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These are the days of our lives:

Fairy Tales with a Twist

2010-2011 School Year

Various Artists

Every day student’s face many obstacles in life. We never know what kind of impact we will have when

we start out. It is not until classes come to a close that we begin to realize how much of an impact we

have on each and every student that walks through our door. Our behavior dictates theirs. Our

compassion lifts them when they fall. Our strength helps motivate them in ways we could never

imagine.

Classroom instruction doesn’t just have to be that. You can incorporate anything into a lesson if you try

hard enough. As my classes are reading The Freedom Writers Diary, they are beginning to look past

themselves and see the bigger picture that awaits them. Life is not always about us. Sometimes it takes

a book to make us look outside ourselves and become someone better than who we originally were. The

following stories are the beginning rumbles of a group of students who took on the challenge of facing

themselves and turning a significant event into a fairy tale.

Adolphus Mueller

Once upon a time,

In one of the worst worlds ever, Cartoon World, there was a

young man named Jimmy. Jimmy was a very kind and giving

person that always minded his business. He hated where he

lived, cartoon world was a place where people didn’t care

about anyone except themselves. Jimmy never understood

why people were the way they were, but he tried not to care.

He had a few friends, but in reality none of them were his

true friends. You know those he could count on. Outside was

the place to be to hang with kids and have fun, but Jimmy

was his own man. Even though Jimmy hated where he lived,

he didn’t have any idea about what was coming next. Jimmy

had a good friend named Amber, and he had a small crush

on her, which he never told her about, but that’s another

story. She had an older brother named Josh. Jimmy looked

up to Josh like an older brother since he never had someone

to look up to before. Josh was great. He always looked out

for Jimmy and made sure he was always ok. Josh was way

older than Jimmy and lived right down the street. Jimmy’s

mom Sandra knew of Josh and believed that Jimmy was safe

to be with him. Jimmy was able to do things he usually

wouldn’t do because he was with Josh and his mom said it

was ok. Even though Jimmy knew Josh wasn’t the best

influence, he enjoyed having an older friend. So one day

Josh was saying that he owned a weapon. Jimmy being

curious asked him if it was a gun that he was talking about.

Josh replied yea. Cartoon world was known for teenagers

owning guns and actually using them. Of course Jimmy

wasn’t trying to believe Josh and challenged him saying that

he didn’t have a gun. Josh said ok wait and see. A few

months went by, and Jimmy was on his bike chillin and

hanging with his friend. On his way home he saw Josh. Josh

called him over and Jimmy went because he trusted him. He

saw a few other guys that Jimmy knew but wasn’t close with.

So as he stepped on the hill with his bike, Josh decided to

pull out a silver gun. As he pulled it out, you could see the

metal slide off his belt buckle and then suddenly his clip

from the gun came out. As he approached Jimmy, Jimmy

started to shake. Josh then put the tip of the gun against the

right side of Jimmy‘s chest and told him to say sorry for

doubting that he owned a weapon. The whole time Josh

thought it was a joke, but Jimmy definitely didn’t. As tears

went down his face, one of Josh’s friends told him to put it

away. As soon as he removed the gun, Jimmy turned around

and rode away as fast as he could. From there Jimmy’s life

would never be the same.

Artiera McManus

Once upon a time there was a girl who named Lianna,

she lived in a faraway place called Cavalot. Lianna wasn’t just any type of girl she was part of the royal family, Lianna was a very good student she tried her best in every class she had in school, and since she was part of the royal family she had to maintain the reputation of being a great student. A huge test was occurring in her school and she had very much doubt about passing this test. She had been studying for this test for 9 months. The time had come around in early spring that her and her classmates were ready to take the test that they had all anxiously awaited for. Lianna wasn’t so sure about how she would do on this test, out of all the tests in her life this was the one that would affect her future. As she walked into the testing area she very nervous, in the back of her mind she thought about what her mother told her that morning. “I know that you are ready, you can do anything you put your mind to”. Lianna replayed that in her mind until her last question of the test, not even realizing that the test was over, she got up went out to get her results, and she was hesitant to know what her results were. As

she walked out the room she looked onto the paper. “Congratulations”, was written in bold letters in the center of the page. Lianna felt like she wanted to faint, she was so sure that she failed. When she walked out into the entrance she immediately, called her mother to tell her the good news, her mother was ecstatic and so very proud of her daughter. Lianna walked out onto the courtyard to greet her friends and classmates to tell them the good news, they were very happy for her. Lianna was proud of herself, she had accomplished the one thing that was important to her and she couldn’t be any happier.

The End

The Grand Ball…….

Long ago in a distant land on the north side of the country side, where fairies and trolls run rampant amongst the

country side, in a cottage, surrounded by rolling hills and a magnificent lake to the east, laid a young boy by the

window, seal staring at the water droplets as they trickled down the window, He was fair with skin the color of caramel

and hair like a sheep’s coat, and as black as a witch’s caldron, his name was James. He was awaiting the arrival of

the school carriage; one would think that his mind would be on the upcoming day with him having a test in math and

sorcery 1:1. But his mind was on something else, something that he had wanted to do for the longest time. But soon

enough he was off to school and his journey would begin.

School a place where all who lived in the great king James land could attend. There are all sorts of creatures,

goblins that lived in the Edge Moore swamps, Trolls that lived under the south side bridge, and even imps from Red

wood Forest. At his locker James gathers his things for his upcoming classes. When his best friend Ant, a sort of clever

little man, with a mindset that he could one day rule the kingdom one day, approached James as he surly does every

other day. “How was your weekend”? Says Ant. “Find and how was your weekend”? “It was quit boring, as all I

did all weekend was clean the den” replies James. And suddenly there conversation came to a stop as they were

interrupted by the school squire. He wasn’t a fat kid but he had a belly as if he had been filled with helium, and his

face quite resembled that of a pig, he had floppy ears, and a snout. As he began to speak the hall filled with silence,

Hear ye, Hear ye I am pleased to announce the annual Grand ball is amongst us. So for all you gulls, goblins, and

nights it’s time to ask that cretin madden to the ball. At that instant a most particular grin came upon James face, he

thought this was the moment, his chance to ask her to the dance. But it was time to get to class, he would have to wait

till the end of the day.

It was the last class of the day sorcery 101 and after this he had only ten minutes to find her and ask her to

the ball. It was two twenty and it was five minutes until the school day was over, and even though class was still going

on his mind was on where she was and how to ask her. Ring, ring ,ring he was the first out the door. He dashed

through the halls and down the stairs, but he could not found her. It seemed that all hope was lost when across the court

yard he saw a beacon of hope, her best friend. He sprinted with the speed of a unicorn. “Hey Marie, could you do me a

favor” says James. “Sure what do you need” asks Marie. Can you ask Gisele to the ball for me? Why don’t you ask

her yourself? Because I didn’t see get today and I want to be the first to ask her. Ok but you owe me one. Thanks.

That night while he lay in front of his magic mirror watching his favorite show, his owl Brunswig flew in. With a letter

from Gisele, it read “Marie told me you wanted to go to the ball. I would love to. I’m wearing pink meet me in the

middle of the dance floor.” He was happier than an Ogre when he finds a little boy trapped in one of his traps.

It was the night of the ball and he was excited. He was wearing black slacks with a pink shirt. His vest was

black in the front and his tie was black and pink stripped. His carriage was here and he was off to the grand ball.

When he arrived to the dance, he headed to the center of the dance floor where he saw an angel in pink cloth. And they

dance the night away in each other’s arms, until the journeyed back to his castle, and the night would be complete.

Fin James Cobb

Rachel Dill

Snickers

Once upon a time it was a nice cloudy day on a Saturday afternoon. My

dad and I were bored and wanted something to do so he began to read the

newspaper as I just was playing on the computer when he suddenly came

across a dog for sale. It was pure bred boxer puppies that were for sale for

$325 each. My dad had some boxer dogs as a kid and thought it was time for

another one that I could say was mine. He called my mom and asked about

getting a dog and her first instinct was no because she didn’t want to have to

take care of it and said she couldn’t afford a dog. I was upset because I really

wanted the dog but I knew my dad was determined to get it. We went to go see

the dog anyways and as soon as I saw the puppies they were beautiful. Then

without my mom knowing, my dad and I had bought the dog and we brought it

home my mom was mad at my dad more than me for buying it after she said

no. Then we lied to my mom telling her that the dog was going to stay small

then soon enough my mom loved it after she was around it for some time so

she allowed us to keep the dog. Later we took the dog to my grandmother’s

house and we were going to name it Taffy because my mom and dad both had

different dogs before they knew each other named Taffy but I didn’t want to

name her that. Finally I ended up naming the dog Snickers but I don’t why I

named it that because that not my favorite candy. Then as I grew closer to the

dog she became to be a best friend to me. I trained her everything from the

basics like sit, lay down, no begging, come, speak, jump and to catch frisbees.

Then I trained her even more how to catch treats when I through them to her

and even bounced the treats off the wall for her to catch it. Then for a few years

I got Snickers to pull me on my skateboard like the movie “Life is Ruff” with

Kyle Massy. Sadly now my dog is 8 turning 9 in September and has joint pains

so she’s getting to old to do most the things she used to be able to do. When I

got my dog I thought of it as a significant moment in my life because I been

through so much with my dog.

The Wonderful experience of a lifetime

Once upon a time there was a girl called Ariana who loved to sing. One day there was an opportunity where she could audition for a new TV show that was called The X-factor. She decided to sign herself up to compete against 100’s of million people around the world. Days went by and the audition day seemed to be near. Day one of the competition was to sign up, to then audition the next morning. The little girl was there from 5am to 5pm in the freezing cold waiting to get into register. So as the day went on she was already into the building and got her slip and ticket so that she could audition the next day to become the next winner.

As the next day came by she arrived to the Prudential Center, and again she had to wait in the line to get into the building, so when the time came to enter her and her mother got in and had to look for seat. As she was looking for her seat felt that this could be a new beginning to a new life experience. This audition wasn’t just a fun experience; it was an opportunity to become famous, the one big shot. Ariana had dreamed of this moment all her life she was a bit nerve but then excited to do something that she was good at. Hours went by and finally her section was called so she got up formed into the line and then had to wait some more for them to audition in front of the producers. So as she was waiting in line, 5 seconds away from starting her audition, she answered them and then she began to sing. As she was singing the producer didn’t seem to like the song she was singing as Ariana ended her song the producer looked up and told her that it was a no. Ariana was a little disappointed and went off home. To continue her studies back at home. That was the end of her wonderful experience but she told herself that she will never give up. She will continue to do just what she loves to do and that is singing.

The End!!

Vimaris Peralta

Alaina Hall

Once upon a time…Your girl got tatted up. After

pestering my mom for about a good month, she agreed to take me to get my

very first tattoo, symbolizing independence being that tattoos are forever,

unlike relationships. I took my good ole sweet time putting together what I

call a piece of me. I want to be able to look back down the road reminiscing

back when I was 18 (the good ole days,) without regretting my decisions. I

will never forget how nervous I was anticipating getting it the day of. I may

be all cool, calm, and collected when it comes to getting piercings done but

tattoos, now that’s a whole different story for another time... Now you must

be wondering what I ended up getting… Too bad, not telling! Just kidding,

that’s no way to end a story now is it? Well, I started off by looking for a

quote that that’s a part of me which is “The greatest test of courage on earth

is to bear defeat without losing heart” --- Robert Green Ingersoll. I didn’t

want the entire quote because I have too much to say about myself and that

would just be the beginning of it, so I shortened it to “Bear defeat without

losing heart” in script on my stomach, bellow my bellybutton. I got red

colored roses added to the side because it pulled the piece together nicely

I’d say. If you’re wondering by what my quote means, I like to think of it as

no matter what happens in your life (in a bad sense,) just never lose

yourself and who you are; which I never will, so it suits me perfectly. So

there’s my story, don’t worry they’ll be a sequel because I plan on getting

another one very soon. All I suggest is maybe don’t plan on getting yours

where I did if you plan on having babies since they do stretch (whoops!) and

just make sure it’s something you’ll never regret looking at; then your good

to go.

The End.

Danah Sheridan

Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, a girl named Danah was home like any other

day, when she got invited to go to a really big concert with her friend Gaby. There were going to be at least twenty bands going. Her favorite band was going to be there too, so she accepted.

Danah and Gaby drove for four hours to a place that is only about an hour away. They had gotten lost, and no one wanted to help them. But then there was one guy that knew where to go, but we couldn’t understand him because he had a very strong Indian accent.

They finally arrived, and there were so many people there and they went and found Danah’s favorite band. She crowd surfed for the first time and it was so much fun, until they dropped her head first into the mosh pit. Luckily, a knight in shining armor grabbed her and pulled her out before she had gotten stepped on. This boy was very cute, but Danah went back to find Gaby.

They went on to see a few more bands, some guys picked Danah up on their shoulder so that she could see better, and she got to hold hands with the singers. After that, she got in line to meet her favorite band. She waited for a very long time, but she made it up to them. They signed a t-shirt for her, and as she went to give her favorite band member, Shawn Milke, a hug, Gaby snuck in and stole the hug from her.

“Hey, that’s what I wanted,” Danah said in disappointment.

“Oh I’m sorry!” said Gaby.

“Oh well sorry I only give one hug a day, and I gave it to her,” said Shawn Milke.

A disappointment look rolled across Danah’s face.

“Thanks Gaby!” said Danah in a sarcastic voice.

“I’m only kidding. Of course you can have a hug,” said Shawn Milke with a smile on his face.

Shawn Milke gave Danah his guitars pick. The same guitar pick he had just used during the concert. Danah was ecstatic! Gaby was trying to get Danah to give it to her, but Danah wouldn’t, she likes it too much.

As the day went on, they just started walking around looking for the bathroom. Instead of finding the bathroom, they had found a slip’ n slide. They were pretty hype. They ran to find the

bathroom and then ran back to the slip’ n slide. They were there playing in the water for an hour. They were soaked. They started getting bored of the slip’ n slide and left. They went to walk around and find a few more bands, and went to the merchandise tables. They both had bought a lot of shirts, bags, and bracelets.

Before they knew it, it became dark, and was about 11 pm at night, so they left. They met up with a bunch of friends at this little restaurant. They were there for a couple hours. They were laughing and joking and having a ball. It was after midnight so they had to go home.

This was the best day of Danah’s life.

The End

Jared Wilkes

Once upon a time, there was this young boy, named John. He

was a good boy. He was a very hard worker. One morning he was

getting ready for school. Everything was going fine and that day

looked like it was going to be good. It most likely was going to

be, because he had plans to play football after school.

He got ready for school. He also had his favorite

breakfast, steak and egg sandwiches. John was excited because

the day started to seem to perfect. He brushed his teeth and was

waiting till the clock struck 8:15. When it finally was 8:15 he

left his house and started to catch up with his friends. It was

going to be a good day!

So, when John and his friends were walking to school, John

was walking a little faster than the rest. He really wanted

school to be over! The air was chilly but it was the morning and

it’s March. There was the usual ice and snow after a snowstorm.

So there were spots of ice still on the ground. John really

wanted to get the day over with.

When the group was one block from the school, the day

turned bad. John was walking faster than usual. That was a bad

idea because there was snow and ice. John was walking and

stepped on some ice and slipped! He had landed face first! He

had busted out his tooth! He was so worried about his plans he

didn’t take any safety measures.

He was then rushed to school, by his friends, and went to

the nurse. The nurse called his mom and they went to the

dentist. He got his tooth fixed. He now remembers to take things

slow. He also now thinks about when people do stupid things that

could hurt them. Well he has grown wiser and is mature thanks to

that one, horrible day in March.

Rachel Latham

nce upon a time… in a world much similar to yours lived a girl with a story to tell.

You could say it’s a Cinderella story but the rags to riches not so much, but if you’re

ready to read you’ll realize the mask she wore was just a bluff.

It started a little bit ago, perhaps 5 months or so a girl named Rachel who

used to glow lost her shine. It wasn’t so much the outside glow but mainly just the shine

she saw, the one on the inside. She had lost the most important thing in her life… her

mother. You see Rachel and her mother had just started getting close, they used to despise

each other because of what had happened before hand in her life. Kim, her mother, when

Rachel was just a child abandoned her to go do her own thing such as becoming a raging

alcoholic and an extreme heroin addict. There were times where Kim would leave 8 year old

Rachel for weeks at a time not caring at all. Then coming home after making Rachel fend for

herself and yelling about why the house wasn’t clean. She would beat poor Rachel and lock

her into a room so that she could not come out.

After a little while people started to realize that Rachel had not been seen and that

no one could get in touch with her. So soon after the cops had showed up to find Rachel

near death in a little closet under the staircase. She was taken away and forced to live with

her father and his family who did not like her. Because she was treated so badly Rachel

began to get into trouble at a young age. From fighting, to stealing, to being in and out of

J.U.V up until the time she was 17. It wasn’t till that age her and her mother actually

became close. Rachel finally talked to her mom after being in a jail for nine months,

although she wouldn’t have been in there that long if her mom wouldn’t have spent her bail

money on heroin, which of course was always an argument between the two, until one day

they talked it out. Rachel forgave her, and her and her mother became best friends. Kim

was her only way to escape her torturous life at her father’s house. Then soon after on

October 21, 2010 Kim had been checked into a hospital in an ICU room because of an

O

overdose. Rachel hurried there once she heard the news and it’s a good thing she did

because within 15 minutes of being there Kim had passed away. The last thing that Kim

said to Rachel was “give me something to look down on.” Those words till this day remain in

Rachel’s head although she still gets in trouble here and there she knows her mother could

look down from where ever she was and be proud of Rachel and how much she has

improved. Rachel still hurts from this incident, and pretends everything is okay, until she

found a figure that is almost as close as Kim as you can get, her English teacher Ms. Smith.

It’s weird you usually hear most kids complain so much about school but to Rachel her

one/two class with Smith was as close as she could get to a real home. And soon enough

not just the people around her but Rachel herself started to see that glow come back.

So in the end, a life of hardship turned into a life lesson. To take nothing for granted

and to live life to the fullest while you still can. As James Dean always said, “Dream as if

you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.”

The End

Once upon a time,

In the candy land of Sweetness there was a parade where all types of other candies were all invited to attend. But there were two types of groups who completely despised each other which were the Ginger bread men and the Fat dough boys. They didn’t like each other because of each other’s colors. Both groups were enjoying the parade until they laid eyes upon each other and began to walk towards each other and began to argue. After a heated and intense argument a Fat dough boy hit Ginger bread men the two groups began to fight. Fat dough’s were getting little dents in certain parts of their bodies and the Ginger bread‘s lost some other crumbs. But there were two people who seen everything happening which were Licorice stick and Ginger bread boy. What Licorice stick didn’t realize is that Ginger boy was a member of the Ginger bread family. Ginger boy began to run towards the fight and began fighting unlike Licorice stick. Everyone knew that when two different groups are fighting you are not allowed to intervene even if your friends are involved and are fighting so he had to watch everything happen. From out of nowhere, Fat dough pulled out a gumball machine and little gum ball drops began to fly and out of all the Ginger breads, Ginger boy was the only1 to get hit by the gumball drop in his midsection which turned into crumbs. Once Ginger boy fell to the ground everyone began to run. Not 1 Ginger bread men stopped to see if he was ok and they so called said they were supposed to be a big family. Licorice stick

was mad at them and couldn’t believe what he was seeing Licorice stick stayed with his friend and watched Ginger bread boy slowly but surely turn into little crumbs until it was little pieces all over the floor in a pile like a mountain with a cherry on top. Licorice stick had to leave even though he didn’t want to when he heard the sound of the parade police coming and went home and cried and until this day when Licorice stick goes down that street he begins to slowly weep because his friend turned into crumbs at his feet knowing he will never see his friend again...

The End

By:

William Rodriguez

Once upon a time, prince Jasper lived in a land far, far away.

Jasper had everything going good for him. He had both parents

that loved each other and had very good health. Both of his

parents were hard working and had jobs. So one day Jasper was

getting ready for school and got a phone call. He picked up the

phone and it was his dad saying that he is in the hospital. When

they got to the hospital, Jasper found out that his dad has

cancer. So, four years on and off the cancer would go away and

come back. So Jasper still constantly did everything with his dad.

One day Jasper did unordinary things with his dad, so to the end

the night, Jasper took a picture of his dad. The next day, Jasper

heard his mom yell to him to call the ambulance. His dad had

died. So with that experience in Jasper’s life he realized that life

is too short and you should live it to the fullest.

By: Alvin Rice-Fuhr

David Hagerman

Once upon a time in Area 62, Delaware, in the year 2092, young

David was in search of his first car. He searched everywhere, near and far,

for the perfect car. It had to be perfect, because it had to be up to par

with his parents’ standards, since they were paying for it. Alas, he arrived

at First State Auto World. He walked up and down the rows of cars, but

none looked perfect. He was about to venture off, when a silver 2000

Volkswagen Beetle caught his eye from afar. David was hesitant because

he had always thought it was a “girly” car, but once he looked inside, he

knew it was perfect. Even his parents liked it! The salesman walked up

and asked him “Would you like to take it for a test drive?” David couldn’t

possibly say no. Driving the VW made him want it right there. After the

test drive the salesman asked “How was it?” Young David said “Perfect…”

So his parents put money down on it to save the car for them, but it

wasn’t enough to drive it off the lot. He had to wait; at least a week.

Knowing that people were getting inside and looking at HIS car ate him

up inside. The following week, he had his own set of wheels...no more

asking to use his parent’s car! I guess good things do happen to those

who wait…

Karimah Wilson

Once upon a time …

In a land far, far away, there lived a girl. A girl named Karimah with many

hopes and dreams for herself. She believed that she could do anything. In her

mind she was a happy beautiful princess, but in reality she was an ordinary girl. No

one knew about this secret that she was holding in for years. A friend of her

family whom she loved dearly was mistreating her. He would hit and scream evil

words at her every time they were alone. Karimah, A strong young girl held it in.

One day when Karimah was minding her own business he came up to her and pushed

her down. There was no reason for this; he just did it because she was in his way.

Then he began talking about her as though she wasn’t right next to him. Karimah,

who was tired of the years of abuse, knew something had to be done. Even though

she was much smaller and weaker than him, inside she was the bigger person. She

stood up walked over to the man and kicked him. This was the beginning of a

situation that spiraled out of control. He hit, picked up and slammed, kicked, and

choked the young girl. When which seemed to be 30 minutes of hell seemed to be

over, he punched her one more time. Then came in her brother, he saw his sister

balled up on the ground bloody and bruised was shocked at what he saw. He

immediately grabbed his sister and carried her outside to her mother. Then as the

family members who were sitting outside ran upstairs, all she could here was

banging and screaming. She didn’t know what was happening. Then suddenly the

cops had come and ran up stairs. They brought down the man and he looked the

same as Karimah, bruised and bloody. Her family was being rowdy and shouting

mean things at the man. Then her mother cradled her and song to her and said

“everything will be okay, mommy’s here now.” Today she is a new person, one who is

not scarred to do and say what she feels. She is a free spirited young woman, who

is growing into a beautiful flower. She is happy, and won’t ever let another person

come between her and her happiness.

Once upon a time, there was a boy whose name was Ricky. He lived in a land called New Castle,

where he lived with his parents and his brother and sister. He went to Pleasantville Elementary School,

and he had everything he ever wanted, but there was something different about this boy. He would get

this feeling toward another boy, a feeling that boys get for girls. Ricky starts thinking “oh this should be

normal.” Till that day, and going into middle school, Ricky liked boys more and more. Although during

the seventh grade, he heard the word gay, which made him curious. Without knowing what the word

meant, he asked his parents what it meant. With no hesitation, his father got disturbed and said “you

better not be gay, gay are people who like the same gender.” Ricky said “no… n… no dad I’m not gay!”

Ricky was lying to himself, and felt horrible about it, he couldn’t be himself. As high school came around;

Ricky started to figure out that this wasn’t as normal as he thought it was. He was scared, shy, and not

happy about himself. Ricky felt as though if he was trapped all alone by himself, like there was no one

else out there in the world. Feeling more depressed as days passed, he got urges to tell his parents, so

he went into his parent’s room. He sat on the edge of their bed, heart pounding and breathing for air

desperately, not knowing whether to look at his mother or father in the eyes. His mother asked “what’s

wrong?” He tried talking “I… I’m” but all they heard was stuttering, tears filled up his eyes, his father

said “tell us, what’s wrong son? You know you can trust us.” As things started to get more tensed, Ricky

couldn’t take it anymore and without any warning he said, in a low voice “I’m gay,” his father with a

strange face asking “what did you say?” Ricky finally just blurted out “I’m gay dad…” silence was

definitely in the room at that point. From that point on… let’s just say, it took his father one year to

accept him. And they lived happily ever after.

By: Ricky Abarca

Anthony Nitchman

Music is a great impact on my life, so it’s only natural that my most significant moment in life

just happens to be when I met one of my favorite bands and a personal idol of mine. On a

Saturday night that I have been anticipating for a couple months, I went to the grange to see

the band called “Us, from Outside”. I had planned to go with my girlfriend, Alle, my cousin,

Alex, and a few of my friends. When we arrived at the grange, the line to the entrance was very

long and after a couple of hours, we were finally allowed to enter. The grange isn’t the most

impressive place to attend a show and it was quite a distance from my house, but all the

waiting was worth it. A few bands played before Us, from Outside went on the stage. I was very

surprised to see how the crowd reacted to their performance considering I was the only person

I knew that had really ever heard of them. The crowd roared to life like an ocean of moving

bodies. People crashed into each other in the middle of the crowd and I rushed to join them.

After their amazing performance, I walked up to the band’s table and bought some of their

merchandise and talked to their lead singer and guitarist, thanking them for a great show.

Afterwards, I walked up to their screamer. My head spun with thoughts as I searched for

something to say to the person I have admired for a long time. He shook my hand and I told him

that he was the reason I had ever wanted to pursue a musical career and he helped make me

the vocalist I am today and hopefully will be in the future. We conversed for a couple minutes

and he thanked me for being such a big fan and he hoped he would see me make it big one day.

After he signed my hat, I went to join my friends and I had one of the best nights of my life. This

significant moment in my life helped me aspire to be the musician I strive to become.

How I Became Me.

Once upon a time there was a young woman with two beautiful daughters, she struggled in

life trying to support her babies and give them the life they deserved. The young woman

slaved herself hoping that one day everything will be as it should be. Little did she know a

wonderful prince would appear in her life to help take care of her babies and even gave her a

beautiful baby boy. Suddenly things started changing, and her prince charming was no

longer charming. He abandoned her and the babies causing her an even harder life than

before. Time went by and her babies were 6, 5, and almost 1, and still no one to help her. She

cried herself to sleep with no one to hear her out but a little white dove who sat at her window

throughout the days and nights. The little white dove would promise her that everything

would be ok and her prince charming will return one day. Before the baby turned 1 she

received a phone call from his father apologizing for the hard times he caused her and he

wanted to be a part of their life. Knowing that she needed the help and still loved him dearly,

she accepted his apology and allowed him back home. The young woman and the prince

charming supported the 3 little ones and live a wonderful life. Out of nowhere the situation

started changing and the family crashed. Prince charming was so caught up with drugs

and money that he paid no mind to the things that mattered the most. The young lady grew

tired but didn’t know how to handle the situation, without realizing it she began abandoning

her own children chasing after this so called prince charming. She let him do whatever he

wanted and decided not to fight the battle anymore, until one day she found out he acted out

with her precious, defenseless daughters. This situation caused her to be aggressive and she

began to be abusive towards everyone but the person who deserved it. The babies were terrified

of her at this point, this fairy tale story turned into a sad and tragic story. Two years went

by and of course she forgave him and allowed him back home. The poor children lived life

confused about why mommy would allow things like this to happen, but they had each other

to stay strong and grew up to be strong children. The whole family began believing the little

white dove could help them with their problems and it did. There was only one problem left,

one of the children took the situations a little harder and rebelled against her mother and the

little white dove. She did her own thing, strong and independent as she was she had no

control of her emotions when she was alone. Although she loves both parents to death, deep

down inside she has her own problems that no one knows about and only she can overcome.

She and the young woman can’t seem to make anything work out for the best as much as

they both try. Not all stories have happy endings but the way you handle it will determine

who you become.

By: Glorienny Mojica

By: Karlisbell Morel

Once upon a time there was a young girl name Marie. She lived with

her mom Carla and her little brother Joseph. this family wasn’t like any other

they were royalty. Carla was a princess making her daughter a princess as

well and her son a prince. They lived in A far away land called Coventry, the

most beautiful place, most soothing, and the most romantic. Carla had decided

to leave, she wanted her children to grow in a place where they could enjoy

life to the fullest, and were they could have a normal life like any other.

Carla loved to travel but this time she was traveling to stay. her parent’s

king mark and queen lea were very upset, but they had to let her go. Marie and

joseph didn’t want to leave their family to go to an unknown place where they

didn’t know anyone. they had no choice but to go with their mom, that day was

the hardest for all of them. Goodbyes are never easy, but they knew that one

day they would return. When they arrived at neverland, it was different, it

was crowded and loud, nothing like Coventry. It was going to take a lot for

them to get use to it all. Their family spoke a foreign language, they spoke

Spanish. Neverland spoke English most of the time but when you walked out you

noticed that their where people that spoke many languages, they were all

different. They fitted in perfectly her mother married and of course no one

knew they were royalty, it was much easier to see who was real and who

wasn’t. they traveled to coventry to introduce her husband to the family and

see everyone again, but it wasn’t to stay. 8 years passed and princess carla

decide to end it with her husband, it took a lot of strength to walk away.

Carla, Joseph, Marie always went to visit every summer but this it took 3 years

to return. queen lea was older now, she wasn’t as strong as before it was

perfect timing, because none of them knew what would happen next. Does couple

months after they left, things started to go down. Queen lea got worse and

worse, no one knew how much time she had left. Princess Carla had to travel by

herself to care for her, Joseph and Marie stayed with a close family friend.

When their mother return they made a plan for all of them to go back, as soon

as they could. One day princess Carla receive a call from her bother saying

their mother had passed away, something that broke her apart. That same day

they travel back when they say queen lea they couldn’t take it. it was a

dream to be a princess or a prince but for lea and Joseph they kept telling

themselves that this was all a dream, that they would wake up and their

grandmother would still be there. This goodbye would be goodbyes forever.

they stayed there for a while with their family; they all knew they couldn’t be

alone through the pain. Being back in neverland they have a decision to make,

either stay or go back home? This time it was different princess marie didn’t

want to go back, her life was in neverland. And going back meant facing the

reality that queen lea was gone. And that was something none of them were

ready to do….

The end

Sterling Douglas

NEW YEARS EVE

Once upon a time in the darkest place of New York City on Teller Ave, my family and I

were walking downtown. During the walk, people were setting off fireworks in the sky. They

were as bright as a shooting star. The crowd was so out of control that they started chasing after

us. My brother, my mom and I ran fast to the other side into the building, to avoid the crowd. We

didn’t know where we were going because there were no lights in that part of the area. My mom

was screaming for no apparent reason. Not just that, but my brother was like naming every curse

word in the book. As for me, I dropped like $40, so the people who were chasing us, can slow

down; but that didn’t slow them down. Out last option was the train station, which was like two

minutes ahead. Two minutes had passed and we barely made the train ride. The train was taking

us to Manhattan, which was a good place to eat dinner for New Years. The train ride was as fast

as a light year. After getting off the train we went to a restaurant to eat dinner. I forgot the name

of the restaurant, but the food there was so delicious. The taste was so unreal that it makes my

dad’s cooking look like a joke. Next a loud echo came bursting through my ear. When I turned

around, it was an adult. This adult was so drunk that he kept laughing out loud. I was bagging up

so much, that I couldn’t even stop laughing. My mom said “Boys let’s leave and go somewhere

better.”My brother said “What better than this?” She said “Church!” I was like “Let’s make our

New Year’s Resolution right here and right now.” So we did and it was 11:59 with five seconds

left. Then it just happened, New Years has just arrived. This marks an era of a new adventure.

The End

(Not so) fairy tale

By: Anthony Pesce

nce upon a time… in a land far away there was a young man named Pesce. He

sat around school doing nothing, as if he had no care. The class work he’d skip,

and homework he’d rather not do. His grades started to plummet, report cards were

foul, but Pesce just did not care. He just sat in class, without any intentions. Once the year was

over he had a fright, for he couldn’t proceed to his future. He had a big stumble for his future was

harder to achieve. He had to take a course in English and Math, or else his future would be gone.

So during the summer, to school he went, dreading every morning. When he got to the class he’d

finish his work, in an astonishing time. Four to five minutes for an hour’s worth of work, he’d blow

through it fast. The rest of class he’d have nothing to do, so he sat and helped the kids. He realized

that some people weren’t there because of laziness, but thee because they needed it. These kids

couldn’t understand they work they did so he couldn’t help but try to help them. He was thriving

well in this summer school but not really learning a thing. Until one day when he read this story

about an exciting sport. The sport was Lacrosse and it fascinated young Pesce. He wanted to be

like the Indians who invented it, preparing for war, and being an athlete. The following year he

went to McKean, he dreaded it dearly, but he tried his hardest so he could play Lacrosse, and it

worked out fairly well. Turns out young Pesce was tenth in his class with a GPA of 4.0; he got

into his choice school the next year, Delcastle, in the class of Aviation. Still to this day he plays

Lacrosse, and maintains an honor roll status, all because he went to summer school, and his life

got turned around.

O

Once upon a time . . . One cold day in the beginning of November, a prince named Alden (AJ) was born. AJ was

about four months premature. His mother was ecstatic and filled with nothing but joy. He was

bright as the sun and glowed like the moon. He was about the size of a 6’2 man’s palm and cute as a

button. He may have not been fully developed but you knew he was going to be a handsome young

man as he grew. Before I could even keep dreaming of me taking care of my newest sibling, my

dreams were stolen. Broken hearts and wounds that were never mended, my heart was stolen and

left with him. This was her first child and she was more upset then me. Eighteen hours after he

was born he was gone. Tears couldn’t explain the pain that I was feeling. Yet he wasn’t gone

completely he was sure to send his ladybugs. I usually see one or two till this day no matter what

the time of the year is. Prince AJ was laid to rest, he’s in never land where all they do is play

in sand. Now I have love and a ladybug tatted on my wrist.

The End

BY: Jakiyah Lewis

Kevin Taylor

Once upon a time…a 17 year old young man Prince

Jefferson woke up on a sunny summer afternoon, around 12 o’

clock. Prince Jefferson has been asking his dad if he could get a

new truck. Time after time King Jefferson would say “No!”

The only way that Prince Jefferson could get the car, was if he

could get HONOR ROLL for one marking period.

The truck that Prince Jefferson wanted was a Chevy s10.

The truck that he wanted had an enormous price on it, but the

Prince was not worried about it because he was rich. His dad had

a 2000 Dodge Avenger. It’s a good first car, but the Prince

wanted a truck, especially a black Chevy s10.

A couple of months later Prince Jefferson got HONOR

ROLL. He was so excited, more excited than when he was 14

years old when he got his new four-wheeler. Prince Jefferson

asked his dad “Can I get a black Chevy s10?” The Prince’s dad

said “The only way you can get that truck is if you get a job!”

The Prince was looking for a job, for about three months. So, he

finally came to his senses and realized that if a free car is

available and in really good shape, that he should just get the free

car. The next day he said to the King that he wanted the 2000

Dodge Avenger Sport. So, that evening Prince Jefferson drove

to his friend’s house and did some crazy prince things. Prince

Jefferson and his new used car lived happily ever after.

THE

END

Tykeya Jenkins

Once Upon A Time,

There was a nice day and me and my family decided to go visit the pet store. Our family loves dogs and

we wanted to go visit some dogs. We didn’t really want to get a pet we were just looking. When we got

there we saw this puppy. It was a beautiful golden retriever. My mom loves that type of dog so she fell

in love with it as soon as she seen it. We asked to take it out and sat in the room to play with it. My little

sister loved the dog she always wanted to pet it. She bugged my mom to get it because she knows we

wanted to get it. It loved us, but my mom said she needed a little time to think about it first. We were a

little upset but we knew she couldn’t resist. We came back later and he was there. My mom promised

she would get it if was still there the next day and he was so my mom got him. We took him home and

he was running all around we loved the dog and he loves us. We called him Golden. He was the best

puppy ever. It was about a year later and he was really big and just about a year old. My mom was

working and me and my sisters were in school most of the day. We didn’t have enough time for him, just

on the weekends. My mom felt like this started not to be a good home for him because he wasn’t

trained and we didn’t have time to train him but we couldn’t give him away so we tried to make another

way to make sure we can make time and get him trained. We went another year and nothing worked.

We went to training school and he was too big and nothing really worked. So my mom said we had to

give him away. We all were sad my little sister was in the corner crying and my other sister was

devastated. It was hurtful to have a pet so long and then all of sudden you just have to give it up

because you can’t take care of him. He was the best pet we ever had. We had him since were a baby and

now he was going to be gone. The days went past and we put him in the paper. Everyday me and my

sister prayed that no one will call. A couple weeks later someone calls and wants to meet golden. That’s

the day our whole lives changed. She like him and wanted to come get him on the weekend. So we only

had a couple days to spend with him. The day came and she came to get golden. I was happy he was

going away but then again I was sad because I will miss. He is in a good home now though and I’m very

happy that I got to spend years with golden. He was a good dog and my favorite of all. He is missed.

The End!

Paul Sharp

Once upon a time there were eight friends. They decided to travel to Richmond, Virginia

for a dodge ball tournament sponsored by Fillet O’ Chicken. They trained vigorously for a

month to get in shape and polish their skills. On the 29th

of October we began our journey south

west to Richmond. Switch, Ginger, Rellycakes and the J-myster hopped on the Jew-Mobile and

rode off into the sunset. Not far behind them followed Asian Thunder, Polio, McLovin and Dr.

Love on FDR’s wheelchair. We were led by an ill-informed navigator by the name of Geepee

Ess. Geepee Ess took us to an unknown world by the water where no one stepped foot in what

seemed to be years. After 15 minutes of driving through unmapped areas we found our way

back to the 95th

interstate. At around 11:30 pm we finally arrived at the Western’s Best Inn. The

Jew-Mobile riders went out to the House O’ Waffles while the others poisoned themselves with a

dark yellow liquid of some kind. We made our way back to the Inn and waited for the other

riders. When they came back they weren’t themselves. They seemed much clumsier and slurred

their words a little bit. So we began to play pranks on them, like knocking on their door and

returning to our rooms quickly before they saw us.

The next morning we woke early and took a quick quest to the Richmond Bazaar, where

we explored the many shops. Before we left to continue our expedition, we feasted at the Fillet

O’ Chicken at a large table. It was very similar to the painting of the Last Supper. After the feast

we straddled our valiant steeds and galloped to the path of debauchery- I mean destiny.

From the Bazaar our fate lie 20 minutes ahead of us. When we arrived we noticed a large

stone building enclosed with many extravagant steel statues. Once we entered we realized our

faults… instead of signing up for a tournament with men, we noticed our opponents were

monsters; big, burly, overgrown ogres, dragons, and other various beasts of the underworld. The

first team we faced was the Pink Snarling Beasts from hell. The whistle blew and we raced for

our ammo. With great force, giant balls of fire were hurled towards us. The first to go was

Switch, than Polio, than following was Rellycakes. One by one we were picked off until none

were left. This was a reoccurring theme for the remaining battles we engaged in. We lost 12

battles against our foes and won none.

Our journey home was just as enjoyable as our journey to Richmond. We stopped at

McDonalds for a quite enjoyable feast to quench our hunger. While driving we yelled at random

drivers passing by asking them questions such as “do you say tomato or tomahto?” All in all it

was a very pleasant trip. We left random losers from New Castle, and came back…. random

losers from New Castle who were just demolished in a dodge ball tournament. It was by far one

of my fondest memories of all time.

Kashif Chin

A DREAM COME TRUE

Once upon a time, I was a young boy living on the island of Jamaica. I always dreamed

of coming to the United States to live. I had plenty of family living in the United State and I

wanted to come and spend time with them. Jamaica is a wonderful place with plenty of activities,

good food, and great weather. But I always wanted to go and experience the American dream

that I saw on television. I hoped and prayed to come and visit the United States someday. I

thought of it being a magical place with nice people and fluffy snow all around. I made a wish

when I was seven and eight and it was about coming to the United States. One day I had the

opportunity to come and visit the United States during the winter season. I stayed with my aunt

who made everyday a fun time for me. During winter, whenever I would go outside, the snow

always crunched under my feet as I walked on it, and the cold air cooled my face as my nose

tingled. It felt good being in a new environment and I loved it when I first came. I went back to

Jamaica after staying for the majority of the winter season, but I wanted to stay because I loved

the weather. I had another chance to come back during the spring season, and I was excited.

When I came I had a blast, going out every day with my family. As soon as I thought my

vacation was over I was told I could live here. I was overwhelmed with joy because my dream

came true, I was the happiest nine year old on the earth. I been back to Jamaica only to visit but I

love my life, living here now in the United States.

Dario Davis

Once upon a time, there was a basketball game being played in Scott Field Park. The

game was on the line because of a bunch of trash talk. The team was Diddy, J.t, J.r, Q and Tevin.

Up against us was Zafir, Chulo, Shizzy, Zuke, and Pop. The game was close, the score was 15-

15. They bring the ball down the court, Chulo a good three point shooter from the perimeter shot

it, the ball rolled around the rim several times but rolled off. J.r gets the rebound, skits it to me up

the court, I’m pushing it’s a 1 on 3 situation Me, Tevin and Q. I’m deciding in slow motion what

to do, and who to pass it to. I fake the pass and dunked it for the game winner. Everyone tried to

put the jokes on me because of my height and underestimated me but I changed that. As I was

walking home to my throne to get ready for some dinner and get some rest, I heard a voice “Hey

Kid.” The man was walking towards me and had glow around him, “Good game kid.” His attire

was a basketball warm up suit with a logo with a man jumping on it. He had no hair, with a walk

that had a unique swag. “Let me show you something” he said. As I followed him, we walked

into this dark pathway all I hear is mumbo jumbo and I see several faces that looked pretty

familiar. I walked past a stage with a blur and a dark backstage and all I heard was “we came out

there tonight, and played the game.”It looked like my favorite player Kobe Bryant talking to the

reporters after the game which is known as the NBA recap. I walked into a gym with tons of

basketballs lying around and there was a guy who wore a headband, high shorts, and was real

muscle toned. He gave me the ball and said “check!” As we checked the ball, he dunked on me

within seconds and walked to me slowly and a voice in the background “Yo, Diddy, you good?

Diddy?!!” I stop daydreaming.

Jazmin Mejia

Once upon a time as I was lying on the cold floor of my room, my mom named the

Evil Witch walks in yelling at me for not cleaning my room. I said to myself, “why do I put

up with this?” I stomped my foot as I walked to my room. She followed me with an evil look

on her face. I noticed she was angry at me so I gave her a brown little talking bear, I named

the bear Brownie. She grabbed Brownie and put him outside. I ran to bring him back inside,

until I heard her yell my name, “Cinderella”! I walked to her with my head down; I knew that

more yelling was coming. My father comes home from a long day working at the Fairy

Factory. He brought with him a green fairy; I always tell everyone that he is my brother named

Cosmo. The next day my brother went out to play with every other fairy, I asked my parents if

I was allowed out that day. My father said “yeah”. But Witch told me I had to do house

chores. She made me clean the dirty bathroom. I was upset and I thought to myself again the

same thing I always think, “Why do I put up with this”? That night I stayed in my room just

staring up at my ceiling thinking I have to get out of this place. I have been put through so

much and I think I should go out and explore this nice world. The very next day in the very

morning, I got my clothes and packed them up in bag; I packed everything else in a separate

bag. As I was flying in my pink long rug I decided to go to this place called the Big Castle

located about 10 miles away. As I was on my way I looked down to the ground, everyone and

everything looked very tiny. Everything looked like little ants.

Later at night I arrived to the Big Castle, it was the most beautiful thing I have seen in my

life, well the only nice thing I have seen because they had me locked in my house. I got off my

magical ride, the pink rug and walked my way to the Big Castle, A lot of cute puppies came

running to me. But there was this huge black dog just standing in position, I was scared of it at

first but when I got closer it was the sweetest dog in that place. That dog was named champion he

was always around me like a little fairy.

As I was sitting on the rainbow a little blue bird arrived next to me with a note. I grabbed

the note and read it; it was a letter from my parents saying that they wanted me to come back. I

wrote back to them saying I didn't want to go back. I went inside Big Castle and there were a lot of

doors to go into. I opened the very first door, my new room and in the center there was a big bed and

around it was surrounded by a pond with a lot of little blue birds. There were a lot of other little

cute talkative creatures. It was a Saturday night as I walked down the hall I saw a sign at this

doorway that said "Bubble party". I walked in and there was a lot of other people dancing and

having a good time. I sat at a table next to where the food snacks were at. A girl came and sat next

to me, she started a conversation with me and I asked her what her name was? "Snow White ", she

answered. We sat and talked about how great life was in Big Castle, I explained to her how my

parents always mistreated me when I was living with them. They played some nice smooth music.

Snow White and I both got up and danced together, as we were dancing I spotted this handsome

guy. I asked her who was he and she told me they call him Prince. She pulled me from the arm and

took me to where he was standing. Snow White told Prince that I liked him, he giggled. We talked

for a couple hours and then we danced for the rest of the night. That night is s night I will never

forget.

Five years after, I decide to go back to where my parents were at but I was not alone, Prince

and I were going to get married. My parents, Prince, my brother Cosmo and I had a romantic

dinner the next evening. We talked about my experience in Big Castle. Until I had the guts to tell

them that I was going to have a baby boy. They showed excitement in their face and from that day

on my life changed completely. My mother Witch was now known as Queen. The day of our

wedding arrived, as we floated on my pink rug around us was everyone and every little cute creature

we knew. My life has never been better since I met Prince, all thanks to Snow White. And Prince

and I lived happily ever after.

The End

MMAADDIISSOONN PPRRIIBBIISSHH

Once upon a time Cinderella got an invitation to a dance party

at her school. But her mean, old, witch, mom and dad made her

stay home and clean. She couldn’t go and have fun at the party.

Mom and dad went to the movies and left Cinderella home.

Cinderella cleaned and cleaned very quickly. Then she got dressed

in some regular type clothing and ran to the party. It was still early

and she knew the movie was long. On the way she found a plastic

crown. Cinderella said, “Pretty,” and then put the crown on. All of

a sudden something magical happened. Her clothes changed from

regular old clothes to the prettiest, bluest, fanciest dress you ever

saw. She was very surprised. When she finally got to the party it

was almost over. But there were a few more minutes left so she

danced and danced. Meanwhile, mom and dad got home early from

the movies because the movie wasn’t very good. They didn’t see

their daughter, Cinderella, anywhere. They knew, and she couldn’t

fool them. They headed straight to the dance. The dad surprised

her and in seeing him she fell down. He scowled at her, “What are

you doing here,” asked her dad. “I’m dancing! Why,” asked

Cinderella. “You are supposed to be cleaning,” her dad said. “I

finished Dad,” said Cinderella. Dad decided to go easy on

Cinderella, because she looked so beautiful. She went back to the

dance. A boy came over and asked her to dance with him.

The crown started to shake. The wind picked up her crown

and it landed on the ground. It popped into a carriage; they got in

together, and lived happily ever after!

Shawn T. Creese

Once upon a time there was a city full of music. It seemed as though the city ran on the

beats in the air. All through the city floated different songs, beats, and tunes. In the streets people

played everything from rock and alternative to rap and classical. One day a child was born and

raised in an area full of oldies and country. He heard music all around as he grew and that’s all

he heard. This child grew up listening to this music. He was tormented in school for his easy

going ways. He never stood up for himself and the tormenting continued all the way up to middle

school. When he went into middle school it gave him a chance to change. The boy decided to

blend in with the crowd and was changing for the worst. He stopped doing his work and his

grade dropped. The crowd was suffocating him and he couldn’t seem to escape. Half way

through middle school, he found rock. Rock soon became his escape route to be his own person.

He found this area but once he came in he noticed how far spread this new found haven was. He

tried out all different forms of rock. He listened to rock, alternative, metal, soft rock, heavy rock,

and many other forms. He took his time and searched for what fit him. Rock gave him a solid

foundation to build his new found self. The strong guitars and steady drum pounded him into

what he wanted to be. The young man had finally found his true self. He built the statue which

was himself. When he stopped and stepped back, he saw that all the pieces of his past lay

scattered on the floor. The memories were from when he was weak and they now made the statue

weak. So the boy decided to make a lock in the center of the statues chest. He opened it and hid

all his emotions and his past deep in the statue. He locked it away so only people he was close to

could enter. He tried to let people in and they always broke his heart. After many times the lock

became tight. One day, a girl worked hard and finally opened the lock. She found her place and

held him together again. The statue finally became complete. The rhythms of their heart meshed

together and they fit perfectly. The boy had noticed that it wasn’t just music that was around; it

was the beat of life. To this day, they walk together surrounded by music and the song that they

made continues to stay strong.

David Watson

My fairy tale

This is a story about how a young man bought and lost his spaceship all in one weekend.

In the deep depths of the universe there was a young man that always had to depend on other

people or take the bus to get from place to place, because he didn’t have a spaceship of his own.

So one weekend the young man went to another planet called New Jersey and bought his first

spaceship. It was a black 1997 Chrysler lhs for 1200.00 dollars. The day he got it the young man

was so happy. The young man brought the spaceship back to his home planet of Delaware. When

he got home he showed it off to his family, and when he was done with that he went and picked

up his girlfriend, and came back home hung out with her at his house for a little. Then later that

night he took her home and on the way home he turned an eighteen minute ride into a four hour

ride because he missed the Newport exit. When he finally got home he went to bed.

The next day the young man went out and picked up his friends Richie, Dukie, Eric, and

Tyler. After that we went to Wilmington to skate, and ride bikes. We went home and slept after a

hard day of falling on our faces. The next day he got Richie, and his girlfriend to go pick up my

girlfriend. To go the mall the young man parked in between two giant spaceships, but no one

could get out so he reversed too much and backed into a war truck and dented the heck out of my

spaceships fine. The young man’s has a monster dent in it, so he just left. Then later that night he

got a call from the cops and someone wrote down my tag number and reported it. But it wasn’t

really the cops it was my friend being a jerk trying to mess with me because he saw me in the

parking lot but when the young man got home his mom took his spaceship cause he told her

when happened and he wasn’t registered, insured, or inspected. After his mother took away his

spaceship he lay in bed and cried himself to sleep.

Joel Williams

Day in the Life

It all started like any other day out in the vast Villages of Crofton,

venders on the block, fish tailed Buicks cruising the strip, young adults known

as “youngins” trying to find out what the “look is” for the night. I began my

journey, walking through my village known as the “Trap”. Walking into the

dark alley I saw a large figure. Fear struck deep into my heart. I knew exactly

what I had to do. It was going to be an all out war, battle to the death. As we

approached each other I was already fully prepared for what was about to go

down. He drew closer and closer, the flaming blunt in his mouth, he quickly

threw aside. As he stepped into the bright patch of light I was thankful that it

was only a loyal friend of mine. After we shook hands I was quick to ask him

what was going on after the sun sets in our land. He said he had a good

connection on potions and he wanted to grab a few bottles. It sounded like fun.

At the time I was collecting unpaid debt, the man down the street owed me 20

boys (which is our currency in the Trap). The man was a vender; he would

always have everything you’re looking for. I lend this vender money, because of

this he ends up in my debt. With this comes power and a major advantage

when I am challenged by sworn enemies like those of Lexington Green. I

finally reached his house. I knocked on the door until he came to his porch. We

went deep down in his dungeon to talk business; I came out with his iPod. My

day was going great, and later on my friend called me about those potions. I

told him I wished for the apple flavored, and that’s exactly what I received. I

called upon a few of my female friends around the way. Two beautiful women

responded to my request and were up to take a sip of my delicious potion. It

was around twelve, sneaking through a back door, I arrived in front of two

beautiful women ready to have a drink. I cracked open the potion and poured

some for them and a lot more for myself. It was toxic, known for making you

feel dizzy,yet lose. They each took a sip and couldn’t stand the strong feeling

flowing down their smooth throats. I threw down twenty boys on that potion

and could not fathom wasting it. Only at the house for around thirty minutes I

gave each girl a kiss and left through the same back door I snuck into.

Pondering what to do with the last half of this bottle I called my friend Key. I

teleported to his house and me and him downed the rest of this treacherous

potion. We talked and laughed for a long time, and then it was about time for

me to get back into my house. The hard part was getting home. I felt dizzy and

the time it took me to return to my castle felt endless. When I finally arrived I

went straight to my bed. I lay down with the feeling that I was falling into an

endless pit for the rest of eternity.

Markeevis Stevens

Jokester to Gentlemen

Once upon a time in a land where no one cared for one another, not even their own mother,

lived a young black jokester. This boy caused trouble to anyone he`d seen on sight. One

day, this boy came across a house made of pure candy. This was the type of candy that

could never melt no matter how hot it was and could never decay from age. So the boy

decided to go to the back of the house, and steal a piece of the delicious gram cracker walls.

But, just as he was about to run away, a hand grabbed the boy’s shoulder and gently turned

him around. There, the boy saw an older woman around her 70’s staring at the boy with

shame. He looked into her eyes and saw something familiar about her. Before the older

women could say a word, the boy yanked his arm away and ran home. After hours of arguing

with his mother, he ran to his room to calm down. The boy couldn’t get the women out of his

mind. Later that night, he decided to sneak back to the women’s house. As he approached

her home, he saw her repairing the damage caused by him earlier. An invisible force

reluctantly pulled him in closer to the home. The old women saw him and invited him into her

house. At first, the boy was hesitant to enter, but he eventually went in. The place seemed

“homey” and warm. It gave the boy a sense of comfort. The woman was the first to speak.

She first asked him what made him steal from her. He responded by saying “I just wanted to

do it.” They both carried on with their conversation back and forth. Eventually, the women

told the boy to start coming back more often. She wanted to teach him to become a better

person because she saw potential of what he could become. Over the next few days, the boy

continued to come back to the elder’s home. He was taught mannerism and how to control his

temper against other people. Slowly, he was starting to change. Until this one dreadful day

when he came back, he was giving news that was hard for him to hear. He was notified that the

older women had died that morning. Upon hearing this news, the boy ran home to his mother

and told her what had happened. She sat him down and told him there was something she

wanted him to know. That women he has been seeing was his grandmother. The boy was

stunned. His mother didn’t want him to know because she didn’t want to have him cause any

trouble to her. From that moment on, the boy began to become a better person and did

better in school. This was one of the most significant moments that changed his way of life.

The End

Once upon a time in a land far, far away there was a princess named Tabria. She

was the daughter of King Jones and next in line to be the ruler of Delcastle. For years Tabria has envisioned rebelling against her father and the whole kingdom. She wanted to be her own person and think solely for herself. The princess was entangled in a secret love affair with which her father could know nothing about. This boy she was head over hills for was a Prince, his name was Marcus and he was the prince of New Castle. Marcus and Tabria weren’t acquainted for long before they fell in love. This was no “young love” like ancient proverbs spoke of, this was real love. The love Mary J. Blige spoke of. Tabria was a different kind of Princess then the ones heard of in other stories, she had an inner wild child that she was waiting upon the moment she could unleash it. One day Tabria called Marcus and told him that she wanted to run away with him, she called and said “meet me in the court yard at 2:27 and not a second later.” Marcus agreed, and as Tabria patiently gazed out the window waiting for her Prince to arrive. Then at 2:26 she watched as his white stallion came galloping up the long maze yard. Tabria climbed from her window and jump on the back of Marcus’ trustee steed. As they rode west and Tabria’s long flowing locks blew in the wind, she looked at her Prince and said, “Take me to the land of Agaru, I’m feeling rather spontaneous.” Marcus raced his princess across the land to get her to her destination. On the way Marcus was struck with confusion, he didn’t know how to get to the lost land of Trolley Square. They rode horse back for hours through the trenches and were stopped at the forest of Walgreens, only to realize that Prince Marcus knew exactly where they were. He tied his white stallion up to a nearby stable and helped his princess down. She smiled at him gracefully and planted a magical kiss upon his cheek. Tabria ran up the stairs careful not to step on her couture gown. She walked into the palace called Agaru tattoo, in hopes to get her belly pierced. After Princess Tabria signed her waiver to become a part of the land, she was taken to the back to begin initiation. The dungeon master Eric prepped Tabria by rubbing her stomach down with secret alcohol. Then her noble Prince came to her side and held her hand as her skin was pierced with the needle of truth. It was the truth that she would never be the same again; she couldn’t go back to her land. Princess Tabria was at the point of no return. Though the needle didn’t hurt the after effect was horrid, she could barely ride the stallion right side up. But in the end Princess Tabria felt it was all worth the pain. Remember…

pain is pleasure.

DiNesha Stephens

Once upon a time... in Very Far, Far More Far Away there was an evil witch who

wasn’t very understanding and hated her kids for petty reasons. Her oldest daughter

DiNesha is the one who is hated on the most, simply because she is the oldest.

DiNesha is not as evil as her mother, and has high resentment for her. DiNesha

did not want to be like her mother; she was the total opposite of her. She was so

sweet and loyal, was understanding and open minded. DiNesha was a lesbian and

was thinking about coming out to her evil mother, she was so nervous about telling

her because of how her mother is. To make things worse the evil witch was queen,

even though DiNesha was the princess. The queen could ban her own daughter from

the kingdom. DiNesha was very scared that if she came out to her she might be ban

for life. No one would think that a mother would be so cruel, so misleading and so

heartless to a little princess of her own blood. DiNesha prayed, she asked her

Advisors Broom for advice. She went to the secret trees to tell her thoughts; she

knew they would not tell, because they could hold a secret for all eternity. She prayed

some more, paced back and forth and back and forth some more in her room. Finally

the Advisor Broom came with a suggestion for the beautiful princess… “Just tell

your mother” said the Broom. “But what if she bans me? What shall I do then?”

DiNesha responded. “She is your mother, she will understand.” “How can you be

so sure of this? You must of forgotten her name is “Queen Cindy The Evil

Witch!!”” She was frustrated and nervous at the same time. “Listen Your

Highness, she may be evil. But she is your mother. A mother love will never fade

for her child. No matter what you may have to tell her, you’re still her daughter.

Just tell her. Trust me.” DiNesha was so upset, tears were rolling down her face,

but she knew the Broom was right. “Get out!” DiNesha commanded the Broom.

“What?!” The Broom was confused. “This is an order, GET OUT NOW!!”

DiNesha knew what she had to do. She went to her mother and sat her down.

“What DiNesha, I’m busy” “Mom I just want to talk you” “Okay talk then”

DiNesha had a slight hesitation. “Mommy I’m a lesbian” Cindy grabbed her by her

neck. “You must mean a thespian!!” Grasping for air “No mom you heard right,

I’m a lesbian.” Cindy was heated; she called her guard to come take DiNesha away.

“NO MOM DON’T BAN ME PLEASE!!” Cindy did not pay her any mind,

then looked at DiNesha and said. “You’re a disgrace and I failed as a mother. Aha,

but since I was giving the unpleasing job of being you mother. I’m not going to ban

you out of the land. I’m Banning you to your room until your 18.” DiNesha looked

at her in disbelief, why would a mother do such a thing? But then she soon had a

moment of relief. She told her mother and she can’t feel bad, from hiding it from her.

“Fine mom, if that’s what you want to do, go head. Just remember you have to live

with the fact that you can’t love you daughter for who she is.” The guard took her

away and she was confined to her room until she was 18. But DiNesha was fine

with it, because she was who she wanted to be and her mother wasn’t going to stop

her.

THE END

Kathy

Vazquez

Once upon a time there was a princess named Chrissie. When she and her husband Prince

John found out they were expecting a little boy, they were very excited. They prepared

themselves by buying lots of clothes and materials for the baby boy. Not only were they very

happy but the princess’ sisters and parents were very happy as well and couldn’t wait for the

baby to come. The youngest sister Lucy couldn’t believe that at six years old she’d become an

aunt. They waited nine long months for his arrival. On the seventh month the princess’ mother

and sisters made her a big party in celebration to welcome a new baby. She had lots of fun; she

received many gifts and everybody played games. The last couple of months were the hardest on

princess Chrissie she was ready for the stork to deliver her new bundle of joy. Finally the day

came, on November 13 the princess waited long for the lazy stork to deliver her baby boy that

was later named after his father. After all the complications and time waited it was all worth

it. Little Johnny was born, and all his family arrived at the castle to see this little 6 pound

baby. Even though Prince John, the father, isn’t present in the little Johnny’s life anymore, all

his little aunties are happy to have him in their lives. And princess Chrissie’s parents welcomed

the baby with open arms at their enormous Castle. Johnny is happy to live at this wonderful

castle with his grandparents who love him like a son and even though his aunts are sometimes

annoyed by him and are rude, they love him so much and would give the world for him.

The End

Eric Minchini

The Medieval Car Crash

Once upon a time, way back when in the medieval times, there were two great

champions. Their names were Eric and Ryan of the HR Dukes and Whales. They were on a

journey to drop off supplies, pick up another fellow champion, and then head back home.

They readied themselves up and began their journey in their chariot named Honda Civic. It

was a long voyage. The weather was harsh and the Gods threw lightning bolts at them, but

that didn’t stop the champions. It took twenty days and nights to reach their first

destination. When they arrived they were greeted warmly and were given some food. After

they ate, Eric and Ryan dropped off the supplies and then headed out on Honda Civic to

their next destination. Eric and Ryan were on their way to pick up the other champion, Sir

Paul of Watson Strike Towers. It had taken ten days to reach Sir Paul’s castle, but they had

finally made it. Eric called for Paul and soon enough they set out back home with Sir Paul.

While on the way home, Paul had warned Eric and Ryan that there were a lot of drunkards

out racing their chariots all across the land. Eric and Ryan listened to what Paul said, but

they weren’t too concerned about it. They thought nothing would happen to them. About five

days from home Eric had gotten tired and told Ryan to course the chariot. Ryan had begun

and all of a sudden a chariot appeared out of nowhere and smashed right into the Honda

Civic. Paul had been knocked out from the hit, but Eric and Ryan were okay. There was a lot

of damage done to their chariot and they realized Paul was right. A drunkard had hit their

chariot. Eric and Ryan apologized to Paul when he later awakened and were relieved that

everyone was okay. And that is the happy ending to this fairytale.

THE END.

Richard Griner

Fairy Tale

Once upon a time in a land where summer was the only season, it never rained and never

got dark and competition surpassed all, there were four kids David, Eric, Zach and Richie this

group of kids felt the need to compete and bet about everything they possibly could.

These four kids were enjoying their summer day out on a corner in their neighborhood

riding their bikes joking around and having a good time when Eric dropped his glasses down a

sewer grate and had no way of getting them out. Richie noticed that he had dropped them so he

stopped riding to pull the grate off and hop down to get the glasses. While he was down there

Zach came up with a challenge that he could not get the grate out of the hole if he were to push it

in so Richie accepted the challenge and hopped out to push the grate in the hole. (Keep in mind

that a sewer grate weighs around 500 pounds.) So Richie hoped back down in to the hole to try to

get the grate out. He had gotten it about half way out of the hole when it got wedged in between

the walls of the sewer so he figured he couldn’t move it out any farther so he took a break for a

little and started to talk to the group and out of nowhere the grate un wedged its self and it

toppled down and crushed Richie’s foot. The rush of pain went through his body and it was like

no other so he knows he had to of broken it so he hoped out of the hole on one foot took his shoe

and sock off to find out his foot was the size of a grapefruit. Right when Zach saw that Richie

had broken his foot immediately busted out and said that Richie has lost the bet. Everyone

helped Richie on to his bike and pushed him off to his shack.

Richie ended up going to the hospital that night to find out he had broken his foot and could not

ride his bike for four weeks, he ended up having to put his foot in a cast for those four weeks.

About three and a half weeks in he could not take it any longer, the feeling of not being able to

move like normal and ride his bike was killing him so one night he decided to take a screw driver

and hammer to the cast to break it off, the next day he was out riding with his friends again and

from that day on everyone lived happily ever after.

Christina DiPilla

Once upon a time, on September 4, 2011 it was a chilly summer day at 5:00 pm. On my

way to pick up my sister from her Prince’s house I was in a car accident, I did not even have the

car for a month yet. A drunken beggar who stole a chariot and hit the back of my car, when I was

getting out and seeing what kind of damage he did to my car I lost my glass slipper. Cops were

called and were on their way to the scene. After I called the cops I called the King and Queen

that were not very happy about the whole situation. A little while after the cops arrived about 10

minutes later the ambulance came. The Prince came running over too me and asked if I was

alright and if I needed to be rushed to the hospital, my answers to the question were “yes I am

alright, and no I do not need an ambulance.” As the Prince walked over to my car and found my

glass slipper that had gone missing when the collision happened. I was tired and getting very

weak in my legs because I was so scared when the accident happened I sat down on the curb and

he grabbed my foot and slipped on my glass slipper. After everything was resolved the cops had

left, the King and Queen had left the scene too, the Prince took me home tucked me in bed

brought me dinner on a tray with a flower in a vase with my plate of food and pain medicine to

help me sleep. As my prince walked out of the room he put a bell on my night stand to ring if I

needed anything. As he walked out he said “get well Princess, I’ll see you in the morning.” I

watched him walk out, I had a shocking look on my face because I never thought I would find

my Prince I rolled over in my bed and fell happily asleep!

THE END

Learning Experience by Evan Garrett

Once upon a time in a land of gumdrops and rainbows, lived Roger the rabbit. Now,

Roger was a smart, humorous, rabbit, but he didn’t have much common sense. It was Roger’s

tenth birthday, and his family and friends wanted to do something special for him. They decided

to rent a couple of fudge lanes at the local bowling alley. Everything was perfect. The sun, with

its bright glowing smile was shining, the three blind mice, who, were selling food, were happily

making candy corn, and the game machine were taking bottle caps by the hundreds. The local

band The Quacksters, with their lead singer Daffy, were playing their set list of songs while Jack

and Jill were at the counter handing out bowling shoes to everyone. While his parents were

collecting the shoes, he acquired his rosebud bowling bowl and proceeded to his lane. The

sugarcane bowling pins were set up and everyone was waiting for him. Food was spread

around on the table and there was a cake in the process of being made. He put on his shoes in

a rush to get to the lane and tripped over his oversized shoes. He didn’t check them before he

put them on and fell because of it. He then swapped out his shoes and went back to his lane.

Everyone was having a great time until Mr. Aggressive showed up. Mr. Aggressive is an angry,

heavy, beast of a bowling bowl who hates everyone. He was pushing all of the other rosebud

bowling balls around. He was sitting in the rack when Roger came up to bowl. Mr. Aggressive

had blended in and you couldn’t tell the difference between him and the others. Roger grabbed

.Mr. Aggressive without knowing and he got into position to bowl. He had gone a couple of

frames without a problem. Then Mr. aggressive became volatile. As he began to bowl, Mr.

Aggressive did something to his hand! He twisted his middle finger and it injured him badly.

Roger dropped his ball and grasped his finger in shear pain. Roger had forgotten to check the

ball before he put it to use, and he was hurt badly because of it. From then on, Roger made

sure he checked everything before putting them to use.

Kenny Wilson

THE BADDEST MOFO AROUND!!!

It all started in the year of 2001. At the age of eight, no one could tell me what to do. I

was labeled as one of the worst kids in Chester. I used to have to walk 23 blocks everyday of the

summer to go swimming at the Boys and Girls Club. One day while swimming I pushed a little

boy off of the diving board because he was taking too long and it was too hot for that. I guess

because I did so, he went to tell his older brother. His older brother was about 10 years of age.

When his brother came to confront me about it, I pushed him in the pool. He had all his good

clothes on. Then I jumped in after him and tried to drown him. We were both kicked out of the

Boys and Girls Club for the rest of the day. The next day on my way back to swim once again I

had been approached. I was about a block away from the club. This time there were about 15-

20 of them waiting for me, including the little boy and his older brother. I knew for fact there

would be a problem but I didn’t care. I fought him and all his boys. Right as I was about to

smash a bottle on his head, a cop hand-cuffed me. Off I was sent to Juvenile Center. I never did

make it to the club that day.

Samantha Lombardo

Once upon a time there was a town called Delcastle where leaders

were either good witches or bad and they lead the munchkins. In this

particular group of munchkins their leader was a wicked witch named

Salad, she resembled a horse in more ways than one. She had two evil

sidekicks, they were Fatty M and Ug.ly S who also were extremely ugly.

The munchkins in their group loved what they did, but were always so

miserable because of them. They made them do unreasonable things and

talked down to them always making them feel not good enough. Witch

Salad had a list of favored and a list of not so favored munchkins.

Unfortunately little munchkin Lombreezy was not a favorite.

Lombreezy had been in this group for three years and hated it more each

year, she was made to carry equipment and criticized more than the

others. Lombreezy kept a positive attitude and always told herself they

didn’t mean to single her out or treat her badly. On her third year things

started to get bad because her time in the group was almost up so they

expected more of her. One day Lombreezy wasn’t feeling well and felt

like staying home so she sent a messenger into town to tell Witch Salad

she didn’t want to attend practice because of how she was feeling, and

the witch didn’t approve at all. She got very angry and said she had to

be at the practice, so Lombreezy asked why one of the other munchkins

was allowed to miss several days and she couldn’t miss one. This is when

Witch Salad got angry and told her sidekick Fatty M to no allow

Lombreezy to attend anything for two days, and said she owed Witch

Salad an apology. Lombreezy refused to apologize for something she

didn’t do, so she handed in her uniform to Fatty M. He was furious at

her and kept asking if she was sure she wanted to leave her fellow

munchkins. When she replied yes he told her to take her uniform to

Salad. So off went little munchkin Lombreezy to hand in her uniform.

When she handed it to her, Witch Salad was angry, you could see it in

her face. Her horse teeth showed and long flared out, her eyes were like

daggers, Lombreezy was upset she left her fellow munchkins but they all

came to her saying they wish they could do the same but they wouldn’t

know what to do without being in this group, or that their parents were

forcing them to be there. Lombreezy felt better knowing her friends still

cared for her and that she had apologized to them. Even though she had

quit the problem continued because Witch Salad liked to feel cool and

talked about Lombreezy around the munchkins, she was an extremely

immature witch as you can probably tell. Lombreezy was angry but

after about a week she brushed it off and continued on with her life, and

surprisingly was a lot happier knowing she could go home every day and

not have to suffer anymore.

Andrea Springfield

The A.I Castle Scare

Once upon a time there was a beautiful girl named Andrea. Well that girl is me of course.

She had gotten extremely sick. She drove on her horse to nearby doctor. This doctor was names

Dr. Yezdani. She was also known as Dr. Evil. She told me I had to get some test done because

she wasn’t so sure what was wrong with me. She sent me to the dungeon where the evil witches

poked and pried at my arm to get a little bit of bloods. I went home and explained to my family

what was going on. Then I get a letter in the mail telling me to rush to the A.I Castle. The A.I

Castle was the well known hospital. I know this wasn’t good although this was a castle it was a

scary. I didn’t know what to expect. The fairy nurse arrived with a big box I had never seen

before. It had an abundance of needles and a strange machine in it. I began to cry hysterically.

My mom held my hand trying to comfort me. It didn’t help any. The Nurse brought out a long

need to start in I.V. I screamed at the top of my lungs for help.. Then she brought out the

machine I had never seen and stuck my Finger. OUCHHH! She squeezed more blood on a strip.

I was confused. This has never had to been done to me before.

Soon after I was done being tortured they brought me to a room. There was a queen sized

bed that had a bright pink canopy over the top. There was a huge plat screen TV mounted on the

wall, And a touch screen laptop. It was fabulous. This brightened my spirits. Then they asked me

did I want to eat, and of course I said yes. They asked me what I wanted, and I was expecting

them to say all they had to offer was healthy food. So I said what do you have to eat. She said,

“Chicken, macaroni and cheeses, sweet potatoes and green beans.” I was ecstatic. It was so

delicious. It was just like a home cooked meal from my grandmothers.

I was waiting and waiting, and waiting and waiting, and finally a gorgeous man walked

in my room. I thought I was going to faint. I think I found my prince charming. He was tall, with

blue eyes and sparkling white teeth. He was wearing a turquoise shirt with a matching tie. He

was all around great until he told me I had diabetes. Never knew what that was and when said

that I had to take shots I freaked out. I thought my life was over. He told me I would have to

limit the sugars I ate and dink diet soda. I was disgusted. I thought this was the worst thing that

could happen to me. Te nurses constantly were in and out of my room sticking my finger. I

eventually got used to it and learned to except it. I it was time for me to leave and my white

horse was waiting. I was so ready to leave, but I didn’t want to leave the gorgeous room. I left

A.I castle and returned home to live a life closest to normal…

My First Kiss went a little like this…

Once upon a time and long ago, there were two little kids who

liked each other’s flow. There was a girl name Alexis, and no she

didn’t live in Texas, but her boo name Louis had the young girl star

struck and clueless. One day Alexis flew in the sky so maybe she

could get a better view of this guy. Nevertheless to her shock he

wasn’t there. He must have perished into thin air. As a result she

went back to the hill where they once met and felt in her heart a big

regret. Suddenly something flew over her head, she thought it was

a bug but it was her boo instead. She couldn’t believe her eyes, he

yelled “surprise”, and happy tears ran down her eyes. Afterwards

they started holding hands and spinning around, until Alexis

tripped and they both fell down. She closed her eyes because she

thought they we’re going to bump heads. However to her surprise

she got her first kiss instead.

By Alexis Maloney

Elizabeth Gonzales

Fairy Tell

One day I started to get really bad heartburns. I figured it was no big deal until they

became more frequent. The heartburns would happen once a week and not let me

sleep. It came to a point where the pain would make me vomit. Then I knew that I

would have to get surgery like my sister did. My sister had put a spell on me. If she had

to go through it then I did as well. At times I was so frustrated that my sister did that

because the pain was unbearable. The days went on and I had to make an

appointment with the doctors. I was glad that the surgeon that was going to operate me

was the same one that did the surgery on my sister. This surgeon was like no other

surgeon. He had magical powers that cured anything. I didn’t want any scars and he

made sure I didn’t. The day of the surgery arrived and I was freaking out. I was so

scared that I almost canceled the appointment. I arrived at the hospital nervous but

then calmed down. I waited and waited longer than expected since the doctor was

called into and emergency surgery. By the end of the day I felt sick because my

stomach was empty. I had nothing to eat for 8 hours. Then it was my turn and the fear

began. I entered the operating room and was very nervous and scared. The surgeon told

me not to worry that everything will be fine. I listened and fell asleep. The doctor then

did surgery with his laser rays to take out my gallbladder. The laser rays were my

salvation since they left no scars. I woke up feeling dizzy but was glad that I would not

get any more heartburn. The doctor discharged me and said maybe one day you can

become a surgeon and use laser rays as well. This made my day better and my sister

jealous.

Jose Carrillo

The New Land

Once upon a time there was a faraway place that many people

talked about and wanted to visit, They say that the land was full

of wonderful things and full of happiness. At that time there lived

a boy named Luis and his family. They all dreamed of coming to

this wonderful place. One day the boy’s father told the family to

pack up their things. He told the family that the new world was

full of jobs and we could have a better life. The father told the

boy that he would get to have all the toys in the world and that he

would meet new friends and have a better life in the faraway

place. The day came and the family was on their way. They left

everything behind and moved on. When they arrived in the new

land it was strange. They didn’t know anyone. In the new land

people spoke a magic language. Neither the boy nor his family

spoke this language. The boy tried talking to kids and wanted to

play with them but he couldn’t understand them. The boy missed

his friends, his home, his room, and all his toys. His father was

never around. Before, his father had more free time and played

with the boy just to play with him every day. Now father had no

time. The boy didn’t have any friends but his father bought him

tons of toys. The boy had a bike, racing cars, coloring books,

video games, water guns, and a flying horse. But the boy was

never happy. He was so lonely. The boy got new toys, played

with them for days and then got tired of them. Finally, the

summer was over. The boy had spent all of his time by himself. He

wished he could go back to his old home and show all of his

friend all his toys. He wished they could all play and enjoy the

new things he had. Finally, a miracle happened. The boy started

school and made a friend. Then he made another friend after a

few weeks he had all the friends he wanted. So the boy was not

lonely anymore; he was happy. And he lived happily ever after.

Mekenzie Smith

Fairy Tale

Once upon a time there was a young married couple name Mike and Jackie.

They lived in a small town together with their daughter Mekenzie, 7 and their son

Michael, who was 5.They thought life was going pretty good for them until their world

was about to change forever in April 2001 . Earlier in the year Mike and Jackie noticed

that Michael was not walking right and he was developing slower than Mekenzie did at

his age. They knew it was best to get him looked at by the doctor. When they got to the

doctor, he checked Michael and did many tests to see if there was a reason for him

developing slowly. A few weeks later they got a call that the results were in and to come

and talk to the doctor. The doctor explained to Mike and his wife that Michael had a

disease called Muscular Dystrophy. The disease is a group of inherited disorders that

involve muscle weakness and loss of muscle tissue, which get worse over time. They

could not believe what they were hearing, that their son was sick. Over time for Michael

it got harder and harder for him to walk. Around the age of 8, he got tired out really

quick from walking and he would always fall. Michael’s parents got him a scooter to ride

around in school and to ride around to far places. When he turned 10, he was fitted for a

wheelchair and still to this day is still in a wheelchair. Michael is not treated different

than anyone else, and feels like a normal kid. Michael’s sister said that he is the most

brave, courageous little boy that she has ever met. He still carries a smile on his face

every day.

Andrew Jones

It was about 6:00 in the morning when the alarm

clock went off and made me wake from my slumber. I

still felt sore from working all day yesterday and all

that I could think about was getting paid for the week.

So I quickly hit the snooze button on the clock and went

back to sleep. I finally woke up and realized that

everyone had left for work but me. Then without

hesitation I decided to take the day off. Instead I flew

around in my hover craft in search of something to

keep me occupied. As I flew around the huge city I saw

over a dozen different things to do, from underwater

rollercoaster’s to outer space traveling. Afterwards I

realized that over several hours had past and I spent

the whole day doing nothing. From that day on I

realized that time is money and instead of wasting time

I should have spent it wisely!

Evilin Hernandez

Once upon a time, there was a little girl named

Indri. It was her last year in kindergarten, and her

town held a celebration every year. It was

tradition for a queen to be picked from the

graduating kindergarten class. One day while the

elections were taking place, some of the other

candidate’s mothers were mad and decided to go to

the principal’s office to argue that Indri had more

support from people in the town and that her mom

Antonia put up too many advertisements to get

votes. They did not feel that this was fair to the

other girls, but the principal felt that the

argument didn’t make any sense. The election

continues as planned. Several days later, and the

time had arrived. It was time to announce the

winner. Everyone was anxious to find out who

would be queen of the parade. After a few seconds

the principal announced Indri as the winner.

Everyone seemed happy, but when the principal

went to place the crown on her head, the runner

up’s mother began screaming the Indri wasn’t

smart enough or pretty enough to be queen and

that she did not deserve to wear the crown. Indri

felt really bad because of all the stuff the woman

said about her. She started crying and ran off the

stage as fast as she could. Her mom went after her

to try and calm her down, but Indri didn’t want to

go back out onto the stage. Indri felt embarrassed

because of what the mother said. Her mom

reassured her that not everyone felt that way.

People will see all of her good qualities, and see all

the obstacles that she had to overcome to get

where she is today. Indri decide to go back out on

stage to show people what she was capable of and

receive her crown. Everyone received her with

loud applause. She finally felt that everyone was

happy that she was queen.

Kaitlin weikle

The Royal Ball

Once upon a time at 3 little bakers there was a girl who was attending a ball. It was the royal ball and nobody

missed it. This place wasn’t just something you went to every day it was something marvelous. There were

round tables after tables lined up with daisy flowers in a basket. On the table six plates, six sliver wear and six

cloth napkins. When seated we seen everything you could imagine to eat for days. Starting out I order my

favorite thing ice tea with lemon. Then I realized the food was coming so I wanted to wash my hands before I

ate. I starting walking to the bathroom, making my way up the stair well with red carpet and the stairs were all

lit up. Once I arrived to the bathroom there was a big heavy door something unusual for this kind of place. I

proceeded to wash my hands with the bubble pink color of soap. I dried off my hands with the white warm soft

towel. When I was walking out I held the door for the lady behind me that was the mistake I made. I was

walking down the hallway and this old lady says “dear what happened to your hand”. I looked at my right hand

and seen nothing wrong I thought the women had lost it. Maybe she needed new glasses. Then I started

moving my left hand to see if anything was wrong with that hand. All I seen was blood running down my hand

and arm. I immediately started crying not because of the pain but because I didn’t know how many fingers

were gone. I ran back to my table as fast as I could the tears were building up I couldn’t see anymore I thought

I was going to fall down the stairs and break a leg. When I got to the table everyone at my table looked in

horror. The waiter said “do you need ice for that”? I said “No my fingers gone I need more than that”. Than the

next thing I knew I was at the hospital getting two shots so I wouldn’t go in to shock. I started to go in to shock

but the calmed me down. I waited for the doctor to come in and tell me what was next. The doctor came in and

looked at me and said I would need an x-ray to see how much damage was done. After that when he told me

exactly what was gone. My left index finger was gone but only half. When the door slammed on my finger it

took bone and nerve. That’s why I didn’t feel anything. The doctor said “that’s an easy fix I’ll have you better in

a day”. He left the room and came back with some kind of special chemical. He dipped my finger in the

chemical wrapped it up and said ill check it tomorrow. The next day at 10 A.M bam there was my whole finger

looked like nothing happened I was so amazed. The doctor said “be careful.” I told him I would. I went home at

2 P.M and no pain like nothing ever happened. Little did I know there was something different about this

finger than I realized. The next day I went to school and this girl says “doesn’t this dress look cute”? I said it

does it looks very cute. My finger instantly got a sharp pain and grew. Yes her dress was ugly I did lie to her. I

still didn’t know what happened. Then I told a truth and it shirked back. It was like something out a fairy tale. I

couldn’t believe what just happened. I went home just amazed my mom knew something was up. I showed her

what I could do and she found it very weird but a good thing for her to know. After everything was all over I was

thankful for having my whole finger back and couldn’t believe I had a special gift no one would know about or

had. I went for a check-up on my finger with the doctor. He said “have you figured out what’s different about

this finger.” I said “yes I have and it’s something I use every day to say the truth.” After that I lived for a long

time and enjoyed my finger.

Quamire Breece

Once upon a time there was a 15 year old boy name Quam that had his wisdom teeth

pulled because they were hitting the nerve that runs through his jaw. The doctor told him and

his mother that he had to get the wisdom teeth pulled or else they’ll continue to grow in and

potentially paralyze his jaw. He got terrible migraines from the pressure on the nerve. The

decision was made; Quam went under the knife a week later being drugged up with laughing

gas and IVs to numb the pain. Quam was paranoid about getting the surgery done because he

was wondering what if during the surgery the surgeon hit the nerve trying to remove them but

still continued on. Three hours later the surgery was done and the laughing gas wore off just

enough to know what’s going on but he was still too drugged up to walk so the nurse brought

him a wheelchair to be transported to the car. Immediately after being in the car Quam fell

asleep from the medicine. The next day Quam woke up with a swollen mouth and he couldn’t

eat anything but apple sauce, soup, and jelly. As the days went by Quam started feeling better

and started eating more and more. He was prescribed pain killers for the pain and mouth wash

to keep the wounds clean. The last day of the recovery process he and his mother went back to

the doctor to have the wounds checked to make sure they were healing correctly and have the

stitches removed. For weeks it was difficult for him to eat some foods due to the

uncomfortable feeling of having open pockets in the back of his mouth. He managed to deal

with it, eating most of his favorite food except spicy foods and candies. About a month later

Quam’s mouth was fully recovered, now being able to fully enjoy foods again. Quam is now 17

and doesn’t get migraines anymore; he lives life to the fullest like every person should.

Ashley Williams

WINNER!!

Once upon a time a little girl living deep in the woods had a chance of a life time

but the question was how she would handle this opportunity. This little girl name was

Ashley and Ashley never wanted nothing but to see the world and visit other places. She

looked for routes and roads that would someday somebody would get her there. Now

Ashley wasn’t the average girl she was the smart one out of the group. She loved school

and she always did her work. Believing that one day it will all pay off. Well one day

while Ashley was completing her house chores her mother called her to the kitchen. Now let

take it back a bit the only reason why Ashley had much faith in her talent was because she

won first place in the state champion in the Business Professional of America. They told

her if she was lucky that she would be placed on the National list. “Ashley come down

here now!” mom yelled. I never personally knew why that woman likes to yell some much

and never one day lost her voice, well from my understanding. “Yes mom why are you

yelling” I asked. “You have a letter here from your school” she replied. I opened the

letter and inside was a letter saying they wanted to welcome me and my team the National

championship in Reno, Nevada. Now for a minute I thought this can’t be true because

that place is all the way over on the west coast I knew our school and parents wouldn’t let

us go that far from home. Still reading the letter with my mom constantly asking me

what the letter says we received a phone call. It was my grandmother saying that she was

reading the news paper and my school was mention in there for coming in first place. My

mom was a little hesitant on whether she was going to let me go because I was young still

in middle school and I get home sick very easily. But for the past couple of days I had to

promise her I won’t get home sick and want to come home until after my trip and I

promise to call you every day.

Going to school the next day I noticed all my friends got the same letter because

they met me at the front door. “This is a fairy tale I know I’m not getting a chance

that I always wanted.” I thought. “Hey Mrs. Smith” I said “Good morning my first

place winners.” She replied with a smile. Now Mrs. Smith was a short lady dark skin

and she lived right across the street from me on the Westside. Her and her husband owned

the best corner store every kid dreamed of. They had everything you wanted. She lived in

this little house that looked as if it was something else before it became her store and her

home. “Okay you guys, here is where the work began.” “Grab a computer and your

assignments are specifically described on the board” demanded Mrs. Harmon. My

assignment was to present the life of a medical examiner. I had to present all the

information about the life, salaries, jobs, colleges, uniform & etc.

Arriving in the Reno Nevada after two long plane rides. I arrived in Phoenix

Arizona, grabbed something to eat and grabbed my seat on the next plane. After flying for

numerous hours I yelled.”AHHHHHHHH!!!! We’re finally here!” Many kids

different race. Easily to get lost we made sure we all had fully charged phones. Where

are we in this big hotel?? After getting settled I decided to explore the hotel a little more.

“OMGGG!! I’m lost. I’m young in this big hotel and it’s only me, now what if someone

come and takes me.”I asked myself. I’m this scared little girl standing in the middle of

the big hall way. All these people in this hotel and no one in the same area as me! “Okay

so I’m going to just sit here.”I whined. I felt like I need to be saved by my prince

“Ashley!!!” my friend yelled. “What are you doing?” she asked “I got lost” I said.

“Okay well you do have the map in your folder but its twenty minutes until your

presentation.” She informed me

After my 30mins presentation, I felt good. I felt like I present all the information

I needed to give. They smiled and told me I did a great job and that I was the best one

so far. I needed to wait for 20 minutes until my results…10:00…10:05…10:15…those

last five min felt like the longest five minutes ever. The lady arrived and presented me

with an envelope said congratulation GAUGER-COBBS MIDDLE SCHOOL won

first place in our NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP in RENO, NEVADA… We

will receive our metals at the end of our trip. So for the next couple weeks we soaked up

the sun, spent money, partied, made friend and had FUNNN!!!!! When it was time for

us to walk the long hallway to the ball room we spent those minutes reminiscing about what

we bought and took pictures of. “Gosh man being on the first trip I felt like I fell off a

wall broken into pieces and being on this trip I felt like I was Cinderella with my glass

slipper” I whispered to Jillian. After ten minutes they reached our school and told us all

the awards we won. We walked out with two first place gold metals and a glass plaque

that said FIRST PLACE IN BUSINESS PROFESSIONAL OF

AMERICAN in RENO. NEVAVDA

Jacob Baker

Fairy Tale It was long ago. A young boy is having problems with his poor little heart. Not even old enough

to realize what is going on. The boy’s parents are crying, trying to find out what is wrong with

their boy. The doctor comes in with his bright white jacket and his intimidating face. Comes

over and tells the parents “your son has a hole in his heart.” “How does that even happen?” the

boys’ parents think too themselves. They are told he needs to have surgery very soon or it will

be life threatening to the child. The parents immediately ask for the surgery to be done to save

the boy’s life.

They take the boy into surgery a week later and he was in for about 1 hour. His parents

paced back and forth, waiting for the doctor to come in and give them the news. The doctor

comes in the room, tired, looking a mess. He says “the surgery was a success, you may see your

son in a little if you’d like”. Right as they heard the words come out of the doctors’ mouth they

started crying. Tears of joy they were, not of sadness. They go into the room, happy as anything

to see their boy sleeping in a special container. The boys’ heart is working good as new now and

he will live a long life. Want to know how I know this? It’s because that little boy is writing this

story right now.

Karen Avila

Fairy Tale

Once upon of time there was a lady named Big Mama. She was

giving birth at the hospital next to her house. Big Mama was pushing

every time she had a contraction. She was pushing and pushing in with

the third push, a child came to the world. It was a little baby girl that was

healthy and weighed 6.21oz. After she left the hospital Big Mama was

going to start experiencing what is life. She was taking care of a baby and

being a mother at a young age. After two months had passed Big Girl was

getting bigger and Big Mama felt really tired and old. Big Mama also

thought that her life had changed because now she was a teen mother,

going to school, and couldn’t do all the things she used to do. Even though

Big Daddy was helping she didn’t really like him being there. One year

later Big Girl was walking and talking a lot and giving Big Mama love.

Big Mama always said that “I will never get pregnant again for the next

five years!” But Big Mama was just saying that. She got pregnant again

and will be having a boy. She thought that she had learned her lesson the

first time with Big Girl. Now she will have to start all over again!!!!

Vs.

A LAND WHERE EVERY CREATURE YOU CAN IMAGINE FAUGHT TO SEE WHO WAS THE BEST. WHETHER IT WAS ON YOUR HOMELAND OR YOU’RE OPPONENTS YOU FAUGHT TILL THE LAST CREATURE WAS STANDING. OUT OF THE MANY BATTLES ACROSS THE LAND THERE WAS ONE THAT STOOD OUT THE MOST. COUGARS VS THE YELLOW JACKS….. IM A FIERCE CAT, VERY MIGHT Y AND STRONG WE BEAT THE YELLOW JACKS WHAT WENT WRONG I LOVE BEING A COUGAR HERE ME ROAR WE WON “HOORAY” SHOUT OUT “VICTORY, VICTORY, VICTORY IT ALL STARTED ON A HOT AND SUNNY DAY, YOU CAN HEAR THE BUZZING OF THE YELLOW JACKS AND THE ROARS OF THE COUGARS. HOW CAN SUCH SMALL FLOWING YELLOW JACKS GO UP AGAINST MIGHTY AND WISE COURGARS? FIRST UP WAS THE YELLOW JACKS STARTING AT PLATE TRYING TO SOAR STRAIGHT TO HOME. BUT BLOCKED BY THE MIGHTY COUGARS EVERY CHANCE THE LITTLE BUGGERS CAN GET. TAKING 3 DIFFERENT CHANCES NOT MAKING IT ONCE TO HOME OH WELL BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME I SAY. “NOW ITS ARE TURN” EACH COUGAR SAID STANDING PROUD LOOKING OVER EVERY LAST COMPONENT THEIR UP AGAINST. THE FIRST COUGAR UP GAVE THOSE BUGGERS THE MOST POWERFUL BLOW AND COULD MAKE IT HOME INSTANTLY. NOT EVEN A FEW SECONDS WENT BY WHEN EVERY LAST COUGAR MADE IT TO THE YELLOW JACKS HOME AND NOT JUST ONCE. AS IT CAME TO THE ENDING OF THE DAY THE YELLOW JACKS WERE IN A GREAT DEFEAT AND THE COUGARS WALKED OF PROUD AS EVER. ANOTHER DAY THE BATTLED AND YET AGAIN WON AND IT WASN’T EVEN ON THEIR HOMELAND. CHANTING….. IM A FIERCE CAT, VERY MIGHT Y AND STRONG WE BEAT THE YELLOW JACKS WHAT WENT WRONG I LOVE BEING A COUGAR HERE ME ROAR WE WON “HOORAY” SHOUT OUT “VICTORY, VICTORY, VICTORY By: Tiara Brown

Brandon Fletcher

Once upon a time there was a boy named Brandon. Brandon was little, he was about 5. Brandon

loved to play with his big brother, Chris, and his friends all the time and aspired to be like Chris. One day

Chris and his friends were playing football. Brandon went outside and saw them playing. They got

muddy, and grassy, and to a 5 year old boy, that was pretty awesome! Brandon begged Chris to let him

play, and after what seems like hours, Chris says yes. Brandon is filled with joy and excitement, but at

the same time nervous, he hopes that he does well and impresses all the neighborhood kids, and he

hopes that they’ll let him play with them more often after he proves that he’s more than just a little kid.

Brandon was on Chris’ team with a couple other big kids. After a few plays Brandon becomes sad

because all the big kids are avoiding giving him the ball, or even trying to cover him, he wishes that he

could show them what he’s made of. Chris explains in the huddle “alright, Brandon, it’s your turn to

shine, I’ll hand the ball off to you, no matter what, don’t let go of this ball.” Brandon nods with

excitement and determination. The play starts and the teams scatter, Brandon stands behind Chris

anxiously, very suddenly Chris passes the ball and Brandon darts as fast as he can. Running for what

seems like as fast as lightning to a little kid, he actually is progressing the field slowly. Brandon sees the

tree that marks the touchdown line, he feels so close, but suddenly the biggest kid on the block, Bud,

charges at Brandon at full force. In a flash Brandon is on the ground and excruciating pain shoots

through his whole body, but particularly his arm. Brandon stands up as quickly as possible and yells at

the top of his lungs “My ankle!” The kids laugh because he is holding his arm violently while he cries that

his ankle hurts. Little did they know that the pain was so bad that he couldn’t even tell what body part is

hurting him. After a closer look the kids start to panic, his arm is bent in a way it shouldn’t. Chris cries

frantically for his mom, and she starts her car and drives Brandon to the hospital immediately. Brandon

gets a cast and starts to recover, after a few months of therapy; Brandon’s arm is fully healed. After that

experience, Brandon has learned one thing, don’t play with the big kids, at least until you’re a big kid

yourself.

Jacob hallett

A long, long time ago, in a land far, far away, there was

a boy named Jake. He believed the whole world was made

up of music. Everything! Any object could make a noise.

That noise could then be turned into a song. He is always

listening to music. Constantly! 24/7. He is very quiet. Never

speaks. it’s very rare to catch him mutter a few words.

You are very lucky if you actually a complete sentence

out of him. The reason he never talks is because he is

concentrating on the music being played in his ears. He

always walks to the park. It is filled with kids and ponies

and unicorns and really big fluffy clouds. When one day

he spots a girl. He thinks she is absolutely beautiful. Long

curly brown hair, cute little nose, nice defined eyebrows,

the most beautiful smile he has ever laid his eyes on, and

mainly her breath taking hazel brown eyes. He is too shy

to talk to her. So he goes home, he sees an ad on TV for a

guitar. He begs and begs and begs his parents to get it for

him. They tell him if he really wants it he will have to

work hard and earn the money. So he gets a job at the

local store. it’s very long hours of very hard work. when

he finally has gathered up enough money for it he goes to

order it and…………………….sold out!!! he falls into a deep

depression. He cries himself to sleep each night for weeks.

But then one morning he looks out the window and sees an

old man fly into his room. He is scared but remains calm.

The man begins to tell him that he is his mind reader. In

this town, there is one person who Can read your mind. Kind

of like your match. He pulls a guitar out of thin air. Like

magic. Jacob gasps. The guitar is glowing like it has

fallen from heaven. The man gives it to him and says

enjoy. Then he disappears before Jacob can even thank

him. He starts playing it and he is playing so good. Way

beyond his capability. The guitar is magic he says to

himself. He jets out the door and runs to the park. Nobody

is there. He sits on the bench. Suddenly, the girl he has had

his eyes on comes out from a cloud. She walks toward him.

He begins to play his guitar. He then realizes the guitar is

a way to show your emotion to someone. Its pulls the

emotion from your heart down to your finger tips. She

feels the love he is expressing. The two of them fall in

love. He then finds out her name. Its jasmine. He names the

guitar after her. He sees a kid walking down the street

and gives it too him. He tells him one day you will find the

love of your life using this guitar. Both Jacob and jasmine

walk off into the sunset. He realizes, music really is

everything…..

The end

Significant Fairy Tale of My Life

One glorious day in the neighborhood, two young gents and I took a

stroll down the forest to find a delicious morning snack. We all knew

what we were looking for, but we did not know where to begin our

journey of the most glorious, delicious, satisfying breakfast any of us

has ever endeavored. We began our journey by planning out every move

we would make the night before to find the land of Ihop. Our period of

travel was going to be long, daring, and above all the most dangerous

thing anyone had ever done. We planned to encounter many thieves and

robbers, but what we came across was nothing any of us were expecting.

We awoke at the crack of dawn, giving ourselves plenty of time to

prepare; it was a warm sunny morning. It was an unusual morning, it was

the middle of march and birds were chirping, no clouds were insight. We

all packed our belongings and walked to our magical dragon. As we

took flight one of the gents noticed a strong smell, the smell of a dark

daemon. Suddenly, out of nowhere Argus panoptes, the hundred eyed

giant, with its mouth wide open began to engulf us. We panicked; no one

knew what to do. But miraculously our fearless dragon friend breathed

a fiery bolt straight to the uvula of the Argus panoptes. The daemon

was down; we were released from his deathly wrath. As we all crawled

out through the hundred eyed giants mouth, to our amazement, we were

at our destination. Our lives were complete, and our stomachs were full

of waffles and pancakes, with delicious wiped cream and strawberry

toppings. Our journey ended here.

Mark Pedicone

Brittney Jones

The mermaid that fell in love

Once upon a time my dad woke up and said its s a nice day to go fishing. He called up my

grandparents and invited them to go to. When we were all ready to go we went out on the boat. My

dad picked a spot where he thought was a good spot to catch fish and everyone begun to fish. For a

couple of hours we caught three fish. My grandfather went to cast his fishing pole out and when he

did that it hooked my nose and before he could throw the hook in the water my dad stopped him.

Then when he stopped him my dad unhooked the hook from my nose. He then gave me some ice

to put on it. After that we went home. When I got home I was feeling A little weird so I went to

take a bath. I put the bubbles in and had my bath all set up. I got in and sat there for awhile. My

legs started to feel tingly. I ignored it and laid there for awhile. When I was ready to get out I tried

to get up but couldn’t. My legs felt like bricks I tried lifting my feet up and a fish tail came up from

the water. I was shocked that I was looking at my own legs and they were transformed into a fish.

Or better yet a mermaid. I then sat there for awhile thinking how this happened. Then I came up

with something I think from whatever was on that hook that was hooked in my nose had

something that got into my bloodstream and turned me into this. I drained the water out of the tub

and then grabbed for the towel and laid it on me. I could not let my parents know about what

happen. Well not now anyway. Maybe by tomorrow it will go away. So I fell asleep in the tub. I

woke up the next day and seen that my fish tail was gone. I then thought to myself maybe if I touch

water then I transform. So my best shot for no one to find out is to avoid water until I’m alone. I

then got up and got dressed and went to the living room. My mom and dad were out there. I asked

if I could go walk on the beach and the said yes so I headed for the beach. There was no one out

there so I went for a swim as soon as I touched the water I turn into a mermaid I then went to go

explore the sea. The sea was beautiful! There where coral reefs everywhere and little fishes and I

had spotted a dolphin. A went to go closer to the dolphin to pet it. The dolphin let me pet it. After

I was done exploring the sea I went close to the shore and lifted myself on a large rock there was

no one around so I took a nap. And five minutes later I heard a noise right next to me and turned

around and saw a very cute boy. He sat right next to me. I jumped in the water because my tail still

didn’t go away yet. He hollered and said “don’t worry I’m not going to hurt you.” I lifted my head

out the water and asked what he was doing here. He said he went to take a walk on the beach and

saw a me on a rock and when he got closer he was amazed to see me. And then he asked how I

turned into a mermaid and I then told him. He thought that was cool. We talked a little more

about are lives and out of nowhere he asked me out. I asked why he would go out with someone

like me and he said I was different and that I was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. After

that we lived happily ever after.

Love, Happiness, Faith

Once upon a time two people met in McCullough Middle School 8th grade year. They didn’t quite know each other because they only had homeroom together. At the time Ja’Lisa noticed this handsome boy staring at her all the time and trying to flirt but she thought nothing of it. A couple weeks went by and the boy Q sent a romantic letter on December 6th 2007, saying, Will You go out with me? And attached with that letter, was a drawing that said, I LOVE YOU Ja’Lisa! Ja’Lisa instantly got butterflies in her stomach and didn’t know what to do….. She then talked to the “Love expert,” Jade and she told her, “If you like him give it a shot! Love is a great feeling!” Ja’Lisa wrote back and said, “Yes!”, so from that moment on Ja’Lisa and Q were officially together. From that day on neither of them were single. They were both scared and clueless. As days and weeks passed by, the two of them got to know each other more and more. Then the day came….the First Kiss. It happened in Loveville Lane Hallway on February 3rd, 2008! Ja’Lisa was scared and couldn’t help but smile when she seen him coming her way. At 2:23 p.m. Q came to Ja’Lisa’s locker # 143! It was just the two of them. Seeing hearts in his eyes Ja’Lisa took a deep breath and kissed him for the first time. It was so romantic and after that day Ja’Lisa had a feeling that he would be the one she would date for a long time. Happily ever after they are still together on this day! They both fell in love with each other and plan to be together forever!

Ja’lisa Davis

Matthew Werts,

a troubling life…

A boy once sat here many years ago, he was happy, cheery, and

without a care in the world. But alas, all happiness must

eventually come to a close. He had soon been faced with a

challenge from another over a matter of low importance. He being

raised a valiant and brave person, accepted. After only a few

moments he had won and the matter settled. But the advisory had

other plans, turning him over to the authorities for “unwarranted

violence”. The boy received a harsh punishment of standing in the

hot sun for days on end. From that moment he swore to never again

act in any way deserving of punishment. True to his word, he never

reacted to the taunts of his enemies, he ignored them and they

called him weak for it. For many months it continued, eventually his

friends began to leave him, first just ignoring him, and then they

began to torment him as well. He endured, growing ever sadder at

the thought of his once good friends betraying him so they could

become just like those they had once hated. This continued for many

years escalating until it came down to senseless violence against

him. He still endured as long as he could, until one day he had had

enough and he left his old haunts and moved on to a new place to

become a new person. Once he had arrived he spotted one of the

few friends he had left and immediately established himself there

as one of them and all went well. Days turned to weeks, weeks to

months, and finally just when life was perfect again someone from

his old life followed him to his new home. Now however, he was

prepared and was willing to stand up without the risk of

punishment. He succeeded and turned his life around. He was truly

happy, but, happiness never lasts forever.

Epilogue

How many times in your life have you thought about what defines you? How

often have you tried to find ways to make your life more meaningful? As my

students sat and read “The Freedom Writers Diary”, they were amazed to see

what other kids went through. They could never seem to get enough of the

book or activities that went along with the reading. One of the questions

that I would ask them over and over was “What defines you as a person?”

The conversations and insight the students had was something I did not

think I would get to see.

The following pages are a series of quotes the students felt best described

them as people. As I read them I realized that adults do not always give

children the ability to express how they truly feel. I hope after you have

read this you gain a glimpse of what I had the honor of seeing for months.

I hope you have enjoyed these stories as much as I have!

Remember: Only you can choose who and what defines

you!

The way is through

Distance is only a walk

away

Live everyday like if you

were dying

Life is a beach. Im

just playing in the sand

Bear defeat without losing

heart...

Everything happens for a

reason.

Who needs a partner when you have friends?

Who needs friends when you have family?

Who needs family when you have yourself?

Being independent is one of the best character traits you can have.

Be Yourself!

I’m overdramatic, I say weird things, I

love to have fun, and I am the only

one.

ANYTHING BUT ORDINARY

Why live in the past when you have a bright and shiny

future!

To have trust is to have faith

Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll

die today

You never truly know unless you try