strange noises you swore you heard restrained gasps and crying.

The minutes passed, the seconds creeping along like waves, pushing forward and then receding coyly as if they didn’t want their presence in the house noticed anymore than you did. However, just as predictably as the ragged movements of the pointed hands on your clock, the sounds stopped. The opening and closing of your parents’ bedroom door sounded, and the scratching and footsteps started forward again. They stalked pointedly toward the next door along the hall. Your door...

____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Read the complete story on spartanspeak.ca!

preview THUMP, CREAK.BY DEVYN BOHUN

BY HENRY GUO

13

A chilling draft of air blew through the rusted window, causing Tommy to shiver. The room was dark and the only source of light came from the flickering screen of the computer monitor. “Soon,” thought Tommy, “it will be time soon enough.” A few minutes later, his alarm clock started buzzing, flashing 8:00. Minimizing his school assignments, Tommy moved his cursor to the familiar icon depicting a decomposed skull, surrounded by a ring of fire. Clicking on it would lead to another world called Pyrelands: Jewel Bead Edition, a role-playing video game with swords, shields, violence, and monsters, every male adolescent’s dream. The Halloween event was starting soon and Tommy wanted to be the first to get into the new action. While the game was booting, he hooked up his headset and turned on his voice communication client. Shortly after, he was in the game.

“Hey guys, you there?” he whispered towards the screen. Familiar voices chattered into his ears. “Heyo there, Tommy, we’re just doing a raid, you want to come along?” Seamus, his new friend since he started high school, was the one who had introduced the game to him. “Sure,” Tommy replied with a smile, “I’ll be there in a second.”

Hours passed as the party of friends raided, slew large monsters, and grabbed treasures. “Phew, alright guys, next boss, get ready.” Tommy led the way into the next boss room, but the gate instantly slammed shut, separating him from the rest of the group. “What happened… how’d your friend get over there…?” Voices flooded the speakers, and everybody was trying to figure out what was going on. “Hello? Seamus?” Tommy tried to hear his friend among all of the voices, but could not differentiate who was speaking. Suddenly, the voice client crashed, cutting off Tommy into complete silence, and all of the walls around the room turned pitch black. Tommy tried to read the server name, but it was a jumbled mix of numbers and letters. “It must be a glitch with the game,” Tommy thought. He clicked the exit button, planning to contact support, but the game simply did not close.

“Great, I’m stuck in this hellhole.”

Just as he was about to go to the bathroom, a strange exclamation mark appeared in the dark. Tommy’s eyes widened. “Perhaps this is just part of the Halloween event.” Slowly, he sat back down and braced himself for the excitement. Moving his mouse cursor to the exclamation mark, he clicked it, and a speech bubble popped out. “D13.” were the only characters that appeared. Puzzled, Tommy tried to decipher any other hidden clues around the speech bubble, but could find none. Squinting at the screen, he traced the line where the bubble had come from. It shot into the darkness, where he finally saw it. A skull, perfectly outlined, was hiding in the background. As Tommy stared at it longer, he could have sworn he saw its eyes glow red. Sweat dripped down the side of his head as he wondered what it meant.

All of a sudden, his laptop shut down and the power bar sparked, almost igniting the carpet. Tommy cursed under his breath; the stupid outlet was always acting up. Thankfully, he had been pulled out of his trance. Looking over at his alarm clock, he saw flashing numbers: 1:30 AM. “And there’s school tomorrow.” He jumped into bed, not bothering to shower, before closing his eyes for a restless sleep.

An endless hallway of steel doors was standing in Tommy’s way. He brushed the cobwebs out of the way and walked to the first door on his left. Hesitantly, he placed his hand on the doorknob and thought about what was lying on the other side. Tommy pushed the door open slowly, but all he saw was the same darkness he saw on Pyrelands. Drip. Drip. Drip. Staring at the ground, he saw a puddle of red liquid spreading at his feet. “Is that blood?” he thought. Looking back down at the puddle, only his face was reflected back at him. But there was something behind him. Tommy couldn’t even scream in time before the creature engulfed him.

stories DELETEDBY HENRY GUO

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“Augh!” he woke up screaming in class, looking around to see everybody staring at him and then roaring with laughter. Seamus stared suspiciously at him, a worried look on his face. Tommy clutched his head in his hands, too embarrassed to look up. For some strange reason, the crackle of static flooded his mind and he had an intense migraine. When he finally mustered up the courage to lift his head, he was met with the glare of Mr. Burt, pointing towards the principal’s office. After school, Seamus met up with him, the same look on his face.

“Dude, what happened last night? You randomly disconnected for no reason, somethin’ happen with your dad again?” Tommy looked annoyed, “Just because my dad’s an alcoholic doesn’t mean you can talk about him that way.” Tommy started to feel anger rising, “Man, why are you so stuck up? Why did you even show me that game in the first place?”

He stormed off in one direction. He knew there were problems at home. His dad was never at home, and when he was, he was usually unconscious or horribly violent. Tommy couldn’t do anything about it, for fear of being yelled at. That was the reason he kept cooped up in his room playing video games; they were the only means of salvation in his world. And now he had thrown away one of the only friends he had, not to mention the freaky glitch with the game that had been bothering him all class. What a great day. Arriving home, Tommy looked around. His dad was nowhere in sight, something to be happy about. He entered his room, lazily threw his books against the wall, and booted up his laptop. Falling on to his computer chair, he decided to finish some assignments, anything to take his mind off the game. After half an hour trying to brainstorm some ideas for an essay, he couldn’t think of anything. The migraine pounded in his head and the crackling of static persisted.

“Maybe it might be better to take a break,” he thought as he moved his mouse over to Pyrelands again. Should he risk playing again? His hand stroked the mouse button, contemplating what to do next. “It was just a video game, nothing could go wrong,” he thought as he entered the game once more. The ominous Halloween event music rang through his speakers as he typed in his credentials. After pressing the enter key he smiled as he thought of the gold and treasures to be found, but as the loading screen disappeared, what awaited him was terrifying. Darkness flooded his screen. A hulking iron gate behind him separated his character from the rest of the world. Only a narrow corridor lay ahead, with doors on both the left and right sides. Tommy’s hands trembled in fear, his face frozen with terror. Somehow, his dreams had been transported into the game, and he had no idea how. At least the static had stopped ringing in his ears. He stepped forward into the same red puddle he had in the dream, except now, he could actually feel the cold and wet sensation on his foot. His character brushed against the wall, and Tommy winced as pain ran through his shoulder.

What was going on? It was almost as if events in the game were linked to his body, so whatever happened to his character happened in reality. Paranoia swarmed into his thoughts. What would happen if I were to die? Tommy’s heart started to panic, and he broke out in a cold sweat. I need to survive. I need to survive. He kept this thought at heart as he commanded the character to keep running. If the game was going to play out like his dream, the beast would come soon. He took out his sword and shield, feeling the weight of the objects pressuring his hands. Not a minute sooner, a familiar roar rang down the corridor. Readying his sword, Tommy spun his character around, prepared for any attack. A goblin came barreling towards him, club brandished in hand. A notification from Seamus prevented him from striking with perfect timing, and his stomach was met with the full force of the club. Tommy was on the ground, almost at the brink of fainting. As he lay helpless on the ground, all he could do was watch as his character was crushed, along with himself. All of a sudden, the golem stopped as it walked away. Tommy could not see what had caused it to leave, but he knew he would be thanking them later. As the shadow approached, Tommy was at ease. All of a sudden, pain surged through his chest and he could feel himself lose consciousness. The last thing he saw was a bloody dagger in his character, beside a floating skull with glowing red eyes...

HALLOWEEN SPECIAL EFFECTS AND MAKEUP TIP:

Want to creep your friends out this year, or make the little kids scream at the very sight of you? Here are a few tips and tricks you can use to help you accomplish that freaky effect, or just to help you improve the realism of your costume in general. The full list can be found on Spartans Speak’s website, so check it out for more tips and tricks!

BRUISES Bruises are an easy and effective way to help spruce up a costume. Use an eyeshadow palette containing dark purple (reddish-tinged is best), black, brown, and dark blue.

FOR MORE TIPS, VISIT

OUR WEBSITE ATSPARTANSPEAK.CA_________________BY TESSA MORIN

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when the vampires sharpen their fangs, the werewolves practice their daunting howls, the dolls plays tricks and the monsters come out to play. Halloween is the night where any type of pranking is a free for all, and when it comes to playing pranks on people you never quite know what to expect! Beyond someone dressing up in a frightening costume and trying to scare you, what is the scariest part about Halloween?

SCARY MOVIES OF COURSE! Halloween would not be as popular-or frankly that entertaining if it weren’t for the feature films that come out every year based on various different scary stories. The history of Halloween itself is dark, mysterious, and extremely strange. We all can recall the very well-known and popular Halloween films such as “Freddy vs. Jason”, “Night on Elm Street”, “House of Wax”, “Edward Scissorhands”, and you can’t forget the “Ghost Busters”! Though these films are definitely Halloween classics, they don’t exactly fit the “I-don’t-think-I’ll-be-able-to-sleep-tonight” category.

HOWEVER, OVER THE YEARS OF watching several different types of horror and gore films have I come across a movie with not only a creative story line, but chilling characters and just the right amount of freakiness in it. Not to mention this movie will not only make you think but you will also find yourself holding your breath. This horror film was distributed

by Lions Gate Entertainment and produced by Twisted Pictures that consists of seven full films. This series is famous for the intricate background of the main fictional character John Kramer, also called the “Jigsaw Killer” or just “Jigsaw”. This series is called SAW.

JIGSAW IS UNDENIABLY A VERY disturbed serial killer but what makes his story so compelling is the fact that rather than killing his victims outright, he kidnaps them and traps them into situations that he likes to call “games” or “tests”. These series of obstacles that Jigsaw has created are put in place to test the victims will to live through psychological and physical torture. Jigsaw picks every victim for a reason and no person who gets selected is by accident. Each person that has been chosen to participate in John Kramer’s sick game has been watched whether they are aware of it or not. This is the variable that Jigsaw controls believing that God has not been doing a quality job of judging people: leaving the unworthy on Earth and taking those deserving of life.

THAT IS HOW HE CAME WITH THEidea that he would assist in meeting justice face to face or rather his victims would. John Kramer’s story is quite fascinating in the sense that he was a successful civil engineer and devoted husband to his wife Jill Tuck who opened a rehab clinic for drug addicts. It was an eternal love story until the

news of the death of his wife’s unborn baby, Gideon, the result of the cruel actions of one of the drug addicts who attended Jill’s clinic.

JOHN GRIEVED IMMENSELY after the death of his baby and dissociated himself with his friends and his wife. They drifted apart and eventually got divorced; this was abruptly before Mr. Kramer was diagnosed with inoperable cancer. Jigsaw became bitter after the series of unfortunate events that his life consisted of and began observing how ignorantly others were living. He was perplexed at how people could be so selfish taking the gift of life for granted that he had been denied. He became depressed and attempted suicide by driving his car off a cliff; however he survived and thought there was a complex reason for why he had.

HE CAME TO THE CONCLUSIONthat he had been ‘reborn’ and realized the only way for someone to change his ways was to change himself. His first trap was for Cecil, the washed out drug addict responsible for the death of his child. After this first test he decided that he would use the rest of the time he had left to live to create more “games” as a form of “instant rehabilitation” that he thought would change humanity forever. A part of his legacy was the name “Jigsaw.” This became because he removed a puzzle-piece-shaped chunk of flesh from each of the victims who were not able

IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN,

FILM FEATUREBY MIKELA FONG

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to escape his traps. Jigsaw declared that this name was not designed by him but by the media; he acclaimed that the skin grafting was meant to symbolize what the person was missing what he called “survival instinct”.

A LIMITED NUMBER OF JIGSAW’Svictims were able to survive his psychotic mechanical and meticulously engineered contraptions,

which were ironically meant to represent the problems in the victims’ lives which would force them to undergo severe psychological and physical torture to allow them to escape. If this story line doesn’t get your heart beat jumping and your mind tumbling I’m not sure what will!

BEING THE HORROR FILM JUNKIE that I am I would certainly recommend this film to anyone

daring to watch something not only creepy but radically different. There are seven films in the SAW series that will captivate you and leave you begging for more. Take a look if you dare, and if you’re willing to accept the challenge, beware... Jigsaw might be watching you right at this very moment.

>> HOW MANY PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT “GANGNAM STYLE?” At 351 million views and only having been released since July 15th, “Gangnam Style” by PSY has toppled even the biggest music video giants on Youtube. It also holds the World Record for the most “likes” received (3.3 million) on any Youtube video, well beyond Justin Bieber’s “Baby” (1.3 million) and Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” (1.2 million). Not only has it produced various parodies, video spinoffs and flash mobs dancing to his signature horse dance, it was also praised by other artists such as Nelly Futardo and Maroon 5. Eventually, his international success landed him at the 2012 MTV Awards, The Ellen DeGeneres shows, NBC’s Today and other appearances on US television.

The Gangnam District depicted in PSY’s video is one of the richest parts of South Korea. It is comparable to Beverly Hills in our culture. One would imagine Simon Cowell in shades, going into various parts of town dancing while shouting at the posteriors of women doing yoga.

>> BUT WHAT MAKES GANGNAM STYLE POPULAR?

The mindset of PSY’s music is to “dress classy, dance cheesy”. It is perhaps the simplicity of the routine itself that made it so well received. People like something they can do and people love to get together. Gangnam style is just another medium for which social connections can be easily made. Old people can jam to it; young children can dance to it. Everybody’s doing it, so why not? Another point that should be made is its hilarity. Most viewers in North America does not understand a thing of what PSY is singing about (except for “heyyyyyy sexy lady”), yet PSY manages to make himself appear so desperate to convey his lyrics to the audience. The sheer amount of physical humor presented is astounding down to the very facial expressions.

Can’t figure out what to be for Halloween? Why not embrace the very tradition of All Hallow’s Eve then, and dress to scare? Here are a few costume ideas that will inspire you for your own creepy outfit.

COOKIE MONSTER dress up as any monster, and attach cookies to yourself. Just don’t be surprised when people try to snatch them off as you walk past.

CARRIE everyone will recognize you in this infamous costume. Wear a p a s t e l - c o l o u r e d prom dress, a tiara, a sash, and dump a bucket on fake blood on yourself. White eye contacts add to the creepiness of the costume.

FOR MORE IDEAS, VISIT

OUR WEBSITE ATSPARTANSPEAK.CA_________________BY TESSA MORIN

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ANYONE WHO HASN’T BEEN LIVING UNDERhumungous rock for the past three months would know the universal phenomenon of “Gangnam Style”. For those of you who have chosen a sedimentary life, “Gangnam Style” is currently the world’s most prominent trend, having reached #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100, and #1 on the UK Singles Charts. (Hurry up and go watch the “Gangnam Style” music video on Youtube, now!) Composed and performed by South Korean artist, Psy, the song debuted at number six on the Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100 for the week of July 28, 2012, before reaching overseas. It reached #1 the next week, and kept its place for five weeks. On August 21, “Gangnam Style” reached first place on the iTunes Music Video Chart, surpassing Justin Bieber and Katy Perry. This is an incredible accomplishment, as Psy was the first South Korean artist to have done so. Of course, “Gangnam Style” has reached the top spot on Canadian Hot 100.

AS MUCH AS WE KNOW ABOUT ‘GANGNAM STYLE’, less is actually known about the artist himself. “Psy” is just a stage name, as most K-Pop artists acquire; Park Jae-Sang is his name of birth. As expected, Psy was born in the Gangnam District of Seoul, South Korea on December 31, 1977. He has attended both Boston University and Berklee College of Music. In 2001, Psy debuted, but due to the psychotic –ahem- content of his album, which was unlike the style of more mainstream K-pop, he was given the nickname “Bizarre Singer”. Even then, he had out of the ordinary dances and interesting lyrics. Later into his career, his agency started to face financial problems, and thus, his wife (of course) persuaded him to sign with YG Entertainment, also well-known for harbouring and producing K-Pop groups Big Bang and 2NE1 (pronounced “twenty-one”).

FROM THERE, PSY MADE A COMEBACK IN THE October of 2010, when boy bands and girl bands were, and still are, the hype of the nation (read on for a list of K-Pop songs that you may be interested in!). Psy’s sixth album

was titled “PSY’s Best 6th, Part 1”, which contained the one and only, “Gangnam Style”. Having reached success in North America, Psy is now also signed with Universal Republic Records, the very same record company as Justin Bieber. Get a kick out of that.

THIS PART IS FOR THOSE WHO AREN’T ACCUSTOMEDto mainstream K-Pop. The music industry of South Korea is dominated by boy bands and girl bands, performing fantastic dance choreographies and splendid vocal talent (usually). (In the past two years, new groups have been, literally, popping up every other month; their musical quality may be easily debated). To answer questions I’ve been hearing everywhere, no, “Gangnam Style” is not your typical K-Pop song. South Korean culture is generally quite conservative, meaning they are very innocent and afraid of negative interest.

So thus, it is effortless to find a cute K-Pop song telling a story of a boy who has fallen in love with a girl, and he wants to confess to her with a song he wrote for her. Part of the reason for “Gangnam Style’s” success in South Korea is its outrageousness, with Psy oggling at the behinds of a woman working out, and people dancing on a merry-go-round. The music video is much humorous and entertaining than your average K-Pop video. One thing unique about K-pop is that their lyrics are generally very clean. It is very difficult to find reference to sex or drugs in K-Pop, mainly due to the South Korean culture. In addition, the lyrics have very beautiful meanings, if you have the time to search up the translation. K-Pop has a wide variety to choose from, from pop rock to soft ballads, from to electro dance to swag rap. RICHARD SUN & CINDY LE______________________________________________ For a list of K-pop songs that you can look in to, check out our website for the entire compilation of K-Pop songs selected by Cindy Le.

PSY: THE ARTIST

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VANCOUVER FASHION WEEK (VWF) was an industrial event that began on September 18th and ended on September 23rd. VFW presented a spectacular show to end the year 2012 with designers from Asia Pacific, South America and European countries! VFW was located in Chinese Cultural Centre in Chinatown. Models and designers were lavish in luxury and extravagance. The creativity of each designer varied with different taste and talent. Overall, the event motivated me to be more creative and more memorable for my last year of high school. Stay tuned for the Fall and Winter show! ARON WONG

Vancouver Fashion Week

LEFT: (from left to right) Yuko, Sayaka, Kei and Mariko. These guys are official Fashion Week bloggers from Japan and the first people we met before the event started.

QUBE by Kristi Lee’s Model Roster. Fashionable people from Fashion Week.

Fashion bloggers from Japan.

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Pola Thompson model roster, has done works for Marie Claire, Vogue, and Elle Magazine.

TOP: Jewelry designer and Editor-in-Chief of Kenton Magazine, Jillian Van Allen, and

Founder and editor of Kenton Magazine, Alexander Liang.

BOTTOM: Last, but not least, a photo of North Surrey’s attendees, featuring

Jaspreet Rayat and Kenzie Ng.

Angela Martinez, Aron Wong, Jaspreet Rayat, and Kenzie Ng.

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