Global Warming by FR

Global warming is a problem that everyone faces. It is also something we can fix. Lots of people create this problem and lots of people try to fix it. But it's not enough.

Earth used to be a lush planet full of life that was healthy, untouched and beautiful. Humans changed that over time when they created pollution which then caused global warming. Pollution is made up of many different things and forms in different matters.

One form of pollution is dangerous gases, like Hydrogen Cyanide, that are created in factories and are bad for the environment. They change the air quality and it becomes a danger for animals AND humans to breathe. This can cause disease for living life forms.

Another form of pollution is the trash people throw on the ground, out their window, in the ocean or anywhere else in the world that is not a trash can or recycling bin. It is dangerous for animals. They can get tangled up in the trash or mistake it as food. It is also dangerous for the environment. Trash is not good for Earth in general but it also takes a long time to break down, as in decades. Did you know that the average American creates 5 pounds of trash each day and 1,642 pounds of trash each year?

Earth is heating up and bad things are happening because of it. Ice is melting and animals are losing their homes. People are getting dehydrated more quickly and the temperature is rising. These are all facts on how the world is getting more dangerous for life.

We can prevent these tragedies from striking. We can create products that require no toxic gases,

such as Hydrogen Fluoride, to be created in the air, we can throw trash into garbage cans or recyclable objects in recycling bins. We can also make less trash by using reusable objects and recalling some of our trash and we can take care of the environment. It doesn't matter who you are, you can change the world, make it a better place and create a beautiful future.

Scrubble Pup™ by ZM and IJ

Z: Scrubble pup is a miraculous shampoo for both dogs and humans!

I: A two in one shampoo for humans and dogs! No more chemicals!

Z: It will save your money instead of 2 separate products!

I: Recommended by 11/10 doctors!

Z: 100% against ticks and fleas!

I: How does that sound? Can you buy one bottle today?

ZI: *whack hair *

ZI: Yes!

ZI: Scrubble pup, Scrubble pup, Scrubble pup, SCRUBBLE PUP! (liberty mutual bell)

Why state parks should continue doing GeoCaching by AW

My family has been doing GeoCaches for a really long time, so you can guess we were upset when we heard that state parks weren’t continuing onto the next category.

My family loves to camp and has a goal to visit all the state parks in Minnesota before we all leave for school. One of our favorite activities when we visited was GeoCaching.

My impression of GeoCaching was that my dad would get coordinates on his phone for the clue or Cache. We would then search around until we found the next clue or even the Cache. Each of the Caches held a small pack of descriptive cards, which we collected. Each category lasts for 3 years, and the last one ended Oct 2021. My dad had planned to get all the cards he could and give them to us in a folder when we were going away to school. When he told me that, I was incredibly sad that I wouldn’t be able to get a full folder of cards.

To sum it all up, my family would be incredibly happy if state parks could continue to do GeoCaching.

FLASH FICTION CONTEST #2

Tick, tock.

The clock sounds out the new hour, but it falls on deaf ears. Time marches on despite this.

Tick, tock.

The person stays in their bed, unfeeling. Unmoving besides faint breathing. Their eyes, half lidded. They stay there.

Tick, tock.

Their bed is unmade. Their hair is slick to the touch, oily. They reek of days without a shower. And yet, they still sit there, never leaving. Trying not to feel as they stare at the wall.

Ding dong!

A new sound. They do not move. They barely react. They finally pull a blanket over their head, in hopes to muffle the sounds of the outside world. They close their eyes.

Ring ring.

They open their eyes after however long. It’s their mom. They never answer. She’s probably concerned for them. Even though they feel like a waste of space. They stare off into space, ignoring their growling stomach.

Knock, knock.

Why check up on them? They’re not dead. Just depressed.

Tick, tock.

Time marches on. They don’t.

Sparkle Land Shrieks By N and Z

My story starts with me walking my little sister Sarah home from school. I’m Lea, and nothing has ever happened to me in my whole life. No vacations, no birthday parties, and absolutely no shopping malls.

As I arrived at home, Sarah immediately screamed, “I WANT ICE CREAM!” 

That got me off the thought of eating, so I said over my little sister’s screams, “Mom, can I go to Elline’s house?” and of course she said yes. Elline is my BFF and we almost spent the whole summer together. As I knocked on her door, I heard the adorable barks of her toy poodle. “Lea, what are you doing here?”

“Uh, isn’t it obvious?” We both burst out laughing. 

“Do you wanna go on a walk?” I asked. “Sure.”

As we walked and walked, I felt like we were on the wrong path. It started to get really foggy. I glanced over at Elline. “Are you sure about this?” Elline asked.

No, I don't think I was really sure, but we kept on going. Soon, we found ourselves in a pathway of curved trees and I couldn’t help thinking to myself, “Is it just me, or does the fog look a little yellow?” As we walked farther, there was a dead end. But there was a stream with a trail of lily pads. "How are we gonna get across?” I asked. 

Elline tapped on one of the lily pads with her foot. “I think they can handle us.” Elline replied. Then, she said, “Are those Amazon water lilies?” 

“No,” I said. “Too small. But they should be strong enough to support us.”

So we walked on the lilies and fell on a HUGE flower. Suddenly, the flower flung us up! “AAAAHHHHHH!” we shouted. I thought I was gonna get crushed when the big flower FINALLY stopped! 

“Whew,” gasped Elline. “I almost got kil- GASP! Woah! Where IS this place!?” Then a flying thing suddenly appeared in front of our faces. 

“Who are you?” the thing asked. 

“Hey-you're a fairy!” I said in shock. 

“I SAID, who are you!?” the fairy asked again. 

“Uhhh… I’m Lea and this is my friend Elline. “Who are YOU?” 

”Where are your wings?” the fairy asked. '

Wings? I chuckled. “We don't have wings! We’re humans!”

The fairy looked really excited and surprised. “OMG, OMG! I've ALWAYS wanted to see humans! I’m Kiwie, by the way. How can I help you?” 

I knew the fairy was hiding something by the look in her eye. “Well, Kiwie… how did we get here? And why was the fog yellow?” 

“Oh, you must’ve found the secret passageway. The fog was yellow because it was fairy dust. And…” 

“And?” I asked.

“There's been cages appearing around Sparkle land.”

“Sparkle land?” Elline asked.

“Yes. Sparkle land. A land blossoming with fairies and pixies of all shapes and sizes. Each one has a special ability. Mine is shapeshifting, and my whole family are shapeshifters too.”

“Unfortunately, they have all been captured by these strange cages that have almost caught everyone in my neighborhood!”

Me and Elline gasped. "Whoa! That's horrible!”

Suddenly, a cage fell between us and Kiwie. “RUN!” shouted Kiwie. We took off as fast as we could, a stream of cages following us. We crashed into another fairy. “Alisha!” said Kiwie. 

“I thought you were… well… yeah. But I’m so happy to see you!” 

‘“Hey girl,” Alisha said. "And whoever these two are. Where’s the wings?” 

This time, it was Kiwie’s turn to laugh. “Oh, Alisha… these are humans!” 

“Oh, well.” said Alisha. “I like them better as fairies.” In a poof of fairy dust, we suddenly started to shrink as wings sprouted from our backs.

“We're turning into fairies!” Elline shouted. “Yeah, and you look fabulous!!” squealed Kiwie.

We were so surprised that we didn’t even notice the sound of clanging cages around us. “Oh yeah…” said Kiwie. “I forgot to tell you. When a cage falls onto a fairy or pixie, it waits for a precise time of 10 minutes before closing and lifting up.”

 “The cages are being controlled by Rust, one of the most feared and unknown robots,” Alisha said. 

“Wow, how do you know?” asked Kiwie. 

Alisha quickly changed the subject. Something very suspicious was going on. “Rust uses the gem code to control the frequency and targets of the cages. One code self-destructs everything, including the cages and rust.” 

Alisha said. “How do you know all of this?” I asked. Alisha again changed the subject. It was pretty obvious that Alisha was hiding something.

“Where is Rust right now?” Elline asked. 

“Nobody knows…” Alisha mumbled. 

“Well, it’s pretty obvious that it’ll be high up. So let’s go!” Said Kiwie.

"Wait!” I said. “You haven’t even introduced us to your land yet!” 

“Oh, yes!” Kiwie said. 

“Lemme give you a brief tour of Sparkle Land!” We flew to a joyful looking amusement park filled with little fairies and pixies. We explored the floating gardens of Sparkle Land. We swam in the pools of melted crystal. Under all the commotion, we hadn't noticed that Alisha was missing. We were about to launch a search party when a distant voice came. 

“Gals, wait for me!” It was Alisha! 

“Alisha! We thought the… well… thing happened to you,” Kiwie gasped.

 “It’s ok, girls.” she said. “I just stopped to pick flowers.” 

Pick FLOWERS? Me and Elline exchanged looks. That isn’t something Alisha would do. She’s more of a sassy type.

“Alright, back to the plan!” Kiwie said. I could see the tiny disappointed look in Alisha’s eye, though she still followed us as we flew into the clouds. 

“How can you be sure that going UP is the right path?” Elline questions. “After all, fairies can fly, and if Rust wants to keep a secret, then why UP where fairies fly?”

 “Most fairies are afraid of the high altitude,” Kiwie said. That's when a cage fell right on top of Kiwie. “HELLLLPPPP!” she yelped. 

“We’ll get you out! Don't worry!” Me and Elline chased after the falling cage until we finally got under the cage. 

“Pushhhhh!” Alisha watched us from afar. And very surprisingly, just moved on. “Alisha! Wait!” We chased her into a big thundercloud with cages falling from it nonstop. There, standing among us, was a big fortress made of pitch-black clouds. We saw Alisha fly inside and shockingly, was struck by an enormous bolt of lightning and transformed into a black fairy. “I knew she was up to something!” I said.


“Alisha!” Kiwie shouted. We followed Alisha into a dark chamber filled with cages, fairies, and pixies. 

Alisha turned to see us and said, “What are YOU doing here?” 

In a very cruel voice. “What are YOU doing!?” Kiwie shouts.

 “You were my best friend!” Alisha looked at the rumbling door and back at Kiwie. 

“Well, not anymore! You showed me all the secrets, did all the work, and now you lose it!” 

“C’mon guys! I’ll shapeshift-oh, wait I can’t!” Kiwie said. 

“Ha! Well that’s just your problem! When you took your little buddies on a tour, I stuck around and took away your power!”

“What did you do to my family!?” Kiwie demanded. 

“Only my master knows that.” Alisha said as a wispy black cloud shot out from the door and swallowed up Kiwie into the darkness.

A cold, thundering voice rumbled from the shadow. “LEAAAAAAAAAAA!!!” “ELLINEEE!” 

“What do you want from us!?” Elline shouted. 

“I WANT NOTHING FROM YOU EXCEPT YOUR POWERSSSSSS!” The shadow said. 

Suddenly, a giant robot stepped out of the shadow. “Rust…” I whisper.

 “I AM HERE FOR EVERY SINGLE TALLLLENT OFF THE FAIRIES AND PIIXIESSS” howled Rust. 

“What do you need it for!?” I shout over Rust and the storm. Elline tapped my shoulder and pointed at a control panel and a pattern of gems. “The gem code!” she whispers. We hurry over to the gems. “C’mon C’mon… What's the code!?” I mumble to myself. But then Alisha threw herself in front of the control panel with a tear in her eye. 

“Sorry, Lea. It’s my job to serve Rust.” I push her off and see a slip of paper fall from her pocket. I quickly picked it up and read it. “Red, yellow, blue, purple!” I punched in the colors of the gems and a blinding light blasted in my direction. 

“NOOOOOOOOO!” screamed Rust. Then, a portal the color of gold opened up and sucked up the storm, Rust, the castle…and Alisha!

Kiwie came tumbling out of the portal. And at the exact same time, Alisha was being sucked in. Kiwie grabbed her hand, saving her. “Why are you helping me? I betrayed you!” 

There were tears streaming down Alisha’s face. “Because you're my friend, Alisha. You're my friend.”

 “But I don't deserve this! Let go!” Alisha was totally crying now.

“No! I can’t let go! Think of all the things we did together! The ice cream milkshakes! The little balls of fur! The flowers!” 

“Please, I just wanna get back to the old days! JUST BE MY FRIEND.” Alisha’s eyes filled with shock as the darkness sucked away from her into her normal self. Her mouth slowly spread into a small smile as the portal closed. 

“I'm so sorry, Kiwie…” Alisha whispers. 

“All is forgiven, Alisha.” Kiwie said. The thunder fortress faded away as the scenery changed to pink, fluffy clouds. Kiwie and Alisha turned to us.

 “Thanks for helping us!” chimed Kiwie. “We couldn't have done it without you guys!” 

When we got back down, we were greeted by loud cheers and shouts. “Thank you so much! We’ll do anything for you!” “You’re welcome,” I said. “We would like to go back home.” “As you wish.” Kiwie said as Sparkle Land faded away from our sight.

We were back. The exact same place where we went to Sparkle Land except with no yellow pixie dust fog. When I got home, Sarah greeted me with booming laughs which reminded me of Kiwie. “Sparkle Land.” I thought. I sure will miss that place.

Guy flies high and eats his green beans!! by MC

Guy: “Hi! I am Guy Stewart and I teach a “Writing to Get Published” class for West Suburban Summer School! My 15 students this year are the best students I have ever had.”

Narrator: “Guy Stewart is flying on a plane to meet his granddaughter.”

Guy: “I better get on the plane if I don’t want to be late!”

Narrator: “When Guy arrived at his granddaughter’s house, he knocked on the door. The door opened and standing there was his granddaughter!”

Granddaughter: “HI GRANDPA!!!!!! OH MY GOSH! COME ON IN!!!!!!”

Guy: “Coming! I got published to analog. Let me show you.”

Granddaughter: “COME AND EAT GREEN BEANS! WE HAVE JUICE BOXES TO REFRESH YOUR THROAT AS WELL!”

Guy: “Okay… hmm…My throat has been feeling worse for wear.”

Granddaughter: “YUMMY, AM I RIGHT? EAT YOUR FOOD!!!!!!!!”

Narrator: “Guy ate his food and then came a knock at the door.”

Granddaughter: “YOU BETTER GO GET THAT!”

Narrator: “They're at the door were the judges for the Olympics!”

Judges: Hello, thank you for eating your green beans and drinking your juice boxes. You have won gold, silver, and bronze medals in the Olympics!!!!!!!!!!”

Granddaughter: “THAT'S GREAT! OH MY GOSH! YEAH! GREAT JOB! YOU ATE YOUR FOOD AND YOU GOT DIFFERENT COLORED COOKIES! YEAH! WHOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOO! OH YEAH! THIS IS GREAT! LET ME HAVE SOME OF THE COOKIES, OR ELSE. YEAH! ALL RIGHT!”

Guy: “Ummm, thanks? I will have to write about this sometime.”

Narrator: “It was a great day for Guy Stewart.”

FLASH FICTION CONTEST #1

I looked on in horror at the blaze as everyone I knew was in that town.. I fell on my knees in shock and started weeping. I wanted to die, but I carried on to see the buildings as they burn to ash calling names hoping, hoping that and answer would come back but to no avail. This whole time it feels like a cold heavy burden on my back ever since I saw the flames and heard the screams, the absolute horror I felt. Yet I can’t shake the feeling that someone is watching me like a hawk zoned in on its prey, but I keep walking, smelling the stink of burning flesh and listening for any other noise than the crack of fire, but none come. 

As I walk it reminisces about life before, but I am jolted out of it as houses start falling, bang! Bang! Debris starts flying everywhere as I look for a place to take cover, there is a burnt brick wall I can use to take cover from the debris I run as fast as I can to get there but when I get to the wall there is a burnt corpse of a man behind it the sight of it shivers up my spine I fall back with terror and for a second forget about everything the debris going at my head at 15 miles per hour. I get my wits about me again and make a mad dash to the brick wall but I get hit in the head with a brick and blackout. When I woke up I started screaming no! No! No! Why! I start sobbing as I lay down. Why did I start it! Why! Why!

The Beheaded by AW

The King of England never thought his daughter would get beheaded on the day of his birthday, and yet here he was.

Standing in front of her prone body were the King, Queen and the prince. They were incredibly sad, and to make matters worse it was raining, and not just a drizzle but a downpour. It was like the entire world was mourning her death. The King was supposed to have a huge celebration and he had planned to give his daughter the gift she had always wanted. He had been approaching her room when he heard a horrific scream coming from her room. He rushed inside to see her lifeless body laying on the ground. He turned pale when he saw why. Her head had been sliced clean off. The King looked up just in time to see a shadowy figure exit through the window, in his haste to escape he had left a brown bag now stained red, from what, the King didn’t know. He looked back down at his daughter and realization finally came to him. She was gone. Her skin was already turning gray and she was cold to the touch. The King knelt over his lost daughter and wept. Servants rushed in and not far behind was the kingdom's doctor. The King couldn’t look up, and he was too saddened to listen to the doctor's words “she will forever be remembered.” Two maids came in carrying a stretcher and two more with mops and water came after. They laid her body on the stretcher and lay a sheet over the corpse. The blood from her neck quickly seeped through. They rushed her out of the room and a week later her funeral began.


One year later on the day the princess died, the Kingdom no longer rejoiced in the King's birthday but mourned the beautiful princess. The Queen was up in her room adding the finishing touches to the prince's jacket for the ball the next day. If they couldn’t celebrate one day they would celebrate the next. The Queen hurried over to the Prince’s room and knocked. “Come in!” A handsome voice called. The Queen strolled in and told him to try on the jacket. He went into the bathroom to try it on. A few moments later there was a piercing wail coming from the bathroom and when the Queen rushed in to see what had happened, but when she stepped in she saw a shadowy figure rush out the window just like the Princesses murderer. The Queen went weak at the knees when she looked down and saw her beloved Prince lying dead on the floor. She let out a terrible scream, so loud the entire kingdom could hear the horrific noise. Once again servants rushed in and a few fainted at the sight of yet another royal brought to his knees by beheadness. His jacket was already stained with blood from the gaping hole where his head once was. Once more the doctor ran in and again said the words, “he will forever be remembered.” Two maids brought the stretcher and a sheet and laid it down over his lifeless body. As soon as the King found out he sobbed for his lost children and proclaimed that anyone who found the man that had murdered his children, would receive a great amount of money.

After the death of the royal children the town was no longer happy on the days of the King's birthday instead they grieved for the death of the Children and everything stayed dark for a week before and a week after.

The Man on the Moon by AK

The darkness falls upon the land
Calling the moon up from its plans
Coming up, a villains face
The man on the moon
Has every right to feel gloom
As people look upon his dented face
But as days pass and pass
Someone will blast from their spacecraft to meet the man
He tries to tell them to stay
But they don’t care anyway
They want to go to cousin Mars
Farther into the stars
To explore new reaches of space
And that leaves the moon’s face
Still in that gloomy place

Not a Personal Essay by AL

This is not a personal essay. This is moreso a biased, personalized argumentative essay. Yes, there is a difference, everyone. I was arguing with the teacher a bit ago, saying that, from what I was taught, this is an argumentative essay. It lines up with the definition of an argumentative essay, personal essays are different and more autobiographical, and they have different ways of getting people to care.

Gale (2020) states that “Argumentative writing is a form of essay writing in which the author takes a position on an issue and attempts to persuade the reader to adopt the position. When composing an argumentative essay, writers typically seek to build an effective case for their opinion by outlining their reasoning and providing research-based evidence to prove their point.”. This matches Guy’s definition of a personal essay, where he states something similar to “Get facts in there. Convince people why they should feel the same things you feel.”. Gale (2020) also states that an argumentative essay has 4 distinct parts; An introductory paragraph, stating background information, a thesis statement going over what will be talked about, several body paragraphs where you argue your point using facts and sources, and a conclusion to wrap everything up. This essay has all of those things, and adding these was encouraged.

According to Brigham Young University (2016) “A personal essay is usually based on personal experience through which you have grown or changed. Unlike formal writing, a personal essay does not have to prove anything.”. This directly contradicts Guy’s argument of “What should that mean to me? You have to show why I need to care about this.”. If this was a personal essay, I would not have to prove anything. Brewer (2021) states “At its heart, the personal essay is a piece of nonfiction writing that shares an interesting, thought-provoking, entertaining, and/or humorous story for readers that is drawn from the writer's personal experiences (even if it's second-hand information).”. This adds to the definition that a personal essay is a story, not talking about something that is meaningful to you.

A personal essay gets people to care through the same way a story does. An enticing hook, interesting characters, a meaningful plot, etc. The only thing similar an argumentative essay has is the hook, because this is stating facts and persuading the reader. The only thing keeping it going is the author's charisma through writing, because there is rarely anything to be invested in besides opinions.


As you can see, this is not a personal essay. It is a slightly biased argumentative essay. Please refer to it as such. Thank you for your time, and I mean no harm to Guy. [No harm given!]

Sources:
https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-nonfiction/what-is-a-personal-essay-in-writing
https://courses.byui.edu/AcademicSupport/writing-center/pdf/new/elements-of-a-personal-essay.pdf

Argumentative Writing. (2020). In Gale In Context Online Collection. Gale. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/VTURLD713553317/SUIC?u=mnsminitex&sid=bookmark-SUIC&xid=b192763b

Great Products Today! by FR, MC, bs

Narrator: “Get it now! Prints of the very last painting by Van Gogh for the cheap price of $5,000! Polar Bear in a Blizzard!” This is the famous art critic for the New York Times.

Art Critic: “The subtle difference between the polar bear and its environment in this painting builds an exquisite blend. You can see flowing brush marks by master Van Gogh. The geometric and swirling shapes in the painting are unmatched and have never been done before. This has to be his greatest work!”

(They leave and go on to the next product)

Narrator: “Our next line of products, the famous clear marker used by George Washington. It is our cheapest product at $3,000. A product worth bargaining for. Here is one of the customers who used the clear marker.”

Customer: “The logo for this store makes sense!! I love the products. They are sure worth the money!! This is a marvelous marker, and this is marvelous art, I mean, only foolish people cannot see this beautiful art! I am shopping here every day. Definitely recommend this.”

Narrator: “Our last product we would like to show you from the wondrous GREAT PRODUCTS TODAY is, The Book With No Story. You really wi—“

Customer: “OH MY GOSH! THAT’S MY FAVORITE BOOK!!! THE BOOKS HERE ARE ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!! Just a reminder: BUY HERE OR YOU WILL BE SAD YOU MISSED OUT. And I believe I read in The Book With No Story that, YOU WILL BE DOOMED FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!!!!! (Just kidding, relax.) Buy it here today!! You better!” Art Critic: “The blending on Polar Bear’s fur is just ethereal and don’t get me started on the snow. (Softer, the longer the Narrator and Customer are away from the set) The amount of time he must have spent on each snowflake is just…(Art Reviewer continues to talk as the Narrator and Customer walk away and the commercial ends.)

A Willow Bow, a Magical Thing by AL

He stood in the corner, whittling a willow branch.

“What are you here for? Most people don’t come here just to visit.” His voice was gruff, grating.

“I’m here to… I’m here to find my sister.” Glyph said. It should be a believable lie, shouldn’t it? “She came here to, uh, to do something, and then she got kidnapped!”

He grunts. She can feel the eyeroll from here. “That’s not a very good lie, now is it. Tell me lass, why are you really here?”

“I…”

The smells of slop -calling it food is a crime- wafted through the tavern air. The clang of the dinner bell rang out.

“Welp, that’s supper lassie. You best find what you’re looking for, sooner rather than later.”

She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Saved by the bell. In truth, one doesn’t simply “pass through” Morigan. It’s a dangerous, scummy city, where criminals go to run from the law. A sane man would simply go around it, but Glyph is neither entirely sane, nor a man.

You see, the mafia, the underground, practically owns this town. And so, all sorts of criminals lurk in the shadows, waiting to get something from you. To jump you, rob you, possibly kill you. If she didn’t need to get something, she would have never come here, too. But she has something to pick up.

Glyph is, in fact, here to pick up a bow. A really nice one, actually, made of willow branches- really hard to come by for less than 1000 gold. And so, she’s getting it off the black market. A decision even Hana bullied her for, even though they’re the one who pushes destruction.

She’s supposed to meet the… dealer? Marksman? At sunset on the hill. The letters never said what hill, just “The hill”. She packs up her backpack and bow staff, and steps out into the smoky air.

Best find that hill, then.

It turns out that “The hill” is an accurate descriptor for said hill. As in, it’s the only hill around. The entirety of this forsaken city is flattened, having no geographical features besides, of course, the hill. It’s on the outskirts of the city, and tall enough to be a good lookout for trouble. Probably the center for deals and such because of that.

And it’s covered in wild grass, quite steep, and filled with insects.

Needless to say, by the end of it Glyph’s legs were ready to give out. Sprawling across the trampled grass, she looked into the open air. It's hard to see through the smog, but by the sun’s position she has about 20 minutes before the bowman gets here. Maybe she could take a nap?

“Wake up, dimwit.” a familiar voice states.

She coughs, then shoots up to meet the other’s eyes. “Hana! What do you need?”

The inky ghost floats there, unimpressed. “I swear, how can you be so chipper?” They mumble.

“What was that?”

A sigh. “Nothing. Just wanted to see how you’re doing, I guess. Maybe have a talk about this?”

“Trying to talk me out of this? Hana, you know I need this bow! For hunting purposes!”

“And I need you alive! We’re in a soul bind. If you die, I die. Plus, we don’t have any arrows. We can’t even shoot things.”

She taps her chin, staring off into the distance for a moment. “Magic.”

“What?”

“We can use magic. Think about it. You can lend me some of your magic, and Pew Pew! We have infinite magic arrows.” Glyph explains animatedly.

A pause.

Hana rolled their eyes. “Ugh. You are the dumbest elf I’ve ever met.”

“That’s your fault. If you hadn’t-”

“Attacked the village, blah blah blah, you could read and have parents, blah blah blah, I’d not be cursed to not have a body. We don’t need the whole tragic backstory every time to guilt trip me. Jeez.” Hana’s eyes narrow on her.

Glyph picked at the grass, finding it more interesting than whatever this conversation had turned into. The blades tickled at her sandal-clad feet, and the purple of the setting sun lulled her into a sense of calm. The smoky air was the only thing ruining this scene.

A sigh sounded out from beside her. “Fine. If this goes south, I’m possessing you and dealing with it. Peace.” She felt the ghostly presence disappear.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps filled the air. “Ey!” a gruff voice shouted. “I got your bow made for you!”

At the sound, Glyph climbs to her feet and looks towards it. She sees the man she met at the tavern, and another person (presumably a bodyguard) climbing up the hill. The man is carrying the bow she ordered.

They finally meet her at the crest of the hill.

“Oh, lassie! So you’re the one who ordered the bow. I’m guessing that’s what you're in the city for. Nice to see ya.” He held out his hand.

She took it. “Nice to see you too.”

The man looked around, seemingly wary of his surroundings. “Now we’re gonna have to make this quick. Don’t want to get jumped, now do we?”

“Why would we get jumped?”

“Y’know how these usually sell for 1000 gold a piece? People steal ‘em and resell them. Artificially high market prices. Why I only sell them for 500 and a favor is because I make them myself.”

“Oh. Makes sense, actually. So, 500 gold now, and what’s the favor? You never specified.” Glyph asks.

“500 gold. And the favor? I need you to grab me some willow branches. I can’t leave this town.”

“Can’t others do it?”

“Can’t leave this town either. If we leave, we die. The underground has ways of keeping people here. As in? Murder.” The man shivers.

A pause.

“Getting willow sticks? That’s pretty simple. I’ll do that.” She states.

“Thank you, lass.”

The leather bag’s contents clink with coins as she places it into his hand. In turn, he hands her the bow. It’s smooth, clearly well made, with a cloth grip fit to her hand. It’s wonderful.

There’s a flash of white in the corner of her eye. The world starts to blur. “Mind if I test it out?” Slips out of her mouth without her permission.

“Of course, lass.”

Her body takes the bowstring and pulls it back. A violet, glowing arrow appears, and is aimed at a smoky brown… thing. A flash of white. Fwip! The bow’s aim was true, and now there’s a mix of glowing purple, white, and smoky brown in the distance. Her body flicks her wrist, and the arrow is gone.

The world goes black for a moment.

And then the world returns to her. Seriously, Hana needs to warn her the next time they decide to possess her.

“Nice shot, lass. Pinning a rabbit by the ear? That’s some real skill.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem, lassie. Now, you best get out of here. Morigan isn’t a place you want to be with that bow. And you need to get those sticks!” He states as he leaves.

Glyph stares out into the smog. This feels like it’s going to be a lot more complicated than it seems.

On The Spot by AL

Narrator: {slides in} Hate using writing prompts but need inspiration? Are the things you made up on the spot in acting class way better than whatever you’re writing? May I present…{crouches, then jumps up} actively making up whatever on the spot! Take that stream of thoughts, slightly refine them, and let it spill out! It works for argumentative essays!

Person: {reading paper}This is not a personal essay. This is more so a biased, personalized argumentative essay. Yes, there is a difference, everyone.

Narrator: Script writing! {pulls out phone, plays recording of self. It states the beginning lines} And anything in between!

Person: {In a southern accent} What did you say about my mother? Now listen here, partner, listen here.

Narrator: Get yours today! {Fast} Can cause bad writing, disappointment, and winging it. Must be out of ideas to use. We are not responsible for your actions.

The Pizza Ride by AW

Pizza Man: Give me a pizza I’ll deliver it!
Owner: What's your name?
Pizza Man: Cheese!
Owner: All right, cheese you're hired!
Cheese: Yes!!!!!
Owner: Deliver this Pizza to 18937 Pepperoni Dr.
Cheese: Alright!
Cheese: This will be a breeze! I’m the best Pizza delivery man I know!

Time passes

Owner calls Cheese

Owner: You have a time limit of 20min.
Cheese: Okay!

More time passes

Cheese: This traffic won’t move! I’ll have to take a short cut through the woods!

At the customer's house

Customer: What is taking him so long!!!!!!
Cheese: I didn’t know there would be bees!

Customer: Ugh!!!!!! So long!!!!!!
Cheese: Or a bear!!!!!!!!!!
Customer: It’s literally been an hour!!!!!!
Cheese: There’s the house!!!!!! Finally!!!!!!
Customer: Um Police there is a maniac driving up to my house on a motorcycle…
Cheese: Ding Dong!!!!! Open up your Pizzas here!!!!!
Customer: Never mind, it's just my Pizza, but the guy looks like he needs some serious medical help…
Police: we’ll send an ambulance right away!

Weeeeeeeeooooooooooweeeeeeeeeooooooooweeeeeeeeeeooooooooooooooeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoe

Cheese: What’s that!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Doctor arrives

Customer comes out

Customer: That is the guy who needs help, and thanks for the pizza!!!!!

Cheese:yoooooouuuuuuurrrrr welcome!!!!!!!!!

Doctor: I see what you mean, load him in!

Cheese: I'm fine!!!!!!!!

Doctor: No you're not.

Cheese: Aaaaaaaaaaaall right then let’s go for a ride!!!!!!

Owner hears the news

Owner calls Cheese

Owner: You're fired!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Global Warming by FR

Global warming is a problem that everyone faces. It is also something we can fix. 

Lots of people created this problem and lots of people try to fix it. But it's not enough. Earth used to be a lush planet full of life that was healthy, untouched and beautiful. Humans changed that over time when they created pollution which then caused global warming. Pollution is made up of many different things and forms in different matters. One form of pollution is dangerous gases, like Hydrogen Cyanide, that are created in factories and are bad for the environment. They change the air quality and it becomes a danger for animals AND humans to breathe. This can cause disease for living life forms.

Another form of pollution is the trash people throw on the ground, out their window, in the ocean or anywhere else in the world that is not a trash can or recycling bin. It is dangerous for animals. They can get tangled up in the trash or mistake it as food. It is also dangerous for the environment. Trash is not good for Earth in general but it also takes a long time to break down, as in decades. Did you know that the average American creates 5 pounds of trash each day and 1,642 pounds of trash each year?

Earth is heating up and bad things are happening because of it. Ice is melting and animals are losing their homes. People are getting dehydrated more quickly and the temperature is rising. These are all facts on how the world is getting more dangerous for life. We can prevent these tragedies from striking. We can create products that require no toxic gases, such as Hydrogen Fluoride, to be created in the air, we can throw trash into garbage cans or recyclable objects in recycling bins. We can also make less trash by using reusable objects and recalling some of our trash and we can take care of the environment.

It doesn't matter who you are, you can change the world, make it a better place and create a beautiful future!

FLASH FICTION CONTEST!!!

FLASH FICTION CONTEST!!!

Send your piece of flash fiction to Guy!

It's DUE BY TOMORROW LUNCH!!!

I'll post them by a NUMBER (1,2,3,4,5...)

You will be able to VOTE ON THEM...(not critique them!) 

The story with the most votes wins!

Jaws of Statues Speak by bs

Jaws of statues speak words of deterrence to those who veer.
Those cold hard lips tell a story,
and gory legs chronicle long forgotten glory.
Broken arms and cracked lips don’t diminish your beauty.
Sculpted to be immortal.
Never forgotten, enshrined in white marble.
Smooth and polished you are, but what rough edges are you hiding?
Faults and wrongs made generous by life’s storytellers.
But, jaws of statues speak words of deterrence to those who veer.

Why We Should Figure Something Out For Money!! by MC

Do you know why the world is falling apart? A big part of the reason for global warming is that we are using way too many non-renewable energy sources.

But then, prices are going way up. So we need more non-renewable energy sources. Because all people on earth have been using non-renewable energy sources for a VERY LONG TIME, so we have all the equipment for non-renewable energy sources. And all the equipment for that takes a lot of money.

But we need to have all these renewable energy sources to KEEP THE WORLD OK by 2050:

27,000 more gigawatts. But that’s about 33 TRILLION bucks. That is SO MUCH MONEY to keep the world OK.

But thanks to the Ukraine and Russia wars, prices are going to be taken way up. So to keep THE PEOPLE ok, we need more non-renewable.

So, this all has to get down to one thing: stop the Russian attack. Because THAT is the REASON prices are going WAY UP.

So we need PEACE to HELP THE PEOPLE stay alive. But we need RENEWABLE energy sources to keep the WORLD alive. But the question is: How??

Three SOLUTIONS. . . .

You may not be able to do much YET. But you can do some simple things in your life: You can plant a few trees. You can help clean up your community. You can use LESS PLASTIC. You can reduce, reuse and recycle. You can reserve water. And you could also even use long-lasting light bulbs. And anything else you think can help.

You make personal essays about stopping the Russia/Ukraine conflict. Maybe interview a person who also wants to stop the conflict. If you possibly can, make a movie about the sadness this is causing. And if you can interview someone from Ukraine, that would sure help.

Figure out some balance between non-renewable and renewable energy sources. Figure out which renewable source we have the most of, and try to send letters or essays, maybe even emails to get the people who build renewable energy sources to build more of that one.

Dragons World #1, The Never-Ending Sands, (Prologue) by MC

Sahara ran away from Quicksand. The worst dragon ever.

Why so bad? Because she could RUIN SAHARA’S LIFE!!

Because her mom AND DAD were part of the queens’ authority. Quicksand was bound to be a Sand Turner.

Sand Turners were dragons loyal to Queen Sand, they were not servants, (though Sahara wanted them to be.) They were dragons who went around and arrested the thieves, though thieves were not how Sahara would put it. She liked to call them, (or herself) Scavengers instead.

But today, Sahara was only two.

“Heyyy, Quicksand!” She said cheerfully, the diamonds in her scales glittering in the sunlight. “Wanna play?”

“Yes!” Quicksand said excitedly. “What should we play, even?”

Sahara thought for a moment. Maybe we should play . . . What should we play? OH YEAH!! Tag! Sahara did a joyful flip in the air. Then carefully landed on the soft sand.

“One more word to say.” Sahara said, accidentally saying “sway” instead of “say,” partly because she was only two. “TAG!! Your it!!” She jabbed her talon into Quicksand and took to the sky, only able to fly a few feet off the ground, though.

Quicksand yelped in delight and flew after her, frantically pumping her wings so hard her head lolled down and her neck folded almost in half, then she tumbled onto the sand, doing a painful flip when she fell, only to land on her head.

Sahara quickly stopped and looked at Quicksand, sprawled on the ground. But then, a split second later, she jumped up, shook herself, and called: “I OK, I double jointed in my neck! Only gonna give you a fifteen-thousand head start! ONE, TWO, FOUR, EIGHTEEN, FIFTY-FOUR, NINETY-SIX, TWO-THOUSAND-TWO!!”

As Quicksand counted, Sahara flailed away and ran as fast as she could through the sand, she tripped on a cactus and tumbled out onto the sand. Sahara felt a weird sharp pain vibrate up her wing. She turned her head and saw a bunch of cactus thorns wedged into her wing skeleton. She whimpered and looked away. She started calling for Quicksand as she heard her faint voice calling: “FOURTEEN-THOUSAND-TWO-HUNDRED-TWENTY-TWO, FIFTEEN THOUSAND!!!”

Quicksand hadn’t heard Sahara’s call, because she flew the opposite way Sahara had gone.

Then Sahara caught movement in the corner of her eye. She slowly turned toward it. It was the Sand-Burrower Snake, the deadliest snake in the dragon world, slithering toward her as she screamed and tried to get up and move, only not being able to. The snake was highly poisonous.

Quicksand was now running toward her. “Sahara, ACK, SAHARA!!” Quicksand suddenly shrieked in fear. “YOUR HURT, AND THERE’S A SAND-BURROWER SNAKE ON YOU!!” The last thing Sahara saw was the snake poising itself to lunge, and then it sunk its fangs into Sahara’s ear. Then all the pain faded, and all went black.

Novels Aren’t JUST For Entertainment by EZ

For the longest time novels have been used as a form of entertainment; however, they can also be used for moral standards and for motivation, or to bring awareness to an extremely heavy topic.

For example, the book To Kill a Mockingbird was written not for entertainment, but to bring sense and disgust to racism against African Americans, or for non-white people in general. There’s a reason high-schoolers groan and complain when they get assigned this classic novel.
The genre of this book (literary fiction) is usually used to bring awareness to a certain heavy subject. Literary fiction is a huge genre in today’s book market, with some top hits such as Where the Crawdads Sing, The Maid, The Great Gatsby, and A Tale of Two Cities. 
Most, if not all of the classic literature taught in classrooms today is literary fiction. That being said, all of those novels were written to bring awareness to a heavy subject.
This type of style isn’t exclusive to literature, either. You can find them in movies (though most of the movies with this style are adaptations of previous novels). However, my favorite film of all time that is literary fiction/psychological drama is A Silent Voice, which tackles the severe issue of bullying, depression, social anxiety, and suicide.
Anyway, as I was saying, novels aren’t just written for entertainment. Lots of the novels coming from relevant authors are actually not written only for entertainment. You can find this application on the Dog Man graphic novels, which were originally published for humor and entertainment, but not the author incorporated good morals into the stories. If you really look, this style is incorporated into lots, if not all of the novels being written today and one-hundred years ago. A lady once said that when we open up a novel and read the words on the thin piece of paper, our brains react like we’re in the book. This allows us to see through the perspective of someone who went through something heavy, and it allows us to realize how terrifying the world is. That’s why serious fiction is so important. That is why old and irrelevant novels like To Kill a Mockingbird are so important. So the next time you find yourself shaking your head at a ridiculous graphic novel, think about this.

1924 by EZ

HORROR FICTION -- Please do not read if you don't like to be creeped out

August 2, 1924

        There was a scream. Then a moan. And then blood seeped through the door.

Jackie’s eyes enlarged. She clamped her hands against her mouth. She wanted to swing open the door and confront the killer, but she couldn’t.

She looked around, trying to find an answer. She was going to be next.

The door swung open. In the middle of the room there was a bloody corpse. A cleaver was stuck vertically in the chest of the victim. They were in a pool of blood.

Jackie screamed and slammed the door closed. She put her back against the door and caught her breath. This was not normal. She didn’t even know how she got there.

Cautiously, she creaked the door open and peeked into the room. The corpse was still there.

“I’ll just investigate, and then I’ll call the police,” she thought to herself.

She slowly creeped into the room. She noticed that the face of the corpse was a scared face. Their eyes were large, her hands seemed to be in a position of fright, and her mouth was wide open.

“What is this. . . ?” Jackie muttered to herself.

She looked down at her shoes and almost fainted. Her shoes were covered in the blood of the corpse.

She looked around. She seemed to be in some sort of dungeon—the walls were made of bricks, and there were cobwebs everywhere.

She slowly made her way deeper into the room. She noticed that there was a little lightbulb hanging from the middle of the ceiling.

There was really nothing else in the room. It was just a room made out of stone bricks, with nothing else. No windows, no table, no nothing. Just a brick box with a dead body in it.

Jackie turned around to leave, but in the doorframe she saw a silhouette of a man holding a cleaver.

Ukraine vs. Russia? Ukraine vs. Putin by SF

I am Russian, and I was really sad to find out about the attack on Ukraine. Because of Putin, pretty much the whole world hates Russia. But I have something to say about that. The people I know who are Russian, are loyal, funny, and kind. I understand why people have a reason to hate Russia, I do. But Russia altogether isn’t the one that you need to hate. It is all because of Putin.

Russia as a whole didn’t decide to attack Ukraine, Putin made that decision, and the soldiers had no choice but to obey. Putin has gained so much power over the years, that isn’t a president, but more like a Tsar. (A Russian king) He is a dictator, and I won’t deny that. Ukraine asked for peace, offered it, but Putin declined. Because the truth is, he won’t give up until Ukraine is part of Russia again. He is ambitious in the worst way.

No one can stand up to him, because no one wants a nuclear attack on themselves, or their people. Even America which also has nuclear bombs can’t do anything about it, because if they hit, Putin will hit back.

You shouldn’t hate Russia, Russia is amazing and beautiful. In the city, there is a set of buildings called St. Basil’s Cathedral. The buildings are colorful, and big, and the roofs are shaped like Hershey’s Kiss, with the most amazing decorations and patterns. During the winter, it all looks like something in a fantasy, a winter wonderland. During the night, there are so many lights, and it is so colorful, and a breath-taking sight. And in the mountains, there is an amazing view, and you can see so far into the distance.

Putin made all of these decisions, not Russia. There are thousands, hundreds of thousands of civilians, who are just trying to live their lives, but are getting so much hate. You shouldn't go against Russia, you should go against Putin.

Russia City at night
Russia Mountains at Night
St. Basil's Cathedral
Russia during Winter

SMOKING by LM

Smoking is very relaxing and is a hard habit to get out of, but it is NOT good for you. Smoking can cause heart attack, stroke, and many other health risks. My grampa died from smoking too much and I miss him a lot. Ever since that happened, I will never EVER smoke for as long as I live.

Back in the 1930s to the 1950s, just a few years after cigarettes were invented, smoking was recognized as something healthy because it’s relaxing. Even doctors recommended it! Later it was discovered to be unhealthy, but people still do it today.

Smoking is responsible for 480,000 deaths in the United states per year and smoking just ONE cigarette takes 11 minutes off your life. But people should actually do something. Smoking is DANGEROUS. Act now, or at least one of your relatives will end up like my grampa. You and tons of others right now are fighting to ban smoking.

Convince all your relatives that smoke to just PLEASE stop smoking and that you want them to survive. All we know is that there can’t be any more smoking in this world.

Him by nd

 We, us have to pay in blood 

to right a country's mistakes

The suffering he made

a regime out of hate and anger,

to try to kill everything in his path

making millions suffer

just to see it crumble around him, him 

Him as in Hitler.

Whole town worships angel that is George Foreman Grill that has healing properties!!! by bs

In the town of Frederickssburg, Pennsylvania on the morning of June 2017, 2022, the McKay family that owns George Foreman grill saw a burst of light, then a halo around their George Foreman grill.

On the night of june 17th, a man with terminal cancer touched the grill and was cured according to credible sources. The following day, the residents of Frederickssburg met in the town square and started praying to the angel. The angel proceeded to talk to the residents and say, “you must follow our grill god and you will be blessed.”

We asked one of the resident farmers, Shay Macdonald, his thoughts on the situation, “My 4 year old son grew back his baby teeth and my frequent back pain was cured. I’m so happy with the grill god.” Some government scientists studied the grill with its permission at 6:38 pm yesterday to figure out why this happened. Their results showed that somebody at the McKay family home left the grill on for too long and it became an angel. They also said, “you could try this at home with the right materials to have your own George Foreman grill angel.”

After this, a reporter saw several people enter fast food companies and several new angels were reported.

Zooma by ND

I search the world far and near to find the alleged zooma

yet my whole life I wasted and no trace of the alleged zooma.

Why you should rescue dogs from dying by IJ

Have you ever seen all those dogs in shelters or just hanging out on the street alone, with no food, and company. The first feeling I get is great sadness. Imagine putting yourself in their shoes. What would you feel? I would feel sick and sorrowful.

 My dad previously owned a German Shepard. He was a playful and energetic little guy. But some people don’t  like dogs. So one day, some person from his apartment poisoned his dog. All I can feel from this hearing is that we should stop. Even if you are allergic or hate dogs, you shouldn’t slaughter an important member of someone’s family.

 Around the world, some dogs are being treated badly each day. Some are just thrown away like garbage and on to the streets. But luckily, there is something called shelters for pets. I feel so thankful for those people because they are working so hard to prevent the dogs from dying. Those people are making a great change in ending dogs from dying.

 But, that’s not enough. Those dogs can’t stay in shelters forever. They need a forever family to take care of them and love them. Just look, those dogs are in great need of love. Some of them can have a disability and be thrown out by their owner. It makes me so sad. Don’t you feel the same? So, what do you think? Can you adopt one today? Or at least donate some money to fund them? https://secure.animalhumanesociety.org/site/Donation2;jsessionid=00000000.app272a?idb=1120248076&df_id=6325&mfc_pref=T&6325.donation=form1&NONC  

If I were you, I would say yes.