“The City of Elsweyr”
By Kade Arnold
Hello, my name is Ache
Williams. I know what you're about to say. What kinda name is Ache? Well my mom
is not very good with names considering she's a drunk and my dad wasn't there
to help her at all. My mom never talks about my dad. She would sometimes talk
in her sleep saying that he's some handsome prince who would come and whisk her
away from the troubles of this world, but other than that she wouldn't talk
about him at all. I've grown to hate my dad. I'm 15 years old and my mom wants
to think he's coming back but deep down she knows that he will never come back.
He would have already done so.
***
I walk into school. And see Matthew, my best friend
since the 5th grade. ¨Hey Matt, how have you been?¨ I ask.
Matt replies,¨ I’ve been great man. Mom and Dad are back
together and we had our first Christmas together in 10 years!!¨
I sigh,¨That's great
man.¨
¨Oh I'm sorry man I
completely forgot about your parents, how's your mom doing?¨ Matt asks.
¨Oh she's well you know
always drunk and thinking about Dad,¨ I reply. I look out of the corner of my
eye and see Andrew and his gang walk over to us.
¨ Hey Ache¨ Andrew says,
¨we’re about to go over the old construction site near old dead man henry's
grove, wanna come?¨
I look at Matt nervously
then look back at Andrew and reply, ¨Sure we would love to go, but I need to go
by the house first and get my phone, is that ok?¨ I ask.
“Yeah man that's fine,
just be quick about it because we wanna go down there now. “Andrew
replies.
***
I walk into my house and see my mom with a whole case of
beer on the couch drinking them. ¨Would you put the drinks down for 5 seconds
you old drunk hag?¨ I ask.
¨ W-ww what?¨ Slurs Ms. Williams. I walk into his room and grab my
phone.
¨ I'm going to leave now¨ I say, ¨so just don't leave the house,
you're drunk and just don't leave ok?¨ I ask frustrated. She nods and
falls asleep. I sigh and walk out of the door.
***
We arrive at the buildings. They look like they were once honored.
Standing taller and more mighty than any of the other buildings in their day,
but now there both nothing but a pile of heap, all torn and worn down.
Andrew looks around and says,¨ Who wants to go first?¨.
I look at him and say, ¨ I'll go first all I gotta do is just jump
right?¨.
Andrew replies, ¨Yeah that's all you gotta do just jump and we
will accept you into our gang¨.
I look at the huge gap in between the buildings then look back at
Andrew and smile trying to mask my nervousness. I breathe in and out trying to
steady my breath. I walk back to get a headstart but before I get ready to
run
Matt yells,¨ Wait!¨,
so I stop and look back at him.
He walks over to me and says, ¨ I'm jumping with you, you're not
gonna do this alone.” I smile and nod nervously and together we run. I jump and
make the distance, but I look back and Matt is hanging on his fingertips. I
panic and grab his hand but I'm not strong enough. My grip slips and we fall
into the black abyss.
***
I wake up from a sleep
that felt like an eternity and look around in this new place I seem to be in.
Matt is on the ground next to me, so I shake him and he wakes up.
He looks at me and asks, ¨Where are we man? Is this heaven?¨
I look at him and reply
with just a shrug of my shoulders. True, I had no idea where we were. I start
walking and say, ¨We should probably start walking man, find some
civilization.
Matt nods his head and we start walking. It seems like hours
before we finally got out of that forest but we saw a tower in the distance. I
look at Matt and he smiles. We are starving and that tower might be the center
of a city if this place even has cities. Together we start running but see a
person in the distance. We run faster but I can't believe what I'm seeing. It's
my mom and she is completely covered in blood.
“Westbrook
County”
By
Ke’Myah Anderson
My
name is Ella Mae, a 15 year old sophomore from westbrook
county. I usually don't write in the old dusty journal but I don't have no one
to talk to and I don't have any friends. I’m just an old redhead with dusty
hammy down clothes and a purple sweater momma made for me. I wish i had
designer bags and fancy clothes to wear but i guess we don't have that type of
money. I live with my mom and dad. I'm the only child but my family has been
messed up lately. Momma has cancer and will probably die and time soon but I
try not to think about it. Daddy has been coming home late as usual tore up
drunk. Reason i think he's acting like this is because he's missing
momma. I pooped out the door to make sure he was asleep so i could get a glass
of milk to help me go to sleep so I could see momma tomorrow at the hospital. I
tip toppedall the way to the kitchen without making a sound. Pouring a
glass of milk drunk it all the way down to there was no more placing it on the
counter. As I walked out I heard a bang the cup fell on the floor and my dad
woke up. He stood as tall as a tree and hit me right across my face saying “GO
TO YOU ROOM!”.I cried myself to sleep.
Next
morning I woke up, brushed my teeth, washed my face and stared in the
bathroom mirror. You couldn’t really see the bruise but I put makeup on just in
case somebody noticed it. I walked in the living room where he was sloppy junk
last night and could smell the lingering alcohol. I couldn’t get anything to
eat because I was going to be late to see momma. She looks pale and sick.
She couldn’t even open her eyes. I said my goodbyes to momma and as I walked
out I went home. We didn't have school today so it got canceled. I opened the
door and saw that the house was a mess of food pizza boxes, bottles of soda,
alcohol everywhere! Then I saw him coming from the kitchen.
I said “what have you
been doing all day for there to be junk everywhere?” in a shaky
voice.
“Don't worry about it,
I'm going out to the bar.” says in a strong voice
“You're always going
somewhere you never stay home, how would you feel if mom was to know
about this?”
By
the time I could finish my sentence he hit me right across my face.
“Next time it's going to
be worse clean up or do something I will be back by 12.”
‘’I wish you were out of
my life the only thing you do is hit me and your always drunk.’’ as i said the
he just walked out of the door
Crying
I realize that I have to get out of here. I can’t keep letting my dad hit me
constantly get away with it every time and come home some nights drunk and
abusive.
The
next morning I had school and did my normal routine walking in the living
room didn't see my dad. I thought to myself it's said i don't have a
responsible dad to take care of me and play with. At school we had to take a
test as the teacher passed them out. I tried to hide my mark from where my dad
had hit me. The test was super easy. I was the smartest person in the school so
far. After the test Mrs.Williams called me to the front of the classroom and
told me “ the principal will like to see you Ella may.”
I
said “ yes ma’am.”
As
I went to the front I thought what's wrong and what happened . When I got
to the office the principal told me to come down and take a seat. We have to
talk about some things.
I
sat down and she said “Your dad died on the way home.”
“How
, when i can't believe this!”
“The police say someone
slipped something in his drink.”
“Can i be excused
please?”
¨Childhood Nightmare¨
By Laura Angus
“Mom, will we ever meet
Grandma?” asked my eight-year-old daughter. I thought about what she said, then
replied, “ your grandmother wasn’t the nicest when I was young.”
“Did she abuse you Mom, and what about your
siblings?” asked my twelve-year-old son. “How about I explain what happened in
my childhood,” I answered him.
When I was about ten years old my father had abandoned my
family, and we found out he had been cheating on my mum. My mother used alcohol
as her resort to stop the pain. She started to get abusive towards us,
especially me. I was about fifteen when I started to work two jobs so I could
get my family food and supplies, since my mother used hers for alcohol. The
door slammed and I know my mother is home, I tell my siblings to stay in the
room. “Stay here, I will be right back,” I told my three younger siblings.
“Is she going to
hit you again?” asked Timothy.
“No She won’t hit
me,” I lied to them.
As I go into the
kitchen I check the clock and notice it’s almost six, which is when I have to
go to work.
“What do you want, you
piece of garbage,” said my mother.
“I came to get a bottle
of water, mother,” I replied.
“Don’t give me attitude,
you worthless little girl,” she says, while slapping me across the face. I
clutched my check trying not to cry, as my check is stinging red.
“I did not give you an
attitude,” I said as calmly as I could. She slaps and kicks me this time I hit
my face on the counter. “Ahhhhh!” I scream out in pain. Holding my stomach my
mom hit me in the stomach hard enough I felt my rib break.
“Get up you fat pig,”
said my mother, so I got up, “ and, stop eating you look horrible.” With tears
in my eyes as I go upstairs, and I hear little cries coming from the
bedroom. I see Molly crying, Molly comes up to me, “ you promised she wouldn't
hit you.”
¨I know I
did, but she is in a bad mood today,” I replied.
“You say that everyday,”
Daisy said.
When I got home my mom
was passed out in the living room. I go upstairs and tell my siblings and tell
them goodnight. Finally, I am able to sit down and relax. Lifting up my pillow
I grab the picture of my dad and me. I tear up, wishing he would just come
back. With a twist of emotions, I throw the picture against the wall breaking
it. Picking up the picture I think to myself, why did you have to leave us,
where we are not good enough for you. I started to cry against my pillow. Then
I look over at my mirror in my room and I look at myself and think those things
my mom says about me are really true. That made me cry harder, I really hate it
here. Then, I remembered tomorrow is my sixteenth birthday, well once I get my
licenses I can pack and leave this horrible place. It has been two days since
my birthday, and my mom has gotten worse. I come down in the morning to see my
mother standing there.
“Good morning, you lazy
brat,” says my mother and trips me where I smash my face on the ground. I start
to cry and my mother says this, “oh are you going to cry you baby. If you're
planning to leave you have nowhere to go, you have no friends. Obviously, your
dad didn’t want you. I don’t even want you so I hope you do leave.” Something
snaps inside me and I yell at her,
“That’s right I am done
living here, I don’t need you in my life, you make it miserable. I know my dad
didn’t want me, I know I am fat, why do you think I don’t eat. I know I am a
dissapoint, okay I know.” She slaps me hard against the face and I run upstairs
to grab my stuff.
“Are you really
leaving?” asked Molly.
“Yes, I can’t stay here
anymore,” I replied.
¨Can we come with
you?” asked Timothy.
“I will come back
for you guys when I get money and a place for us to stay. Then we can be a
proper family, I promise that,” I said. They looked at me with tears in their
eyes as I grabbed my stuff. I hugged them as tight as I could.
“So you are actually
leaving ugly, “ said my mom.
“Yes I am getting away
from your horrible self,” I said.
“You won’t surive
without me you can’t do anything for yourself, stupid goblin,” she
replied.
“Yes, I can survive
without you. I have for these past years, I don't need you,” I said.
“Well lose weight while
you are at it you look pregnant,” said my mom harshly. I replied coldly,
“even if I was
pregnant, I would be a better mom than you ever were.”
“You were a
disappointment anyway I didn’t even want you, but your father convinced me to
keep you,” said my mother.
“Well I-I,” I
didn't know what to say so I left.
I finished the story,
and I started to cry. “Did you ever get your siblings?” asked Luke.
“No, I never had enough
money for them to live with me, I regret not getting them,” I said after wiping
my eyes. I hear my phone ring and I don’t know the number but I answer
the phone.
“Is this, Lily-Rose, I
am your sister Daisy.” I gasp and tear up,
“Yes this is
Lily-Rose.”
“Wow, It is you well um,
mother has passed,” said Daisy.
“She has,” I say.
¨Yes,” replies Daisy.
Daisy said, ¨ I miss you,” she says.
“I miss you too,”
I say.
“Brothers In Arms”
By Lawton Daniels
A big truck rolled up to
the center of town. Men of all ages and sizes jumped on the back, so I
followed. As we rode on down the roads to who knows where, the men in the truck
began to sing songs and goof off. Then someone tapped my shoulder. He was a sorta
middle aged fella. He offered me a canteen of some unknown liquid. Trying to
keep a low profile, I took the canteen, thanked him, and took a sip. Right as
that liquid hit my tongue, I know just what it was. Whiskey. I spit it out and
tried to scrape off the sour and disgusting taste.
“Hah! Can’t hold yuh
liquor?”
“Nothing that strong”, I
replied back, worried I had just blown my cover.
“Don’t worry lad, I
couldn’t either back in the day. Just takes practice.” He said as he gulped
down a mouthful of the liquor.
“Names Daniel
McCormick.”, the man said, “and yours?”.
“Alex King.” I replied.
We gave each other a good handshake and became friends.
***
We had been training for
a good three months, and Daniel and I had really improved, and our brigade got
orders to go to France to help the French army maintain their base just north
of the river Somme. We headed to France around six in the morning and it took a
while by truck to get there, but we did. We were stationed there for a few days
and everything was normal until July 1st. On this day, the German army began an
assault on our outpost. Daniel and I got put on the front line.
“This is it Danel!” I
hollered to him, “the fight of our lives!”.
“Yeah, lets just hope
it's not the last fight of our lives.”
“Amen brother.”.
***
And with that the German
forces began their assault. We began firing at them. I was running around both
firing and taking care of the wounded. At this moment I realized, this is no
game. Some may have joined the war with the idea that they’d be heros and be
loved by everyone, like I did all those months ago, but when you’re in the
belly of the beast, You lose all of those thoughts and only one thought floods
your brain. Survive. It began to rain down lead from the heavens, and I felt
the fear that a simple 15 year old should feel. I jumped in the trenches and
hid. “Alex, you maggot, get out of that little hidey hole of yours and fight!”
Daniel yelled at me. Then boom. A mortar strike hit right near me. It blew me
away and out of the trenches. I was bleeding all over, when suddenly I had the
worst thought.
“Daniel!”, I yelled.
Frantically searching the pile of ash and dirt. Then I found him. He had half
of his leg blown off and most of his face missing. He looked like something
you’d see at a messed up circus.
“Don’t worry Daniels,
I’ll take care of this.”. I lifted him up onto my shoulder and ran back to our
trenches. I tried to lay him down gentle, but with all the adrenaline coursing
through my veins, it was hard to stay still. He moaned in pain, then said to me
in a weak and feeble voice,
“You wanna drink?”, as
he pulled out his canteen,” because I know I do.”. I helped him unscrew the lid
and get a drink. He handed it to me and a locket.
“Here. give these to my woman.”. He
croaked out. “Tell them I love them, and Alex?”.
“Yes?”, I said with
tears in my eyes.
“Thanks for being my
friend.”. Then he was gone.
***
We reached London by
ship when the battle was over. We had won, but by sacrificing some great men.
When I walked back onto land, I scanned the crowd of happy and cheerful people.
I walked up to a lady and a small boy in a little sailor outfit. She looked at
me and smiled.
“Hello, are you friends
with Daniel? I don’t quite see him. I bet he’s getting some groge for his
canteen, right? He hasn’t let that ol’ hunk of metal go since his grandpa
passed.”. I was silent for a while. All I had to do was shut up and maybe I
could have saved him. If only I had never cracked under the pressure and hid,
he wouldn’t have called out to me. He’d still be alive. I looked up at her and
handed her the locket. Her eyes went wide and filled with tears. She clutched
her child and cried. I thought about trying to comfort them, but I decided not
to. As I tried to walk away, the kid tugged my jacket.
`“When is my papa
coming?” he asked in his little innocent voice.
“Never, I killed him.”
“I’m Sorry”
By Makenli Armstrong
It was early one Monday
morning and my dad yelled “Sam wake up!” I rolled out of bed onto the warm
carpet wishing I could go back to sleep. My dad yelled again “Sam get up!”.
I snapped back “I’m
up!”. My dad and I don’t have the best relationship but we made it work. My mom
left me when I was young and I've never met her before but I bet she would be
way better than my dad. I stood up and went to brush my hair, brush my teeth,
get dressed, and go talk to my dad. I walked down stairs to see breakfast all
ready , I was in shock. “What’s going on?” I asked.
Dad replied “I was
trying to be nice”.
I mumble under my breath
“well I’m not hungry”.
“What did you say?” my
dad asked.
“I’m going to school,
bye” I said.
“Bye Sam.” my dad said
in a sad tone. As I walked to school I saw my best friend not that far ahead of
me. I started to run so I could catch up.
“Lucy Lucy Lucy!”
I yelled.
She turned around and
said “Oh hey Sam” I replied “you'll never guess what my dad did”. She looked at
me but not in shock because I always rant about my dad. He's just not like a
mom, he doesn't do enough.
Lucy said “what did he
do this time?” in an annoyed tone.
“He made me breakfast
when he should've gone and got breakfast for me instead he made me gross bacon
and eggs. When will he realize he doesn’t do enough. I wish I just had a mom
that would be so much better” I said.
Lucy looked at me
like I lost my mind.
“You need to be grateful
for your dad. One day he won’t be there and you'll miss everything that he did
for you,” Lucy said.
I snapped back “It's
easy for you to say, you have a mom and a dad”.
We walk in silence the
rest of the way to school. We walked into the school and it felt like everybody
was staring at me. I've never felt like this before. I was so uncomfortable and
I had no idea what to do. I walked into my first period class it was dead
silent, second period was the same, third and fourth were the same.
I walked into lunch with
Lucy and she said “Today has been really weird,” I don’t reply. I
sat by myself at lunch with the feeling everyone was still staring at me. I
wanted to run, I wanted to leave and get as far away from school as possible. I
stayed in my seat.
I whisper to
myself “everything is going to be okay” I regret being so mean to my Dad. A
tear rolled down my face, I wiped it away really fast so nobody notices that
I’m crying. I got up to throw my tray away and I feel eyes following me across
the silent lunch room. The bell rings and I hurry to get away. I can finally
leave. All I want to do right now is hug my dad. I run down the sidewalk
regretting every mean thing I’ve ever said to my Dad. I live about two
blocks from the school so I made it home pretty fast. I made it to the driveway
to see my Dads car was still home. Normally he's at work right now. I walk up
to the front door and get the key from under the doormat and I unlock the
door.
I yelled “Dad, are you
home?”, and there was no reply.
I walked up stairs and
put my backpack in my room. There was a weird silence even weirder than the one
at school. I walk down the stairs and into the kitchen.
I’m looking at my Dad's
keys that are on the countertop and I mumble “where in the world is he?”. I
walk into his room and turn into his bathroom. My heart drops. I’m panicking. I
run upstairs and grab my phone. I dial 911.
The lady on the other
end of the phone says “911 what’s your emergency” I stutter “My Dad My Dad,
He’s dead”
the lady asks “What’s
your address”.
I run downstairs trying
to think. My brain is going everywhere.
I managed to get myself
together and say “508 W. Alderwood St. Fishers, IN 46037” she replied “Help is
on the way”.
I run to the bathroom
and cradle my Dad's head in my lap sobbing I say “I’m so sorry please forgive
me I love you please come back, I should've been a better daughter, I am so
sorry please Dad please” I yelled.
I hear sirens from a
distance. I run outside and wave my hands in the air and the fire trucks and
ambulances and police cars swing into the driveway. I run inside and the
firefighters and police follow to assess what has happened while the paramedics
are racing to get everything out of the truck.
A police officer
ask me “Where's your mom?'' I reply “ I don’t have a mom. She left me when I
was an infant and my dad raised me”.
While I was talking to
the police officer the paramedics were performing CPR on my Dad, but sadly it
didn’t work.
A paramedic walked up to
me and gave me the worst news ever “Your Dad is dead there is nothing we can do
to bring him back”.
I drop to my knees. I
couldn't say anything. Tears were rolling down my face and the police officer
picked me up and hugged me until I stopped crying.
He looked me in the eyes
and said the words that I'll never forget “Always be grateful for what you have
and who you have because you never know when it will be taken from you”.
The officer put me down and
I walked up to my room and packed a bag. I whispered to myself “ why was I so
unappreciative?”
“The
Fishing Trip that took A Turn’’
By, Jb Jenkins
I was 5 years old when
my best friend Jamie moved away. It had been 11 years, and I had just received
a call from him saying that he was coming for the weekend to visit and even
though I haven't seen him in 11 years since I remembered that he always liked
to go fishing, so I immediately planned a fishing trip. I went to the bait shop
to get the bait, and I went to buy some new fishing poles, and I also reserved
a boat for us to go on so that when he gets here we can have a great time. I
had just recieved the call saying that he just pulled up to his grandma's
house, so I got in my car and headed to his grandmother's house. As I pull up
in the driveway I see there car so I call him, and tell him that im outside,
and he says
“Ok i'm coming out
now’’. When he gets into the car it's a little awkward, because it has been a
while since we had seen each other, so I try and start the conversation off by
saying “how has the new school been since you moved?’’
And he says “it wasn't
easy the first couple of months but it became easier’’. As the conversation
ended before we knew it we were at the lake, and as time passed by it was like
everything was back to normal, we were talking like we were kids again, and out
of nowhere his phone started to ring. Confused I asked him “dude what are you
doing?’’
“Chill
out, dude it’s my mom’’, as he hung up the phone he immediately asked me to
take him to the hospital and before he could finish what he was saying I
interrupted him by saying “why do we have to leave already we just got
here’’
“We
have to leave because my grandmother was just in a car accident and my mom said
its bad’’
“Ok
lets go’’. As we settle into the car he starts to tell me how after the move he
hasn't spoken to his grandmother in years, and that he wouldn't feel right if
something bad happened to her without him being able to say goodbye. So as I am
driving I see a police officer and he gets behind me, so I pull over and when
he makes it to the car he asks me
“Do
you know how fast you were going sir?’’ As me and the police officer were
talking I notice that Jamie was on the phone and out of nowhere he just begins
to cry, so I took my ticket for speeding and I immediately ask him
“Who
was that on the phone’’ and he replies by saying
“It
was my mom she said that my grandmother passed away’’.
“Accusing”
By, Jb jenkins
It was a sunny day in
Cochran and my aunty had just come by my house to give me and my sisters some
money for the ice cream truck, but the ice cream truck had already come by so
we would have to wait for the next day. As we were getting ready for bed my mom
said to us, “Put y'all five dollars up for the ice cream truck.’’
And we replied “Ok mom
we will.’’ As the sunlight arose from the darkness we woke up brushed our
teeth, took a shower, and ate breakfast, and the time had finally come for the
ice cream truck to come, my mom yelled out
As I was walking outside
my mom said “Ain't nobody going nowhere until yall clean up’’
So
I replied “ok Mom’’. After a long hour of me and my sisters washed dishes,
taken out the trash, made our beds, cleaned our rooms, we finally had finished
so I yelled out “Mom we finished can we go and wait on the ice cream truck’’.
“Make sure
that yall got yall money for the ice cream truck.’’ After she said that I
immediately went to get my ice cream money and so did my sisters, and then I
heard my little sister yell out
“Who took my money off
of the table!’’ And my other sister says
“Jy probably took
your money.’’ So I walk in there and I ask what’s going on and my little sister
says
“Why did you take my
money?’’ And I say
“I didn't take your
money.’’ Accusing bugs me
My
mom had just brought me and my sisters some treats, and those treats were
candied apples, brownies, candy corn, and my sister just left and said
“Dont
eat my stuff I will be right back”. And I said
“Ok
I wont”. So an hour goes by and I have ate my treats and i'm in my room and I
hear the door creak open, and all of a sudden there's a loud scream from the
other room so I get off of my bed and rush to the other room and she starts
yelling at me and I say to her
“What
did I do to you”? And she says
“You
ate my stuff’’. And I say
“No I didnt”. I hate being accused.
“The Alleyway”
By Logan
Johnson
It was 2020 when I went
into the 11th grade. I had no clue what my future was going to be. The
secret I'd been keeping was haunting me. It had been driving me insane and I'm
fed up. I know I can't tell anyone about this secret because if it got out my
life would be over. Only my parents know about what happened. They're the ones
who told me to stay quiet. I think about what happened every day of my
life.
It was July 5, 2019 when
i first moved here. I was new in town so not many people knew much of anything
about me. Not many people tried to be friends with me at first, but there was
one girl that was nice to me. I was in the coffee shop down the street from my
house when I first met her. She walked in and sat at the table by herself in
the back corner of the shop, opened her computer, and had a caramel latte by
her. She looked serious, black shiny straight hair. She looked tall and had a
sleek but grungy style, ripped pants and a black graphic t-shirt with blck
combat boots and a flannel tied around her waist. She almost looked mean in a
way, like if I messed with her or walked up to her she would snap at me. I sat
at my table three tables down from her. I was working on a powerpoint for my
chemistry class when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and she stood
there looking at me with green eyes with sharp eyeliner.
“Hi I’m Claire”
“Hi I’m Molly”
“Nice to meet you
Molly.”
After hanging out after
school that day, we started hanging out more often and soon we became best
friends. We had been friends for a few months and we went everywhere together.
One night we were driving around town just the two of us. We drove by an
alleyway and Claire told me to park and go down it because she wanted to
investigate. She was always the party girl and did everything with the mindset
of “you only live once”. I was sceptical of the alleyway and didn't want to go
down there in the first place but I had always gone through with anything
Claire wanted to do because I didn't want to be lame. If I had known what was
going to happen when we went down that alley, I would have never followed
through with it.
When we got down the
alleyway it was dark and sketchy and I really just wanted to go back to the
car, but I didn't want to leave her down there by herself. When I finally
convinced her to go back to the car with me a group of men rounded the corner
where the car was parked. We were trapped. We just looked at each other and
then tried not making eye contact with the men. We tried to walk by them, but
it didn't work. The men started cat calling us and making us feel uncomfortable.
We told them to leave us alone. They followed us back up the alley and before
we could get in the car, they grabbed us. We screamed for help, but nobody
came. We tried kicking and hitting to get away but they had to tight grip on
us. I finally got away and I thought Claire was right behind me but I turned
around and the men had taken her and I didn’t see where they went. I wanted to
go look to see if I could find her, but I was too scared I would have been
taken if I ran back, so I left.
“Tight Spaces Bug Me”
By Kade Arnold
There are many things that bug me, from something as
simple as meeting someone with absolutely no manners at all to witnessing
something as major as death. But the thing that bugs me the most are tight
spaces. This one time back in my old church, Stone Creek Baptist, we used to go
on mission trips, and one our mission trips we went to this place called Super
Wow, it was held in Florida. Now don’t get me wrong I had an amazing time
there. The music was great, the activities were awesome, and the speaker was
the best I had ever heard. The only thing that I disliked about were the
people. I know this makes me sound selfish but they would not let me escape.
Everywhere I looked it felt like they were just appearing out of nowhere and
closing in on me by the minute. I was finally able to escape the crowd but it
was hard. Then there was this other time where my family and I went to Ohio. It
was one of the most horrific experiences of my life. We went up there so that
my Granny, my dad’s mom, wanted to visit my grandfather because he was dying,
so we drove up there so that she could see him and we went to visit our
cousins. Well on the way up there I didn’t think they had that many kids, I was
wrong. Unlike our family with 5 boys and 1 girl they had 3 girls and 7 boys. So
the whole entire time we were up there, there was absolutely nowhere to walk
without bumping into someone or getting pushed into a cabinet. Not to mention
the weather up there. We had this crazy idea that we were going to visit them
in the winter. Well it got as low as -12 degrees fahrenheit. So I couldn’t go
outside without freezing to death. So that is why tight spaces bug me.
“Westbrook
County”
By
Ke’Myah Anderson
My
name is Ella Mae, a 15 year old sophomore from westbrook
county. I usually don't write in the old dusty journal but I don't have no one
to talk to and I don't have any friends. I’m just an old redhead with dusty
hammy down clothes and a purple sweater momma made for me. I wish i had
designer bags and fancy clothes to wear but i guess we don't have that type of
money. I live with my mom and dad. I'm the only child but my family has been
messed up lately. Momma has cancer and will probably die and time soon but I
try not to think about it. Daddy has been coming home late as usual tore up drunk.
Reason i think he's acting like this is because he's missing momma. I
pooped out the door to make sure he was asleep so i could get a glass of milk
to help me go to sleep so I could see momma tomorrow at the hospital. I tip
toppedall the way to the kitchen without making a sound. Pouring a glass
of milk drunk it all the way down to there was no more placing it on the
counter. As I walked out I heard a bang the cup fell on the floor and my dad
woke up. He stood as tall as a tree and hit me right across my face saying “GO
TO YOU ROOM!”.I cried myself to sleep.
Next
morning I woke up, brushed my teeth, washed my face and stared in the
bathroom mirror. You couldn’t really see the bruise but I put makeup on just in
case somebody noticed it. I walked in the living room where he was sloppy junk
last night and could smell the lingering alcohol. I couldn’t get anything to
eat because I was going to be late to see momma. She looks pale and sick.
She couldn’t even open her eyes. I said my goodbyes to momma and as I walked
out I went home. We didn't have school today so it got canceled. I opened the
door and saw that the house was a mess of food pizza boxes, bottles of soda,
alcohol everywhere! Then I saw him coming from the kitchen.
I said “what have you
been doing all day for there to be junk everywhere?” in a shaky
voice.
“Don't worry about it,
I'm going out to the bar.” says in a strong voice
“You're always going
somewhere you never stay home, how would you feel if mom was to know about
this?”
By
the time I could finish my sentence he hit me right across my face.
“Next time it's going to
be worse clean up or do something I will be back by 12.”
‘’I wish you were out of
my life the only thing you do is hit me and your always drunk.’’ as i said the
he just walked out of the door
Crying
I realize that I have to get out of here. I can’t keep letting my dad hit me
constantly get away with it every time and come home some nights drunk and
abusive.
The
next morning I had school and did my normal routine walking in the living
room didnt see my dad. I thought to myself it's said i don't have a responsible
dad to take care of me and play with. At school we had to take a test as the
teacher passed them out. I tried to hide my mark from where my dad had hit me.
The test was super easy. I was the smartest person in the school so far. After
the test Mrs.Williams called me to the front of the classroom and told me “ the
principal will like to see you Ella may.”
I
said “ yes ma’am.”
As
I went to the front I thought what's wrong and what happened . When I got
to the office the principal told me to come down and take a seat. We have to
talk about some things.
I
sat down and she said “Your dad died on the way home.”
“How
, when i can't believe this!”
“The police say someone
slipped something in his drink.”
“Can i be excused
please?”
¨People Who Stop in the Middle of a WalkWay¨
By Laura Angus
My family and I were
enjoying our vacation at Walt Disney World. We enjoy going during covid, yes I
know it sounds bad, because the parks aren’t that crowded. It was on a Monday,
and we were at Hollywood studios, that is my favorite park, and we had just got
done eating. My dad wanted to go ride Slinky Dog and my sister and I wanted to
go and ride the Rockin Roller Coaster. So, we decided that we will just split
up and go ride what we want to. As my sister and I were walking we noticed the
people in front of us start to slow down.
“Why are they walking so
slow,” asked my sister.
“I have no clue, but
they need to hurry up,” I replied.
“Go faster, ugh they are
walking so slow,” says my sister, getting annoyed.
“Let’s go around them,” I
said. We try to go past them but there are people all around us. All of a
sudden the people in front of us stop. My sister wasn’t paying attention and
she ended up walking into them. The lady turns around and looks at my sister,
with a glare on her face.
“I am sorry,” my sister
says. The lady just rolls her eyes at her. Before my sister could say
something, I grabbed her arm and pulled her away.
“Well that was just
rude,” I say scoffing.
“ I know she was the one
who stopped in the middle of the walkway, and she thinks it’s my fault,”
replies my sister.
“I hope we don’t run
into them again,” I said.
“We will have to tell
mom and dad about when we find them,” my sister said. Stopping in the middle of
a walkway really bothers me. I really don’t like when people stop to check
their phone, to look at a map, to eat or drink, and to just stop and talk.
There are places where you can go off on the side to do that. I really don’t
like it when we are at the grocery store, amusement parks, and the mall. It is
hard sometimes to go around these people. People don’t notice how dangerous it
can be to stop in the middle. People could run into you, trip, or cause someone
else to stop.
“The Corruption of Tik Tok”
By Lawton Daniels
Social media is a
towering giant in the industry, and probably the one that bugs me the most is
Tik Tok. I remember back in 8th grade, I was with my buddy Kooper, and we were
going to a tennis match. We had a duos game around 4:30, so we had some time to
kill. We talked, warmed up on the empty courts, and joked around with the other
players. Everything was good for about an hour, until Kooper nudged me on the
shoulder and pointed at a group of girls huddled together. One half was our
girls team, and the other was the opposing team. Kooper and I were in shock
that they were hanging out and doing, you guessed it, Tik Tok dances. They were
trying to perfect this one dance, but someone would mess up, and everyone would
giggle. Then the cycle would continue. Over and over again.
“Hey Koop?” I asked.
“Yeah?” He replied.
“You wanna go mess
around in the background of their dances?”
“Yes. Very badly.”. And
we began. We started off small. Kooper and I would take turns falling in the
background, then I’d throw him offscreen, then we had a sword fight with our
rackets. Oblivious to any outside attention, we goof off and had a good time
until they simply ran out of time and had to go play. We high fived at our
victory, and later ate and drank to our victory on the courts at a local Burger
King.
I had thought this whole trend had died out and I could
relax, but I was wrong again. It was 2 days before Christmas Eve. All of our
Daniels family have a tradition of meeting up and hanging out every
Thanksgiving and sometime near Christmas. It’s always fun for everyone. My
cousins Avery, LeAnne, and Scarlett were going to come, and I was hoping Avery
and I would just sit outside and relax like we usually do, but while I was
waiting for her to get here, the dancing duet I had to call family arrived. We
hugged and welcomed them as usual. It was all good for a few mintues, but like
a werewolf during a full moon, when all the adults left the two had completely
changed into these Tik Tok fueled monsters. Then, right as I was trying to
watch football, they propped their phones on the tv and when at it. Right smack
dab in the middle of the mantle and right in the center of the tv. Part of me
thought that they may have done it on purpose. I couldn't do anything because
their parents were in the room, cheering them on and calling them nicknames. So
I had to retreat to the outside porch and football on my phone and wait for
Avery to get here.
So now as I sit here and write this, I live with the fact
that no matter what I do or how much I hope, Tik Tok will not go away. Not for
a while anyways. All I can do is try to explain and show people how braindead
the app is and help them get away from it.
“ My Siblings”
By Camira Ates
About a month ago, My
siblings and I went to Walmart with our parents to shop for groceries since
Christmas break was approaching. I was excited because our mom and dad allowed
us to get anything we please since we were going to be home to eat them.
Everything was calmed until we went down the cereal aisle. My sister had caught
an attitude with my mom because she wouldn't let her go back to an aisle ( my
parents like to start from the back of the store, where all the frozen stuff
our at, and work our way up to the front, where the fruit and vegetables are at
) to see if they had the kind of yogurt she liked. My mom and my sister were
fussing, my dad was laughing and I and my brother were just looking at cereal.
It was so embarrassing because this woman, assuming that those were her kids,
started to stare at us. They settled down a little bit till we turned the
corner and my brother CJ wanted a hot wheel car they sell for .99 cents. My dad
said no since he already had a toy in the basket and he already had multiple
toys similar to the one he wanted. He started to have tears in his eyes, and
that cost my dad to get mad at everyone telling us to go put everything that we
had in the basket -- that wasn't food -- back.
My siblings are the
number thing in this world that bugs me so much. They suck the happiness and
the money spending out of my parents with their whiny or catching attitude.
Don't get me wrong, I love my siblings just sometimes they are a pain in the
rear end. My mom tries to be the big dog but my sister, and me depending on the
day, aren't scared of her no matter how hard she tries. Why can’t they just
keep their mouth shut when they are told to? Is it that hard to not talk back
or cry for no reason? Do they have to mess things up because they didn’t get
what they wanted? It gets us all in trouble and causes me not to get the things
I want.
I do love my siblings,
but they suck the fun out of everything. Just today, my brother was crying
because he couldn’t get his phone to work while my sister was bugging our mom
with her complaints. My dad was helping me study to get my learners tomorrow,
but my brother being the crybaby he is, my dad’s attention went to him. My
sister, who was bugging my mother with wants, started a full on argument for no
reason. It is safe to say that this night wasn't the best.
“Study Troubles”
By Makenli Armstrong
My friends and I were walking down the hallway on the way
to fifth period. I overheard a conversation of somebody talking about the
biology test. that I forgot about. I speed-walked down the hall to biology. I
pulled out my binder to try to study my notes, but I was too stressed to
remember anything. The teacher still hadn’t walked in yet so I continued to
cram things in my brain. I hear footsteps coming down the hallway. I continue
to cram. The teacher walked in and sat at her desk. I’m reading faster and
faster trying to remember everything.
“Class, gently grab your laptops and open up to the test,
please,” The teacher asked.
I put my notebook up and
I walk to get a laptop and my heart is racing out of my chest. I have a feeling
I’m going to fail. I walked back to my desk to open the laptop and go to the
test. I forgot everything. I just read all of it and my mind is blank. I read
through the questions trying to remember the answer but they just won’t come to
me. I start guessing and Hoping for the best. I made it to the last question. I
turn in my test. I cover the screen so I can’t see my score. I slowly lift my
hand off the screen. I see what looks like a five and maybe a zero. My heart is
racing. I lift my hand completely to see I made a big fat 50. I turn my laptop
off so quickly so nobody can see the grade. I lay my head down on the desk just
wishing I would have remembered to study for my biology test.
Everybody had finished the test and I had a good feeling
I was the only one that failed.
The teacher said, “You may get your phone out and check
PowerSchool if you like”.
I dug in the bottom of
my bag for my phone and finally, I found it. I notice I have a PowerSchool
notification. I unlock my phone and my biology grade is a 70. I looked around
to make sure nobody noticed. I turned my phone off. I lay my head down until
the bell rang. I have pretty much made a bad grade on every test I’ve taken in
biology. My grades have been 60, 50, 80, 70, 40, and more. I really need to
start remembering to study.
“Accusing”
By Jb Jenkins
It was a sunny day in
Cochran and my aunty had just come by my house to give me and my sisters some
money for the ice cream truck, but the ice cream truck had already come by so
we would have to wait for the next day. As we were getting ready for bed my mom
said to us, “Put y'all five dollars up for the ice cream truck.’’
And we replied “Ok mom
we will.’’ As the sunlight arose from the darkness we woke up brushed our
teeth, took a shower, and ate breakfast, and the time had finally come for the
ice cream truck to come, my mom yelled out
As I was walking outside
my mom said “Ain't nobody going nowhere until yall clean up’’
So
I replied “ok Mom’’. After a long hour of me and my sisters washed dishes, took
out the trash, made our beds, cleaned our rooms, we finally had finished so I
yelled out “Mom we finished can we go and wait on the ice cream truck’’.
“Make sure
that yall got yall money for the ice cream truck.’’ After she said that I
immediately went to get my ice cream money and so did my sisters, and then I
heard my little sister yell out
“Who took my money off
of the table!’’ And my other sister says
“Jy probably took
your money.’’ So I walk in there and I ask what’s going on and my little sister
says
“Why did you take my
money?’’ And I say
“I didn't take your
money.’’ Accusing bugs me
My
mom had just brought me and my sisters some treats, and those treats were
candied apples, brownies, candy corn, and my sister just left and said
“Dont
eat my stuff I will be right back”. And I said
“Ok
I wont”. So an hour goes by and I have ate my treats and i'm in my room and I
hear the door creak open, and all of a sudden there's a loud scream from the
other room so I get off of my bed and rush to the other room and she starts
yelling at me and I say to her
“What
did I do to you”? And she says
“You
ate my stuff’’. And I say
“No I didnt”. I hate being accused.
“
Interrupting people”
By Logan Johnson
Me and my friends were
sitting at lunch last week. I was telling them how my mom was being very
annoying because she wouldn't let me go to the mall with my other buddies and
instead I had to stay home and sweep all the floors, do the dishes, wash and
fold clothes, and just straighten up the house. I got not even halfway through
telling them what had happened when Andrew cut me off.
“Oh my gosh that reminds me of this, lemme tell yall I-”
really dude you
just gone cut me off like that?” I said annoyed
“oh sorry.. You can continue,
lol.”
“So as I was saying she
ended up telling me that i couldn't go and that I-”
“HOLY COW broooo” Andrew
screamed.
I was annoyed because
this was the second time he had done it but I didn't say anything because I
thought that it would only take once for him to let me finish.
“look at this snap I
just got.. Y'all can’t tell me that ain’t cute.”
I kind of just brushed
it off and continued telling them the rest of the story. And you'll never guess
what happened right before I finished… yep he cut me off again.
“I'm sorry this is the
last time I promise.” he said.
“Go ahead,” I said, very
aggravated.
“Did yall see what he
posted the other day. Bro it's insane.”
After the third time of
him cutting me off I just didn't finish the story. After a minute he asked,
“Aren't you gonna
finish?” which I replied,
“NO because everytime I
try you cut me off and you're on your phone and probably weren't even listening
so no i'm not gonna finish!”
He looked surprised that
I snapped at him but I had enough. Interrupting me bugs me.
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