Two Friday the 13ths in a row....
Period 1:
Vocabulary quiz
Breathing Underwater quiz and discussion
Relationships
Beginning a character study
Period 2:
Vocabulary quiz
Discussion of American Born Chinese
Read & discuss myths
What is your mythology?
Working on memoirs
Period 3:
Our Town work - return to Act II?
Period 5:
Publish or Perish Day!!!
Reading/commenting on one another's writing.
Goal setting
Thought for the day....
"Before the beginning of great brilliance and beauty there first must be a period of complete chaos." - I Ching
AND a bonus quote because it was too good to hold onto....
Kurt Cobain - "Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are."
21 comments:
*Disclaimer: Names may change between weeks, if it does happen, I'll mention it at the top of the post.*
Red Blood
By
Justin Smith
Chapter 1: No I am no a Vampire
“Class we there is a new student today,” the teacher, told everyone, glee in her voice while making the announcement. “Please welcome Cassandra into our class.”
Every student in the room stood up from their small, crapped, and rather plastic looking desk to greet to new student as she entered the room. She herself was drop-dead beauty but there was something with her, an unknown presence that made it seem like she was more than she looked. All but one of the students did not even pick up a faith scent of this mysterious aura that emitted from her body. That one student was Orion Cormac.
Orion was the typical student, normal grades, normal life, normal future, if it weren’t for his luck, he couldn’t even flip a coin without it getting lost or hurting himself. Orion also dressed normal, wearing only a deep-sea blue shirt and matching denim jeans. Light hazel eyes, just like the ones that this new girl, Cassandra had, in fact it wasn’t the aura at first that freaked Orion out it was the matching eyes, it almost felt like he was looking into a mirror with Cassandra’s eyes. His hair at least was different from her, his was middle of the color road brown, somewhat long hair for males anyways, and if judged by female’s hair length it would be short as hell. Skinny, not muscular in any sense, with no facial blemishes and or body issues.
What is this I feel Orion thought as the aura finally reached him like a missile finding its target dead on? This feeling as if there is something that I should know about this new girl.
Cassandra like previously mentioned wasn’t striking but was noticeable to say the least. Her hair most people right off the bat would be the more noticeable feature about her. It was long going a considerable distance down her back. The night was embodied on her hair as the ebon locks flowed loosely and gently. Most people would guess that she was the definition of a princess.
“Hello everyone,” Cassandra announced while noticing that some of the males in the class were eying her differently, thought one person, Orion, was looking at her with a different feeling not one of lust, or just plain amazement, but of questioning. Could the servant be this person right in front of me. Cassandra proceeded to sit at a desk adjacent to Orion. “Hello.”
Orion just nodded; still confused about this new feeling that was inside of him. He proceeded to continue to looking at the front of the class as the teacher actually began the lesson. Then all Orion could hear was a scribble, he turned slowly trying to monitor what the teacher was writing. Once he fully turned his head, he noticed that it was Cassandra that was making such a loud scribble. It was her writing something in two places.
Orion instantly did a double-take. Wait no one can write like that, he declared in his mind while still dumbstruck by this action. Cassandra preceded to hand Orion the note while the teachers back was still turned. Orion grabbed the note quickly, not wanting the teacher to notice the exchange. He opened the paper, slowly; cautiously not wanting something to happen to him that could kill him. He didn’t trust this girl, she was new, she was different, but for some reason he felt as if he could actually trust this girl. She gave off an air of friendship along with this odd feeling of being latched to her mentally.
“I know why you and I feel something tugging us closer, why I am sitting here. Follow me after school and I will show you why this is happening to me.”
So she feels this tug as well Orion thought to himself, amazed that it wasn’t just him to think that something was out of the ordinary. Following her to a disclosed location was something Orion didn’t think was his cup of tea. She knows more about this than I do maybe I can figure out what is happening without being caught up in anything that could get me killed. Orion thought hopefully that little brief second of thinking would come true.
“I’ll go,” Orion reluctantly let out, fear and confusing clear as day on his face while making this announcement to this girl he has only seen for not even two hours. “Though just to figure this out.”
“Excellent,” Cassandra whispered. “Right outside the main entrance fine by you?”
Orion just nodded, there was nothing he wanted to say, nothing to say, the only thing he could think of was her voice, and it was so devilish and heavenly at the same time. Like she a demon was a god, or if a god had been corrupted and placed on the same level as demons. Cassandra just turned back to the front of the class, not wanting the teacher to notice that they were not actually listening to the lesson.
The rest of the day was uneventful as if it was just a normal day, with no major events during or after school. Some people paid more attention to the clock that was slowly ticking the day away. Slower and slower, it felt while watching the clock move around itself. Then with the feeling of releasing a soul from its grave, the bell finally rang triumphantly. The dam finally broke, the doors finally opened, the students rushed out of the classrooms trickle ling down the hallways to end of the river.
Orion put his bad into his locker, only marked “343” located on the ground floor of the school, walking through the lonely halls, thinking of only Cassandra and the mysterious, frightening, bond that he felt that slowly led him back to her. Keeping her promise, she was right outside of the door, waiting for him to show up.
“Why did this happen to me,” he muttered softly opening the door while asking himself.
“You showed,” Cassandra stated with one of those yeah that line is obvious faces you see. “Not that I’m surprised, this bond leads me to you, and you to me. No matter how much we fight the will of the gods.”
“You seem to know some things about this,” Orion noted while he started to follow Cassandra to the destination that she never mentioned but knew of. Buses went by them now and then, some of the other high school kids looking out of a closed window yelling out. “Is that Orion, with the new girl.”? Another would say, “Yes why in hell is he with her, something’s wrong here.”
“Just ignore their voices,” Cassandra told Orion while still walking. “You can hear them now right.”
“Yes,” Orion unconsciously replied then thought about. “Wait that window was closed, how was I able to hear that. GOD DAMN IT CASSANDRA ANSWER ME!”
“I fear it might begin soon, something of which I don’t want to happen in public,” Cassandra calmly muttered, confusing Orion in the process. “Follow me, the destination is close.”
They walked the rest of the way, not even a word slipped the prison that is their lips. Soon something came into view, a nighttime black house, two stories, and nothing but the color of the night to show. The yard was not taken care of fully, the grass wasn’t tall but it wasn’t neatly trimmed either, the trees despite the fact it was middle spring, didn’t contain any foliage. No lawn ordainments or decorations besmirched upon the odd nature of the yard.
“Ah home sweet home,” Cassandra said stepping on the stone walkway. “Come Orion inside, and you will know everything that you need to know about this bond, you and me, everything in this universe shall be revealed to you.”
“So 21st High street is occupied, I always thought that no one wanted to live here,” Orion mentioned. “It looks rather haunted.”
“Which is good,” Cassandra stated walking up to the door opening it with a small creak. “People won’t want to go to a house that it haunted.”
“Cassandra, you’re too secretive from where I’m standing,” Orion stated walking in the house.
Nothing, there was nothing inside; the only thing you could see is a darkness that matched the same level of color as the outside of the house. The shades of the window were open, no tint could be seen in the window but there was actually no light coming in and out of it.
“This place gets odder by the minute,” he commented while Cassandra took point.
“To most people my taste in design would be bizarre but for what is to come it is the perfect environment,” Cassandra noted walking by the halls that contained nothing, not even a stand. “Oh and yes this house is occupied, I just don’t like unnecessary decorations.”
There was a room open; it was down the hallway on the left side. A light escaped from that room, showing a shadow of an object that Orion couldn’t recognize. “Looks like you found the room,” Cassandra noted while heading closer to the door. The color soon changed the yellow light of a lamp soon was replaced with a color of blood red, the shadow that was seen is gone, replaced by another color, a purple flame was seen from the room.
Orion slowly entered behind Cassandra, her hair was in his face, and the blonde streaks were in his eyes faster than he could move down the hallway. Soon the interior of the room could be described. It was a small room the only two things that could be seen was a bed, and a table, which had a small glass of a red liquid in a wine glass. It looked like V8 juice.
“We are here,” Cassandra paused, gathering her breath, obviously not expecting to find what she found in the room. Then she moved again heading closer to the table and the glass. “This is for you Orion. Drink the answers will be shown the light will come to you.”
“Why not,” Orion shrugged walking to pick up the wine glass, now in the hands of Cassandra. “It’s probably nothing but V8 juice.”
Orion drank the glass in whole, Cassandra just stood their, watching, her eyes gave off this mysterious new aura, and it was as red as the light that Orion couldn’t see in this room. He just shrugged this feeling off, thinking it was just a side effect of days worth of stress that was tied to this girl, and hopefully this drink would be the effect that would get him out of having to ever associate with this girl. A feeling, a small feeling could be felt from his throat, it was burning, feeling like that he just drank an entire liter of salsa or some other hot liquid. Soon is entire body was on fire, he feel to the floor, in complete pain and agony, though he had enough energy to yell. “YOU WITCH, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TRYING TO DO ME. I’LL KILL YOU.”
Cassandra just coldly stood their, smiling as if she knew what was going to happen. Then she just laughed demonically, but heavenly like her voice. “Don’t worry; you shall live my new servant. Thought you shall be revealed to a life that could shun you till now.”
Orion slowly stopped burning, then regained his sense, but now felt as if his senses were altered, he blinked twice waiting to regain his vision, but the blinking turned out to be the worst thing he could do, his vision slowly got worst. He didn’t blink, he regained his vision to the fullest, and in fact, he felt like he was now looking in the world in Hi-Def vision.
“What the heck have you done to me,” Orion asked, trying not to blink but noticed that it was more natural to not blink. “I feel as if I’m a different being.”
“That is true,” Cassandra reassured looking at him. “You are a vampire now.”
“You know you are acting too nonchalant to be serious about this,” Orion stated getting himself back together, Cassandra showing a face that didn’t wavier at any examinations he made. “Wouldn’t I need to constantly drink blood and look like I’m an albino?”
“Humans and their bloody myths about us,” Cassandra sadly commented shaking her head left to right. “Vampires don’t need to drink blood all the time. It’s just like a drunk or liquor, highly addictive and highly sensitive. The albino thing is about as false as the blood thing; most Vampires don’t get out all that much.”
“So,” Orion started trying to find words as he went forward. “You’re saying that I’m a vampire.”
“Yes.”
“And that all the myths humans made up are complete and total bull.”
“Correct.”
“Then tell me, why do I feel the bond, isn’t that the reason why I came here, not to become some immortal freak.”
“First,” Cassandra yelled pointing a rapier at Orion’s neck. “Don’t call us immortal freaks. Secondly, the bond is tied into this. For you are a servant vampire, one who is tied to its master, in this case me. You are my servant it is the law.”
“Anything else that I should know,” Orion asked moving away from the rapier.
“Yes, the history of the servant clan,” Cassandra began. “It started back around the year 1600 when they were discovered, apparently they never knew of their abilities and the bond that came with it. Through the years that followed, we found out a specific set of triggers and requirements. The first one is that the servant is born a mortal, then they must find the bond, it’s completely chance, in fact it’s about one in a trillion at last estimate at the dawn of the 20th contrary but that was a good hundred years ago, I’d place it more like 1 in a billion. The servants if not found by their fated master’s live a normal life and eventually die like a normal human, something more of mercy than anything else I could think of. “
“Mercy, why the hell do you think that,” Orion questioned sitting on the soft fluffy bed.
“Humans are flawed, they are weak, they think that they are the dominate species in the world, but one day the vampires shall show them,” Cassandra yelled angrily at the sky raising her fist in disgust. “Well anyways the servants possess all the powers of a normal vampire, sometimes they even possess the powers that we royals control. Death is only granted to them like a rest of the vampires in the field of battle, but they hold a mortality clause, they will die if the royal they serve dies.”
“So because of some dumb luck I’m stuck serving your every whim,” Orion asked, Cassandra just nodded. “Did you ever fact that I have a family into this equation, or is that something you can’t remember.”
“Oh I factor in your mortal family,” the mistress stated with a grin on her face. “You killed them.”
“What kind of drug do you think I would be on to think that what you are saying is the truth,” Orion questioned while Cassandra pulled out a mirror.
“Look into this, the mirror displays what I want it to in real time, this case I will want to show you that your family is dead,” Cassandra showed Orion the mirror, the glass instead of showing his reflection, it showed his dinning room, small quaint and filled with all the members of his family. Just one thing was out of place; all the people looked like it was way past their bedtime, but one of them was sleeping in their bowl of soup.
Orion moved his head away from the mirror as if the shock had already came to him. His hands began to shake, trembling to every breathe that he quickly took, trying to keep himself from having a panic attack. Calmly he got up from the bed and walked over to Cassandra, and made a gun appear from out of the air. It was silver six-shooter, with the engraving “Thy Blood is Thy curse” and aimed it right at the center of her head.
“My god a divine weapon, for a servant level that just awoke,” Cassandra said with glee coming out of her voice. “The Silver Six shooter, the only AVW divine weapon.”
“Might as well tell me what it does before I blow your head off,” Orion yelled jamming the gun into her head. Cassandra didn’t flinch the slightest instead she did just the opposite, she laughed. Sadistic tones coming out of the laugh, making Orion step back a second.
“First I’ll tell you, my servant needs to know all the resources he has,” Cassandra replied with an odd grin on her face. “Secondly it’s an AVW gun meaning that it’s an Anti-Vampire, and Werewolf gun, thought isn’t that effective with anything else, you should generate a secondary weapon soon. Finally, you cannot kill me, you lost any right to mortality when you became a vampire, and once I die you go with me. I hope you are hell bent on heading with me to hell if that is the case.”
“Not yet, I may want you dead now, but maybe at another time,” Orion reluctantly stating pulling the gun back. “Six shooter that fires AVW rounds, can I fire regular rounds.”
“Sure, if you want the gun to back fire,” Cassandra stated as Orion put it back. “Oh that’s right you don’t generate a secondary weapon even if the first one is situational, damn servant restrictions. Lucky for me I possess a closet of weapons. It’s kind of like shoes to human females.”
“Great you are even more sadistic than I thought you were,” Orion noted while Cassandra opened the closet, various brands of swords, lances, axes, guns and other weapons were noticed. She then picked out a weapon, the pommel and cross guard were both crescent shaped. The blade unlike most knives that was in her closet was a double-edged blade. Cassandra then tossed the blade at Orion who barely caught it without being cut by the blade. “Okay I do know some knives but this one is a complete mystery.”
“This is a Baselard, a Swiss dagger; I found a rather long version, even for this blade which has been long anyways. This blade is about a good foot and a half long, double edged like you noticed, and forged with diamonds.” Cassandra explained.
“DAMN IT CASSANDRA,” another voice yelled from the top of the room. Both people that were in the room and thought to be alone in the room looked up to notice that there was a person on the roof, only with wings as black as the night. “You told me to stay up there all day, can I finally come down the blood is getting to my head.”
“Okay then Linde,” Cassandra shrugged. “Get down.”
“Who the bloody hell are you,” Orion asked noticing the girls dark blue hair; something that he thought was clearly dyed.
“I’m Linde,” the girl said with a bow. “Don’t get on my bad side.”
End of the first Chapter
Will post my pre-story dump during class
How I met Hollywood Undead
By Daniel Peart
One night in early 2007 my sister Jen was driving me to my house, because I didn’t live
with my Grandmother from, and Wal*mart, because I needed something there, and she
had her license, and she let me use her ipod, and I was listening to something I don’t
remember what it was, but Jen paused it, and told me to listen to a song called “No.5”,
and half way through the song she told me that “I know almost all of the words.” After
“No. 5” ended the next song was called “Black Dahlia”. After “Black Dahlia” ended I
asked Jen who the artist was, and her answer was “Hollywood Undead”. Whenever
I went to my Grandma’s house I would go on “Youtube”, or “Google” I would look up
To see if Hollywood Undead had any more songs, and to listen to them. In 2008 I had
some more of the song names, and I had the actual songs on my PSP, and I went on the
school’s “Boston College trip”, and my friend Dustin wanted to borrow my PSP, and I
let him, and he liked all of the songs that I had on there. I had befriended Hollywood
Undead on myspace, and a few weeks before September of 2008 I had asked if they had
plans to release a cd, because they had trouble with a label company, to my surprise they
actually answered their email. In September I went to Connecticut, and I went to a small
mall, that had a “Hot Topic”, and I found the cd titled “Swan Songs”, which had a few
new songs, and some old songs. In February of this year like two weeks before March
my brothers David, and Josh told Jen that there was a concert that they wanted to go to
which had Senses Fail, and Hollywood Undead, and I said “I want to go to”. Tickets were
$18 plus a service charge of $30.
After I found out about the tickets were $18 I told my Grandmother, and she offered to pay for my ticket. A week before the concert our tickets were purchased , and the saturday before the concert we got the tickets in the mail. After the saturday that we got them the whole week at school I was so excited that I was going to see Hollywood Undead in concert, and I couldn't stop reminding my friends that I was going to see them in concert. Friday the sixth , and Saturday the seventh went so fast that I don't remember what happened. On Sunday, March eighth I woke up at eleven 'oclock , took a shower,
and I did everything else I would normally do. Jen, and I got in the car around 12:20 we picked David, and Josh at my aunt Eileen's house, and then we had to pick up David's friend Mike Heintz. The concert was in Hartford, Connecticut, and the arena was the Webster Theater. After we picked up Mike we headed down to West Lebanon, and we got something to drink, and then we proceeded to Hartford. Josh's friend R.J. Also went to the concet, but he was in a different car, and Jen was supposed to look after him, because the only way he could go was if there was an adult who was eighteen, or older. When we arrived in Connecticut it was around five o'clock and Jen got a phone call from R.J saying that he got his ticket autographed by some of the band members. I was a little bit jealous, but that would go away, but I didn't know that until later. We got to the theater at five thirty pm about a half hour before the doors were supposed to be opened, and then we had to wait about twenty minutes before the doors actually opened. The theater had a lobby, merchandise on the left, and a room on the right. The first thing I did when I got inside was wait in line so I could buy a t-shirt which says “Holly” on the top, “Wood” in the middle, and “Undead” on the bottom. In the lobby if you kept going there was a walk way which led to the where the concert actually was. There was two other bands besides Hollywood Undead, and Senses Fail, and there were BrokenCyde, and Haste the day. Jen, and I watched BrokenCyde play , and then decided that we wanted sit down in the room that was originally on the right, and there was a lot of people in there just talking to each other, and not doing much else. Jen, and I then decided that we both really don't know who Senses Fail, was and we both only liked Hollywood Undead. When Senses Fail started playing Josh came out, and asked what we were doing, and then Jen got a brilliant idea why not buy 5 copies of “Swan Songs” , so we could meet Hollywood Undead. Josh came back out about half way through when Senses Fail was playing , and then, my sister asked me to see if the mechandise had bandanas, and I said I thought they did, and I would go see
she handed me a ten dollar bill, because I told her that's how much they cost, and I would see if they had a pink one, because that's the color she wanted. I got up took the ten dollar bill, and went into the lobby, and I saw three guys talking to the guy selling Hollywood Undead merchandise, and I looked down at one of the guy's legs and I noticed a symbol similair to that of the one on “Swan songs” after the guys moved to so I could ask if there was any bandanas left,and before the guys left I asked the three guys if they were the band, and one of them said “No, but he is” pointing to the guy selling the merchandise. As I left a thought had entered my mind 'I just met Hollwood undead , and the weird thing is they weren't wearing their masks', and then I told Jen about my experience. At ten pm everyone that was in the room started leaving to get ready for Hollywood Undead. The first person to get on the stage was the drummer, and everyone later learned his nickname was “Biscuit”. Hollywood Unead played some of their old songs not on their cd, and the played some of their songs that were on their cd. Jen left togo into the lobby,because she wasn't feeling good, and I offered to go with her in case something happened, but she said “No, it's ok”, and then before Hollywood Undead was about to play their next song I can't remember which of the band member said, but I think it was J-dog, or Charlie Scene who said it ,but anyways one of them said “you guys have a rare opportunity, you might be in a music video if we play our cards right.”Before Hollywood Undead played their last song all of the members left the stage and the crowd was cheering “No.5, No.5”, and then Josh came over to show me a text meassage that he received from Jen saying “They're kicking people out who don't have cds”, so Josh, and I left to meet Jen to wait for “No.5” to end and then everyone starting coming out of the arena, and into the lobby, and then we had to go into the room on the right which was now on the left, and then Jen, and I were in the room, waiting for the rest of our group to see us, but what happened was Mike went outside to to get some air, because he didn't know we had the cds, and then Josh went outside to give Mike the cd, but neither of them could come back inside ,and David also went outside.
There was a metal door where the room we entered was kind of like a garage, and there was one behind Jen, and I that was closed, and someone closed the open door, and then somebody opened the one behind us, and the room that was opened up looked like a restaurant, and there was a wall, the lights were off, and somebody brought a table into the restaurant area, and somebody else brought in six stools behind the table. After ten minutes of waiting Hollywood Undead came out, and then we had to wait a few more minutes, because one of the guys still couldn't find a light switch, and then I had a moment which will always feel surreal, and that's because I have never gotten an autographed cd , and what makes the moment even better is, because Hollywood Undead isn't a huge band yet, but they have been on MTV, on the internet, and on the Carson Daly show, and that means they're just getting popular to people who haven't heard of them yet. We got home around four 'oclock am on the next day, and I was more excited than I had been the previous week, and I think the concert was well worth the wait. I think that if you like a band that if enough people also like the band that the band will become popular, and you don't know if you'll actually meet the band, and get an autograph, and that's how I met Hollywood Undead, and I didn't exxagrate one thing in the story.
Okay there are some issues with my work that is already published. Some of the stuff was done in that slided font which starts with an I, if it goes before the words thought. Then yeah.
Here's a little (compared to the story) dump about information.
All names are subject to change
Cassandra: The Royal vampire, whose bonded with the servant Orion. She is only 17 years old, most other info is a complete mystery (in other words I don't have information for it).
Main villian: This is the hardest part of the thought process.
1. The Head of the family.
OR
2. A US agency threatening to reveal the secrets. (Possibly the Secret Selective, a supernatural agency)
WoC (weapon of Choice)
Orion: Gun, and Sword
Cassandra: Scythe (or Rapier)
CoC (costume of choice)
Orion: Blue shirt, and jeans.
Cassandra: TBD
Other races: The Short Wings: a group of half breed vampires. More bat than vampire, and must use wings to fly unlike Vampires who can levitate. Transform between human and Bat form at will but they have a auto trigger based on a specfic emotion.
Linde: A Short Wing vampire who was rescued by Cassandra while she was young. Her auto trigger is based off of anger. Short dark blue hair.
Divine Weapons: (More to come)
Gun: Silver Six Shooter: (Orion's)
Scythe: Infinity arc: (Linde's)
Sword: Excalibur
Axe: Ivan
Demonic Weapons (more to come)
Gun: Devil's bullet (Silver's Twin)
Scythe: Death's Scythe
Sword: Ragnarok
Excellent job Dan, I like how that at the beginning you start off about how you got into listening to the band, and not just starting when you got to the concert
Time, you take it for granted.
Love, you may never find it.
Hope, you just don't have it.
Peace, you favor the war.
Nothing about you is fine.
Please don't take this the wrong way.
I won't like you tomorrow.
You had your chance yesterday.
Justin I like how you used vampires, and I like how they have limitations, and the myths that people created.
Omg Dan I'm so jealous that you got to meet hollywood undead! I've been really wanting to see them in concert, and I'm new too liking them. I found out who they were this year actually, and I like them quite a bit. i liked what you wrote because it was all true, and i enjoyed listening to your expierence with such an awseome band! I wish I could have been there to get an autograph as well, but maybe next time they have a concert near by, I'll go. I've already been invited to the next one with some friends!
nice job, I liked how you described everything, it was great.
Everyday I wake early, to get ready. I stand in the same spot everyday looking through the parlor window. I pray that today is the day that I see my brother walking up the drive.
It’s been a little over a year since my brother went off to the war. But even though it’s been so long I never turn the porch light off, or take down our American flag. I have faith that my wonderful brother will come home one day.
He promised that he would be here to watch my son grow and become a man. My five-year-old son has already lost his father to this pathetic war, that I don’t think that he could bear losing his uncle as well. What will my boy do if his uncle doesn’t come back? I’m afraid that if my son doesn’t have any good male influence, he won’t become the great man that I know he can be.
As I stare out the window, I hear my son walking around upstairs. My son, he’s been moping around ever since we got news that his best friend’s father was killed in the war. I’m worried about my son. What will happen if he got news that his uncle has died? Will he close into himself more? It was bad when we heard about his father, but my brother was here to be his role model.
I head into the kitchen, to make some breakfast, but my eyes always stray back to look out the windows. Just as I put the plates down on the table, Caleb comes running down the stairs surrounded by an aura of joy.
“Caleb, what’s going on?”
“Mommy, I see some one walking up the drive way!!!”
“What are you talking about sweetie? I was just looked out the window.”
“Come on Mommy!!! I’m telling you that someone is coming up the drive!”
“Alright, honey let’s go.”
Dear lord, please don’t let my son be wrong. If it’s not my brother, please let there at least be news about him. I don’t think that we could handle any more disappointment. As we open the front door, we see the mailman walking up our porch steps.
“I have a letter for you Ms.”
“Thank you, Mr. Smith. Have a good day.”
“You to Ms. I hope its good news.”
“I do to, Mr. Smith. I do to.”
My hands are sweating as I look down at the army envelope. I’m worried that it will be bad news. But I’m praying that it’s good news. My heart tears as I open the envelope.
May 25th 2005
Dear Sally and Caleb,
By the time you get this letter your husband and I will be half way home. Yes, your husband did not die, but he was a POW (Prisoner of War). We found him will we were invading one of the Iraqi camps. Please don’t worry about us. We are healthy but a little under nourished. We should be back by the fifth day after you get this letter. We love you Sally and Caleb.
Love always,
Hunter and Josh
“Mommy, Mommy what’s it say?”
“Your daddy and uncle will be home within fives days.”
“YEAH!!!!!!!! Wait…. I thought that daddy was dead?”
“That’s what the army said, but daddy was really a Prisoner of War. Don’t worry about it sweetie. You can ask daddy about it when he gets home.”
“Okay. We should have a really big dinner ready for them!!”
“We will sweetie, don’t worry.”
i like your writing nicole, it has a meaning to me and makes perfect sense. it sounds like how the world is, how cruel it can be. im not sure if thats what you meant for it to be about, but that's how i see it as. it was a good piece of writing and i liked it very much soooo =D
Good job Nicole, it is an excellent mix up from the long stories that were already posted
Nicole:
I think your's is very cute, and funny. I think a lot of people think that way.
Friday Night
By Lauren Simano (my four pages)
Audrey sat on her bed, glaring at the wall. It was Friday night, and while she was stewing over the unfair punishment her parents had given her, her friends were out at a party. She wasn’t allowed to go to this party because the weekend before, she had stayed over at Katie’s house after her party and didn’t call her parents to let her know. The way she saw it, at least she hadn’t been driving; she had had two mango Margaritas. Though her parents were grateful for that fact, they countered by telling her that she could have called for a ride. They were just emphasizing the point that she was supposed to call.
“Fine! Just call. Got it,” Audrey had said angrily before stomping upstairs to her room to wallow for the rest of the night.
When she grew tiresome of glaring at the wall, because she knew it wasn’t the wall’s fault she was punished, she heaved a sigh. She uncrossed her arms and rested her cupped hands palm-up on her crossed legs. She looked over at her bookcase, which had been gathering dust since the end of her junior year. The last book she had been reading, Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger, was marked in the same place it had been three months ago with a metal bookmark. Tentatively, she pulled the aged paperback off her bookshelf and turned to the page she had saved. Instantly, she remembered why she had stopped here. Zooey was shaving his face and smoking cigarettes in the bathroom. She thought that J.D. had been describing trivial details, and she had lost interest.
It was about this time when she had started going to parties more often and working on school work less. She had previously cared more about her grades, but senioritis had hit early and hit hard. She grimaced as she remembered having a 69 on her English test about A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It made no sense; she loved reading, and she adored Shakespeare.
When did I lose myself? What have I become? she thought. She looked down at her clothes; she had put on a pink ruffled miniskirt with a clingy, silk cream-colored halter, which draped and hung around her torso and cut low in the back; she wore modest silver gladiator sandals. Normally, she would have worn a tee instead of the halter and leggings under her skirt, but she liked showing off her long legs at parties. If she wanted the dressy part of her outfit to be the halter, she would have worn jeans. I never liked showing off this much skin.
She turned to the mirror on her right to further scrutinize herself. She had a nearly flawless complexion, thanks to the extra help from Proactiv; she wore Neutrogena Sheer Mineral foundation and blush, so it hardly felt like she was wearing makeup. But, she more than made up for it with her eye makeup.
She wore light and dark gray eye shadow to create a smoky effect, and black liquid eyeliner to make her hazel eyes pop more dramatically. She always curled her eyelashes and applied two coats of mascara. To be quite honest, she wore so much eye makeup that she always had to use two cotton pads, one for each eye, to remove her eye makeup. She knew she hadn’t always worn so much makeup, and although she looked dramatically different without the pounds of eye makeup, she still looked good with less, possibly better.
Finally acknowledging that she definitely would not be going out tonight, she took off her sandals, got off her bed, walked over to her white dresser and opened the second drawer down on the right. Instead of pulling out her pink satin tank top and shorts set from Victoria’s Secret, she grabbed her old pair of brown cotton pants with white hearts, and a soft brown cotton tee.
After she had changed, she pulled her dark auburn hair back into a careless, messy pony and walked into her bathroom. She removed her eye makeup, vowing to herself to wear less on a daily basis, and washed her face to get rid of the blush and foundation. As she patted her face dry, she was deliberating about whether or not to have a facial night when the doorbell rang. Certain that it wasn’t for her, she used her toner, and had just finished applying her mask when her dad called her downstairs.
Audrey figured he and her mom just wanted to talk to her; she was horrified to find three pairs of eyes, one light green, one blue, and two brown, staring at her. Her boyfriend, Tristan, and their three other friends, Marisol, Gabriel, and Sofia, were standing at the bottom of the stairs, carrying bags of chips, dip, sodas and Iron Man on DVD. When everyone realized that Audrey wasn’t dressed for company, Audrey’s dad turned red and snickered his way to the kitchen; Tristan grinned and chuckled, biting his lip to muffle the sound; Gabe burst out laughing, and Marisol smacked his broad shoulder, scowling at him; Sofia winced and put the 2-liter bottles of Sprite and Sunkist on the carpet, towing Audrey back upstairs.
“Come on,” she said, “we’re going to wash that off. Get the stuff ready downstairs!” she called to the three downstairs.
“But it hasn’t been 10 minutes yet!” Audrey protested. “What are you guys doing here anyway? I thought you were all going to Ryder’s party.”
“We were,” Sofia said in an even tone. “But Tristan was miserable without you. And Tatiana was there,” she added as an afterthought. Tatiana was the biggest flirt in the school, and she was currently trying to steal Tristan from Audrey. “Mari, Gabe and I thought it was a good idea to leave, too.” Sofia sat down on the empty counter beside the sink, staring thoughtfully at her black nails.
The corners of Audrey’s mouth turned up slightly--in as large of a smile as her purple mask would allow while drying--as she stared at her best friend and thought about how lucky she was to have friends like hers.
Audrey stood, and Sofia sat, in silence for the next nine minutes. Audrey grabbed a washcloth, soaked it with hot water, and rubbed off her mask. She splashed her face with cold water to close her pores, and put on her moisturizer. Smiling at Sofia, they both exited the bathroom and went to their left out the door of Audrey’s room.
At the foot of the stairs, they took a right and walked around the kitchen to the door down to the basement lounge, where Tristan, Mari, and Gabe had set up the snacks on the coffee table and put the DVD into the DVD player. Mari and Gabe sat on the farthest right end of the couch; Gabe had his arm around Mari’s shoulders and rested it casually on the back of the couch, and Mari was nestled in Gabe’s vast chest.
Tristan looked up over his shoulder at Audrey and Sofia, and smiled at his girlfriend. Sofia walked around the couch and planted herself on the floor at the foot of the couch, where Audrey would be sitting next to Tristan. Audrey flipped the lights off and made her way to her boyfriend’s side, smiling widely. As she sat down, Tristan kissed her forehead, and Sofia pressed play on the remote.
The room was momentarily pitch black before the previews began; in the darkness, something changed. Audrey felt normal again.
Dan:
I like what you wrote about Hollywood Undead. From what you have said, it makes me want to start listening to their music.
This is obviously a working progress. I don't have a title for it yet and I'm not sure if it will be a novel or a short story. I'm looking for critique on my descriptiveness and realistic dialogue.
Ugh!! My weekend was terrible! My brother and his buddy were extremely loud. It was like they didn't know the meaning of the word quiet. I couldn't wait for the peace and quiet at night.
I was secretly hoping Andrew, my secret crush would come and save me from this torture. But that would never happen because we live in two completely different worlds. I decided to get out of my personal hell.
I went for a walk to see if I could relieve my problems. It was the I bumped into Andrew. Andrew is about ten inches taller than my 5'1" stature. He has brown eyes and brown hair.
"Hey," I said and hurried away. There was no way I could talk to him in my grumpy mood.
"Carly! Wait up!" I didn't know what to do. Thousands of questions were going through my head.
"What do you want Andrew? I'm not really in the best of moods right now."
"I can see that, but don't you know it's not safe to be wandering around by yourself?"
"I know, but I prefer to be alone when I'm in a bad mood, and it wouldn't work if someone else was with me. Yes I know it's confusing."
"Carly, calm down! God, your making me stressed just by looking at you!"
"That's the problem Andrew, I can't calm down! Your not the one who has to deal with two little brats who don't know the meaning of the word quiet! I can't get anything done, and I have to write four pages for my creative writing class, and I can't concentrate on anything!"
"Have you tried yoga?" Was he being sarcastic?
"I've tried just about everything Andrew. I'm about to cry it's so bad!"
"Well maybe you should take a break and go out with someone, and just be yourself?"
"Okay, so you're basically asking me out."
"Yes. Are you sure your hair color isn't blonde"
"Yes" I said with a giggle. My gray world was slowly turning colorful once more.
A Broken Family
By Sarah Padua
I got off the bus that day wishing I Could change what had happened earlier this morning. But I knew I couldn't. Nothing I say or do is going to take it back. I was angry and I needed help and I knew it. I just didn't want to accept it. Rewind, that's what I needed was a rewind.
"Amy!" I could hear the deafening cry of my mother downstairs just five minutes the dreadful sound that tells me school is waiting, and will be waiting for the next for years. "I'm up mom." I shouted back. I looked at my alarm clock and it was only 6:30. This was not going to be a normal day. I could tell just by looking at the time. 6:30 is not when I usually get up. But my mom doesn't work on Friday's. She took it upon herself to wake me. How nice.
"I'm staying after school today mom," I started "I won't be home until quarter of six. " I grabbed a bagel and sat down at the table. "Why are you staying after school," she nagged. "and you couldn't have given me a little more warning instead of the day of?" She always did this. Always found something to fight with me about. That's just how it was. "Sorry," I said in my most innocent voice. "must have slipped my mind." She looked up from the newspaper. "Fine Amy," she gave in, "but don't make a habit of doing this please." I grabbed my bagel and decided to walk to school.
My mother always told me to look both ways before crossing the street. But today I must have forgotten to do that because I ran across the street as a car was coming. Just something else for my mom to nag at me for.
It was raining so when I got to school I went straight in and met up with my best friend Ashley. "Hey!" she said cheerfully. Ashley was always cheerful and had a sense of humor like no other. She had the biggest heart and we had have been friends for a long time. People often asked us if we were sisters. "Hey." I replied. I wasn't too enthusiastic because all my mom and I did now a days was fight. About little stupid things. Which was even worse. "Sorry Ash," I decided to explain my lack of enthusiasm. " I had another fight with my mom this morning." She didn't look surprised at all. She knew that my mom and I fought all the time. "Oh." She replied in a voice as if to say, what was the fight about this time? "It was about my staying after school and not telling her until last minute," I went on, "I know with the divorce with my dad things have been a little crazy but we fight now more than ever." Tears started rolling down my face, I couldn't take it anymore. Enough was enough. "Well," Ashley started to say, and then decided that it probably wasn't a good idea. "You and your mom won't always be like this." She tried to be reassuring. "I hope not." I said trying to be a smart-allic and lighten the mood.
By the time lunch came along I had completely forgotten about my fight with my mother and decided to leave it alone. But I knew once I got home it would get brought up again. That's how it worked in my home. Nothing was ever let go. There were grudges. Lots of grudges.
under the weather
it was nearly 100 degrees in Malibu and i was laying on the beach, tanning as usual. it was a great day to relax and enjoy my summer vacation. I'm going to b a senior this year in high school and everything was going my way. i have tons of friends, I'm the most popular girl in school, and i have the perfect boyfriend. nothing was going to go wrong today, or so i thought
i started to fall asleep in my chair and then i felt something wet and cold touch the top of my nose, something that I'm not use to, and it ran down my face. i felt more and more of them touch my body, and they were soon covering me by the second. i sat up in a state of shock of what i saw. Snow, dancing around the beach. everyone was looking around at the sky as more snow ran down from it. "Snow in Malibu?" i thought to myself. everyone was gasping and looking at each other. a cold chill breezed through the entire beach and everyone, including myself, was shivering. the bright white clouds in the sky turned into gray fury. they covered the sky in a matter of minutes and consumed the sun as if it were its prey. the warm day of fun in the sun soon turned into disaster in the gray and black clouds.
Nicole, I love your poem! It is bitter, and telling someone that they had their chance, and they wasted it, and that you’re moving on with your life. It’s fantabulous! The emotion and imagery is strong, and it is very well written. The commas are effective as well.
Dan,
I love that you met Holly Undead! They are an amazing band! I wish I could meet them. I'm so jealous. Ok, now more about your writing. I like how you started from the beginning, how you were introduced to the band.
Great job!
~Sarah
Lauren,
I can totally relate to your story. When my parents punish me, and I think it's so unfair. Sometimes parents need to look at the fact that nothing did happen and not focus so much on what could've happened. We're not all irresponsible like everyone thinks!
Great job!
Sarah
i really like the style of your poem and how you have time, love, hope and peace and how this person your talking about doesn't have these qualities.
---Nicole
Justin, it was very interesting and very descriptive. I liked how you described the bond between the servant and the master.
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