Two Tone Poem

Paula Zarate

I am bright as the color pink.
I am sweet and nice like angel’s can be.
Smile on my face everyday…
I try hard so nothing can get me down.

But I also have another side,
When I am mad I turn red like hot tamales.
Everything gets me mad easily!
I can not stand anyone.

But when the two things align
I become,
Loud but quiet.
Sweet but evil.
Angel smile but evil grin.
Outgoing but shy,
I just simply become me.

A Carolina Forest Myth

Hali Faith Grainger

"You know there is a sense of fear in a prey when it's been cornered," said the wolf, morphing back into human shape. "For some funny reason, I can't sense any in you," a wolfish grin spreads on his face. "Not that it matters. Either way you're going to die. Now give me the book," he said reaching out in the darkness. The girl stood in the clearing, staring at the man. They were in the middle of the forest. No one would ever find her body if he were to bury her there. She pulled out a knife and got in a fighting stance.

"You'll have to pry it from my cold dead hands," she said calmly. She had long brown hair pulled back in a pony tail and was wearing a black assassin-like uniform.

"I'll be glad to grant your wish, Pheo," he said pulling out a gun. His hair was a spiky black, and he had jagged side burns. Everything about his aura said kill.

"You know, I was really starting to like you," he smiled as he lied through his teeth. They were a perfect, straight white row of teeth. "Any last words?"


2 Months Before

“So Pheo are you going to the library,” asked Tiana from her desk.

“Don’t we usually go? This is last block of school isn’t it,” said Pheo rhetorically.

Tiana rolled her eyes, “You go first. I’ll ask later.”

Pheo got up and went to the teacher’s desk, “Mrs. Lauterbach can I go to the library,” she asked in a sweet tone.

“Go ahead, but be back here in 20 minutes,” she said not looking up from her book.

Pheo walked out of the door and down the hallway to the library. The library was a boring place, but it was the best place to waste time and look at books. She bent down looking at a book that read EON.

“Hello.”

Pheo jumped looking behind her. There was a man dressed in a business suit standing a few feet behind her.

“Can I help you,” she said, suspiciously looking around. The library was empty. Not that THAT wasn’t surprising. The librarian was usually on lunch break at this time.

“Ah, yes you can. You wouldn’t happen to be interested in Latin books would you,” he said twitching around in the one spot he stood.

“Ummm, Not really?”

He made a fake laugh, “Of course you are, Pheo. Here, how would you like to buy this book?”

“I’m not interested,” Pheo said creeped out that he knew her name. She started toward the door.

“Here,” he said placing the book in her hands. There were strange symbols moving on the cover. “I’ll give you a discount! And the total cost of it is…Free,” he said, rushing out the door, leaving the book. Pheo walked outside the door and looked down the hallway. Tiana was walking toward the door which was only a few feet away.

“Hey, did you see that guy,” asked Pheo.

“Guy? What Guy? Is he hot,” she said, smiling and looking around.

“More like a creeper,” she said absently.


Later at Home



Pheo opened the weird book looking at the odd writing. Latin did he say? Pheo couldn’t read Latin but the pictures were very bloody and violent. She came across a paper wedged in the book. She took out the paper and read it out loud, “Burn the book and don’t ask why. If you don’t you’ll surely die.” She laughed at the short rhyme and put the paper back in the book.


2 Months later

“Who are you,” asked Pheo to the man who was threatening to kill her.

“Jack Frost,” he crowed and pulled the trigger. Pheo stumbled backwards with a shocked look on her face. She fell to the ground. The man walked toward her, looking for the book. The poor fool left his gun beside her. She smiled quickly, taking the gun and shooting the man. He stumbled backwards, but his psycho grin never left his face.

“Fool! You can’t kill me. I’m immortal.”

2 Months Before

Pheo took the book to a librarian for translation. The librarian smiled gladly, taking the book, but his eyes got wide when he read the text.

“What’s it say,” she asked.

The librarian just shook his head, rushing toward his fireplace and throwing it in. The book sat in the flames unharmed. Then, he looked back at Pheo. “You must throw the book in the flames yourself. Not that it matters. Either way you will still be inflicted with a curse,” he said grimly.

“A curse,” she asked, grinning.

He nodded slowly, “It is a book of evil, and evil has found you.”

Pheo started laughing, “Well, let it come! I fear no one. Not even the devil.”

The librarian just stood there looking at her, aghast. “Oh my.”

2 Months later

"Well then, that makes the two of us," she said, rolling away from him. She had the book shielding her stomach. He had shot the book instead of her.

"You want this book? You'll have to fight for it," she said, picking herself up and getting in a fighting stance.

"How about a deal instead? Give me the book, and you can become my apprentice. We'll both get the information we want," he said, reaching out for the book again.

"A deal with the devil? Ha! Only a fool would take it," she said, backing away. "Besides, all I have to do to get what I want is burn it," she said, lighting a match.

"No," he screeched, tackling her, but it was too late. The book was engulfed in flames, and so was he.

TAKE NO PRISONERS?

A savage, unidentified animal is on a bloody rampage. Local police say that it could be a black bear but aren't sure why one would be so violent. In the past three days, fourty-seven people have been savagely mauled to death. No one has seen the creature and lived to tell the tale. News and police helicopters are circling the area in search for such a creature. The creature is nocturnal, for the attacks have only happened at night. Locals are calling this one the Demon Wolf. The area has recently been evacuated of all people because the creature can break through a solid concrete wall. Is this natural or supernatural? A wild rumor was going around about a local girl being a werewolf after an anonymous call to the police was issued. The police have dismissed it as a prank call, but locals are saying it's true. Locals say enormous wolf tracks have been spotted in the Carolina Forest are. The local police say it's just coyote tracks. Is it fact or fiction?

Sock Warning

Scarlet Henson

Hello, my name is Socko, Socko Taco. You can just call me Boss though. I am a very clean, nice sock. I am always cleansed thoroughly in my owner John’s Kenmore. John and I are tight. His foot is always there for me, and I’m always there for his foot.

Once, I heard him describe me as a super white sock with blue things on the top. I appreciate his effort for trying to define my beauty, but I don’t know if even I myself can. I am a magnificently, pure, white tube sock with three royal blue rings wrapped around the upper tubey part much like the rings of Saturn. John always wears my wife and I at least once a week. We have so much fun going to the basketball court and getting soaked with sweat.

Every time we go, I feel like I just burned off every bad fiber on my tube. I love it when John and I get home from the courts, and he throws me in the dirty clothes hamper with all my other stinky buds. We normally get to have guy talk, but today, John did something I never expected him to do. I was clean and fabulous, and he grabbed me but not my wife and threw me in the dirty hamper. I was so upset that I started producing fuzzies on my soft fabric.

Now, I am a mess, and I am separated from my pair. I don’t understand why he is doing this to me. I do remember him talking about buying new socks, but I didn’t think he would buy new tube socks…

Oh, but just when I thought I was just going crazy, I find the problem! There were two new pairs of sweaty tube socks, almost as white and glorious as I, sitting upon his dirty clothes as if they were king and queen of this hamper! I could not allow this to happen!

“Hey, punk! Yeah, I’m talking to you! Get your tubular over here before I bleach it,” I said.

Right after I said that, this new guy says, “Whoa, dude… Don’t be hatin’. Just keep it mellow, man. Like, yeah…”

Then, his wife butted in and was all like, “Like, yeah.”

I could tell these were some crazy Nikes. All of the sudden, I kicked those sons of fabrics in their faces! After I kicked them, they fell on the tiled floor right in front of Scruffy, John’s new puppy! I don’t think there was any chance of them escaping the dog, especially since he was in the biting stage of canine life. I took care of those socks.

So, this is just a warning to all you white tube socks out there, John is my human, and I am his sock. You can NEVER change that, and if you try, you will have to have a nice conversation with Scruffy. Thank you; that is all.

A Crazy Time in Las Vegas

Darius Robinson

I went to Las Vegas for a fun time with my best friends: Dakota, Juan, and Justin. I had been going through a rough time on Friday. Dakota come over that Friday and told me that I should go to Las Vegas. Dakota said, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”

On Saturday, Dakota, Juan, Justin, and I started on our trip to Las Vegas. It took us about three days to get there. Meanwhile, a girl named Solange, who was a successful woman, was also going on a trip to Vegas. Solange’s best friends wanted her to take a break from work. Solange, Jennifer, Leila, and Jenny went to Las Vegas too.

For the time being, my best friends and I were going to Valle Grande Estate. We got a room on the 29th floor, and the rooms were astonishing. We were getting unpacked until we heard a noise at the door. All of us went to check it out, and we found another room connected with ours. I saw tall, young, fine women unpacking their stuff.

Then, the women saw me and chased after me. I ran toward Dakota, Juan, and Justin, who were stealing food from the women’s refrigerator. I looked back, and the women stopped chasing me. Juan said, “What the French toast?”

Justin asked, “What are you running for, idiot?”

I said, “I thought women were chasing after me.”

I told the guys to come with me to see if anyone was in the other room. Bang! Justin fell to the ground, and I realized that the women had metal poles in their hands. Dakota tried to talk to one, but she jumped on top of his back and started hitting him. Next, two of the girls tackled Juan and started hitting him with the poles. I realized one was gone, so I turned around. Bang! I fell and blacked out.

The women tried to wake me up. Juan, Justin, and Dakota were awake, and the women were telling them they were sorry. I was still on the ground, but I could hear everything they said. Justin asked, “Why did you all attack us?”

One of the women said, “We thought you were creepers.”

Dakota asked for their names.

One woman said, “Solange,” and the other one said, “Jennifer.” Another said, “Jenny,” and the last one said, “Leila.”

Dakota told them our names, but Justin asked the same question hoping to get a better answer.

Jennifer told Justin that they thought it was a single room only. I came back to my senses and stood up. Solange gave me an ice bag, and I said, “Thanks.” Jennifer, Jenny, and Leila said, “We will make it up to you guys.”

Justin, Juan, and Dakota said, “Yeah you should.”

Solange told the girls it was a bad idea. I was still angry for what had happened to me; therefore, I was not in the mood to hang out. Solange’s friends made Solange agree, and Justin made me agree too. That night, we rented a vehicle and went to the club. Justin was hitting it off with Jennifer, and Juan was hitting it off with Jenny. Dakota, meanwhile, was getting personal with Leila. I was talking to Solange, but she did not really care.

The next morning, I woke up and found Solange in my bathroom. I was wearing a golden wedding ring and so was Solange. “These days, I lie awake at night thinking that marrying her was the wrong choice.”

Forgetting Everything

Shauna Smith

I woke up this morning as I would any other, hair a mess, morning breath. I wondered into the bathroom, yawned and stretched. I turned and looked in the mirror, and saw a reflection of a face that was not mine. I quickly turned around and clinched my eyes, really tightly. I thought, "This must be a dream. This cannot be reality." I pinched myself, turned back around, and opened my eyes hoping to see myself. Unfortunately, that is not who I saw. I started to scream; then, I covered my mouth; my fiancée was just in the other room. He had never seen me this way.

I had to find a way out of the house before he woke up. But first, I closely examined the person I saw in front of me; we had a few resembling characteristics, but this for sure was not me. I walked out of the bathroom into the bedroom, expecting to see my fiancée asleep on our king size bed, but instead, I found the bed already made, so he was not there. Slowly, as quietly as I could, I crept into the dining room where I found an older man sitting at our table. He was reading a newspaper as if this was his home. I slowly walked over to him, and I asked…
“Uhm, why exactly are you in my home?”

As I spoke I noticed that my voice sounded like an old lady's. Usually, I would have freaked out to see a strange man in my home, what woman would not? But this man, he looked… well nice and calm as if he belonged here.

“Honey, what do you mean? Your home? Is this some sort of joke,” he asked in response to her question.

"Honey," I thought, "why is this man calling me honey?"

“Do I know you?” I said with a tremble in my voice.

“Dear, what is wrong with you? Why are you acting like this, I do not understand.”

“Sir you’re really beginning to scare me. Please tell me who you are!”

“Silvia, I’m your husband of 23 years, what is the matter with you?”

“Married? 23 years? No this can not be there is no way possible, I’m only 27 years old. Please leave my house before I have to call the police.”

The man just put his paper down, pushed back his chair, and stood up. He started to walk toward me, and I backed away.

“What is the matter with you, should I call a doctor? 27? You say you are 27. Have you seen yourself? Although, I must admit you are just as beautiful as you were then, but 22 years have past since you have been 27.”

I slowly crept to the table to sit down; my head was spinning from all of the excitement, I simply did not know what to think.

“Sweetie, come over here and look at these pictures of us and our kids. That should be proof enough; better yet, look at your ring finger.”

I slowly look down and sure enough there was a wedding ring on my left hand.

“Kids? What kids, look man I don’t know what kind of prank your trying to pull, but I have a fiancée. I am 27 years old, and I do not have any children!”

He pulled out a wallet and showed me a picture that I recognize all too clearly. It’s the picture of me and my fiancée on our first date.

“Certainly you remember this.”

“Yes, of course. But how did you get this?”

“You really don’t remember do you? Come sit on the couch with me.”

I walked over and sat down beside this man who claimed to be my husband. He pulled out a photo album that sat under the coffee table and opened it slowly.

“These are our children, all four of them. Samantha, Charlie, Deborah and Jordan.”

“You’re not lying are you? This is my, well our life?”

“Yes and it has been for 23 years.”

I quickly realized that I had lost twenty years of my life, and what a wonderful life it must have been.

No More Pain

Morgan Richardson

A man sits on a bench quietly watching children play in the park. He watches, silently crying. How he wishes he could have his daughter back, oh how he wishes. His mind goes back to a few years ago. He and his daughter, Alana, went camping out near some mountains for a much-needed vacation. He left Alana unattended for just one minute and then, suddenly, she was gone.

He looked everywhere, he went to the police, got a SWAT team, he even gathered up some friends to come help find Alana. Days passed, and within three and a half weeks of his daughter’s disappearance, the police called the man asking him to come up to the mountains. They needed him to identify a piece of evidence that may or may not have belonged to Alana. When the man reached the mountains, he met up with the police. They took him to a raggedy, old broken- down shack, where inside, lay the evidence.

When the man entered the shack, he was escorted over to a fireplace. There on the floor, next to the fireplace was a blood stain, on top of the giant, fairly new- looking bloodstain, was a torn, ripped, sparkly, red dress, a dress that looked just like the one Alana’s mother had given her for her 6th birthday this year. He stared at it for a while; he tried to speak, but he couldn’t. He knew it was hers. He just nodded at the police with a tear- stained face and walked out.

He drove home then and got in the bed. For days, he laid there, not moving, not eating, and not talking. A week later, the police contacted him once more to inform him that they had found Alana’s body on the roof of the shack earlier that morning.

Now, he sits on the bench watching the children play. It had been a year now, and nothing was getting any easier. Suddenly, he could take no more, all the consolers, doctors, and aides that he had been to in the past few year had lied to him. They said the pain would ease up; they said he would move on in time and be able to go back to his normal everyday life again. They lied. Not only did they lie, but they had also told him the most horrible lie he could think of. He walked to his house thinking about the horrible lies they had told. “How could they live with themselves? How could they sleep at night,” he thought in anger.

He couldn’t take any more pain or suffering or despair.

Dumpster Racoon

Dakota Fields

A man named Juan was walking in New York City looking for clothes to buy because he had to look fresh for his date with Shaniqua. He walked into Abercrombie and Fitch and picked out a gorgeous black jacket with big black buttons. He walked out of the store and walked down a dark alley. He heard a sound come from this dumpster. It sounded like a rumbling sound as if an empty stomach was growling. Juan looked into the dumpster, and he saw a raccoon. Juan finally noticed who it was; it was his raccoon named Erma. He dropped his date and went to his house to spend time with his raccoon.

No Sunrise

Jarrett Callahan


Six am came around the corner, and the five year old boy awoke to a startling noise. BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

“AHH!” He rolled over stretching and searching for the alarm to turn it off. Once he found the alarm clock he felt for the button that shuts the alarm off he laid there for a moment, wondering as he does every morning why it was so dark. Finally, he gets up, finds some clothes, and finds the zip for his tent. He unzips the tent and climbs out, realizing that it’s not even that cold out. He takes off his jacket and puts it on the picnic table beside the tent. After doing this, he walks over to his father’s tent and feels for the zipper to his tent. Once he finds it, he unzips it yelling in, “Hey, Dad! Wake up.”

“Ok be out in a second son,” the father says to the boy. He gets dressed and climbs out of his tent. The father then makes eggs and toast for breakfast. About 6:30, they sit down at the table to eat and watch the sun rise. About an hour passes and it’s still the same. No sun, nothing, just darkness. They continue to sit there for the next few hours. Hour after hour the boy asks, “When is the sun going to come up?”

His father replies, “When it wants to son.”

Finally, around nine o’clock, they start to get ready for bed. Before they go to bed though, the boy asks, “Dad, Why didn’t the sun come up today?”

“Maybe, it didn’t want to. Maybe, it was having a bad day son,” says the father.

“Do you think it will come up tomorrow, Dad?”

“If it feels like it.” The father then kisses his son good night, zips up the tent, and goes to climb in his own tent. He lies there for a moment thinking to himself, trying to figure out how to tell his son that he was blind.

The Secret Vacation

Morgan Richardson

John and his wife, Carol, are packing. They are silent but they are both thinking the same thing. They plan to take a trip. They are not telling their kids or any of their friends about it. They want it to be a secret vacation. Nobody knows but them and no one will or can know about this “Secret Trip.”

"Don’t you think this is rather odd? Think about it, I mean, going off somewhere, just leaving, and not letting anybody know where they are going?"

John starts packing while Carol tries to find an excuse to get out of work. "Her daughter is sick? She has a life-threatening malady? A relative died?"

She ponders her potential alibis while her husband frantically runs about the room, making sure they have everything and that they do not leave behind anything which might suggest something suspicious about how long they would be gone, where they were going, or anything else that must not be revealed. Their little girl Emily enters the room and asks, “Daddy, why are you packing everything up?”

As Emily asks, her eyes fill with wonder and despair. “You aren’t leaving me, are you?”

He picks her up and sits her in his lap. “Of course not sweetie, I’m just…” He stops and thinks of what to say. He doesn’t want to lie to her, but she simply can not know about the trip. No one could. Carol interjects at this point, an attempt to make a good excuse. “He’s packing for me sweetheart; I’m going to visit grandma for a while.”

Emily looks up at her mother confused. “But Mommy, Grandma lives right down the road.”

She looks at her husband in desperation. “I know, honey. I’m staying with her for a few days, and you have to stay here.”

The little girl looked a little sad but agreed. “Okay mommy, I think I’ll just go back to bed now.” After kissing both her parents on the cheek, she leaves and returns to the room that she shares with her older brother.

After John is finished packing, his wife dials the phone to call her boss. She tells him that she is very sick and can not possibly come to work for the next week. After she hangs up, they pile their stuff into their car, trying to be very quiet, and leave. The children wake up and realize that their parents are gone, leaving the six and nine year- olds to fend for themselves.

"So where did they go? When are they coming back? Were they even coming back at all?"

Dentist gets Shanked

Juan Naguila


There was a beautiful day in a really nice city. The new movie Harry Potter II, starring Robert McNoun as Gobby, was about to come out. Everybody was waiting in line. There was a strange man in line wearing a white coat. He sort of looked like a dentist. He was wearing “mandals” and had a weird haircut. I looked at my watch and looked back up to see four porky little elves wrestle the dentist to the ground and stab him. The first elf was using a spoon; I thought to myself, “Why is the elf using a spoon to stab someone?” The other three were cross-eyed and a little like they had rabies.

After the elves were done, they looked like they were running away, but it was sort of like a little limpy run. The dentist was lying on the floor with spoon stabs and a couple of bite marks here and there. Then, some lady screamed, “Quick, what is the number for 911?”

Then, they opened the door to the movie, and I went inside because I did not want to miss the movie over some guy getting spooned to death by elves. "I mean, come on, it is Harry Potter." When I got out of the theater, the man was still lying there, but all that was on my mind was how good that movie was. The next thing I knew a policeman asked me, "What happened?" I told him about the elves; from the look he gave me, I could tell he thought I was crazy. He told me to go stand by his car. I was just chilling there for a bit until the policeman came over to me and asked, "Have you done any drugs in the past 24 hours?"

I said, “No ma’am.” THAT WAS THE TRUTH. The police officer looked at me again with a strange face. I was getting pretty tired of these faces, so I abruptly asked him, "Are you on drugs?”

Now, he was angry. He knew I was being smart with him, so he talked into his little radio. All I heard him say was, “Officer down,” and the next thing I knew, I was tackled to the floor by a policeman named Darius.

When my head hit the concrete, I blacked out. I awoke in a room with padded floors and walls. I tried to scratch my nose because it was really itchy, but I could not reach up. I was in a straight jacket in an insane asylum. When I was told I would have to stay here because of my strange stories about elves, I was upset until they told me I would get three square meals a day and some time to play outside, under supervision of course. After a year of being in an insane asylum, I finally got out and was told that someone had slipped drugs in my milk. I had been tripping the whole day. I also never even went to see Harry Potter. I was watching the popcorn maker make popcorn for two hours. After that incident, I realized that I should just move on with my life and forget this ever happened.

What the French Toast?

Juan Naguila

One day, a boy named Jim was walking to his friend’s house. His friend Ben had been acting pretty weird for the past couple of weeks. Jim was almost to his friend’s house; as he was about to lift his hand up to knock on the door, he heard a noise. Jim was worried, so he went to the back of the house and looked through the window. As he approached the window, he could barely make out what Ben was doing. Now, he was really curious; he went around to the front door, hopped up on the garbage can, and was able to get in through the bedroom window on the 2nd floor. He hurried down the stairs and walked around. When he got to the kitchen, he found Ben in a dress, dressed up as Mrs. Butterworth, the lady from the maple syrup. Suddenly, Ben turned around and smacked Jim in the face.

Jim looked at him and said, “What the French toast, you lint licker?”

Ben said, “I am sorry you had to see this.”

Jim said, “I will not tell anyone I swear.”

Ben looked at him with the strangest face and said, “I know you will not because you are not leaving.”

“What do you mean?” Jim responded.

Ben took his heels off and went over to the cabinet and grabbed a pan. Jim was worried; He had never seen Ben this way. The next thing he knew, he got hit in the face with the pan and blacked out.

Jim woke up. “I am blind,” he screamed out.

Ben said, “No you are not, you loser. I just blindfolded you and tied you up.”

“What are you going to do with me," He asked in a frightened voice.

Ben said in a squeaky little girl’s voice, “You will see.” Then, Jim heard a gun reload; immediately, he thought that he was going to die. He let out a terrible shriek which could be heard from three houses down, “PLEASE DO NOT KILL ME!”

All was silent. Then, Ben’s feminine voice broke the silence and said, “Be quiet. I am playing Call of Duty.”

Jim sighed in relief until he heard those terrible words, “I am not going to kill you, right now.” He heard Ben get up and leave the room. Jim was so afraid that he started to cry out like a sea lion wanting a fish at Sea World. He heard Ben say, “I love you...”

The Party

Brittany Padgett


Jessica, Carmon, Christie, and Rebecca all gathered ten minutes before class was about to start. Carmon was kind of nervous about what John had done this weekend so she didn’t really say too much. As usual, Jessica began the conversation,
“So what did you guys do this weekend?”

Christie exploded, “I went parasailing!!!”

Rebecca chimed in, “Just chilled around the house.”

Jessica replied, “Yeah I had to stay home and clean up the house.” Looking at
Carmon, she said, “What did you do?”

“Oh nothing,” Carmon answered.

Rebecca said, “I heard about the crazy party Brandon threw Saturday night.”

“Yeah, didn’t John go,” Jessica said mockingly.
Carmon looked like she was going to throw up; she was so embarrassed! Carmon knew that she and John were in a fight because he went and she didn’t, especially since she wanted to hang out and John didn’t. However, she wasn’t sure if they had heard what John did.

“Yeah…he did.” Carmon finally answered, “But I wasn’t there.”

“Oh, well you didn’t have to go to see what they did.” Jessica said with a smirk.

“Haha, yeah. I saw the pictures on Brandon’s Myspace last night,” Christie remarked.
Carmon was trying to figure out if she should just come out and tell what he was doing. Maybe she could turn it into a joke? If she laughed about what had happened, then it would kill Jessica to know that it didn’t bother her. Seeing as she was always trying to cause trouble between she and John just because they dated in the 6th grade, and he dumped her for Shela.

“So did I. He had like five pages of pictures uploaded on Myspace, plenty of him and John,” Rebecca laughed.

“I saw a picture of him on the Internet. Pretty scary,” Jessica shook her head in disgust.

That was it. Carmon had taken enough of her sarcasm. With a smile on her face, she pulled the picture she printed last night from her book bag. She brought it to show John, so she could talk about what he did. Instead, she decided whip out that photo and place it right in the clear sleeve of her binder to show off her baby in a tutu with hair bows in his hair and high heels on.
As she did this, she said, “Well think what you want. I think he looks pretty darn cute in a tutu!”

As she said this, Jessica’s facial expression showed that she wanted to go and hide in a corner like she had just been called a nerd or something. Everyone else just laughed and carried on as usual. Carmon realized that what he had done was not the best decision, but for what it was worth, she got to set Jessica straight and put her in her place. Jessica, Rebecca, and Christie all returned to their seats as class started.

The Ocean Which Took My Best Friend

Brittany Padgett


I wake up every morning at 6 am. I live on the beach, so I just throw on my trunks and walk out the door. Today is chilly and lonely; I look at the Robinson’s house next door to see darkness. They must not have made it back, “God, I miss Trey.” Surfing just is not going to be the same without him. I turn to face the beach, the same beach which basically swallowed my best friend whole like a shark with over a hundred teeth. I am kind of nervous, but I believe that Trey is still swimming around in those waters, waiting for me to join him and sit on our boards while we move with the motion of the ocean, to watching the sun come up every morning. I zone out, thinking of all this, trying to picture him waiting in the water yelling, “CONNER, COM’ON MAN! THESE WAVES AIN’T GONNA LAST FOREVER!”

Then, I come back to reality and see nothing but the waves crashing against the pier and rocks. I have to hurry up if I am going to be ready to surf in Sunday’s Best Surfers contest. This is what we had always dreamed, but we had been able to this year; we both turned 18. We had big dreams of becoming professional surfers and getting sponsors to carry us along this journey. Sometimes, I feel like giving up; I have no reason to surf anymore; I do not have my support, my backbone. I feel all alone in these waters now, even if I am surrounded by my buddies. There is still some kind of emptiness inside me which can’t be filled. However, I never give up, because that is what this monster called the ocean wants me to do. Giving up is not what Trey would want me to do; he would want me to continue in his name. I will never forget him, his name, what he did for me, or the tragic day when I decided to skip out on training with him to go to a party at Brian’s beach house. The worst part is that I was so knocked out the next morning that I did not hear about it until that afternoon when I finally stumbled in the front door to see my mom and dad sitting at the kitchen counter under distress. When I heard the news, I just couldn’t believe it; he was my best friend, and I was not even there to save him. To this day, I still cannot forgive myself for being so selfish to ditch him for a party. If only I could have been there to save him from the ocean or convince him not to train that day, the waters were too rough. I will never know what would have happened if I would not have ditched him for those losers who think they are so cool. I might have been taken with him, but at least we would have gone together, doing what we loved best, and maybe I would not have all this guilt which keeps me lying awake at all hours of the night.

I am Me

Lindsay Byard

For so long, I was hurt and teased.
I did all I could to make you happy,
But you still were not pleased,
And so I continue to ask, "Why me?"

I am forever changed.

You try to tell me who to be
How to dress and how to act,
But now I hope you'll finally see
That I will no longer take that.

I already am who I'm supposed to be.

You tell me I'm not good enough
And I will never fit in.
I say I am good enough,
And being different isn't a sin.

I am perfect the way I am.

You tell me I'm not pretty
Or popular, or smart,
But I'll tell this whole city
I'm beautiful at heart.

I am special.

You say I'm good at nothing,
And I can't do anything right,
I say I'm good at many things,
And I'm not here to start a fight.

I am determined.

Sure. You can try to change me.
Please, go ahead and try,
But that's not going to phase me
Because the only opinion that really matters, is mine.

I am me.

Dream Catcher

Isabelle Walker

I hear a noise,
But dont know where to start looking.
my head feels on fire
Like my brains suddenly cooking.

I spin all around,
But you still aren't there.
It's like you vaborized
Straight into thin air.

I run through every corridor
And down every hall.
I call out your name
But then start to bawl.

I look all around.
I've become very scared.
I don't know what to do.
I feel so unprepared.

I started to feel dizzy.
As the room starts to spin.
They start running faster now,
But I can't let them win.

I sit up screaming.
I don't know whats going on.
Then I feel your arms around me,
And I know my nightmares gone.

Im not scared anymore
Cause I know your right here
you sit up and stare at me
And grin from ear to ear.

You say, "Everything'll be okay."
And I know that this is true.
I'll be okay forever now,
Because I know that I'm with you.

People

Noah Johnson

Everybody is someone,
No matter how big, how small,
How tall, what gender or what color,
No matter how rich, how poor,
No matter how funny or shallow,
No matter how they are shaped or great.

We all desired to be loved.
To feel loved, to feel welcomed,
To be at ease, to be remembered,
This one feeling, shared by many,
You and I, have the power to set us free,
Everybody is somebody, everybody needs to be loved.

White Room

Hali Faith Gallagher

I hear voices in my head.
Maybe they're speaking to me from the dead.
Blood drips from the ceiling.
Can't you tell I'm psycho with no feeling

Chains bound me to this white room.
Angrily I ponder to your sadistic doom.
Am I alive or am I dead?
Insanity was what I was lead.

Romeo and Juliet

Scarlet Henson

As I ponder, I think of your scent,
Indeed, your addictive, lingering aroma.
Then, I fade when I think on what could have been.
I feel as if I have drifted into a coma.

When I breathe, I breathe your name,
Even when your breath is dead.
At a glance, I yearn for the day
When our resolution shall be read.

Oh, my sweet Juliet,
How could I have let this happen?
My demise is imminent,
My bones shall rest with yours again.

Dear beauty, dear love, dear every beat of my heart,
We shall no longer wander apart.

Love is Blind, Or Is It?

Cassie White

There was once
a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She
hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always
there for her. She told her boyfriend, “If I could only see
the world, I would marry you.”


One day,
someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages
came off, she was able to see everything, including her
boyfriend.

He asked
her, “Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?” The
girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind. The
sight of his closed eyelids shocked her... She hadn't expected
that. The thought of looking at his empty eye sockets the rest of her life
caused her to refuse to marry him.

Her boyfriend
left in tears and days later; he wrote a note to her
saying: “Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for before
they were yours, they were mine.”

Life Is a
Gift.

Gone But Not Forgotten

Christina Edwards


You might be gone but never forgotten.
You will stay in our heart.
Through each and everyday that goes by.
I just wonder why you had to go now.

I might not have liked you all this time.
You got so annoying with all your whining and always barking over nothing.
Always having to go out when I was busy doing something.

You have been around since I was a little girl and I am going to miss you like crazy.
You might not have been my best pal but when I need someone to comfort me you were always there wanting to play and be loved on.
I go home and still look for you because it still has not really hit me that you won’t be there anymore to meet me and bark when I get home.

In the end, I know that you are in a better place playing with Little Wayne.
I know your not suffering anymore,
No more pain for you!
That makes me so happy to know that you’re okay now
Feeling no pain

I will never forget how you said good-bye
Whining and whimpering
Looking up at me and then laying back down
Wish you could had bounced back like the last time but it hit me kind of hard
Ill learn soon that you are gone but ill always remember those foot steps, that little whimper, and that whining when you wanted pops to play.
I love you and your still in my heart even though you’re gone but not forgotten.

My Fistful of Tears

Darius Robinson

There was a special girl who took my heart
She wanted a new start.
I thought she was the one,
But I guess I did not have the guts.
To tell her that she was my love,
But now she took off like a dove.
I cry every night with about as much as a fistful of tears
It feels like years.
I wish for her return,
But she learned to never return.
Now she’s with another guy
I just wonder why.
She looks happy,
And I just feel crappie.
I cry sometimes trying to keep from losing my mind.
I hope she will not be blind
And look at what she had.
I am always mad and sad.
I hope to God that I will never lose her again.
So I will not be in pain,
And stop crying out a fistful of tears.

The End

Enxhi Qemalli

He said he loved her,
but she looked away.
He said he wouldn't leave,
but she turned her eyes.
Everyday she rejected, with no
reaction to his emotions.
One day he got tired, something
in him seemed to snap.
He took her, and she did not struggle.
They were at his apartment,
he said she couldn't escape him.
But with a blank expression she walked to the window.
It was the 21st floor.
She opened the window and stood on the ledge.
He screamed at her why! Why! Why do this to me?
I could make your life perfect. Easy!
Vut she smiled a wicked smile and said "If you cannot make
your own choices then its not a life worth living."
He stared blanky, as she leaped into the night,
the wicked smile still paying on her lips.

Puppet Master

Enxhi Qemalli

I saw it in his eyes,
a deceiving look,
a destructive smile.
His puppet and
the world his toy.
Toys, he played with till
they broke even her.
But she opened her painted
blue eyes, broke her
strings, and freed herself.
The strings became dark strands,
her painted dress, one of silk,
her shoes made of satin.
Then she danced, and him with her.
Him her puppet till... he...broke.