Tag Archives: family

Alex is Trying to Find Her Father

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Alex is Trying to Find her Father

Alex is a 14 year old girl trying to find her father that’s been missing for 2 years.

 “Oh my god, I need to find my dad. He’s been gone for two years. I miss him.” 

She looks around her town, but doesn’t find him, and she’s starting to give up, but she keeps going for him. 

After two hours this young boy.

 “Hi my name’s Max, why do you look so stressed?” he asked.

 Alex says, “I’m trying to find my dad and I’m Alex” 

Max says, “I can help you Alex” 

Alex’s eyes light up, “You will!!!” 

Max laughs, “Yea, I will.  Let’s go look” 

Alex says, “Ok!!!” 

They start looking around the town and they walk all day through night talking.

Alex says “I’ll never find him.”

Max says, “Don’t give up. By the way, if you don’t mind,  how’d he go missing?” he asks looking confused

Alex says “I was sleeping and I woke up after I heard a scream. It was my dad and I went out of my room and saw him get dragged out of the house and I tried to help but I wasn’t fast enough since I was in shock and he was already in the trunk of the car.”

Max listens intently, really wanting to know and Alex feels safe around Max even if they only met a day ago. They care deeply about each other; they act like sibilings.

 Three days later

Alex and Max are still looking around. Alex is starting to lose hope. She really wants to find her dad but she doesn’t think she will

Max says, “Don’t worry, we will find him. I know it, just keep your head up.” 

Alex finds a little bit of hope in her heart 

Alex says, “Thanks Max even though we’ve  only known each other a few days, I feel like you’re my best friend.” 

Max smiles and they continue their search.  They search day and night. They don’t stop searching and Alex is determined to find her dad. Max really wants to help her find her dad so he sticks by his side.

Max says “I know we will find him Alex”

Alex hugs him tightly and Max hugs her back just as tight to give her a sense of comfort

Alex says “I’m so glad I found you”

Max says “Im glad too”

They stop hugging and start walking through the town trying to find Alex’s dad they keep going Alex and Max continue searching they aren’t gonna go down without a fight they continue going around the town going in abandoned building, houses, hospitals that kinda thing to see if he was tied up somewhere so they searched and searched but nothing was found 

Alex says, “I quit”

Max says, “No you aren’t; you got this, I believe in you”

Max tells Alex encouraging words to give her a little hope of finding her dad. They don’t stop. They just keep searching

Alex says with a slight smile “Ok I believe you Max.”

Max looks happy that she believes him so they keep walking and they don’t look back.

Alex says, “You are the best Max. I’m happy that you helped me try to find my dad. You’re the best person in my life” 

Max smiles widely at Alex’s words as they keep walking trying to find her dad and eventually they take a break and sit on a bench there legs cramping.

Alex says, “Oh my god my legs hurt so bad right now”

Max says, “Mine too

Alex eventually falls asleep and her head falls onto Max’s shoulder. Max lets her sleep; he falls asleep to his head gently resting on her head in the morning

Max wakes up first and he gently shakes Alex and Alex wakes up. 

Max says, “Good morning sleepyhead.”

Alex’s smiles and says, “Good morning Max”

And then they get up and stretch and then they continue their journey to find Alex dad.

They walk into this certain building that was abandoned 100 years ago and they hear someone breathing and they walk towards the noise and its ALEX’S DAD. 

Alex screams “DADDDDDD” 

Max looks at Alex run to her dad and he walks up to her dad and unties the ropes and takes the gag out 

Alex’s dad says “I’ve missed you so much sweetie,” 

Alex hugs her dad and Max smiles at them 

Alex says “I’ve missed you so much dad”

Two years later

Max and Alex started dating and Alex’s dad is healthy and happy.

The end  

A Dead Man Named Royce

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A Dead Man Named Royce 

Apple    

There was a man named Royce who was in his mid 30s. He was driving back home from a cruise ship and there were a lot of events happening there, fires and heavy smoke. People were scared they didn’t 

 know what to do until Royce came and sang them a song and told them everything is gonna be ok. 

Royce isn’t no ordinary guy he’s a very kind hearted person he would 

do anything to hurt anyone people see him as a bad guy what he’s really not hi i’m willow  his daughter my mom died in 1967 and it’s now 2000 its been hard without her but dad always makes me laugh no matter what he 

always tells me mommy is watching over me im so sad she didn’t get to see me grow and achieve things in life but now i’m doing better me and dad are working on the farm and the crops still so we can harvest the food 

like mom would want us to there’s a big storm coming in and its supposed to be the worst storm yet 10 mins into the storm 

“OH NO THE CROPS DADDDDDDD…..”

“Yes willow hurry”

 “come oh nooo the crops what we gonna do the tornado sirens UHHHHHH dad is that a bad sound.  

“YES SWEETIE GO DOWN STAIRS LOCK YOURSELF IN THE BATHROOM HURRY” 

 “ok dad.hey dad i’m scared.”

 “Ik honey we can do this, it’s almost over.”

the next morning me and dad went to bed  at 11am last night i couldn’t sleep for the life of me we js woke up and the farm is totally ruined there’s no saving it dad is mad and upset at the world rn dad isn’t doing to 

well he’s been not feeling good he’s been going to the doctors a lot more and sleeping more i think dads gonna be in the hospital for a while he’s really sick he has stage 3 cancer he’s very ill rn if i lose dad i lose myself 

and i would half to go to nana and papas for a while until i get a new home 

bc dad can’t take care of me he’s so sick i hope he makes it has the strongest person i losing mom was the hardest i hope it’s not dad next he’s the only person that i can trust an count on ever since mom died dad hasn’t been the same as he was he’s been acting more different like he doesnt wanna get out of bed drowsy tired eyes are read all the time very angry and 

has a attitude he hasn’t been the same since mom died he’s been acting different and he’s been hurting more and more he’s getting really sick and he’s not able to move much his body is ill he’s turning yellow and his eyes are also yellow he didn’t go to the hospital bc he doesnt wanna die yet 

because he doesn’t want me to go to foster care  because he knows that’s not what mom wants for me or dad she wants us to keep the crops going and healthy she wants dad to buy more farm animals so he can make more money and so we can have a meat locker or meat farm mom left a note about what she wants us to do and saying she wants nothing but the best 

for us she’s been wanting to go on a journey round the world but sadly she didn’t get to dad and i knew she wasnt gonna last long she was ill and i feel like dads gonna die and i’m gonna half to do this all by myself and i would half to run the meat factory by myself because dad can’t i refuse to go to 

foster care i would rather go to gigs because i feel safe and i want to be with someone that is family because idk how much longer my family is 

gonna be with me for so im spending as much time as i can w my family before it’s too late bc i already lost mom i can’t lose anyone else and i’m on the verge of losing dad and if i lose dad i lose myself life already isn’t the same without mom life definitely won’t be the same without dad. Dads in the hospital rn im at the farm and i’m helping the crops watering them’’dad;; 

hey willow dads not gonna make it im to sick,,willow’;;; no dad please try please i need u i went home crying my eyes out that night i didn’t know what to think i’ve been crying crying and crying tmr i’m flying out to texas to gamma bc dad isnt gonna make it i’m so sad to leave the farm///the next day doctor.hi willow im doctor chief i’m so sorry to tell u this but your dad has 

passed.willow;;NO DAD PLEASE TELL ME YOUR LYING NOOOOOOO after i found out dad died i was hurting so much gamma is gonna cry so much that’s her last kid her last kid papa is hurting to the hole family isn’t 

right there is so much going on it’s not funny now everyone is saying prayers for the family and to help us there sending money for help they dont know whats gonna happen yet but all ik is that i’m strong and healthy an gmma an papa can do this were an our town are strong tg     

Dead Man Called Bob

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A Dead Man Called Bob                                            By: MR. Pineapple

Bob was an American football player for the Baltimore Ravens, he was an offensive lineman. Everyone in the city adored Bob because of his fame. Bob has a family, a wife, two daughters, and a son. He’s had a perfect life but it all came downhill one night after the Ravens were playing against the Packers.

Bob said

” What else could go wrong?”

Bob was driving home from the game when somebody shot his tires and shot Bob in the head. 

“Help me,” 

Bob said. Bob lay lifelessly on the ground while his soul left his body. Over time Bob’s family ended up moving houses just in the morning. Bob’s soul had stayed in his home. Somebody had moved into his home and Bob was not happy about it at all he was gonna do everything to get them out no matter what!

 Danielle

    Danielle had just found a home on White Street. It was a pretty decent home with a balcony, just what she had wanted. Danielle had a bad feeling about it, though. Right when she walked through the door, there was a breeze, as if it was windy, but the wind wasn’t even there. It was as if she had walked through a person, but that couldn’t happen, could it?   She had thought about it.

” No this can’t be happening, I must be dreaming,” she said.  

 That night when she was heading to bed, an awful smell came from the bedroom.

” Ugh what’s that disgusting smell, I’m about to gag,” she said. She also noticed that all her clocks stopped at 3:07 a.m.

Bob 

When Danielle had moved in, Bob had spread a terrible smell throughout the house, but, of course, it didn’t work.” 

She may not be reacting now, but she will later,”

 he said with a grin. Bob had tried scratching noises, but all that did was make her gasp. Later that night, Bob started pulling her legs and blanket, and she SCREAMED.  Then an idea hit Bob so hard that he almost had his pants fall off but ghosts don’t have pants, do they?  Bob’s idea was that when she had family coming over, he would create a scene in front of them and make it where her family doesn’t believe her at all and then possess her, and then her family will believe her but she will always be gone.

 “This is such a good idea.”He said

In reply 

“But this isn’t the Bob I know,” He replied.

Danielle,

“This house is so creepy”, she said “ Maybe I should ask Mama?” She replied. 

Danielle was going to ask her momma if she would come over to see what happened, but she didn’t know that Bob would make it and that nothing would happen while her mom was there. Danielle called her momma and said 

“s

       “ Momma, you need to come. I’m scared. Help me,” she said. “Okay, sweetie, I’ll come, but it better be worth my while.,    ” she said. Trust me, momma, it will.”

When Danielle’s mom got there nothing happened,

“Honey, nothing is bad here, it’s perfect.” She said,

“Mom, I swear I got pulled in the legs, scratched, and my hair pulled,” Danielle said. 

“Sweetheart, I believe you but, nothing’s happening,” Mom said

Bob, 

As soon as Danielle’s mom got there, Bob made it seem like nothing was wrong. It made it seem like nothing was wrong with that house. However, Bob didn’t want to possess her, only because that would take a lot of energy. Of course he wanted to get her out, but he’s running out of ideas. 

“ I really need to get her out without possessing her, hmmmm, maybe just keep trying to scare her out.” Bob said 

Bob had waited till her mother had left to start scaring her only then she couldn’t get her mother to believe her. If Danielle’s mother had seen what was going on and would have stayed.

 “ I need to try harder.” Bob had said

Bob had tried to start rattling her bed and shaking her bed to frighten her but nothing happened.

Danielle

        “ Nothing had happened when momma was here.” Danielle had said. 

Danielle had thought to herself “ Maybe I need to stand my ground?” Danielle said. If Danielle had stood her ground maybe whatever this was would stop. As soon as Danielle had got home from work she had started making signs that she was going to keep her ground. It had seemed like this spirit and knew what she was doing so he stopped kinda as soon as he got the message. 

BOB

Bob had noticed what she was trying to do so Bob got the message and gave up. Bob decided to give up. 

 “ I don’t even know why I had tried, I knew someone was going to end up moving in. I feel bad.” Bob said.

 Bob had decided to make himself shown and say he was sorry to Danielle and say why he did this to her. 

Danielle had gasped when she saw Bob and asked why he had been doing this to her. 

“Why are you doing this to me, what did I do to deserve this.” Danielle had asked 

“ I don’t know, I guess I had gotten mad when I saw someone had moved into my home. I am so sorry. I just didn’t want anyone moving into my home.”

“It’s okay, I understand how you feel, I would probably feel the same way if I saw somebody had moved into my home too.” Danielle had replied 

“But this is over right?.” Danielle had asked 

“Yes this is over, I’ll even tell you what, I will watch over you  and protect you.” Bob said

“What happened to you?” Danielle asked

 “Someone had shot me, leaving me where I was as I died and my soul came here when I had passed.” Bob said

“ Well I guess thank you for apologizing to me and have a good life Bob.” Danielle said

             THE END

Ice

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  Ice

                                                  By Sophia  King

       “Mom, stop!“  Hannah said.

           “Not until you tell me what’s wrong,” said mom.

              “Dad till mom to Leave me alone my friends here“  sadi hannah 

           “Honey you need to tell us what is wrong “ said dad

        “ Nothing just leave me alone as she runs out of the room“   

                    “Let’s go Hannah says to Lily “ 

As they put on our boots and gloves and coats. running out of the house. If they go out to the barn where they’re horses are, Lily grabs her horse and Hannah grabs buddy. They start Galloping away and it starts to snow really hard so they say let’s head to the bridge. To get shelter as they are on our way to a bridge a big semi comes and They both have no clue what to do.But the semi can’t Stop it’s too icsy out. Bang the semi hits them the next thing Hannah knows is she sees red flashing lights coming towards her and her parents saying it will all be okay. As they are getting her into the ambulance she looks over and there’s her horse on the ground and her best friend covered up With  black tarp. She starts to cry as she realizes the reality. But  Lily’s horse  Alabama is still standing and that’s the last thing she sees before the ambulance doors close. 

The next time she wakes up she is in the hospital. Her mom and dad are There and they are crying. They start yelling for a nurse.Hannah hugs her mom and dad  and asks what happened to Buddy and her friend Lily. and they tell her they both passed. they were right in the middle. Hannah starts to ball. it’s all my fault and Her parents say no it’s not no one could have stopped it. They say she should get some rest but they want her to ride Lily’s horse Alabama when you get better. The doctors come in why Hannah is sleeping and say she has a broken neck, a broken foot and a sprained ankle.The doctor says she’s lucky to make it out alive it’s a miracle. if a few weeks go by and Hannah gets better and better. Soon she will be released from the hospital. 

The day she is released as they go home and the first thing she does is go out to the barn and sit in the Buddies Pastor. She starts to cry and says how much she misses him and her best friend. she runs back inside to her mom and says where is Alabama.    

Her mom said they had to take him to the horse trainer. He was really shaking up after  the accident. her mom said they’ll go see him tomorrow.

It is the next  day and they are getting Ready to go see Alabama. She is a Little nervous But when I get there they’re walking and see him.he is a Mess she has  one year  his face is all scratched up and he is not acting like himself.he is terrified and the horse trainer comes out and Says you can go in and pet and brush him.She goes in  like it is nothing but then he starts to act up so she gets scared and  back up. The horse trainer goes in and comes down. He’s still really shaken up. So they just work little by little each day.And he slowly starts to get better.
  Eventually she starts riding him. Then they did their first show to get there.And they placed a 3 which is really good and they start winning more and more until the finals and they are both nervous. they go over the first jump and clear it the second one they hit it but don’t knock it the third one they clear it the fourth one thing clear it the last one is a water jump which is really hard start canning up to it and he jumped it and makes it over at 45 seconds they win they win Nationals. Now they go on to win the championship and more competition.The end.

Injured Volley

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Injured Volley

By: Rosetta Sontiago

One month. I have to have this ankle brace on for one month! I have a volleyball game in two weeks and I won’t be able to play. But… it isn’t the exact truth. I’ll start from the beginning, the day it happened. September 19, 2002, my brother and I were playing and he pushed me to hit the ball. Got a sprained ankle and I couldn’t play for the next month. I had to sit down and watch my teammates and friends practice and play.

It was maybe a week, week and a half later and I was trying to practice at home but my mom obviously didn’t let me. I practiced anyway, hoping my ankle would get better before the game. At school, I had the norm, classes, tests, annoying people. Everyone teases me for the ankle brace and I’m so irritated! 

Charlie, my brother, has finally left me alone. He’s the one who sprained my ankle and he finally let me be. I got peace at home, just not at school. Charlie and I have no classes, and that’s good. But I have three classes with his friends, and they won’t stop teasing me. My mind is gonna blow because of those maniacs. 

Few days ago, my coach said I could play the next game but when it came, he rejected me and I couldn’t play. I sat with my family, mood spoiled and hopefulness gone. Throughout the rest of the game, my mom tried to comfort me, but it didn’t work. My attitude was sour and no sweetness was fixing it. I had an attitude for the rest of the week, I couldn’t play at practice, and I couldn’t focus on my school work. I couldn’t focus on anything besides my ankle and volleyball.

The next volleyball game was in three days and I still had my ankle brace on. My coach still wouldn’t budge on letting me play in the game. I had to come to all the practices just to do nothing but sit there and watch everyone else practice. Everyday when I went back home, I was never in a good mood. I would come home and do my homework or get in the shower. No small talk. No, “How was your day?” Nothing.

The day of the volleyball game came and I was at school, in morning practice, watching everyone play while trying to convince the coach to let me play at the game. The coach never listened to me and either cut me off or flat out ignored me. It wasn’t the best position to be in, but I got mad and stormed off. Leaving practice and to the girls locker room. I stayed in there until the practice was over and my teammates came in. My friend, Mia, once she changed out came over to me. 

“You okay?” Mia questioned.

“No, I’m not okay. Coach won’t let me play today at the game even though my ankle brace gets taken off in two days! What could possibly happen to make my ankle worse?” 

“Well… You could break it?”

I look over at Mia and scoff. “That’s not helping much.” 

She looked down and I could tell I upset her. I sigh and place my hands in my lap. 

“Look.. I didn’t mean to come off rude it’s just.. Coach is being so stubborn with letting me play.”

She was silent for a moment and I was going to speak up but Mia cut me off. 

“I get that, but the coach is just looking out for you. They’re just…. concerned. They don’t want you getting hurt even more.” 

I listened to what Mia said and throughout the rest of the day, I slowly understood why the coach wasn’t letting me practice or play. Until seventh period, when I had to leave to go to the game, I was more focused on finishing my school work instead of being mad I couldn’t play. When I got onto the bus to go to the game with the rest of my team, I sat by Mia and tried to forget I wasn’t even going to play at this game. 

Once we get to the school, I walk with Mia to the gym and chat with her while they get ready. After a bit, when I was sitting on the bench with my phone until the coach walked up to me and started talking to me. She said I could play at the game today and I was so excited, I couldn’t help but jump up and down. One problem was that even though I came to the game, I didn’t have my uniform! My mom had come to the game, but she obviously wouldn’t have brought my uniform so there I was without one. No one had a spare so someone had to drive back to the school. Luckily it was only a 20 minute drive but that means it’d take 40 minutes for them to come back! The game started soon and we didn’t have time for that. 

As we were all getting ready for the game, we were still panicking because I didn’t have a uniform and I’d play soon. In the end, a school teacher drove it here, and I had my uniform just in time before the game started. I got into position and served the ball, flying over the net. The other team’s player hit the ball and flew back to our side. Mia set the ball and my teammate spiked it. The ball hitting the ground and giving us the point. This continued for a bit until the other team caught on, and we had to start hitting the ball back farther. 

In the end, we won the game and we all celebrated. When we were driving back to the school so our parents could pick us up, Mia and I sat by each other again and were having a blast. 

“We won! And I got to play! I actually got to play!” I said, I was full of excitement. 

“You literally spiked the ball so well! The other team couldn’t even hit it!”

“Thanks, Mia. You really helped me forget about the fact the coach wouldn’t let me play at first. It made it all the more fun.” 

Mia and I chatted for a bit before we got back to the school and my mom picked me up. 

“Hey, Mom.”

“Yes, sweetie?” 

“Is it okay if I get my brace off tomorrow? I played tonight and my ankle didn’t even hurt!” 

My mom smiled and she nodded. We got into the car and drove home while I rambled on and on about how the game went and how fun it was. When we got home, we ate dinner and then had a movie night, celebrating my team’s win and having some family time. My brother finally apologized about my ankle and I forgave him, letting it go since it didn’t hurt anymore. 

The next day, I got my brace off and I went back to school, happy and stress free. The day went by quickly but it was fun. It was amazing and it was a good day to end the week off with. Looks like a sprained ankle can’t stop you from playing volleyball. 

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. 

The Soccer Match

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The Soccer Match

By Alex Robert

The time I woke up was around 7 am to my alarm, I could smell breakfast being made by my mother down stairs. Then I heard my mother calling me from downstairs.  

“David come downstairs and get breakfast”

  Then I groaned as I stood up and went down stairs. As I was going down the stairs I saw my dad watching TV in the living room. 

 When I sat down at the kitchen table my mom handed me pancakes with sausages. While I’m eating I see my sister coming down the stairs with her dog. Then my sister grabbed the dog leash and her shoes and was about to take the dog for a walk. 

After she left I finished my food then my mom asked if i wanted to go to the store after my soccer match.

“Sure mom that sounds fun,” David said.

 Then after David finishes his food he gets up and gets ready for soccer practice, as i was about to leave my mom says “Don’t be too late home”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

As I walk to soccer practice I see one of my friends. I walked towards them and they were going to soccer practice too. When we got to soccer practice we put on our equipment and got ready for soccer practice. 

When we were ready I walked to my coach and asked him what we are going to be doing today. The coach said 

“we are just going to see how far you can kick the ball and how good your accuracy is” the coach said

I say ok and then wait till we start. When we did start I did the second best but my friend did better than me by a hair. When we were done with practice I had to go home because I didn’t want to be late when I was walking home. I remembered that I had a game coming up but I got a couple days, I said as I walked home. When I did get home, dinner was ready. I was almost late but I made it in time. I sat down at the dinner table and saw my sister, dad and mom waiting. We were going to be eating pizza. When i sat down my dad asked me something

“So how was practice today” dad says

“It was good but my friend beat my by a hair” david said

“You should practice to beat him then” dad says

“Oh no yeah for sure I will” david says

When I was done eating dinner I had to go to bed so I could practice soccer tomorrow. When I woke up to my alarm I had to get ready for school. First I brushed my teeth then I got my backpack ready by making my lunch and eating breakfast. When I got done with my breakfast I grabbed my stuff and went to the bus stop. After i wanted for the bus i saw my friend walking towards the bus, 

“Yo why are you riding the bus today aren’t you driving to school?” david says

“Well my mom needed to go to work and my dad was still asleep so i had to take the bus” david’s friend says

“Oh well i guess you can sit next to me because the bus is kinda crazy” david says

“Wait how crazy?” david’s friend says

“Oh you’ll see” david says while snickering 

When they got on the bus David saw an open seat they went to but a pen went through the air and almost hit them, but it hit the ground as they sat down people were screaming and the bus was shaking alot. While it took a while but we made it to the school as we got of we saw someone trip because someone pushed someone into him but he ignored him and kept walking as me and my friend got of the bus we had to wait outside the school because we came to early as the school doors opened we went inside then i remember that i forgot to practice last night. As the day went on the thought of me not being able to play correctly was stuck in my head as the day ended and i went to the soccer field and got ready for my game, this was the only time i could practice and i did my best i didn’t miss a single goal in practice as practice was ending i saw the other team i was going to play against walking towards the field as we were getting ready to start my friend had to go answer a call he was getting from someone then our coach called us over so we can get in our positions we were ready and my friend was right next to me. Our coach blew the whistle as i ran for the ball the other team got it i stayed next to there goal so i could get passed the ball then i got the chance the ball was going towards me and i kicked it and i see the ball go through a group of the other team and come out from the other side then to there goal it was about to be caught but then it curved to the right and went it the goal and we won as i ran to my team we all huddled together and i was getting carried by them they carried me to the benches and sat me down as i was drinking the other team came over and said

“So you think your good huh” one of the other team members say

“No not really i’m just happy i got the goal” david says

“Just wait till we get to go against you again you will lose horribly” the other teams member says

“I sure do not believe it for us to lose” david say

“Oh you’ll see” the other member says

The end

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. 

★ Fly Back to Me ★ 

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★ Fly Back to Me ★ 

Made By: Quinn Hernández

Name: June, Age: 13, Grade: 8th

One day I was on my way to a Volleyball game when I ran into Mark and his gang in the halls.

 “What are you in a rush for short stuff?” he sneered. 

I rolled my eyes at him and snapped back, “None of your business jerk!”

 I sprint past him, to the beach where the match has already started. I groan under my breath, knowing I will be scolded by both my coach and my parents for being a few minutes late to the game. 

“What took you so long in June?”

 My coach didn’t sound happy once I had made it to where she was standing, “Sorry I ran into someone and they wouldn’t let me pass them for 5 minutes… But please don’t make me run laps for being a little late coach!”

 I pleaded for her not to make me run laps until she made a bet with me, “If you get us to win this game you don’t have to run laps. If not, then it’s 20 laps at practice.” 

I accept it and go switch with my teammate, the opposite team hits the ball over and within seconds I spike it down into the sand. 

The crowd cheers for us while others groan disappointed with the team they were going for. I give my friends high fives and handshakes then it’s my turn to serve. 

I tossed the ball up and hit it over the net. The other team hit it but it went into the net. We kept playing for some time till we needed the last winning points. Which made me think if I was making my coach proud or not?

 When I went to serve again a bird flew by, knowing the details of its blue and green color, I should have known it was my grandma’s pet parrot Mango. I made our last point and we won! 

After our huddle I look for my grandma and find her with my parents. I walk over and hug her asking how her and mango have been doing. “Oh we have been great! How have you been June?” 

“I have been good, I’ve  had better days but yeah.” 

I walk with her to the car and then we say our goodbyes. Once I get home I instantly shower, eat some dinner, brush my teeth, and go to bed.

 The next day my whole body was aching, I couldn’t bear to get out of bed but I still had to get ready for church. 

I got out of bed the pain and my body ached, but I fought it off and got dressed out of my pjs. I went downstairs to get myself some breakfast and called my best friend who also plays volleyball with me. 

“Hey girl, what’s up?”, she asks when she answers the phone. “ Hey Ally, I was wondering if you would be at church this morning?”, She was silent for a second before replying “ I’m already at church waiting for you”

 I nearly dropped the phone when I saw the time.  It’s 9:40?! Church starts in 20 minutes!

 I set the phone down on speaker while I shoot up the stairs and get dressed into my church uniform.

 I ran back down the stairs grabbing my toast with butter, my bag, and my phone. I get my shoes on as quickly as possible running out the door, I arrive at the church.

 Oh my gosh I am so tired from running… “Oh hey Ally” I’m panting my hands on my knees. “Jeez how long do you live from here again June?”

 She gives me a mocking grin and I stand up straight. “ I live like five blocks down the street from here down the hill.” I was breathing heavily, My blood started to boil when Mark called out “June you look like a mess!”

 He starts laughing and I’m on the last thread from punching him in the face. “Mark, stop it!” Ally tries to get him to stop while I just get more angry. 

Him and his gang just laugh, I grab Ally’s arm and walk away with her, my grip on her arm tightens,

 “Let’s go Ally….” My voice was cold as I just looked straight at the doors to inside the church. “Ow June, that kinda hurts!”

 she winces in pain, I let go of her arm and I continue walking to the doors. 

Mark follows us and he manage to catch up to us with how much faster of a walker he is than us two are. 

“What’s the matter June? Are you a little upset because you look like a wet dog right now?” His friends behind us snicker, 

I stop in my tracks and turn to Mark.  “ You either shut up Mark or I’m going to punch you in the nose. You always wanna bug me so that you can just get yourself hurt then!” I shout at him.

“You sound like a high pitched squirrel when you’re mad..” He sneers while he grabs my arm.

I could feel how tight his grip was on my arm, I tried to pull away but he just pulled me closer.

“Mark let me go, Your acting so weird-” He cuts me off interrupting me.

“June you’re so dang stubborn just give up already” for some reason his words give me butterflies in my stomach.

“What?” I pull out of his grip and back up, “what are you saying Mark?”

I was confused and flustered at the same time. “I like you June. That’s what I’m saying…”

 I could see the embarrassment on his face, “Give me time to think mark..” My heart was racing as I walked into church, after church was over I still couldn’t get the thought of what he said out of my head. What were these feelings I have for him?

“June!”. Mark Walked over and I could feel my cheeks burning as he got closer to where I was located.

“What is it Mark?”.  I asked in a stern tone. “Whoa still mad about earlier?” He said in a seductive tone which made my heart pound in my chest. 

“No.. I’m not mad about anything” I mumble as he gets closer.

“Then what is it June?” he goes silent for a second,

“Are you still thinking of what I confessed to you still?” He smirks,

My heart was racing and I couldn’t get the words out to say anything.

I rest my forehead on his chest embarrassed to look up at him.

He held me in a somewhat hug that made me feel safe. 

“Mark.. I like you too, but I just didn’t know how to tell you..” 

His eyes lit up as he heard what I had just said. 

“That’s why you are always in a snappy mood, hm?” He teases me as he chuckles. I look up at him as he looks back down at me. “ Wanna go to the park?”. I asked.

He Smiles and nods his head. “Yeah I would love to go to the park with you June.” We walked together to the park. 

I started to speed up when a man in all black clothes was following us with his hand behind his back “Speed up..” 

I whisper to Mark as we walk faster.

The man starts sprinting at us. We started running and hid in the bushes.

“Are you okay June?” I nod my head and my breathing is heavy. 

We got out of the bushes and continued walking to the park, once we made it to the park it started to rain.

          “Oh how I love the rain..” I say in a soft tone. 

Mark looks at me and smiles “Wanna jump in puddles?” I accept his request and we jump in puddles dancing in the rain.“I love this!” 

        I giggle as I spin around In circles.

A while later we thought it was a good idea to go home. “It’s starting to rain a lot.” Mark holds me close to him. 

While we started to walk home, The man was back… But he wasn’t alone, He had a whole gang with him. We sprinted home and stayed at my house. I called 911 and told them there was a group of guys with weapons in front of the house.

When  the cops arrived they looked around the house and only caught 3 of them, when there were 6. Mark told me he would stay at my place to make sure I would be okay sleeping, “Yeah that’s fine..”

I tried to sleep in bed but I was still scared, so I went downstairs to the living room where Mark is. “What’s wrong June?”

He has this worried expression on his face, I sit down beside him. “I’m just scared they might find us again..”

He puts his arms around me in a hug. “It will be okay, they won’t be back soon..”

We watched a movie and I ended up falling asleep, Mark also fell asleep too and the next morning we didn’t wake up till 10:23am. “Good morning…”

I mumble as I start to open my eyes to see Mark was making breakfast. “Good morning sleepy head..”

I could smell eggs and steak being cooked. “Are you making eggs and steak?”

I walked over to him and the smell of the eggs and steak’s amazing.

Stock Car Racing

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 Stock Car Racing

By Braydon Price.

In the beginning Bob started his engine. Then Bob went on the track to start to warm up. After Bob got warmed up Bob and the other races went back to three trals. Bob got something to eat then Bob went back to the track and got in line to start the race.

Bob and the other people got the green flag so they started the race. Three laps in, someone wrecked the car and then the race had to stop so the clean up tem could clear the track and the race got going.

 Then Bob and the other race are fighting for 1st place. They were bumping into each other and they kept fighting. Bob was still fighting for 1st place and his car was losing speed but he was not giving up.

Donald Trump sped up. The crowd went crazy,  but Bob was still fighting and there was only one lap to go. 

Bob was in 1st place now. Bob won the first race. Now he was going to his trial to rest. In 30 minutes, Bob will go and start the second race. 

They got the green flag. There was a pile up in the 1st corner of the track. Then 3 people started to fight, and the cops came to split them up. Bob wanted to keep going, but they had to stop the race. Then 20 minutes went by and the race still was not going. 

Bob was getting mad but they said five more minutes left to wait, so he was happy. Then Bob got on the track. They got lined up again and Bob got in the front of the line. Bob doesn’t want to lose this shot in the race. Suddenly Bob got hit from the back of his car. Bob lost his spot in the race. Bob was not going to give up. Bob and this other guy were fighting for 1st place. Bob was now in 1st place with 2 laps to go. Now there was only 1 lap to go. Bob was still in first place. Bob saw the checker flag. Bob was happy he got first place in that race. Now Bob and the 4 winds have to have the championship race in one week. 

Bob has one week to rebuild his car so it can go alot faster than it did at the home races. Bob got his car done but the race is in 2 days. So Bob now had put his car back together fast. Bob and his new friend Bill.

          “Bob, this is not going to get done in 2 days. We still have the second car to put together. We will not put this car together in 2 days. We should not rebuild this car, we are not going to make it.” – said Bill

          “Do not tell me what to do. You should be happy that I’m helping you with these dumb cars so shut up and let me work.” – Said Bill

 “Bill this car is not dumb you are dumb if you want me to win we have to work” – said Bob

            “Bob, I’m not dumb. If you want me to work, leave me alone.’ – said Bill  

“Yes we are if you stop talking we will yes we will not going to get this done so get to work.” -Said Bob

“I’m going to get something to eat. Do you want something to eat?” – Said Bob   

“No. Well, where are you going?” – Said Bill   

“I’m going to Casey’s, what do you want, pizza and a Mtn Dew.” – Said Bob

        “Bill, are you still mad at me? I got you food.” – Said Bob

        “Yes Bob, I’m still mad at you because I’m stupid.”

        “Bill, you are not in preschool. You are a grown man so you can grow up and drop it. And get to work you are slowing me down.” – Said Bob

        “Well I know that I’m not in preschool. And I’m already a grown man. I will drop it if you do not shut up. I’m not slowing you down.” – Said  Bill

        “Bill is just going to start working to.” – Said Bob

         “We got it done well, let’s see if it will start tomorrow.” – Said Bill

          “I hope it does. We only have one day to work on it and we have to leave early to get there on time.” – said Bob 

       “Well it runs!” – said Bill

       “Yes it does bill!” – said Bob

        “Let’s put it on the trailer and let’s get ready to leave.” – said Bill

       “I hope that we make it on time we left late.” – said Bill

       “We won’t be late so do not worry bill. We just be one of the late ones at the ticket booth.” – said Bob 

       “We made it and we are not late like I told you bill” – said Bob

       “Hope you do well at warm ups Bob!” -said bill

      “Me to bill!” – said Bob 

      “Bill, this car is good on this track.” – said Bob

“That is the best news of my day so far. Well get out of the car and take a break be for you have to go and race.” – said Bill 

    “Good idea Bill.” – said Bob 

    30 mins late.

    “It is time to go race now, wish me luck.” – said Bob

     Bob got in the 3 other races the green flag. Bob got the lead and they had 30 more laps to go. Bob’s car is smoking all the other cars. Now there are only 20 more laps to go and all the cars are going well so for now there are 10 laps left and the cars are slowing down but Bob’s car was in the worst shape.

 “Oh no” Bob slid out in the third corner and this is going end over end then his car burnt into flames. The fire dept rushed onto the track, and he got rushed to the hospital. 

     “Bob you were going good what happened” – said Bill 

     “I do not know what happened bill” – said Bob 

    Bob passed away 3 days later from 3 degree burns and a lot of broken bones. 

☆Make ‘em Proud☆

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☆Make ‘em Proud☆

Made By

 Jane Sawyer

The referee’s whistle blows. The crowd goes silent, all Eyes on me. It’s a one point game and we need that  last point. It took me a bit but I finally threw the ball into the air and hit a deep corner. Everyone’s quiet, the line guard looks at the referee, and nods his head. It’s all up to him . He looks like he’s standing on a throne, kinda like he has all the power. He puts his arms out and blows the whistle. I got the winning point. I look in the crowd and see my sister, the one I’m playing for.

    “This is for you” I mouth to her

      “Thank you” she mouths 

I smile slightly, still sad she’s going back to the hospital tomorrow. My whole team is cheering me on and saying “ Oswald high school forever!”

 I smile at them as they crowd around me. It’s making me very claustrophobic if I do say so myself, but it doesn’t matter since I got the point for her. My sister has had Astrocytomas (brain cancer) since she was 9 years old. She’s been living with it for 2 years now and it has brought our family to Chaos. Mom started her old habit of smoking, and dad is just. Dad’s just not doing as well as he used to be before she developed cancer. But it was just how it always is, them fighting over small things. Stupid small things.

“Why did you make JayLynn walk to school yesterday?”

“Its 70* out Martha, She’s fine. She’s still alive isn’t she?”

“How dare you speak to me like that david!”

“Well sorry you can’t drive your own kid to school!”

Like I said, “Stupid small things” but it doesn’t matter right now. All that matters is that Maddie’s getting better. She got diagnosed on 5/07/2020 it was 1 month after her birthday. She passed out at school at 10 in the morning and no one could wake her up. Not even the teacher could get her up. I was still in the school at the time so they called me down immediately to try and get her awake. The police, hospital,and my parents were called. The paramedics arrived first and then my parents after, the police arrived 15 minutes after the secretary made the call. 

I swore when I saw her lying at her desk and I held her hand. It felt Cold. When the paramedics got there I wouldn’t let them take her away from me, so they had to wait until the police came to restrain me. A 14 year old girl in a private school made a fool of herself in front of her parents. I was so disrespectful to them and everyone else. I was in the fight,  flight or freeze mode and it chose to fight. The police took me to my parents, flailing my arms trying to get out of their grip so I could see my sister.

 I looked over my moms shoulder since she’s so short and I saw my sister being put into the back of an ambulance. I cried harder than I’ve ever cried before. It was about 5 hours later that she got an MRI when she finally woke up right then and there in the front of the hospital my dad finally couldn’t hold back anymore ,and brokedown. I couldn’t tell what it was from . If it was from the bleach on the floor which was his least favorite smell,or the fact his youngest daughter got diagnosed with cancer.

It’s the next day now and my snapchat is filled with snaps from my friends and VB team. Everyones congratulates  me for the serve I made and then I smell the air just to smell pancakes, the best smell in the world.So I get out of bed and get dressed into a fluffy pair of pants and a big sweatshirt. I brush my hair and that’s when my father calls from downstairs. I stop brushing my hair and say to myself “it looks good enough” before I go downstairs and eat the delicious pancakes.

I get downstairs to see Maddie there and I ask her“How did you get here so fast?”I asked smiling

“You’re too old to run fast anymore!” She replied, making me laugh. 

I go over to the table and sit down. My father asks me “why is your hair such a mess Lynn?”

I look at him with a puzzled look and ask  “What do you mean?” 

He laughs and points to the bathroom”Go get a good look at yourself!” 

he says in a playful tone. So I got up and went to the bathroom and shut the door behind me. 

My strawberry blonde hair and light green eyes staring back at me from the mirror.  My bruises from past volleyball games on my arms, and legs basically all over my body. I look at my wavy hair all the way down to the middle of my back and notice how frizzy it is. I use my brush to comb it out, and get it straightened out. After I do that I head out to see the most delicious pancakes in the whole world. They had chocolate syrup, strawberries,and little bites of banana on them too.

I sat down to eat and get a big whiff of this amazing smell. Then those beautiful pancakes sat down right infront of me. I swear I was drooling but they looked delicious. How could I help myself? After my dad passes them around he sits down and we all dig into the exquisite food. My dad only makes this type of food for maddie never me, Whenever she isn’t here i usually just have a slice of toast, or a small bowl of cereal.

After breakfast I clean up the food by taking them to the sink and rinsing them off, so there’s nothing on them. I put them carefully down in the sink and go back to the table. “So Maddie has something to share with us?” 

My father says smiling and anticipatingly. Maddie then stands up like she’s going to make a huge announcement. 

“The doctors  said they can cure me with Mitotic and topoisomerase inhibitors or whatever they call it. They said it would be around 20,000 dollars but I knew you guys had enough money, so I signed your names on the sheet to cure me!”  The room went so silent you could hear mom and dads worry in their heads.

“What’s wrong guys? I can be normal again!”Mom and Dad exchange worried glances. “Of course honey!” Mom has such a worried tone, and Dad has his head in his hands. All of a sudden dad stands up, shoves his chair in and walks upstairs at a quick pace and slams his door to his bedroom.”David.” 

My mom says and goes  after him. I’m just in the dining room with Maddie. She looks at me confused. “Did I do something wrong?”

She asks in a meaningful voice (for once). I didn’t know what to say. If she was being sincere or not.

My mom finally came out of her room “JaeLynn go to your room, im taking Maddie back to the hospital. I’m going to have a little chat with her on the way there.”

 she said. And at that moment, I knew Maddie wasn’t just getting a “Little chat”. So I did as she said, and went up to my room and shut the door behind me. Immediately after I do that, mom starts calling out Maddie. I can barely hear anything, everything is muffled

I look around in my room. The same baby blue walls with green paint splatter on them. I see my white desk,made out of wood with the same green paint splatters. Then there’s my trophies. From my newest one all the way to my first one I got when I was Seven. Such a memorable moment. It was when I got to state for my outstanding performance. I was playing with kids that were Eight and Nine! I felt like such an outcast in that group. 

I was practicing with my team in our personal gym and I was in fourth spot and my friend Maggie did a perfect set for me while she was in second spot and I put that ball in the best deep corner. I think that was the best one my coach had ever seen, especially from a 7 year old.  She was so impressed by me she got me a little statue of a girl spiking the ball over the net and the wording on it said “#1 spiker”, and she gave maddie one that said “#1 setter”. That’s how we became best friends.

She goes to the same highschool as me and she’s on my volleyball team. We’ve been friends for about nine years, soon to be ten. She’s a year older than me, but she got held back for ripping out a kid’s hair in 2nd grade so me and her got in a class together. She scared me at first, and even the teacher was scared of her, but I was her only friend and it was like that forever. We’re in 9th grade together now and I’m 15 and she’s 16.

I get dressed into a pair of pjs and scroll on my phone. I look at the snaps from this morning. Some of them are congratulating me, others are just streaks. I continue to scroll on my phone until my bestie texts me. It’s always bad when she texts first. Bc that means she isn’t tired and we’re going to stay up the whole night talking.Im already tired so i don’t answer her, just for both of us to sleep well tonight. She texts me 

“Nice corner you hit today. I’ve been telling you for months you need to teach me how to do that 😭 😭 😭“, I laughed at her remark, tempted to write back.I smiled at her text then put my phone on my night stand i looked at my easel and i went to clean it off.

After i got my easel cleaned off i looked at my cats food bowl noticing it’s empty. I look around the room and notice I can’t find her. I shrug it off and go in my closet for some cat food. I get the cat food and pour it in her bowl. She always stays in my room.Everyone knows not to let her outside into the wild. Ecsp-ecialy from the Tuna incident. When I was about 10 I got a cat named tuna. He was the best cat I could ever ask for. 

One day Tuna got out of my room.  I don’t know how it happened but he got out. My sister was about 3 at the time and Tuna was scratching at the door to go outside. My sister could actually reach the door handle to let him outside. So she did and shut the door after he went out. My mom was driving me to school at the time and my dad was working in his office since he is a work at home dad. 

He didn’t even notice the door open. It was about 7 hours before I came home from school. We live in the country so it takes longer to get there. When I got home I went to my room and called for Tuna. But he didn’t answer. I particularly thought he was sleeping under my bed, so I didn’t think much about it. 

I filled up his bowl since he always came running to the food bowl once he heard the food against the metal bowl. This time he didn’t come so I looked everywhere in my room. I went downstairs to ask my dad if he had seen him.

 “Dad, did tuna come out of my room today?” He just shooed me out of the room. I guess he was on a business call or something. About an hour later mom finally pulled into the driveway. I ran out in tears.”What’s wrong JaeLynn?”

she asked in such a calm tone “Tunas missing” By this point I was sobbing. She hugged me. 

“He’s probably just in your room somewhere sweetie”

“No mom, he’s not in there, I checked everywhere!”

“Its ok let me rest then we can go look for him” 

“Mama you don’t understand!”

She ignored me and went inside. I followed after her looking everywhere in the house. Looking in the kitchen, dining room, maddies room, and even my dads work area. My dad wasn’t thrilled when he came back to see his room messed up and everything disorganized. Maddie kept following me around the house and saying stuff like “Tutu” , what  she called Tuna.”Kitty”, and  “out out” non understanding what she meant by that but she always said that when she was waiting by the door.

I looked everywhere and I tore up the house. Me and my family came  to an agreement that  Tuna got out, and that my parents wouldn’t be able to trust me with a cat for a while. It wasn’t until a year later when maddie finally fessed up and told us that she let tuna outside, and that she didn’t feel bad about it since she never liked that cat anyway. 

I got so furious at her I yelled at her for days, and she was only 7. I got so angry at her while we were in this quarrel when she teased me about “Not being able to function my emotions”, or something stupid like that. I punched her in her side, and she still has a little scar from me to this day.Lets just say she never came into my room and never touched my cat again. The only time she did is when we got Cookie, my new cat. We got her last year after me and my parents had enough money.

Cookie is a Main coon ragdoll moggy. She has a light brown fur color with little black circles all on her fur. Her fur is super soft, and relaxing to pet on stressful days. I got her 1 year ago when she was still a kitten. She’s always been in my room, and she’s never left my room once. Cookie gets home sick when I leave for school, so she’s always happy when I come home. She would always meow at me, rub against my legs, and bats at her food bowl. Somehow she never got fat. I feed her so much that sometimes I think she will explode!

I hear my mom get back and slam the door.

“David, get out here now.”

“Yes matha?”

“That brat actually signed both of our names on the paper, and now we can’t get them off.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Does my face look like it’s kidding?”

“No martha it doesn’t”

“I’m shocked you’re not even angry. She is your favorite after all”

My dad just stormes back into his room furious. I don’t hear any arguing after that so I think it’s safe to come out of my room. I  open my door and shut it quietly, so then they don’t hear it shut. I slowly make my way down to the kitchen noticing no one is there. I go to the cabinets and pull out some cereal. I pour it into a bowl, and go to get some milk from the fridge. I open the fridge door and notice there isn’t any milk, but i can just eat my cereal without any milk

I take my bowl of dry cereal up to my room to eat it. I don’t have a spoon or anything but cereal is cereal with or without the spoon. I sit on my bed and eat my cereal just scrolling through my youtube feed. I finish my cereal about 10 minutes later, but when i finish it i put down my phone and head back downstairs. I go to the kitchen and hear my dad working in his office with his door shut. I don’t know where my mom is, but I suspect that she’s probably in her room watching a new show or something like that.

I rinse out my bowl and head back upstairs to go snuggle with Cookie. I get to my room and sit on the bean bag chair in front of my bed and turn on the tv right in front of me. I watch a movie and Cookie lays on my lap petting her. She’s purring so loud I feel like the whole room is shaking. Her purr only lasts a few seconds before she jumps off my lap, and jumps on my bed. I look at my clock on my wall and see that its 11:00 p.m. I turn off my tv, and get dressed into a silky shirt and a pair of matching silky shorts. I brush out my hair, and get into my bed. I turn to my right side, and fall asleep.

Worst Car Crash in NASCAR

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Worst Car Crash in NASCAR 

By Trisha Payless

I saw the crowd roar in joy. I smile getting into my car. I look at my opponent. I heard a gunshot and the race was off. I was three laps in and I saw two cars on my side. I see them getting closer. 

BOOM!

I was in the air. I saw the sky and then the ground over and over. The ground upside down. People yelling.

“MICK! MICK! SOMEBODY  HELP.” Ben yelled. Ben was my brother.

I heard the ambulance there, but I couldn’t see it. The race was stopped. They tried and tried to get me out, but they noticed I had a broken neck, arm, and leg. They did the Jaws of Life on the car to get me out. It took 40 – 50 seconds to get me out. They put a neck brace on my neck and put me on a bodyboard. They put me in the ambulance and took me to the hospital with my brother. Twenty minutes later my brother and I made it to the hospital. 

They performed emergency surgeries. Six hours after I got done with my surgery, I was in a hospital bed with my wife by my side and my daughter on my other side.  Ben was standing at the end of my bed. 

“Dad?” said Angel. She is his daughter.

“Yeah”

“ Are you going to be healed for my wedding?”

“ I don’t know but I hope I am.”

The next day I had to go do another surgery. I went in and my wife and Angel stayed in the room.  My wife was praying when I went in. Five hours later I got out and I was in my room asleep. My wife was holding my hand. Angel had her head on my shoulder. 

Two weeks later I got out of the hospital. My wife was driving Angel and me home from the hospital. When we got home the TV was on and President Trump was speaking. I sat on the couch with my wife. It got later and my wife started to make dinner. I was sitting on the couch watching her cook.

 “What are you making?” said Mick.

“Chicken tacos.”

“Okay.”

After dinner, my wife and I are sitting in bed. My wife is setting up an appointment for me. I fell asleep with her. The next day my neighbors were over and their little girl was coloring my cast on my arm. I smiled down at her remembering my daughter when she was little. I knew at that moment I was going to walk my daughter down the aisle.

Six weeks later I was in physical therapy and I was doing well. I was working really hard to get healed for my daughter’s wedding.  I worked every day. My arm was healed. I was still having trouble walking. I kept pushing through and never gave up. I had too much that I still wanted to do in my career, and I knew my daughter wanted me to keep going. 

  After my therapy session, I was sitting in the car waiting for my wife. When she got in the car we went to Taco Bell to get lunch. We got our food and went home. When we got home, she helped me in my wheelchair to the house. After I finished my food. I moved to the living room and sat on the couch turning on the TV.  My wife sat down with me. I put my arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to me. I was thankful to have her.

Three weeks before my daughter’s wedding, my wife went dress shopping today and I stayed at home with Ben and my daughter’s fiance. We were watching football. Five hours laters the girls came back from dress shopping.  I pulled my daughter into the other room.

“Princess I don’t think I can walk at your wedding I am so sorry”

  “It is okay Dad, I understand.” she said, looking at the ground.

The wedding day came, and everyone was getting ready. My wife was by my side. I was shaking in my wheelchair. Everyone started to fill the seats. I sat there listening to the birds sing thinking how beautiful this day was. I waited at the end of the aisle. As my daughter approached, she knelt down to me.  

“Do you want Uncle Ben to push you?”  she whispered.

I grabbed the arms of the wheelchair and slowly stood up.

“No I got it” I looked at her and smiled. “Let’s go,” I said softly. 

 With tears streaming down both of our faces, I walked my daughter down the aisle.

Stranded

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Stranded 

 By: Lavender Brown

Errrrt! 

It was the fourth quarter of my basketball game, and we were ahead by two baskets. Our game started at 10:00 am and it was currently 10:45. There were eight minutes left in our game and the quarter just started. It was our ball. We took it down the court and they stole it. Time to get payback. I ran as fast as I could and blocked her layup. 

      Fifteen seconds left in the game. They were up by one basket and it was our ball. My best friend was also on the team and she was the point guard. She dribbled down the court and passed it to me. There were now only five seconds left. I went out to the three point line and shot it. 

Swish!

 Errrrt! 

I made the 3! 

We won!!! 

It was now 11:30 and we are going out for lunch. My mom said that I could choose where we went. So I picked Chick-fil-a. My mom ordered our stuff.

“Can I get two eight piece chicken nuggets with ranch cheese sauce and a Dr. Pepper?”

That was my favorite thing to get from Chick-fil-a. After we got our food, my best friend Scarlett called me. She had been my best friend since preschool because our names rhyme. My name is Charlotte. 

“Hello.”

“Hey Charlotte, I was wondering if you wanted to go hunting with me in my timber” 

“Sure, let me ask my mom quickly. Mom, can I go hunting with Scarlett?” 

“Yes,” said my mom.

“We will be leaving at 3 o’clock to go.” 

“Okay see you then!”  

My mom and I got done eating and we went to Theisens to get myself a deer tag to go hunting with Scarlett. It was packed. There were 15 other people getting deer tags. 

We have been waiting in line for 30 minutes and I finally got to the desk. The guy asked us all of the questions and told us the price. It was $33 dollars plus tax. Now it was time to go to Scarlett’s house!

We got there and she was already waiting outside. I got out of the car and Scarlett started running towards me. 

“CHARLOTTE! I’m so happy to see you!”

“I am so excited to go hunting!” 

“Oh my gosh, same!”

We walked into her house and put on some orange.

“I have two orange vests and two orange hats.”

“Okay let’s put it on.” 

We put on the orange and grabbed the guns. It was currently 3:00 so we started heading back towards the tree stand. It was pretty far back so it took us 10 minutes to get there. We got to the stand and realized three nails had fallen out of the ladder.

“It will be fine. We just have to be careful,” said Scarlett.

“Okay, I’m kinda scared.” 

“We will be fine, just be very careful.”

Scarlett climbed up first and it started creaking. I was really scared to climb up. I started climbing up, and it started creaking again. I made it up the ladder and we sat there. We had to sit there until 30 minutes after sunset. Sunset was at 4:32 so that meant we could leave at 5:02. 

An hour had passed and it was very windy. The ladder was making very weird noises. 

“Umm, was that supposed to happen,” I said.

“No, I think it was because of the wind.”

“Should we be concerned?” 

“No, it will be fine.”  

“Right after she said fine the ladder fell.”   

“OMG we are STRANDED!” I said. 

“We have no service! What are we going to do?”

“We are gonna have to call for help.”

“Do you mean to yell? No one is going to hear us.” 

“Yes it is worth the try right? I mean what else are we going to do?”

We started yelling and no one heard us. We were going to have to stay the night in the timber, stranded in the tree. I knew something was going to happen as soon as we got to the  tree stand. We couldn’t sleep. The raccoons kept squeaking all night. We finally fell asleep, but we only got two hours of sleep because it was bright out by 6:00 am. At 6:30 we heard a strange noise. There was something stomping in the leaves. 

“What was that noise?” I asked.

“I don’t know, maybe it is a deer.”

“Let’s wait and see till it comes over here.”

“Okay!”

It came a little closer and we realized it was bigfoot. 

Scarlett screamed,”AAAAHHHHHH”

“We should ask him to help us!”

“Are you sure?” 

“Yes, then we might be saved!” 

“Okay here we go”

I asked bigfoot if he could help us.

“Bigfoot, can you help us get down from the tree?”

“Ummmm sure!” 

“OMG thank you!!!” 

He helped us down and told us not to tell anyone about him. We said okay and walked home. We were starving so we ran home. When we got back to Scarlett’s house, her parents were crying. They didn’t realize we were home yet. 

“Mom, Dad, where are you?”

“Scarlett! I can’t believe you are home! I was so worried,” said Scarlett’s mom.

“I’m so happy to see you too!”

“Charlotte, let’s get you home to your parents.”

“Okay!”

My house was five minutes away from Scarlett’s house. On the way to my house Scarlett’s mom called my mom. She told her that we were safe and I just heard my mom say thank goodness. We got to my house and my mom was waiting outside. I got out of the car and ran to my mom. I gave her a big hug.

“I missed you so much Mom!”

“I missed you too! Let’s go inside and have some steak!”

“That sounds like a great idea!”

Scarlett’s mom left. We went inside and ate some steak and she told me the whole time we ate how much she missed me. I told her that we got stuck in a tree. She asked how we got down and I said, “I guess you’ll never know!”

Where Were You?

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Where Were You

By Sam Gas

     The crowd was yelling and hollering “Lil-y Lil-y Lil-y!!!” and I could hear my mom cheering for me. I had won and then I saw her. My sister’s name is Lola and my moms name is Suzie. My dads name was Allan, I was about 10 years old when my sister went missing. It was about four years ago. 

When my sister got kidnapped, my dad left because he was so sad about it. My mom hadn’t been around the house much so I went to school.  After school I have my swim team, and swim practice is over at about 5:30. I usually babysit my neighbor’s kid on Thursdays and Sundays until 6-11, but they usually get home earlier because they dont want me up too late. I get about 30$-40$ a day, and I’ve been saving up my money in case Lola ever comes back or is found. We could go to the movies or go shopping together or basically just do girly/sister things together.

I’ve always wondered if my sister came home, what my dad would do. Sometimes I wonder what she looks like,what she’s doing,what she’s wearing, if she’s even still alive… but I say hi to her friends all the time. They’re always asking how I’m doing. Lola was into volleyball,she was also sweet, nice, and caring. She also had dark purple hair and she was always so pretty with or without makeup.

I have to swim at 4:00pm today but I think I’m going to go to the pool at 2 so I can get some more practice because in 2 weeks I have a swim meet that I HAVE TO win. I was walking to the bus stop and there’s this billboard of missing kids and I don’t see my sister there. I know she was up there before because I stapled it extra so the wind wouldn’t take it because it’s happened before. I’m just confused who took it down. Could she be in this town and the kidnapper took it down?  What happened to my sister’s missing photo?

 The bus finally came andI was frustrated about my sister’s photo being gone. I’m looking out of the bus window onto the trashed streets and the color of everything just looks dull, like if my town had the colors washed out or just they all faded. I see trash blowing with the wind down the empty streets with no cars but there’s random tweakers down them. I see stray cats jumping out of dumpsters or chasing birds.  You ever feel bad for them, because I do. I wonder where the cats’ owner or mom is at or if any of these cats ever had an owner to show them love or if they have ever felt someone’s touch because the tweakers ain’t good for them. 

I finally made it to the pool 

“Isn’t it a bit early, Lilly?  Swim team practice doesn’t start for another hour or two,” said the lifeguard.

 “You know you have to get extra practice to win right?” I said back to him.

 He just chuckled and walked away. I start walking into the locker room to shower and change before I get into the pool and that’s when I started to feel lightheaded. I took the old people’s shower because it has a chair for you to sit on and I was just gonna sit down and get changed and showered and ready for my swim. I started to hear my sister and for a second I thought she was in this locker room with me, but I knew it was just because I was lightheaded so I just stayed in the shower a little bit longer. I finally am getting into the clear water but it looks blue because of the paint. The water feels  warm at first but then when I got more into the water it was near freezing at first and then I went underneath the water and when I came back up it wasnt cold anymore. 

I like swimming because it keeps my mind off of things especially home things and how my sister still isn’t back and keeps my mind away from thoughts that are like “is Lola even still alive?” or the thoughts of imagining what Lola is going through right now I don’t know just everything has felt so odd, when she went missing she was at a volleyball game and after. Well after she never came home, my parents and I just thought she was at a friend’s place because she always did on Fridays. I just miss my sister.

It was a Saturday morning. My mom and I were waiting for my swim number to come around for me to swim my laps.  I had a headache so I went to the locker room to get away from all of the noise, when I heard my number get called. I ran out and grabbed my goggles and swim cap and went over to the diving block. My timer lady asked if I was ready and I said yes, I got up there and got into my starting position and then BEEP. I dived off into the water. I felt free but pressured. I gave three dolphin kicks and then made it to the surface. I was swimming faster than ever before. I can hear my movements underwater and I feel the water moving with me. I was turning my head to the side and lifting it out of the water to breathe after every 10 strokes. Every time I go to breathe I look at my mom. She seems so proud so I’m guessing I’m winning. Then suddenly I look over to  hear my name being chanted and it’s my sister’s whole friend group going “Lil-y Lil-y Lil-y” that made me go faster. I touch the wall and get up and out to breath and I look at my competitors and they’re barely half way done so I am so proud of myself. So I’m walking over to my mom and suddenly a girl walks over to her and my mom starts to cry and calls me over.  I start running towards her and the girl turns around and looks at me. 

I know those eyes. I know that smile. That is my sister’s hair. I am more than happy. I am crying, I have my sister back and I’m so so happy, I gave her a hug and then asked 

“How? What? Where were you?”

“I’m sorry sis. I know it’s been awhile but I tried escaping and it never worked until now.  I heard about you joining the swim team. I’m so proud and I’ve been in a dude’s basement for some time but I’m here now, but can we please go home”

I started running over to my swim members to tell them this exciting news and that I was leaving and then I slipped and it went blurry and sounds were muffled and then it turned black.   

Grief-Stricken

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Grief-Stricken

By: Sofie Mintz

I love gymnastics! There’s nothing quite like the feeling of the wind rushing through my ears as I run through my routine. We have a competition coming up in a month, and we practice every day. I am especially good at the bars, but I’m also skilled at the balance beam.

My name is Ellieanna Ericson, but I prefer to go by Ellie. Although I am an only child, I consider my teammates my sisters. Right now, I’m in school, sitting in my favorite class, social studies. My teacher is discussing George Washington and how he became the first president.

Suddenly, the intercom buzzes, and Principal Jenson’s voice comes on:  

“Ellieanna Ericson, please come to the office. Ellieanna Ericson to the office.”  

I stared at my teacher, who motioned for me to come to the front.  

“Go down to the office,” Mrs. Heart, my teacher, said. “You won’t miss anything.”  I nodded and left the room, wondering if I was in trouble. I hurried down the stairs and to Principal Jenson’s office. When I arrived, Principal Jenson was standing outside her door as if she had been waiting for me.

“Come in, my dear,” Principal Jenson said, waving me into her office. I sat down in the chair across from her as she settled into her seat at the desk. “I have some troubling news for you. Your mother had to go to the hospital this morning.”

“What!?” I exclaimed, shocked. When I left for school that morning, Mom had seemed perfectly fine. “Why?”

“She was having brunch with your neighbor when she started choking. Your neighbor tried to help her, but they couldn’t dislodge the food, so she called an ambulance, and they took your mother to the hospital.”

“Will Mom be alright?” I asked anxiously.

“Yes, they’ve connected her to a breathing tube,” Principal Jenson assured me. If you’d like, I can call your father to come and pick you up to see your mother.”

“I would appreciate that,” I said, feeling relieved that Principal Jenson wouldn’t make me return to class. Principal Jenson called my father, hung up, and said, “Your father is on his way. You can get your backpack. I will inform your teacher that you won’t return today.”

“Thank you, Principal Jenson,” I said, feeling grateful. I left the office and went to my locker to grab my stuff. Dad was waiting for me when I returned to Principal Jenson’s office. He hugged me, thanked Principal Jenson, and we went outside to our car.

On the way to the hospital, I asked tentatively, “Have you seen Mom yet?”  

“No, I was going to, but something came up that I had to work on.”  

“Do you think she’ll die?” I asked.  

“No, I don’t think she will die,” Dad responded.  

For the rest of the drive to the hospital, Dad and I remained silent. When we arrived at the hospital, I was feeling very nervous. Dad noticed because he stopped, turned around, and said, “Hey, I know you’re feeling nervous, but it’s going to be alright. Mom might look a little different with all of the tubes, but inside, she is the same Mom. She still loves you.”

I took a deep breath and we walked inside. Dad talked to the lady at the front desk, and she told us to go to room 437 on the third floor. Dad opened the door when we arrived at Mom’s room, and I followed him inside. Mom was lying on her bed, and Dad was right; Mom did have a lot of tubes, but she didn’t look that different. She still had the same loving and beautiful face, but she looked weak. I went around to her side of the bed, and she smiled at me. I smiled back and brushed the back of my hand across her cheek. Mom reached up, took my hand, and pressed it to herself.

“Honey,” Mom said softly, “I love you, always remember that. I will get better, and I will be home soon.”

“I love you too, Mom,” I said, and then I broke down. I curled up beside Mom on her bed and cried. After Principal Jenson had told me that Mom was at the hospital, I felt the tears coming, but I had forced myself not to cry. Now that I had seen Mom and was at the hospital, I started crying. Mom rubbed my back as I lay there crying on her shoulder. After a while, I stopped crying, but I lay still on the bed, and Dad kept standing where he was.

Soon, Dad said, “I think it’s time to let your mother rest, Ellie. Anyway, it’s almost dinner time.” I nodded, hugged Mom one more time, and then followed Dad out, like a sad puppy. When we got home, I went to my room to practice for our competition. Four years ago, when I decided I wanted to start gymnastics, Mom and Dad bought a balance beam and a set of uneven bars. I started my routine on bars, but I kept messing up. Finally, I got up, threw myself on my bed, and started crying.

“Ellie,” Dad called upstairs, “time for dinner.” I wiped my eyes on my sleeve and went downstairs for dinner. Dad probably noticed that I had been crying, but he didn’t say anything. That’s one thing I love about Dad—he respects my space and my emotions. 

The next day was Saturday, so as soon as I finished getting ready and ate breakfast, I ran upstairs to practice my routine a couple of times before I needed to leave for gymnastics practice. I messed up a few times, but unlike last night, I didn’t break down in tears. I just kept going.

Ten minutes later, I was getting out of Dad’s car when I heard someone yell my name. I waved to Dad as he drove off, then turned around just in time to see one of my best friends run up to me and give me a big bear hug. 

“I missed you so much!” Alyssa exclaimed excitedly. 

  “I missed you too!” I replied with just as much enthusiasm. “How was your vacation?” 

  “it was awesome!” Alyssa chattered about her trip to Hawaii as we got ready for practice and headed out to the mats. We had been best friends since kindergarten. 

  “Alright, girls,” Coach Lilly called, motioning for us to gather around her. “We have a big competition coming up, and we need to practice. Are any of you doing bars?” 

  I raised my hand along with a few other girls. 

  “Okay, you can go and start working on your routines, but remember, we only have two sets, so you’ll have to take turns.” 

I nodded and followed the other girls to the two sets of bars. While waiting for my turn, I put chalk on my hands. When it was my turn, I started my routine, but halfway through, I fell, landing on my hand. I clenched my teeth against the pain and started again. You might wonder, why didn’t I wait until my turn again? Coach Lilly has a rule: if you fall during your routine, you have to keep practicing it until you don’t fall. 

  Unfortunately, I fell again at the same spot. I tried over and over, but I kept falling at that same point in my routine. Eventually, I gave up and sat down on the side of one of the mats. I watched the other girls run through their routines; only a few of them fell, and if they did, it was only a couple of times, unlike my six falls.

  Eventually, Coach Lilly noticed that I wasn’t practicing and came over to see what was wrong. 

  “Hey, Ellie,” she said. “What’s wrong?” 

  “I keep messing up,” I muttered. 

  “Everyone messes up,” Coach Lilly tried to reassure me. 

   “Yeah, but I messed up at the same spot every single time.” 

“That just means you need to practice more,” Coach Lilly said. “Why don’t you go try it again?” 

“Okay,” I agreed. I got back in line and put more chalk on my hands. When it was my turn, I took a deep breath and started my routine again. This time, I didn’t fall at the same spot as before, but I did fall just over halfway through. I kept practicing my routines until it was time to leave. I hopped into the car just as Dad asked, 

“How was practice?”

“It was good,” I said, “I kept falling off the bars.”

“I’m sorry, did you keep trying?”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t until I gave up, sat out a while, and tried again that I finally did better. The last time I ran through my routine before you picked me up, I had performed perfectly,” I exclaimed happily.

“Good for you!” Dad said, smiling at me. I smiled back at him. We got back home and I ran upstairs to read one of my favorite books. I lay on my stomach on my bed and started reading for, like, the fourth time.

I finished the book and sighed. I wish there were a second book, I thought. I took a drink from my water bottle that I kept in my room and put chalk on my hands. I took a deep breath and started my routine. I didn’t fall, but I messed up a couple of times. I kept practicing until Dad called me downstairs for lunch. I walked downstairs to the smell of my favorite lunch; pulled pork and green beans. Mom and Dad have always switched which days they cooked for as long as I can remember, if Mom cooked on Monday, Dad would cook on Tuesday, and they would switch off every other day.

The next morning, I was up and ready for gymnastics practice long before Dad was up. I chalked up my hands and started on my bars. I fell several times, but I didn’t let that get to me. I needed all of my enthusiasm and happiness for practice, and letting myself think about how bad I was doing was going to take that away. After I had run through my routine a couple of times, I started a new book until Dad was ready to drop me off at practice.

“Hey, where are we going?” I asked, realizing that we weren’t going toward the gymnastics studio.

“I thought we could pay a visit to your mother,” Dad said without looking up from the road. “If that’s alright with you.”

“Of course,” I said, surprised that he would think that I wouldn’t want to see my mother. “I’d love to see Mom.” We pulled into the hospital parking lot, got out, and went outside. Dad talked to the lady at the front desk, and she waved us to the hallway. Dad and I found our way to room 437, where I opened the door and went over to Mom’s side.

“Hi Mom,” I said, smiling at her.

“Hi sweetie,” Mom said weakly, but she smiled back at me. She squeezed my hand. “Are you excited for your competition? Do you think you are ready?”

“Yeah, I’m excited,” I said, adding, “I think I will be ready if I practice more.”

Dad and I stayed in Mom’s room talking to Mom until it was time for us to leave for gymnastics. I waved to Mom as we left her room, and I saw her wave back. We drove to the studio, and as I got out, I was nearly tackled to the ground. As Dad left, I wrestled myself away from Alyssa and walked with her into the studio. Coach Lilly talked to us about the competition and then she dismissed us to go work on our routines. As I waited for my turn I chalked up my hands and when it was my turn I started my routine off perfectly but then fell from the highest bar and landed on my hand. Pain shot up my fingers, up my wrist, and into my arm. I curled up into a ball and as much as I wanted to not cry, the tears flowed down my face anyway. My teammates surrounded me but they backed up when Coach Lilly told them to. She helped me stand up and walk over to the bench near the bars. When the other girls noticed that I would be alright they started practicing their routines again.

“Are you okay Ellie?” Coach Lilly asked concern filling her face.

“I will be,” I mumbled wincing in pain. “Eventually.” The tears kept flowing down my face.

“Does it hurt that bad?” Coach Lilly asked. I shook my head, took a few deep breaths, and started speaking.

“A couple of days ago my Mom went to the hospital because she was having a lot of trouble breathing. I’ve visited her twice once the day she was admitted to the hospital and then this morning. I’m scared that she won’t live long enough to go to my competition.”

“Ellie,” Coach Lilly scooted closer to me and hugged me. We stayed there until she pulled away and wiped my tears away. “Your mom is a strong and loving mother. I’m sure she will be fine, and even if she doesn’t make it, she will be in your heart.” 

I nodded and stopped crying but I still felt horrible.

“Can I see your wrist?”

I nodded and Coach Lilly gently lifted my wrist and rubbed it. I winced but stayed still.

“I’ll be back,” Coach Lilly left but was soon back with adhesive tape. She sat down next to me and wrapped my wrist with the tape. When she was done my wrist instantly felt better, but it was still sore when I rotated my wrist. “Do you think you can practice?”

I hesitated then nodded. I stood up and got back in line. While I waited my turn, I chalked up my hands. When it was my turn I took a deep breath, jumped up to the bar, and started my routine. It was perfect! I kept working on it until Dad picked me up. At home, I ran upstairs, threw myself on my bed, and started reading.

The day of the competition I was very nervous but I remembered what Coach Lilly had said a couple of weeks ago. That morning as Dad drove me to the competition he said, “I have a surprise for you, but you won’t find out until it is your turn.” I was very confused but we have a rule in our house to not guess the surprise before you find out.

When it was my turn I smiled at Coach Lilly, took a deep breath, and completed a perfect routine on the bars. I was so happy, and then I noticed a familiar face in the crowd; Mom.  I gasped and ran to hug her. I was so happy that she was out of the hospital. That night I found out that I had won the competition!