Tag Archives: book-review

June Swoon 4: Two A Day!

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We are under a month until our fourth annual June Swoon… except, there will be a twist this year.

There have been a lot of movies that I have missed so far in 2025 that are showing up on the streaming services. I was looking for a way to do a big couple of day watch… much like the Friday Fun Festival I did late last year, but the timing just was not working out.

The list was getting longer when I came up with the idea. I knew the June Swoon 4 was starting on June 1 (I can announce that September 5 is the first film of the June Swoon this year), and I thought… what if I did a movie from this year every day as well.

Typically, the June Swoon is a DailyView, where I watch a movie that I missed from 2024, once a day from June 1st to June 30th. That will still be in place. Joining the movie from 2024 will be a movie from 2025, giving us two movies a day, every day for the month of June!

I love this as a new challenge. EYG has done the June Swoon for three previous years and this new wrinkle will spruce up the event even more. It will be a busy month as I would like to finish the X-Files this summer, there is the Sunday Morning Sidewalk continuing, and any continuing series are still on the docket.

I would guess that the new releases on the weekend during June will count as movies from 2025 for this challenge.

I am excited about the new June Swoon! Starting on June 1st…

June Swoon 4: Two A Day Movie List

It’s Then Now: 2024 movie

It’s Now: 2025 Movie

June 1

It’s Then Now: September 5

It’s Now: Black Bag

June 2

It’s Then Now: Hundreds of Beavers

It’s Now: Into the Deep

June 3

It’s Then Now: Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

It’s Now: The Luckiest Man in America

June 4

It’s Then Now: Flow

It’s Now: Screamboat

June 5

It’s Then Now: Memoir of a Snail

It’s Now: A Working Man

June 6

It’s Then Now: The Only Girl in the Orchestra

It’s Now: Wick is Pain

June 7

It’s Then Now: Ghostlight

It’s Now: Wrestlemania IX: Becoming A Spectacle

June 8

It’s Then Now: Sing Sing

It’s Now: The Ballad of Wallis Island

June 9

It’s Then Now: Love Lies Bleeding

It’s Now: Death of a Unicorn

June 10

It’s Then Now: Y2K

It’s Now: Becoming Led Zeppelin

June 11

It’s Then Now: My Dead Friend Zoe

It’s Now: Warfare

June 12

It’s Then Now: Caddo Lake

It’s Now: Karen

June 13

It’s Then Now: Small Things Like These

It’s Now: Fear Street: Prom Queen

June 14

It’s Then Now: Queer

It’s Now: The Rule of Jenny Pen

June 15

It’s Then Now: The Brutalist

It’s Now: Finger Food

June 16

It’s Then Now: The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

It’s Now: Magazine Dreams

June 17

It’s Then Now: Ultraman: Rising

It’s Now: Rust

June 18

It’s Then Now: The Last Showgirl

It’s Now: Mountainhead

June 19

It’s Then Now: Black Barbie: A Documentary

It’s Now: Titan: The OceanGate Disaster

June 20

It’s Then Now: In a Violent Nature

It’s Now: The Surrender

June 21

It’s Then Now: I’m Still Here

It’s Now: The Friend

June 22

It’s Then Now: The Fire Inside

It’s Now: Another Simple Challenge

June 23

It’s Then Now: Nickel Boys

It’s Now: Nonnas

June 24

It’s Then Now: Tuesday

It’s Now: Revelations

June 25

It’s Then Now: Chicken for Linda

It’s Now: Art Spiegelman: Disaster is My Muse

June 26

It’s Then Now: Your Monster

It’s Now: Until Dawn

June 27

It’s Then Now: Hitpig

It’s Now: Star Trek: Section 31

June 28

It’s Then Now: Babygirl

It’s Now: K-Pop Demon Hunters

June 29

It’s Then Now: The Order

It’s Now: G20

June 30

It’s Then Now: Absolution

It’s Now: Deep Cover

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #14

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“Chapter Four: A Hope in Hell”

This morning, we take a stroll down the Sunday Morning Sidewalk onto the path to Hell.

And the path to Hell is lined with more than just good intentions. It is lined with tension, anxiety and suspense.

What a great episode this was.

At first, as Morpheus and Matthew traveled into Hell to regain his helm, I was more engaged with the second part of the story, John Dee being picked up by a woman named Rosemary. That conversation inside Rosemary’s car was scary and I dreaded what was going to happen to Rosemary, who was just trying to be a good person.

However, then Morpheus wound up in a fight with Lucifer Morningstar and the narrative of the episode switched. The ‘fight” between these two was amazing… and unlike anything I expected. It was truly sensational and brilliantly constructed. It could have easily just slipped into the big power fight that we see so often, but this was deeper, more intense.

The fight turned on the word of the raven, Matthew, giving Morpheus that last bit of motivation to overcome the ruler of the Underworld.

It also seemed as if Rosemary was able to survive the episode, and I was sure she was a goner. Sarah Niles played Rosemary so exceptionally that I immediately connected with the character and wished for her safety. John gave her the amulet of protection at the end of the episode after she had decided to wait for him instead of escaping to freedom. It was a sweet ending that I still was anxious about. I really wanted Rosemary, a good person, to not be killed off in this warped story. When it was clear that she was going to make it, I did breath a sigh of relief.

Nicely paired episode with two stories (which nearly crossed at the end) that I was very engaged in. This is my favorite episode so far of the season and it does seem as if the show is only getting better each week.

Yellowjackets S3 E8

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“A Normal, Boring Life”

Um… Shauna… WTF?

Shauna was always my favorite of the adult Yellowjackets, but… is she the most unhinged? I had difficulties seeing teen Shauna do these insane things but have adult Shauna seem to be sane.

Well that ship has sailed.

Shauna has been taking a trip down to insanity this second half of the season as it seemed as if someone was trying to kill her… or at very least… mess with her. Yet, when she, with her teeth, took a chunk of skin out of the shoulder of Hillary Swank, Shauna was the most unhinged that I think we have seen her as of yet.

Turned out that Hillary Swank was playing Melissa, whom everyone believed was dead. Shauna assumed that Melissa was the one behind everything, but I have to say that I believed Melissa’s story, and it made more sense than Shauna’s conspiracy theory.

The scenes between adult Shauna and adult Melissa are easily the best scenes of the episode and I found myself wanting to get back to them every time we were somewhere else. So while there were some important things going down (Tai confirmed to be under control of her other self, the capture of Kodi, Shauna, Lottie and Tai refusing to leave the wilderness, Jeff confronting the Joels about the dinner Shauna ruined) none of that matched the intensity of the scenes between Shauna and Melissa.

Could the entire season just be Shauna seeing things that were not really there in order to “blow her life up?” Shauna does make the salient point that Melissa is living a lie, married to the daughter of Hannah (who apparently will die at the Yellowjackets’ hands) and pretending to be named Kelly. However, a convoluted revenge plot by Melissa does not make much sense either. She would be throwing a wrench into her entire life by doing it.

Melissa told Shauna that she did send her the tape, but she explained everything in the note… a note that Shauna did not find.

It is very possible that there is another person involved here that is stalking Shauna and taking advantage of this situation to do it. I am not sure and that is a great thing.

Two more episodes of season three remain.

Yellowjackets S3 E7

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“Yellowjackets: Croak”

Joel McHale.

I did not expect to see him as one of the outsiders that came upon the Yellowjackets last week, but there he was, sporting a crossbow and everything.

I don’t know, if I were Joel McHale, who played Kodiak, who was a guide for the frog scientists, Edwin and Hannah, I would not have run from the girls. I had a crossbow. Even after Lottie killed Edwin with an axe, I think I might have tried to take a stand against them. He was clearly bigger and stronger than the girls.

In the end, both Kodiak and Hannah were captured by the Yellowjackets and, if what he hear about in the present day, it does not sound as if either of them make it out of the wilderness. At least, if they do, they are missing.

Then, the mystery of who killed Lottie continues to be crazy as it could, literally, be just about anyone. Taissa has been under the control of her other half for who knows how long. Something confirmed by Van when she was hallucinating at the hospital. She was throwing up blood as Shauna, Tai and Misty joined her on the way to confront the daughter of Hannah, who they believe had sent them that tape. Of course, it could also be Shauna, who had her DNA under Lottie’s fingernails.

Shauna ditched her, well, I was going to say friends, but that is not right) former team mates at the hospital and went to the daughter’s house and Shauna had purchased a big old knife. What is her plan? Or is she just still as psychotic as she seemed in the wilderness? Callie seems to be wondering if her mother is a bad person.

This episode flew by for me and I was not ready for it to end. I can’t wait for next week’s new installment… along with the rumored appearance of Hillary Swank.

The White Lotus S2 E4, E5

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“In the Sandbox”

“That’s Amore”

It was two interesting episodes that seemingly flipped my opinions on some of the characters from the first three shows of season two.

This was the first time that I was interested in the two prostitutes who had been hanging around the White Lotus, Mia and Lucia, had been a distraction for much of the first three episodes, but, for some reason, I started to enjoy their presence in these two. Mia’s relationship with Albie felt sweet. I was a little uncertain because it felt like she might be taking advantage of him. Then Lucia’s accidental poisoning of the piano player led to her to gt a chance to play the piano.

Tanya, whom I already like, was able to get out of her depression over Greg’s leaving when she came across a group of gay men who invited her into their circle. I’m still not sure about the overall positiveness of this though. The end of episode five made me wonder. Still, it was nice to see Tanya apparently happy for a bit at least.

I was rooting for Portia, but her hooking up with Jack felt beneath her, and I was not sure I liked that storyline piece.

This was also the first time that I got into the story with Dominic and his father Bert. There was a scene between the two of them at dinner that brought this troubled relationship to light, making me understand these two way more than discussions of The Godfather ever did.

Aubrey Plaza’s Harper, who had been my favorite character up until these episodes, found a condom wrapper in the apartment and became extremely unhappy with Ethan. This entire arc has done nothing but make me dislike Harper and make me feel sorry for Ethan. It feels at this point that Ethan is way better than any of the people he is with, whether it be Harper or his best friend, Cameron, who is just a creep.

I do think that the show has begun to hint at who the bodies are going to be and we had a couple of characters go out to the water in moments of melancholy and close their eyes. It was both Dominic and Harper at different points during these episodes. I do not know if this is meant to be red herrings, but these two are easily the most depressed characters on the canvas right now, even lower than Tanya.

Two more episodes to go before I start season three.

The White Lotus S1 E4, E5, E6

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“Recentering”

“The Lotus-Eaters”

“Departures”

I finished off the first season of The White Lotus with some mixed feelings. The show is amazing, beautifully shot with gorgeous imagery of the Hawaiian Islands. However, the characters, while intriguing and deep as well as wonderfully acted, are just the worst people around.

Even those characters that I think we were meant to connect with as an audience are just the worst examples of people.

Armond is the perfect example. I am both sorry for and disgusted by Armond. He took so much grief and unnecessary strife, particularly from Shane, but he made so many choices that led to his own downfall. The scene of him pooping in Shane’s luggage was gruesome, shocking, and downright disturbing (albeit really funny). Of course, this “feud” with Shane sure seemed as if Shane came out on top and I am not sure how I felt about that. Shane was one of the biggest jerks on the show. Just losing his wife did not seem to be enough Karma for him.

Another character that we were meant to support was Paula, but she was every bit as bad as Olivia. She totally corrupted Kai which led his his arrest. That arc was anything but satisfying as that character was sacrificed to the show. I kind of expected Kai to have given the jewels he stole back, maybe anonymously, because he was better than that and had felt the regret of his actions. I guess not as Armond just said he was caught and that was all we got from him.

If there was one character who was worth rooting for, it was Belinda, who got royally screwed over by Tanya. The whole storyline with Tanya and Greg did not work much for me. He just blew in, had sex with Tanya, and told her he was sick. This was so out of nowhere, it felt out of place. Plus, it led to Tanya turning away from Belinda, whose heartbreak over the rejection of her business plan, a plan that Tanya encouraged in the first place, was crushing. Actor Natasha Rothwell did some wonderful acting in the final episode, keeping much of her own disappointment and ache inside and expressing it through her eyes and face.

There are seven episodes of season two also on MAX and I expect that I will be jumping into them soon. This first season was really well done and acted, creating some definitive feelings for these people. They just may not have been a happy feeling.

Girl in the Picture (2022)

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January 31

January 31st is here and the 2025 Genre-ary comes to a close with a Netflix documentary called Girl in the Picture, which was based on the books A Beautiful Child and Finding Sharon by Matt Birkbeck.

According to IMDB, “A young mother’s mysterious death and her son’s subsequent kidnapping blow open a decades-long mystery about the woman’s true identity and the murderous federal fugitive at the center of it all.“

This was an excellent documentary covering the tragic story of a young girl named Sharon Marshall. Or at least, it was a young girl who was known as Sharon Johnson. She had been abducted as a child and then raised as the daughter of Franklin Delano Floyd, a kidnapper, murderer and sexual abuser.

Sharon suffered years of abuse at the hands of her “father.” He would use her to make money by making her strip and offering her for sex to other men.

The story also included a boy named Michael, who had been kidnapped by Floyd as well. The boy disappeared and the question about what had happened to Michael was part of the film.

One of the best things about this doc is that all of the mysteries surrounding these people are solved. A lot of times these docs do not have a sense of closure because mysteries are left unsolved. Here though, thankfully, everything is revealed.

It is such an emotional story of pain and loss, but it also gives a great story about how people can help by doing whatever you can.

Girl in the Picture is available on Netflix.

And with this, the 2025 Genre-ary comes to a close.

There’s Something Wrong with Aunt Diane (2011)

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January 28

Today’ documentary for the Genre-ary was a doc from HBO MAX called There’s Something Wrong with Aunt Diane.

According to IMDB, this documentary looked at… “The accident made national headlines: a suburban mother drove the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway in New York and crashed head-on into an SUV, killing herself and seven others. In the aftermath, Diane Schuler was portrayed as a reckless drunk and a mother who cracked. But was she the monster the public made her out to be…or the perfect wife and mother that many say she was? Investigating the case six months after the accident, this documentary searches for answers to a mysterious and senseless tragedy.”

This was an interesting documentary. The story of Diane Schuler was an odd one. It looked as if she had just been drunk and high and wound up in a tragic accident that killed eight people. Moat of the doc featured Diane’s husband, family and friends and their POV of the situation. They were all certain that there was no way that Diane could be a drunk who drove her car into another vehicle. They were all very determined that this was not possible.

The problem was that all of the evidence of the case pointed to Diane Schuler was drunk and high at the time of the accident. The family of Diane did not provide any possible evidence outside of their denials.

Through the entire documentary, it felt as if some piece of information was missing. The motivation of Diane is questionable. I do not understand why she may have been drinking vodka and smoking marijuana. There was a point of contention about a possible tooth that abscessed, but that did not feel like the overall answer.

There is also another weird event involving an investigator hired by the family who had Diane’s specimens retested, but never got back in touch with the family. This was a truly bizarre aspect of the story. Near the end, Diane’s sister spoke with the investigator who said that he had sent the results and that they were the same as the original one. This was strange.

Some of the images of the accident was just tough to watch. There was a warning at the beginning of the film, but they still caught me off guard.

There seems to be something missing in this story, and sadly, we will never know what it was. Such a tragedy that cost the lives of several humans, including four children.

Misha and the Wolves (2021)

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January 26

My favorite type of documentary is the ones that have a story that it tells you that is totally unbelievable, but it is true. Previous docs that I loved in this manner included Tickled, The Imposter, Three Identical Strangers, and The Jinx. There is a new doc that shocks you with its twists and turns among this harrowing story of a young girl surviving the Holocaust by living with the wolves.

According to IMDB, “Misha and the Wolves is the dramatic tale of a woman whose holocaust memoir took the world by storm, but a fallout with her publisher – who turned detective – revealed an audacious deception created to hide a darker truth.“

I don’t want to spoil much of this tale, so all I will say is that the story told by Misha in her memoir, which became a huge selling book, is compelling enough, and what happened following its release is even more so.

This doc is well told, with some excellent editing and design. It grabs you with the story immediately and then expertly weaves through what remains for the run time.

There are some questions left at the end which made me want to know more, but the doc is truly surprising.

Misha and the Wolves is available to stream on Netflix.

Battlestar Galactica S4 E7, E8, E9

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“Guess What’s Coming to Dinner?”

“Sine Qua Non”

“The Hub”

Big things happening in the world of Battlestar Galactica. Everything is amping up for this series’ push to its finale.

  • Lee Adama gets himself appointed interim president after Roslin disappears on the Cylon baseship.
  • Admiral Adama resigns as head of Galactica in order to search for Roslin. Appointed Sol Tigh, one of the Final Five Cylons, in his place.
  • The Hybrid jumped the ship multiple times, on its way to the Hub. The Galactica crew planned on capturing Number 3 (D’anna) and destroying the Hub.
  • They do succeed and destroy the Hub, meaning that there would be no more Cylon resurrections.
  • Baltar is severely wounded and Roslin thinks about letting him die for his punishment. Baltar’s drugged out mind confessed his sins from the start. Roslin saves him.
  • D’anna refuses to give out the names of the Final Five to Roslin. It is her only bargaining chip and she wants to be safe.
  • Roslin is reunited with Adama at the end of The Hub episode and tells him that she loves him. He says “About time.”

Three very impactful episodes. Still not sure how things are going to go. It sure seems as if both sides are ready and willing to stab each other in the back, but the uneasy alliance could lead to a positive result.

Still wondering whom that fifth Cylon is. When D’anna told Roslin that she was one of the five, she did it as a joke, but I am not unsure that it was. Who knows at this point. The number of potential choices are not large and I would think that it is not Starbuck, at this point.

Battlestar Galactica S4 E4, E5, E6

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“Escape Velocity”

“The Road Less Traveled”

“Faith”

Battlestar Galactica continues with its final season as some of these characters are going through some serious issues, especially those we have learned are Cylons.

Chief Tyrol went through it hard after Cally’s death. He was angry and responding violently. Part was the grief over his wife’s death and part of it was his continued confusion over his own truth.

Sol was having internal struggles as well. He would go down to question Six in the brig, looking for answers to his own self-image questions.

Kara has been acting crazy as captain of this mission to head to try and find earth. The stress and anxiety played havoc with his behavior and the support of the crew that went with her. However, picking up Leoben, who claimed there was a Cylon Civil War going on. Starbuck took a few of her crew (after a very tense mutiny) to the Cylon base ship looking for an alliance.

She found out from the Cylon Hybrid that “Thus shall it come to pass. The dying leader will know the truth of the opera house. The missing three will give you the five who have come from the home of the thirteenth. You are the harbinger of death, Kara Thrace. You will lead them all to their end. End of line.“

Baltar is another character going through it in this run of episodes. He had become a religious leader, speaking about a different, single God. Many of the people aboard Galactica would be listening to him. He had some trouble with Tyrol too.

Roslin’s cancer is moving forward, but she had a conversation with another patient dying of cancer that allowed her to refocus her ideas. Roslin has been a character that has felt inconsistent this season, but I do like the relationship between Roslin and Adama.

Kara seemed to be back in control after a successful trip to the baseship. I’m not sure how this is going to go over with Galactica.

Silo S2 E10

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“Into the Fire”

The ending of Silo season two made me think of the ending of LOST season 3, where Jack said “We have to go back!” That moment was such a mind-f that no one was expecting it. That is how I felt when suddenly, the end of Silo seemed to be in a different time before the silos were built.

It led to us seeing where the Pez dispenser came from. It was such an unexpected twist that it was wild.

Both sides of the storyline this year came together in some great scenes.

  • I was right about Walker and the others setting up Bernard, although, I have to admit, mid way through the episode, I was not sure if I was right. Loved the scene between Walker and Bernard that confirmed the plan.
  • Juliette coming over the hill as the whole of silo 18 was preparing for force their way outside was as dramatic as it could be. It was one of the best moments of the show.
  • Again, it may just be me, but Juliette writing “Not Safe. Don’t come out” and showing it on screen as she did reminded me of “Not Penny’s Boat” by Charlie on LOST. Yeah, I know I have LOST on the brain.
  • The Algorithm is strange. It said that Camille could stay but Sims and his son had to leave. Why? Solo kept saying that his mom did not come back when they went to deal with the Safeguard. Is this tied together?
  • The scene where Juliette let Audrey have it for her treatment of Eater, whom we learn has a named- Hope. This was awesome because I have thought Audrey has had something shoved up her butt since the minute we met her.

Last week I believe I stated that ep. 9 was my favorite of the season. That is no longer accurate as episode 10 was just completely awesome from the beginning to the weird flashback at the end. The fire that seemingly consumed Juliette and Bernard, the rebellion’s ‘end’, and everything else.

Silo has done a tremendous job of providing specific details and answers to mysteries while keeping plenty of them active to keep the audience guessing. Rebecca Ferguson and Tim Robbins were outstanding all season long with a special shout out to Steve Zahn’s Solo who may have been the best character we have met so far. Zahn’s performance was special and his bond with Juliette was incredible.

Season three looks to have a ton of surprises in store, and I cannot wait to see where this sci-fi series takes me. Apple TV + has yet another epic series on its hands.

The Roomers

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The Roomers

By Dr Smart

 I have blood cancer and I’ve had it since I was a baby. I’ve had treatments and I’m doing well right now. I have 3 amazing friends who have helped me this whole time. Currently, I’m at a basketball game that they dragged me to. I’ve always wanted to join but because of my blood cancer, I can’t I have no time and my body can’t handle it yet. I’m determined to overcome this and fulfill my dreams. 

“Rosa…” 

I won’t let anything stop me! 

“Rosa”

… from doing what I want or living my life the way I want to… not even my cancer! 

“Rosa!”

“Sorry Tom wait what happened”

“Oh, Rosa, when will you get out of your head? You can’t live in a dream world forever…”

That’s Tom. He’s one of my friends. Tom continued with his Lexshier for ten more minutes with no breaks. Tom has a short buzzcut and brown hair that he dies and lets grow out. By the end of the year, it’s so long it goes to his shoulder, and he repeats the process every year. It’s his look, you could say.

“HEY GUYS!!!”

That girl screaming and running over to me and Tom is my other friend Bella She is sweet and has short blond hair and she is the shortest in our friend group so we help her reach stuff all the time  

“Hey Bella,” I say

  “Hi Bella we saved you a sit. Rosa and I know you’re never on time. you know that’s a bad habit you should have come earlier you always come late to everything. Also, did you see Mary?” Tom says

“Oh no I sadly didn’t see Mary I thought she was with you guys,”

 Bella says as she sits down on the bleachers next to me and Tom.

A few minutes after when all 3 of us were watching the basketball game Mary scars Tom and sits down next to him.

“MARY!” Tom screams 

“Hehe hi, guys sorry I’m late,” 

Mary says as she snickers and looks at us. Mary loves scarring Tom and only Tom for some reason won’t tell us why. we’ve asked before and she only laughs at the question like we should know why already and it’s a silly question. Marry has long well-taken care of black hair almost like a horse she is cold and silly at the same time she is also smart and Marry is my bff she’s also the smartest in the class. As the others talk and mess around all I can think about is how badly I wish I could play too but all I can do is watch the basketball game. I suddenly felt like something was over me and as I looked up I saw it was Gavin, Becka, and Regina. then Gavin pours his water bottle on me and I hear Becka and Regina giggle as I run to the bathroom to clean myself off once I get into the bathroom shortly after Tom’ Bella and Mary follow. Tom sits outside the bathroom to keep watch for them again, but also because he’s a boy and can’t come in.

“Hey, are you ok?” Bella says

“…” I respond with nothing

“Rosa don’t let them get to you they’re losers,” says Mary

“How do you think I feel and does it look like I’m ok how do you expect me to just be fine with this and not let it get to me just leave!” I say in a fit of anger

 “Ok we’ll leave but when you’re ready we’ll be waiting outside the bathroom for you,” Mary says 

“Just leave now!” I say as Mary and Bella both leave. Mary has always been good with handly emotions and her own too she always knows what to do and how to help and Bella is the same way she helps by being there and with her bubbly personality. As I leave the bathroom I see that they are still here Tom, Mary, and Bella sitting outside the bathroom and waiting for me

“Hey I see you decided to come out,” Tom says happily

“Let’s forget about this bad day and all get home I’ll see you guys Monday,” Mary says

“Hey now let’s not end the day bad! let’s get some ice cream at the new place in town and then go home!” Bella says

“Bella I know you are trying to help but it’s best if we go home it’s already so late,” Mary says

“Ok let’s go home,” Tom says

As we all walk out of the school I can’t help but feel like I wish I never had to return. We all walk our separate ways to go home. “Hey Mom I’m back from the game where Dad,” I say

“Your dad’s in the living room dinner will be done soon” 

“Hey Dad I’m back”

“Oh hey there Rosa you snuck up on me,” Dad says

“I’m going up to my room I’m way to tired from watching the game”

  After that Monday the gang hung out one time after the basketball game.

I woke up and did my routine and as I was doing my makeup and about to leave for school my elbo hurt every time I moved then I felt like I couldn’t get up it was like I was too weak to move Mom came running into my room and then it goes black I open my eyes to a hospital room I’m used to them from the mounts ive spent in them and the doctor comes in and tells my mom that my blood cancer achaly got worse and not beter like they thought and i would have to leave school for a few days for testing and other stuff and someone from my school would have to bring me my work. The person I chose to get me my work was Mary she would come every Monday with the work for that week she always came after school at 4:30 like clockwork I was slowly falling behind in school I couldn’t keep up with all the testing the hospital was doing and schooling so my parents got me a tour and it was tom and then Bella came with both of them sometimes

I was starting to czech up on school becus of them but I didn’t start getting better

Soon i was stuck in my hospital bed and could only move arond a little Tom came to help tour me one time with Mary and Bella and we were working and then

“Hey Rosa where all worried about you,” Tom said out of the blue

 “Have the doctors said anything about you getting better soon?” Bella said

“No, they said it didn’t look like I was going to get any better”

“How long do you have,” Mary said

‘MARY!” Tom yelled

“Mary dont go asking those questions…” bellas said

“This is not something you can’t be cold about you can’t act like you did last time when we found out she got cancer”

“Bella stop”

“Huh?” Bella said

“I don’t have very long i only have 2 more days i was trying to hide it from you the doctors told me a week after I got in here that I didn’t have much time”

“Well lets make thous two days the best ever well bring you stuff from your hospodal bed and will do anything to make you happy one last time,” Mary said

By the time they were done, it was night so they all went home that same night I went to bed like usual and I never woke up again I was dead a ghost I saw what everyone did the next morning Mom was crying by me in bed and dad was also crying next to here and when tom Bella and mary saw me they all started to cry too many ran out the room and said it wasn’t real that it was all in her head and Bella ran after her and tom he froze up he didn’t know what to do he just cried 

“This isn’t real,” Mary said 

“Mary it’s ok let’s just go home first let’s get Tom,” Bella said

“This isnt fair they could have done more to save her we were all just talking last night she was fine we were going to go all do something to make her happy one last time,” Tom said

I wanted to hug him and tell him it was fine and just forget about me and keep living without me but I felt I was a ghost

“Let’s just go come on guys”

Later on, Mary became a schoolteacher

Tom became a doctor

And Bella became a scientists

And Mom and Dad lived out their life without me happy 

This was the good ending I wanted for them after my death but I wish I could be there for them still…       

Friendship & Volleyball

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Friendship & Volleyball

By: Billie Hale

This is going to be about friendship and volleyball. My friend and I were at volleyball practice and the coach said that we made it to state. We were all so excited. Later that day I went to my friend’s house and we had a party. Half of the school came. We all had a blast. It was so fun. My friend Millie got mad at me because I have a boyfriend. Millie and I have been bestfriends for a long time so she was a little mad and we joked about being married. We are so close that we tell each other everything.

“Let’s go see your boyfriend” said Millie 

“Ok,” I said

So we went and saw Wyatt, who is my boyfriend. On the way we talked about volleyball and food. When we got there I talked to his mom. She is so sweet. Then we played basketball and volleyball. And then we left to go to volleyball practice. Volleyball practice was interesting. We had normal practice and then we did a lot of conditioning. We were so sore after that.  

“Let’s go to McDonalds” said Millie  

“Ok let’s go” I said 

After that she came to my house we layed in my bed and were talking about volleyball. We were prank calling people and eating our McDonalds. The next day we had school and school was fun. We did nothing in most of our classes because we had a lot of celebrations that day. Later we went to Wyatt’s house and Millie’s crush asked her out  and she said yes. We have been planning this for days. It was so hard not to tell her but I made it through.  Later when we went back to my house she couldn’t stop talking about it.

“How could you keep that from me?” Millie said jokingly.  

“It was really hard not to tell you” I said

So a few days later we did a double date and it was so fun. We went to the movies, got some dinner and hung out at my house. The next day we all hung out again and we had a blast. We played basketball and volleyball. A few days later state volleyball came and we did so well. I ended up injuring myself and I was in a brace for a month. It was not fun, but I did like riding the elevator every day. Every night I get a text from Millie saying can I ride with you in the elevator. I texted back saying yes to go inside and to go to our first class. My boyfriend rides with me, not her. A few days later Millie and I went shopping for volleyball. We found one that we liked and bought it. When we got to her house we ate food because we are big backs. 

“What’s your man up to?” Millie asked

“Going to his dads.” I said, “What’s your man up to Millie?” I asked 

So later when Wyatt got to his dads we facetimed and Millie and Wyatt yelled at each other pretty much the whole time.It was so funny. A few days later we had school. School was boring and I had volleyball practice after school. It was normal there was no conditioning, thank goddess. And then Millie betrayed me and was cheating on her boyfriend with my boyfriend. So i called her boyfriend and said Mille is cheating on you with Wyatt so do you want to get together and make them regret it. 

Riet said “ Ok lets do it”

“Ok bet” I said 

So the next day when  we had school Riet and I came to school together. He picked me up in his blue lamborghini. When we got to school he opened the door for me and we held hands while waking in. Right inside the door was Millie and Wyatt, their jaws dropped. 

“What are you guys doing”Millie yelled 

We smiled at each other and just kept walking past. It was finally time for school to start. Riet and I had the first class together and it was Excel. We sat in the same booth and we were talking the whole time. Millie also was in there and she sat and stared at us the whole time. 

It was the end of the day and Riet took me home. My parents are friends with Riets parent so we grew up together. So our parents are very excited we are together. When we got to my house, Riets parents were there talking with my parents and were enjoying it. They saw us walk in holding hands and they were screaming in excitement. They talked to us the rest of the night and told us how happy they were that we are together. 

It was 11 pm and Riets family went home and before Riet left him and his parents gave us hugs. That was the happiest night of my life. 

Will I Find Her?

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 Will I Find Her?

Author: Kannie Kj

On September 1st in Miami Florida Maria and Sasha, two best friends, are so excited to start school volleyball. They have been playing with each other for years now, and this is their Junior year of highschool. Tryouts start after school today, Maria is feeling good about tryouts and sure she will make it to varsity like every other year, but Sasha on the other hand wasn’t feeling so good about tryouts this year.

 Maria tries making her feel better, “hey, are you feeling any better about tryouts after school,” said Maria.

 “Not really,” said Sasha.

 “I don’t know why your so worried, we always make it on the team,”

“ I know Maria, but this year just feels different and there’s so many more girls this year that i might not make it.” 

“Oh, come on you can’t think like that just be the confident person like you always are.” 

Sasha Nodded her head and gave Maria a smile that looked faked, then she left for her last class of the day.                                 

The last class of the day was coming to an end and Maria was so happy to finally be on the court after the summer break that felt so long to her,  she rushed to the locker room to put on her shoes, knee pads etc. She waits in the locker room for Sasha. It’s been some time and all the other girls are in the gym by now and it was only her in the locker room so she decided to go without sasha. Tryouts started and there were a lot of people, a lot more than last year. The tryouts start with serving and Maria tries to find Sasha but no luck, She’s starting to think she didn’t come at all. The volleyball coach already knows Maria since she was on the team previous years. The coach already knew Maria would make it, but she is worried about why Sasha isn’t there.

 She calls Maria to ask why Sasha didn’t make it to tryouts, “Maria! Come over here,”said coach Gabby.

Maria runs over quickly, “yes coach gabby,” Said Maria.

“Where is Sasha, she’s not the type of girl to be late to tryouts,”

“Uh, I’m not sure, she didn’t tell me anything about what she is doing after school.”

“Oh don’t pull that with me, you to are like glued together and always know where the other one is”

“I don’t know where she is,” said Maria “i’m telling you the truth”

Coach replies “Are you covering for her?” “did she doing something bad”

  “Nope’

“Hmm okay just go back to tryouts”

She returns to tryouts while Coach Gabby gives Sasha’s mom a call. Sasha’s mom, Vannessa, answered. Coach Gabby asks if Sasha was going to come to tryouts, Vanessa said she thought she was already there…

After coach and Sasha talk about what they are going to do Coach hangs up the phone. She tells the girls that are still playing volleyball that she will be right back, Maria is guessing it’s about Sasha. Coach Gabby rushes to the office to ask if anyone is still in the school, The office lady replies, 

“Nope just the girls for volleyball tryouts, why is something wrong?” 

Coach Gabby says,

 “We might have a student missing.”

 The office lady panics and Coach tells her who the student is and they start making phone calls. Meanwhile in the gym, all Maria can think about is how she is gonna have to be on a team for the first time without her best friend Sasha, and now she will have to find a new partner for warm-ups. Coach Gabby finds out that Vannessa and Sasha’s dad are divorced and Sasha doesn’t  see her dad at all anymore. They do some more research and find out Her mom has full custody of Sasha because the dad did some jail time for unknown reasons. Coach Gabby’s heart sinks at the thought of what she thinks happens, she tells the front office lady to check the cameras to see if Sasha left with anyone. Coach returns to the gym shortly after. Maria looks at the way coach gabby is entering the room, she looks like she doesn’t have a thought going on in her head and looks like she is about to throw up. 

It was time to dismiss the girls from tryouts, “Ok girls, good job i’ll tell you who made the teams tomorrow morning. All the girls leave, at Maria’s house she calls Sasha  hoping for an answer but no one does, she’s starting to get worried about her. A couples hours latter Maria gets a notification on her phone, she reads 

“Amber alert for Sasha williams”

Her eyes widen as she keeps reading. It says her dad stole her from school and the car that she took her in is an old worn down jeep” she runs to go tell her mom and they both break down in tears. Maria can’t believe her best friend is kidnapped and if she’s ever gonna be found or what her cruel dad will do to her and how scared she is. After she calms down a little she thinks back at school, she thinks about how she was acting at school and how she was so anxious. Maria wonders if she knew something like this was going to happen. Maria calls Vanessa, Sasha’s mom, to see how she is doing. 

“Hey Vanessa, how are you doing,” said Maria’s mom. 

“As best as I can,” said Sasha’s mom”

A couple weeks go by and no new news and Maria makes a lot of new friends but she still thinks about Sasha dailey and wonders where she’s at or even if she’s still alive. Coach Gabby can see that Maria’s volleyball performance has not been like she usually plays and thinks that because of Sasha’s disappearance. A year or so goes b y and on the news a car crash is found with 2 dead in divalus that are reported to be Sasha and her dad… With a note that looks like Sasha’s handwriting that said 

“Sorry mom and Maria” 

No one knows why she was sorry. They had her funeral and Sasha’s mom moved away.