Tuesday, December 9 - Persona Poetry - Zelda Fitzgerald

A Good Song For the Poem

Back in the hospital

A fight has broken out again

Constant struggles are what I face

I keep getting sent back to this place

It’s past my time to shine

I was born a star

They hold back my light

Practice everyday

Stop trying to burn me out

Write, create, ballet, paint,

I will prove myself

Don’t make me wait

Quit shutting me out

Look at me, look at me

You sent me all those letters,

You couldn’t keep your eyes off of me,

Just look at me for a second

Why won’t you stop blaming me for it all?

That was my diary you took

Those were my struggles you stole

I’ll show the world my stories, not yours,

They will watch me dance

You left me trapped here

Everyone will see my art

You didn’t look at them, did you?

Did you hear me trying to die?

My body is too exhausted for this work,

Just put the bottle down already

I can’t stop this work

Stop locking me up

How am I supposed to work like this?

Where did you go?

We had a daughter didn’t we?

Where did my family go?

I’ve had enough of these lies

What’s this affecting my body?

Don’t hide me in your shadows

The flames gave me light

This place is coming down

Where did everyone go?

Thursday, December 4 - Unrequited Love

 

The Sonnet That I Used To Get The Rhyme Scheme

 

Oh love that is unrequited, a love that leaves my heart scattered and bent,

Why can’t you tell, why can’t you see?

All I wish for is love, to love and love for me

Although my time with you is well spent,

This love I feel for you I may repent

Our low connection, unstable it may be,

If you strengthen our bond, happiness is something I can guarantee!

My love for you is what I must accent,

A stable connection is what I want,

To be connected and to stay connected,

And for you to never leave or make me wait.

Please do not leave, don’t make me make that short jaunt,

Do not make me feel dejected or rejected,

You know I care for you, so please Wi-Fi, just connect and do not send me your hate.

Thursday, November 20 - Emotions

 

Check Out This Upcoming Film

 

                  Moving to a new area can be very hard and frustrating, especially for a young girl. With the pressures, fears and anxiety that come with this transition, other emotions such as joy, excitement, and happiness can come trailing just behind. Although the darker emotions usually are the ones that arrive first, joy can be there to help lift their spirits and change the outlook of the situation.

                “Alright, almost there! All I have to do is make this turn, I’ve got this!” Joy was running late today. Although she had made it to the headquarters on time a few times this week, the majority of her Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and even Thursdays were filled with her just trying to make it to the HQ. Today was a Friday and most kids are usually crammed to the brim with joy as they eagerly wait for their refreshing weekends to come. So, obviously today wasn’t a day that Joy could possibly be late on.

                “Almost, almost!” Joy sang as she continued to sprint down halls and take sharp turns left and right. “Riley’s is going to be waking up soon, and I’m going to be there when she does!”

                Just as Joy saw the double doors leading to the inside of the main headquarters, she could see light slowly peeking through the small windows. Knowing that Riley was just starting to awake from her slumber, Joy rushed there faster than she ever had before.

                “I’ve got this, I’ve got this!” Joy screeched as she launched herself through the heavy doors leading inside HQ. “Yes!” Joy laughed and jumped up in the air, twirling around excitedly as she landed back to the ground. “Made it just in time, exactly how I planned!”

                Joy picked up her yellow card and hurried over to the emotion scanner and activated her card. Looking at one of the many monitors, Joy watched as Riley leaped out of bed excitedly.

                “It’s Friday!” Riley cried as she ran towards their kitchen. “Mom, Dad! It’s finally Friday!”

                Joy smiled contently as Riley happily talked with their parents about the upcoming weekend. She was quickly shaken out of her thoughts as she felt a small bump on her side.

                “Oh sorry, excuse me,” a timid voice called out. Joy turned and moved out of the way as she saw a small blue girl come bumbling by.

                Sadness was her name, an emotion that Riley has been feeling a bit more of lately. Joy turned and looked to the monitors as Sadness punched her card into the emotion scanner. Joy watched Riley’s parents talk about how they were going to drive around the new area they had moved in to see what there was to do. Of course, Riley’s smile began to disappear as Sadness’ card took effect.

                “Hey, yeah move over.” A nasally voice erupted from the room as Disgust walked in with a disapproving look on her face. She pulled out her green card and stuck it in the slot as Sadness and Joy moved out of her way. As Disgust waited for her emotion to kick in, she stared at the two other girls through squinted eyes.

                On the monitors, Riley’s face twisted up sourly, very similar to the face that Disgust seemed to make more than half of the time.

                “I don’t want to do that!” She cried to her parents. The three emotions looked on as they watched Riley’s mood change. “That sounds awful! Please don’t make me go!”

                “Alright, my turn. Move to the side!” The three twisted their heads towards an angry male voice. Anger marched through the open doors, his stout red body waddling slightly as he walked. “That’s right, out of the way ladies.” Mumbling and pulling his card out of his pocket, Anger jammed the emotion card into the scanner and watched it work its magic on the monitors. 

                “That’s so dumb! I hate it here; I just want to go home!” Riley yelled at her parents as she ran back up to her room.

                “There, that’s how it’s done,” Anger said as he eyed the monitor, almost proud of his work.

                “That was pretty mean,” Sadness said with a sniff, “bit I guess we can’t feel Joy all the time.”

                “Now now, it’s fine,” Joy said, cutting into the conversation. “I’m sure she’ll just need a little time then I’ll reactivate my card. Humans do say that time is a virtue.”

                “Yeah and did you ever hear the expression ‘Patience is thin’?” Anger grumbled.

                “And happiness is fleeting?” Sadness sighed.

                The three turned their heads to Disgust, waiting for her to contribute something to their chat. She stood there texting, her face contorted in strong distaste. She then looked up and squinted her eyes at the group. “What are you all looking at? I’m busy so don’t even bother.” She resumed texting.

                “Well, I’m sure things will start looking up for her soon. Maybe she’ll calm down a little at school.” Joy said with a smile. “Actually, I’m sure of it!”

                “Wait!” A scream erupted from the halls as Fear scurried hurriedly into the open room. “Wait, wait, wait! I’m here I ran late today!” The thin purple man stopped and screamed as he saw the group standing near the monitors and machinery. “Oh, wait no time for that!” Fear anxiously cried out as he made his way over to the emotion scanner. After fiddling with his card a few times, he finally stuffed into his slot. With a large sigh of relief, he fell dramatically to the floor.

                “Ew,” Disgust said as she walked to the other side of the room, away from the others.

“Well, I guess everyone is accounted for,” Joy laughed awkwardly. Shaking her head, her usual large smile appeared on her face. “Okay, now that everyone is in check,” she paused and slowly looked at the others in the room.

 Disgust stood in a corner on the opposite side of the white room, texting with a scowl as usual. Sadness cleaned her glasses beside Joy, Anger being in front of them grumbling to himself, and Fear was curled up on the ground, probably on the verge of having a panic attack.

“Right, like I was saying,” Joy continued, “Now that everyone is in check, we can start today like we normally do!” All of the emotions looked towards the monitor as the young girl sitting sadly on the edge of her bed. Joy frowned slightly.

“We can’t have it your way all the time,” Sadness said unenthusiastically. No one said anything as they got to work on their usual routine.

Tuesday, November 18 - Treason and Historical Fiction

 

The Original Story

 

The Music That I Listened To

 

                The former American Hero kneeled on the ground, observing the stares of his fellow American citizens. Not used to hateful stares, he bowed his head and stared at the dirt ground below him. American General Benedict Arnold looked down quietly, now completely avoiding the crowd around him. General Arnold was very famous in his country, and still is, but for different reasons. He was well known after his brilliant job during the French and Indian War; he was seen as a hero for his bravery excellent leader skills. However, despite the fact that people once marveled at him and shown a great amount of respect towards him, the people could now only see him as nothing but a selfish traitor and threat to the country.

                It was late 1780 and The Revolutionary War was raging between The United States and The United Kingdom. General Arnold had been given command of West Point, an American fort alongside the Hudson River in New York. Secretly, Arnold had contacted the head of the British forces, Sir Henry Clinton, and told him that he would hand over West Point along with all of his men in exchanged for a large amount of money. They agreed and the trade was made official on September 21 of that year when General Arnold met with Major John Andre to make the pact. However, this was a trap. As General Benedict Arnold was ready to make the trade, he was ambushed by his own soldiers and beaten to the ground. You see, after Arnold contacted Sir Henry Clinton, the British man made another deal of his own with the Americans. He told them that he would reveal a lying traitor in exchange for money and a few weapons. Although the Americans were suspicious, they didn’t want to take the chance that he was telling the truth and end up losing a strong base of theirs. They agreed to make the exchange with him only if what he said turned out to be true. Turns out what he said was true.

                General Arnold watched in disgust as Sir Henry Clinton, being escorted by a few soldiers, was marched in to town and given a sum of money and rifles. Sir Clinton eyed the beaten man and smirked as he was marched back out.

                General Benedict Arnold was charged was treason and was hung in New York in early 1781. Some were disturbed and shocked to see their once great hero executed, while others spat and were happy to see the traitor gone. Either way, America lost a hero.

Monday, November 17 - Found Poem

 

Nothing is impossible,

Whether in skill, temperament or in beauty,

Achieving near miracles

When the time comes,

Nothing is impossible!

Oh, every day brings a new skill!

Surely, surely,

Nothing is impossible!

Flowers discussed next season’s colours,

With the help of spirits,

Anyone could come back to the dead.

Float in the air,

Fill a room with flowers,

Do as many tricks as a performing horse,

No one could rival you!

Do something important,

Have a part to play,

Without hesitation,

Aid the deranged and

Gaily be flattered by the dead.

Believe me in this great undertaking,

Hardly believe such a thing could never happen.

Surely, surely,

Nothing is impossible!

Friday, November 14 - The Berlin Wall

 

An Account In Which I Got Inspiration For My Story

 

             Clutching my sketchpad to my chest, I let the crowd of roaring Germans sweep me to the other side of the wall. I stumbled along as everyone quickly tried to push through to meet their relatives and friends. Although the thought of seeing my own family came to mind, the first thing I had to do was get out of the horde of people racing around me. As more people began to rush by, I couldn’t help but start to feel excited. The chaos almost gave off a refreshing feeling. I hurried onward, hoping to keep up with the people that buzzed and shook with anticipation. Although it felt like minutes, the people quickly began separating and breaking apart. I finally had time to stop and take a step back. I stood there, now in Berlin. I looked around and saw people joining together, hugging and laughing; a few were even crying. West Germany looked so much more different than the East. Not far off from the wall were markets where the Easterners stood out perfectly among the West Germans. No one cared, that didn’t matter right now. I watched as other Easterners picked up many different foods, some that I’ve never seen before, and look at them in wonder. I think that was the easiest way you could tell the people apart. The West Germans were better dressed, but the Easterners had a different look on their faces.

                This picture is one that I never want to forget. This much joy and celebration only comes by so often, I had to get a picture of it. I bustled my way over to an emptier spot a little farther down the street and took out the few supplies that I had on me. Opening my book, I scrawled hurriedly on the page, hoping to capture this moment as if it were to disappear if I took my eyes off of it for more than a second. My eyes darted from page to street while I let my hand do the work and record what I saw. I took note of the shop names, strange foods, street signs, but most importantly, the people. Satisfied with what I had, I packed my supplies away back into my gray coat. My family was probably making their way to the groups of people by now, scanning around in hopes of finding me. I’ll show up a little late, but I know they’ll understand. They know that I always take my time to capture what is around me on my sketchpad.

Thursday, November 13 - The Macabre Arts

 

 

When I look at this picture, I can’t help but recoil out of shock and disgust. However, I am not disgusted by the starved state of these poor unfortunate souls, not at all. Although it is not the most pleasurable sight, these people are only human. I cannot even dare myself to be nauseated by these people, even if the state they are in is surprising at the very least. I am disgusted because I know that something is wrong, that they, these people, have been wronged. The sickly pale and sallow bodies are stacked together, no stacked isn’t the right word here – they are grouped. They have been separated and terrorized, beaten, starved and depraved of their humanity. With faces slathered with terror and their hollow expressions painted with the most authentic fright one could ever come across, these people’s lank and gnarled bones are not the source of my own fear. I do not repel from them because they are horrific. I repel from them because what happened to them is horrific. I am terrified and sickened knowing that wild beasts, disguising themselves and referring to themselves as one of our own has had the audacity to attack such innocent people as these. I am disgusted because they have the nerve to call themselves humans when they have poisoned and soiled the lives of our own. I’m angry. I’m angry because they, those wild ignorant animals, think that they had the right to do this. They thought that they could steal the humanity and spirits of these people and claim them as their own. How could I be afraid of people that have been attacked by animals? Even with their tethered skin and twisted joints, I cannot fear them. I can only fear for them.

Wednesday, November 12 - The Haunted House

 

 

              The Party House, a long abandoned and shabby home left to rot, was once a very wild and popular place where the rich owner threw parties and banquets from dusk until dawn. People would show up and have grand balls and exciting soirees as they danced, sang, and laughed without a care in the world. The house was always the liveliest on the block and music and light always seemed to radiate from the windows. If you ever visited this place during its glory, then you could never forget just how much fun and creative the parties were. Although, despite the fact that everyone always seemed to have such a wonderful time here, people complained that some of the parties would get too out of hand. Things were broken, windows would get shattered, and there were a few minor injuries. No one really though much of it, a few cuts and bruises would heal over time, so why stop the fun over something so small? Well, one injury at that house wasn’t as minor as a scrape or bump, and it definitely couldn’t be fixed with a sling or Band-Aid.

                On a lively Saturday night, close to midnight when a particularly rowdy party was at its peak of excitement, something terrible had gone on in one of the upstairs hallways. A number of people were kept in a smaller room and were shot to death while the party continued on. With the party so wild and loud, no one was able to hear the gunshots. The next morning after the people had left and the house was being cleaned up after another night of rich merriment, the owner of the place had stumbled upon the room in which the partygoers were killed. In a wild panic, he called out for one of the hired help to call the police.

                The police came and investigated the scene, as well as put identities to the bodies. Almost all of them were rich competitors of the owner’s company. The cops were suspicious of the home owner until they found his wife lying among the dead, brutally stabbed in the chest, most likely by one of the people kept captive. The dead woman was convicted of killing her husband’s competitors, which were confirmed to have been invited to that night’s party to celebrate everyone’s success in their individual companies, hoping to get rid of their competition so that her and her husband’s business could prosper even more. After this news was released to the public, not many people wanted to go back to the place to party anymore. With the music and crowd so loud and loose, anyone was free to sneak in and do the same thing again. Some people even suspected the owner himself as the one to kill his rivals and wife. Only a few parties were held after that incident, each one with a smaller crowd. The rich man eventually went crazy from grief and hung himself. With no family for the house to be left to, it was put up for sale. A few people had bought or rented the place for a while, but anyone who lived there claimed to have been chased out due to strange paranormal activity. Sounds of footsteps were heard upstairs. Wailing, crying, screaming, and psychotic laughter were also reported in the house as well as the sound of gunshots, only able to be heard at around midnight on Saturday nights. Shadows darted through the hallways and things were knocked over and moved by themselves.

                The house was so sinister that no one bought or rented it. Years passed and still no one wanted the place. It sat there by itself with no one to take care of it. The once lively and joyous presence that the room gave off was now replaced with loneliness and sorrow. The Party House laid on that property forgotten until this very day.

Friday, November 7 - Ewww... That's Creepy

 

 

On a weary day of darkness is where this story will begin,

Up on an aging hill sat a rickety old house,

An old house that a young girl has ventured in.

Tales of the dead, dismembered, and wrong-done are what captured her mind,

Inside the beaten house whose interior’s din,

Caused the girl’s curiosity to better her wits.

Climbing inside with a lantern in hand,

She searched the house to find what’s been told to be hidden on its land.

Through the dusty corridors,

Marching across the maggot filled floorboards,

The girl traveled from room to room,

In search of what would find her soon.

Screeches, wails, and whispers floated through the halls,

Waving her hand, she dismissed the sounds,

She couldn’t go back, she simply had to see it all.

Aimlessly she continued to crawl, wonder, and explore,

Yet as time passed, she wasn’t quite sure

What she was doing in the desolate house anymore.

The time clicked as her subconscious threw itself into a fit.

Like broken clock her mind’s gears grinded and popped,

She couldn’t even remember what she had initially sought.

Frightened, confused, yet with an unknown determination,

The girl continued to look and look,

For who knows what?

Continuing her journey through the twisted floors,

She continued to search from room to room,

And to door to door.

Finally stumbling upon what begged to be found,

The girl gasped and stopped, her gaze now drifting down,

Down resting on the floorboards, covered in muck, filth and dust,

Was where two skeletons and a shattered faded lantern laid to rest.

Brother and Sister, by each other’s side forever more,

The two lay abandoned in the house in search for each other’s spirit,

Wandering the maze of hallways in search of each other,

From now until the end of time.

She turned and ran looking for the exit of the house,

But in a quick flash there she was,

Outside and looking up to the tall structure’s door,

The young girl, with her lantern in hand,

Walked inside the abandoned home,

In search of what?

She didn’t know.

Monday, October 27 - Fairy Tale Name Poem

 

 

P             Peculiar and

U             Unruly,

S              Sly as well as

S              Strong,

 

I               Imaginative with a

N             Nice clever thought always in mind.

 

B             Boots, a favored shoe.

O             Ogre Wrecking and

O             Opinionated,

T              Talkative yet still

S              Stealthy as night.

Friday, October 24 - X Marks The Spot

 

 

                You had sailed at sea for about a week now. A young pirate known as Pip was your only company, other than the rats that inhabited your sleeping quarters under the deck. Captain Foxy Hookman had orchestrated this entire mission. “What mission?” you might have wondered in the past few days. Well, after stealing another crew’s ship, you and your mates stumbled upon a treasure map. According to the scribbled handwriting on the old map, the treasure was probably some form of gold or riches. Of course, anyone would be interested in something like that. So obviously you guys had to go find this, I mean there’s a butt ton of money involved.

                After your week of sailing the high seas, you had reached the island that the treasure was supposed to be buried on. Your whole crew, basically just you, Pip, and the Captain, trekked through the dark forest for two days, attacking anything that tried to attack you. For those two nights, you guys had set up shelter and told stories and laughed around a campfire. It was sort of like camp, but like more life threatening and surrounded by things that wanted to kill you the second you took your eyes off of them.

                Anyway, in the afternoon of the third day, you guys found a giant black ‘X’ painted onto the ground on the other side of the island. Right on the shore. Backed up to the ocean. Literally, all you had to do was follow the shore to the other side, no one has time for the silly forest bullcrap nonsense. But, since you and your crew were completely and utterly ridiculous, I guess that seemed like a good idea to you bunch.

                After Captain Hookman had made you and Pip dig up the treasure under the giant obvious ‘X’, the only thing you pulled out was a note in a bottle. Your Captain opened it up and read the note. You and Pip gathered behind him and heard him read it out loud. “Dear whoever may find this,” your Captain read with a heavy Irish and Pirate accent, “If you and your friends have found this, then you have worked together hopefully through honest, loyal, humorous, hilarious, unique and magical ways. The real treasure here is the power of friendship. Signed, Twilight Sparkley Horse.” Well forget that! You guys broke the bottle, ripped the note, and went home.

Thursday, October 23 - That's Punny!

 

 

                Two very bored students sat in their chemistry classroom, barely picking up on what the teacher had been saying for the past thirty minutes. Lisa and Ellie were their names, and to put it bluntly, neither of them cared about chemistry in the slightest. As Lisa sat with her cheek propped into her hand, staring absentmindedly at the Smartboard ahead, Ellie pulled out a sheet of lined paper and scribbled a message to her friend. After receiving a slight nudge, Lisa noticed the paper next to her and pulled it in front of her. Written on the sheet was, “This is boring, let’s make class a little more pun.” Lisa smiled at the ridiculously awful joke thrown at her. Lisa knew she had to respond, I mean who could resist such uncreative and simply entertaining silly antics in such a boring room? Just the idea of blocking out the perplexing and aggravating content written on the class board seemed like a great idea, even when puns were involved.

                Lisa took her pencil and scrawled comeback on the line below her friend’s terrible attempt at a joke. This was going to be war. Ellie received the new message and looked to see what her best friend had come up with. “You really aren’t punny, you know that? In fact, I’d say you belong in this humdrum class. Do you know why? You’re more of a boron than the actual element.” Ah, a double pun, and one that relates to their immediate situation as well. Not bad Lisa, not bad. The joke was so lame, that it probably out-lamed her friend’s previous attempt. The two caught each other’s eye and both smiled deviously. “It’s on,” Ellie whispered.

                “Like Donkey Kong,” Lisa promised.  Now, Ellie knew what she had to do. She couldn’t let Lisa out-pun her, what kind of best friend would Ellie be if she let Lisa win out of the good name of their friendship? An awful one! The girl got to work with her next train wreck of an idea. After finishing her writing, she slid the paper in front of Lisa. Swiping the paper closer, the blond read what her friend had written. “Wow, you’re RUTHenium-LESS. However, you do know that if I let you win, then I wouldn’t look as RADium. I will not rest until I have defeated you.” Oh how the tables have turned! Not only a double pun, but a double chemistry pun in chemistry class. Ellie’s sense of irony was enough to twist someone’s mind and send them into a wild fit, running around in circles like some sort of drooling, brain damaged animal. Lisa knew this, so she had to spice things up and be even faster with her lame comebacks. She passed the paper back to Ellie, who sat there trying to make it look like an all-out war wasn’t going down in the back of the classroom. The teacher might notice if they kept looking at each other, teachers are sharp like that.

                Ellie dragged the poor paper back to her when she saw Lisa put her pencil down. “Wow Ellie,” it said, “You’re so SILLY-CON! But your jokes are almost as bad as our school’s grading system, so congrats to you. I didn’t think anyone could possibly achieve that. My puns are made of IRON, so you might as well quit your GALLanTIUM and NOBELium efforts while you still have a chance.” Now she’s done it. This war won’t end now with both of the girls fiercely prove each other wrong. That’s what best friends do anyway. This would continue to go on for as long as it needed to, or until they both got completely and utterly sick at the puns they were making.

                For the next thirty minutes of class, the girls continued to throw pun after pun at each other.

                “I heard Oxygen and Potassium went on a date with each other. Apparently it went OK.”

“Really? I heard that it was Hydrogen and Oxygen! What a HO!”

                “Do you know what is my favorite places to visit are in EUROPium? FRANCium and GERMANIum.”

                “I personally prefer AMERICUm.”

                “I always look at Yttrium and ask Y?”

                “Nitrogen asked Oxygen out to see a movie, but I heard it was a big NO.”

                Literally, this went on for thirty minutes. Thirty. Minutes. Puns were scattered all over the front and back of the paper, accompanied by some scribbles of poorly drawn images used to degrade and make fun of each other. It was all in fun though, maybe too much fun. The two young high-schoolers were now a heaving and giggling mess in the back of the room, and with every teacher’s weird and unexplainable extensive knowledge everything going on around them at all times and probably their extra set of eyes or something, the two blushing and gasping girls were noticed. Marching up to their desks, the teacher snatched up their legacy with a tight scowl and unamused look in her eyes before reading over the messy content on the page. The girls waited in a dead silence as all of their peer’s eyes were glued to them and the older woman in front of them. Finally finishing every completely useless joke on the sheet, the teacher finally looked down at the two. With that incredibly pissed and disappointed “Teacher Look” wiped onto her face, she asked the girls probably one of the worst things an older cliché teacher like her had to ask. “What do you have to say for yourselves?”

                The girls peered over to each other, and sure enough, the next thing to come out of their mouths were something incredibly stupid, yet clever nonetheless. “I was going to make a joke about chemistry,” Lisa smiled.

                “But all the good ones ARGON.”  Ellie finished with a self-satisfied smirk. Of course, the outcome to that was also fairly easy to predict. A class of laughing students, two devilishly clever smiling girls, an incredibly pissed off teacher, and after-school detention for two.

                Later that day, as Lisa and Ellie sat in an empty row at the front of their class, ready to serve their “jail time,” as they liked to call it, Ellie turned to look at her partner in crime. “Sorry if I got us in trouble,” Ellie sighed with an awkward smile.

                Lisa just laughed and shook her head. “It’s alright,” she said. “Besides, no matter what, you’ll always be a BRO- of- MINE.”

Tuesday, October 21 - Deja Vu

 

                Caroline studied the old man carefully. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but something about him reminded her of someone else. But who? She knew for sure that she had in fact seen him somewhere before. Did they cross paths at some point, or has she seen him in the area before and just didn’t take the time to really look at him until now? Caroline’s mind almost went into overdrive as she began to follow the mysterious character. Curiosity gnawed at her while she strained her eyes to keep track of the man as he silently darted through the people on the streets ,hunched over and head bent down. This feeling was similar to Deja Vu, yet stronger. She cut over until she was directly behind him and only a few people away. Just as she was starting to catch up, the man looked over his shoulder and spotted her weaving her way through the crowd, not too far from where he was. Now knowing that she was in pursuit of him, he turned and began running.

                “Wait!” Caroline shouted as she too began to run. “Please, wait! I have to ask you something!” She extended her hand out, reaching in his direction while her heels clicked loudly on the sidewalk’s pavement. The man didn’t stop to react to her words; he needed to get away before she caught up to him. However, Caroline was fiercely determined to discover the identity of this person, no matter what it took. She wasn’t sure what was driving her to pursue him, but something inside of her mind told her to keep going. “Don’t lose track of him,” it told her, “He can’t get away this time!”

                At this point, people in the crowd began to stop and move out of the way of the chase. A few people tried to grab the man, thinking that perhaps he had stolen something from the woman hot on his trail. He wouldn’t give in though. The mysterious figure began to shove people out of his way in hopes of making a faster retreat. However, this just drew more attention to himself, something he was obviously trying to avoid. He moved even faster now, needing to get out of the area as soon as possible or at least to somewhere where he could get away without any spectators. At this rate, he would stir up too much of a crowd and Caroline would catch him for sure. The man spotted a turn in the side of a brick building that led to a narrow alley. There, he needed to get there! No one would see him that way.

                Just as the figure made a turn into the alleyway, he felt a firm tug on his black coat jacket. “Please sir, just give me a minute!” It was Caroline again. The man failed to notice how close Caroline had gotten when he was searching for somewhere to hide. He would have no choice now, he had to break the promise he had made to her. “I’m sorry, but for some reason,” Caroline began to speak, but slowly stopped as she saw the man turn to her. Her words fell out of her mouth. The two stared each other dead in the eyes, matching baby blue orbs reflecting each other.

                For just a second the two stood still, looking at each other with mixed emotions. The man breathed out a quick, “I’m sorry.” Pain suddenly shot through Caroline’s head and she let out a small yelp in pain. She bent over, the palms of her hands pressing into her strained forehead. She stayed that way for a few moments until the pain began to die down. Standing up straight with a hand to her head, Caroline studied her environment. Confusion quickly found its way into her brain. Why was she in an empty alleyway? Last time she remembered, Caroline was just exiting a coffee shop on the other side of town. Stumbling a little, Caroline made her way out of the alley and back onto the streets, her fingers still pressed into her temple. Soon enough, a young couple approached Caroline and asked if she was alright. Caroline told them that she was fine, but wasn’t sure what she was doing or how and why she ended up where she did. The couple nodded and decided to escort her back to her car to be sure that she wouldn’t get into any more trouble on the way. Caroline didn’t mind, so she let the two young adults lead her back downtown. As Caroline walked down the pavement, a silent, forgotten memory sighed in the back of her mind. “You let him get away again.”

Thursday, October 16 - Rain

 

 

Rain, unlike thunderstorms, never particularly caused me any discomfort. Rain itself is actually quite relaxing to listen to and watch. Chilly, dark, rainy days are perfect for curling up in bed to sleep or read a nice book. It also allows me to make warm drinks such as tea or hot chocolate. Something that is useful for me is that rain can change the mood or atmosphere. For instance, a dark rainy night could be used to help set the scene for a horror movie or story, yet brighter rainy days can signify a day for stay at home relaxation and comfort. Weather is something that greatly helps writers, such as myself, when it comes to dealing with setting and plot.

Although being caught in the rain can be very uncomfortable sometimes, splashing around in the water and having it shower over you can be very soothing. Standing or walking in the rain cools down your body and refreshes your senses. Even under an umbrella, you can feel yourself being washed off. At that point, it will be easier to smell and feel the liquid in the atmosphere. With pollen, plants, and dead leaves being washed away, people with bad allergies will feel brand new after a nice rain.

In a way similar to taking a shower, the air outside will have a humid and slow type of feel to it after it has stopped raining. That feeling reminds me of recycling and renewal. The old plants have died, the rain came, and now the earth is ready to start new and fresh. The dirt has been rinsed and now it’s time for something else to grow in its place. It’s a blissful and calming way to think about how the Earth is always changing.

This kind of weather isn’t for everyone though. Being someone who doesn’t like thunderstorms, the rain can indicate that a strong storm could be coming, making me a little nervous when I see the sky darken. The loud bangs and flashing lights of a storm can cause people paranoia, discomfort and anxiety. The bright flashes of lightning can also cause seizures for those with epilepsy.

Storms and rain have major impacts on our ecosystem and economy. While rain and occasional storms are good for the earth, too much can lead to serious disasters. Flooding is one of the most obvious and major problems with rain. Beaches, lakes, rivers, streams and valleys can be easily flooded, which could cause destruction to land, property, and persons in those areas. Oceans can become restless during storms, which could compromise fishing ships and docks. Fish is a major meat in the diets of people around the world, so bad weather could easily bring down sales for this type of food.

Even if rain isn’t something for everyone to enjoy, it is essential for us and our planet. Without it, our planet would drought and life wouldn’t be stable. Rain isn’t always liked, but it is something that will always be needed by all of us.

Wednesday, October 15 - I Remember When

 

 

                “I remember that time when I took that trip to the zoo. That was one of the craziest days of my life,” Jay, a young teenager said as he stared up at the clouds from a grassy hill. Beside him, his friend Fen laid stretched out, also watching the white cloud puffs stroll through the sky. Sitting up, she looked down to her best friend, a questioning look on her face.

“The zoo? How is that exciting? I would understand if you were a nine year old or something, but at 16? You must be a bigger softie than I initially thought.” She smiled and stuck her tongue out at him in a cheeky manner. Shooting up from his spot, Jay looked her dead in the eyes.

                “Oh please, I am not!” he shouted. “As a matter of fact, I have pictures to prove just how exciting it was. Believe me or not, but I have documented proof.” More excited than she let herself out to be, Fen acted aloof to mask her deep curiosity. She always was the proud type.

                “Yeah I’m sure,” Fen sighed with a wave of her hand. “If you want to show me pictures of you in front of the penguins or petting a goat, then be my guest. I won’t judge you.” The more Fen teased the boy, the more determined he was to show her what he meant.

With a wide smirk, Jay whipped his phone out of his side pocket and began scrolling through his photos. “Fine, I’ll show you,” he remarked, “but you’ll be seeing more than just penguins and goats.” Now completely enthusiastic, Jay quickly tapped the buttons on his phone, his hand jittering with excitement. Oh what has Fen gotten herself into? Filled to the brim with full blown curiosity, Fen leaned towards her friend as he continued to tap away on his phone. “There! There they are!” Jay laughed as he flipped the phone towards his friend. “Scroll through these,” The boy said as he handed over his flip phone to the girl beside him.

Carefully taking the phone, Fen looked at the first picture of Jay smiling in front of the entrance of the local zoo. “What a dork,” she laughed quietly to herself. She flipped through the photos, which seemed to be fairly normal so far. There were a few pictures of Jay and some of the animals there. “Everything looks normal, minus you being a dweeb,” Fen said as she continued to click through the camera.

A smile began to etch away at Jay’s features as he watched her go through the contents on his phone. “Just keep looking,” he laughed. “You’ll get to them.” Fen rolled her eyes and continued to look through the phone.

Now, her patience and curiosity began to thin. Then, something caught her eye. One photo in particular, a monkey was unusually close to the camera. Despite being blurry from movement, the picture had a fairly good quality; that was something you didn’t see with zoom in camera phones. She clicked over to the next picture, this one even more interesting. A raccoon was clutching onto the head of a man, and with closer inspection, it looked like wild monkeys were running around in the background. “Jay?” the girl asked in a worried tone. Jay didn’t respond, he only sat there grinning.

Fen scrolled through the pictures faster now, yet still taking in the details of each one. A rhino bashing through a food stand, a man trying to escape with a panda, a group of people running from a hoard of elephants, each picture got crazier than the last! “Jay!” Fen barked, holding the mobile device in her hand up to the male. “Is this you riding on the back of a giraffe?!”

Jay’s smirk sliced his way through his handsome features, growing wider with every passing photo. “Dunno, it might be. Just keep scrolling.” Following his command, Fen scrolled through the rest of the pictures. Fire, destruction, ostriches, lions, gorillas, chaos. Fen dropped the phone with a shudder.

“How could you take pictures at a time like that? God, people were probably being killed or something.” Jay just laughed and picked up his phone, wiping off the screen and putting it aside.

“Actually, to everyone’s surprise, there were only a few minor injuries. Some monkey bites, a few raccoon attacks, maybe a sprained ankle or two? I don’t know, I only caught most of it.” Fen stood up and dusted off her long skirt.

“Care to explain how any of this happened?” Fen cast a glare and an extended hand towards her seated friend. He was notorious for coming with crazy plots, and actually having the guts to execute them. Taking her hand, Jay allowed his friend to pull him to a standing position.

“I may or may not have pissed off a bunch of monkeys,” he said with a devilish grin. The pair began to walk off of the grassy hill back towards their school.

“You’re lucky I don’t report you to the authorities,” Fen laughed, teasing her friend as usual. Jay waved it off with a laugh.

“You won’t,” was his only reply as they continued to walk together.

Friday, October 10 - Pet Peeve

 

Music Choice For The Day

 

                I sat there in class, ready to use my own textbook to knock myself out to get away from this torture. Sitting just two desks away from me was a fellow classmate chewing on their nails. They would sit there and use their teeth to grind them down before using their other nails to click them together obnoxiously. God I sat there just cringing at the awful sounds that came from their compulsive routine. You see, the problem wasn’t the action, but the sound of it. That horrible clicking and popping of the nails being bitten down and snapped together; I can’t stand it! I can’t even begin to describe how much it bothers me. I mean really, I can’t. There is no justified reason as to why this simple action bothers me so much. It doesn’t irritate me in a way similar to someone tapping their pencil or pen on their desk, it actually grosses me out. This disgusted and uncomfortable feeling builds up inside of me when I hear it.

                Not wanting to be rude or sound harsh, I lean over to them and awkwardly call out a hushed, “hey,” to grab their attention. Not responding, I do it again. The person lowers their hand from their face as they look over at me. “Hey, sorry,” I begin, “but could you please stop chewing on your nails? Sorry, but it just bothers me a bit.” The person apologizes and agrees to stop. I give them a thank you and a small smile before readjusting myself in my seat. Finally, I feel comfortable and everything is peaceful once again. Until a few moments later, I hear a soft clicking. My eyebrows automatically furrow in annoyance as I look over at the same person, now clicking their nails together again. Looking up and seeing my gaze, they immediately stop again. “Oh, sorry,” they apologize. I give them another smile and try to shake it off. “It’s fine,” I whispered back. Yet of course, no more than just a few minutes later, and the sound starts up again. I just sit there and leave them be, not wanting to fuss at them for having the bad habit. Knowing that they can’t help the subconscious need to grind up their nails, so I merely lay my head down and try to tune out the horrible sound.

Tuesday, October 7 - The Flip Side

 

Stress In Teenagers

 

The classes?

Boring.

The people?

Boring.

Not all of them of course,

But enough to do the trick.

Where has my motivation gone?

Out the door with my patience.

Even here in October,

One of my favorite months of the year,

I can’t find the time to get anything done,

Or done right.

In only my second year,

I am more than ready to get out of here.

The noise, the crowd, the people, the work, the mundane routine,

God I’m just sick of it all.

Annoyed, unamused, and with my patience withering way,

I’m done. I’m so done.

To you school, I must say,

Goodbye and good day.

 

 

 

We wonder what is troubling our friend.

She sits there ever so quietly, at least,

Quieter than usual.

Last year, so cheery and excited,

So full of laughter and life,

But that seems to have faded.

She talks about the work she won’t, or can’t do.

We nod and shrug it off, that’s the habit of a teen anyway.

Everyday it’s another story about how the classes she’s in,

She’s no longer doing so good.

Why, we must ask ourselves.

Why is our friend, once brighter than ever,

Now sitting unentertained,

Her light bulb fading out of its once brilliant lumosity?

Why does she sit there on the edge quietly?

Listening in more than participating?

Out of our generosity,

We will leave her with her thoughts.