2012-13

The environment |

LYCEE

GIRAUX

SANNIER SHORT STORIES

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Love…

The beginning of their love story had been amazing. When they first met, they immediately felt they needed each other. They knew that their relationship would be difficult because they were different. She was weak and he was strong, he was selfish and she was generous. But they loved each other and that was all that mattered. He took care of her and she felt protected by him. For years, they had lived an almost perfect relationship in which they had both felt really happy. But time had passed and he got bored sometimes, so he found other occupations. He left her alone more often without realizing that it bothered and hurt her. She said nothing at first but it seemed that he cared less and less about her. If only he could understand her they could live together forever… For her it was too much, she no longer understood him. He had been so thoughtful with her and now he was living her alone. She cried constantly. He was spoiling her life. His only purpose was to keep her under his authority. He wanted her to do what he expected without complaining.

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He didn’t listen to her any more. When she grew terribly angry and swept everything on her way, he did everything he could to pick up the pieces but she never forgot anything and never forgave him. And very soon his original personality got the upper hand. His dominating side hit her all the time. She was forced to assert herself and to show him she existed. He was selfish at her expense but without her, he was nothing. The fights grew worse and the only thing that maintained them together was love. If only he understood her needs, he would meet her expectations, they could stay together forever. He was too demanding and needed love and understanding. He had to understand that if he stopped caring about her, she would definitely leave him permanently. And he already knew that he couldn’t live without her. So if he didn’t react, they would both be lost forever. That would be stupid because, despite everything, they loved each other and they could fix things. This is a true story, now, imagine that «He» stands for us, human beings and that «She» is our planet. It’s exactly what is happening now. We have to stop polluting our environment. We have to take care of nature because if we destroy her, then we will destroy ourselves in the process.

Alice, Justine et Justine.

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«Breaking news! A forest was burnt around London, causing the death of 19 persons.

Moreover, 40 people were injured. England is still in shock. The fire is thought to be of

criminal origin, which worries Scotland Yard: Mike Baxter, The Terror, is the n°1 suspect.

“We haven't got any additional information about his appearance, however, the criminal uses a

mask.”

Tim Xakeber, exasperated , turned his TV off and went to work. Tim was a journalist for the

ecologic newspaper GreenTimes. He had wall eyes and a little scar on his neck.

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It had happened 5 years before. Tim, his wife and his son had been parked in a motorway rest

area, he had gone out alone to pay the breakfast. Meanwhile, he had heard a violent explosion,

he had turned round and seen his car burning. He could hear screams and wails. He had run to

his car, then, there had been a second explosion. That time, broken glasses had been projected

ebverywhere around the car and had reached his eyes, which explained their different colour.

He was also burnt seriously on his neck, which accounted for his scar.

Tim took his stuff, his coat, and went out to work very quickly. In the stairs, he met his

neighbour across the hall. He was a very strange man, who was intimidating and daunting. He

was gloomy, and his snake's eyes were bloodcurdling. He was always withdrawn into himself,

his windows were closed every day, and he had no friends. Everybody dodged him. Tim didn't

linger, and left the building without saying hello to him. That encounter was a bad omen for

the rest of his day.

Indeed, the day went badly because of the shortage of information about Mike Baxter. The

boss of "the Green Times" threatened to fire him, if he didn't find a good trail before the

weekend.

When Tim came home, he went to bed, desperate, trying to forget that horrible day.

He slept very badly that night.

The following day, everybody talked about a strange attack from Mike Baxter. Mike Baxter

had gone to an ecologist meeting, and poisoned everyone with dangerous chemicals and even

with nerve gas. The mayor and the Environment Minister were transported to the mergency

ward of the closest hospital. They were quite badly hurt.

Tim Xakeber went to see his colleagues and friends at Scotland Yard, to try to get some

information about that heinous crime. He went to Victoria Street, and went to see his friend

Inspector Georges Lestrade. In Georges' office, Sherlock Holmes, Mr. Watson, Hercule Poirot,

Franck Columbo and other famous detectives were discussing the case. After having greeted

all the detectives, Xakeber asked:

“Well, do you have any news about Mike Baxter, please?”

Sherlock, smoking his pipe, answered sharply: “No, we have nothing yet, which is quite

unbelievable!”

Right at that time, Jane Marpple bursted into the room: “Quick! Inspector Japp and myself

managed to find numerous witnesses, and a lot of them saw Mike Baxter's face! They are hire,

in the Identikit Picture Room!”

Quickly, the detectives went to the projection room, taking along the journalist. The session

had already begun, they sat down at the bottom of the room. Lestrade said discreetly:

“You’re lucky, you will be the first journalist to discover Mike Baxter's face!”

Xakeber seemed not to hear him, and was intently looking at the screen. He was anxious to

discover the head of the man who terrorized the population, and relieved to know that he'd

not be fired. In the room, there was his strange neighbour. He was also nervous.

Inspector Japp projected a tuft of dark hair, causing a lot of protests:

“No, no, that’s not it!” “He had shorter hair!” “And he was less dark too!” “SILENCE”;

shouted Japp; “Resume from the beginning!”.

He projected beautiful blond hair, lightly flat on the temples.

The witnesses were satisfied “Ah, that’s him!!”

Japp projected a nose, with big nostrils. New protests from the audience: “Oh no, he had a

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thinner nose, and a longer one too.”.

He changed the nose, and projected a thin mouth, logical with the ret of the face. The public

approved of the choice, and an old man shouted: “That’s it, a most cruel mouth!”

“And those eyes, do you recognize those eyes?” Japp asked...

After numerous changes, Mike Baxter's face appeared. The old man explaimed: “That is

precisely the expression of a degenerate brute!” Around him, people began to move, uneasy,

and confirmed that the projected face was Mike Baxter's face. The session was finishing as

Poirot stood up, turned the room lights on, and asked people to go out. Tim’s neighbour was

sweating, and he watched the screen with terror. The room was almost empty when a woman

cried and stammered, pointing at Xakeber: “Oh... my God... that’'s Him... Mmm... Mike...

Mike Baxter !!!!!!!!”

Immediately, everyone turned round towards the journalist and everyone cried: “He has

different eyes, one is blue and one is brown! And a long scar on the cheek too! He's Baxter!”

Lagarde, alarmed, unhappily handcuffed his friend, who didn’t seem to understand what was

happening to him. He struggled. Lots of policemen came to restrain him. Holmes looked at

Lestrade severely and told him:

“My dear, if we had listened to your advice, we would have never caught your guy!

Lestrade retaliated “You had not gussed that Xakeber and Baxter were one man either!!” And

Scherlock, leaving the room, answered: “ But of course, I had! Elementary, my dear

Lestrade!”

The policemen took Branson along to a psychiatric cell. Behind them, the door closed heavily.

«Breaking news! Scotland Yard announces that Mike Baxter was arrested yesterday, after an

identikit picture session. We can say that our police has been very successful, and it is quite a

relief for the population. Mike Baxter was the famous journalist from the Green Times: Tim

Xakeber. The journalist suffered greatly from an accident during his past, which caused his

wife's and his daughter's death. It caused a grave traumatism, that no doctor had detected until

now. This matter is the end of his career. Xakeber is now in a confined to a psychiatric

hospital “The Belthem Royal Hospital” in Beckenham. His eyes may represent his double

personality...» CLICK!!

THE END

Marie & co

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The tree

There was once a little girl named Lola who had always lived with her grandmother. One day the old woman fetched a box in the attic in which she had carefully kept many souvenirs during her life: a letter, yellowed by time, a matchbox with mysterious inscriptions, some coins that Lola had never seen before, a ribbon the color of faded roses that grandmother sometimes kissed in silence, the black and white photograph of a girl with curly hair ... and many other treasures. At some point, the grandmother dipped her hand in a pile of postcards, searched the bottom of the box and came out with her fist clenched. She turned her hand to the sky and slowly opened her fingers, revealing to the eyes of the little girl, a kind of gold nugget that shone with a thousand lights. "My little Lola, this is the seed of a magical tree. You only have to plant it a few inches deep in the soil in the garden where you like, provided it is in the sun and sheltered from the wind …” “Oops!” Lola interrupted. “A magic tree? But why are you talking about magic grandmother?” “You'll know if you cherish and protect that seed and the tree that will grow. Indeed, it holds a secret. Now go, my dear.” Lola did not ask anything else and dashed out of the room at full speed. She knew where she would plant this magic nugget, at the bottom of the garden, between the old apple tree and the hut where she would often hide to tell secrets to her doll and where nobody came to disturb her. She dug a hole cautiously to put the seed while repeating her grandmother’s words. "... a few centimeters deep, in the sun ... and sheltered from the wind.” Once done, she went to fill her watering can with fresh water and watered the earth generously. She also drew a circle around the buried nugget and decorated it with pretty stones taken from the garden path. Then she stepped a few feet back to admire her work and waited a few moments, hoping to see a small green sprout emerge from the ground. But nothing happened. She remembered that plants, flowers and trees need time to grow and so she returned home, resigned to wait overnight. Soon awake, Lola jumped out of bed, ran down the stairs, through the kitchen, like a flying rocket. She rushed to the door of the old house and galloped to the bottom of the garden. Near her hut and her favorite apple tree, she remained speechless. Standing before her there was the most beautiful tree that her eyes had ever seen: it was a few meters high, being neither too large nor too small. Its outline made a curve in the sky and its heart-shaped leaves were large, bright and green.

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Lola approached hesitantly, as if she could not believe what she saw. She brushed the trunk with her hand to make sure that the tree was real. Lola jumped back. Then she changed her mind, came forth again and this time touched the tree to feel it again. However, she asked: “Thou art a magic tree, are you not?” “Shhhh ... Shhhh …” “Then you should be able to talk to me, right?” The tree remained silent. “What is your purpose then?” Nothing happened. Lola watched the tree, perplexed; trying to decipher its secret, but eventually grew tired and felt her stomach rumble. “Listen, she said, I will see you later, because I’m starving.” She headed back towards the house, but at the same time she heard a strange rustling noise behind her. Lola turned round and saw the tree shaking its leaves which were swirling around themselves like weathervanes. When order was restored, the tree branches were covered by a multitude of chocolate buns. Lola looked at the magic tree and decided to pick a chocolate bun that was within easy reach. Hum ... It was delicious: still warm, as at the bakery in the morning, and so soft! Lola savored every bite, while a faint idea crossed her mind: “What if the magic tree could meet other desires?!” When she had finished her unexpected breakfast in the garden, she turned to her new companion: "Will you play the air Mom used to sing to me when I was a baby, please?” Not a sound could be heard. A bit sad, Lola thought with melancholy of the song that she loved. And once again the tree was thrilled and leaves started to whirl very fast. Then it slowed its movements and musical notes were flying in the air. "The...” She recognized the melody and they began to sing together. She also understood that the tree could actually grant her wishes by reading her thoughts. Then she focused on Christmas lights that illuminate streets and house windows. The tree shook again, and then reappeared before Lola’s puzzled eyes wearing Christmas garlands and coloured lights. The little girl spent a long time playing with the tree and saw all her desires come true.

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But gradually as Lola kept asking for new things to the tree, its leaves started turning more quickly. Eddies whirled and a thick cloud of dust completely hid the tree from its roots to the top of its branches. Then, gradually, the air currents slowed their crazy races, whirlpools lost their forces and the fog began to dissipate. When calm finally returned, the tree was gone. Lola remained in shock. It took a long time for the little girl to realize that she had betrayed the secret of her grandmother and the magic tree. She realized that you can turn selfish and demanding when you are able to have everything you want and that we can’t play with nature, we need to respect her. Sometimes life is by nature ephemeral. Greed and boasting are usually very destructive.

Marianne & Estelle.

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A Forbidden Love story

It was dark, the fireplace had lit the room up. The children were sitting near their grandma’s old armchair. They were waiting for her to begin telling her story . “This evening, I'm going to tell you a story which is important to me. It's the story of a friend whom I knew very well. Listen carefully my sweethearts...” grandma said to her grandchildren who were teenagers now. And the story could begin...

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Eve was walking in a clearing, the sun beams hit her beautiful blond hair. She adored spending time there, it was her secret garden. The young girl was walking when she stopped in front of a signpost which forbade her to venture away. But this time, the teenager continued to walk. As Eve had moved forward, she could see the landscape deteriorating. Death had weighed on the environment, she could see dead trees, there wasn’t much vegetation. The young woman was getting close to the forbidden border between the two worlds. Because, yes, there was another world. A world completely destroyed and devastated, where people tried to survive. Years ago, the two worlds had formed onlyone: Hantania. Hantania was ravaged by pollution and by modern technology creating a conflict between two groups. The first group wanted everybody to stop using modern technology and nuclear power. The second one didn't want Hantania to become two worlds and they did not want peace not to prevail on this planet anymore. Silence had reigned in that place. Eve was cold, in front of her was a huge stone wall. She had felt alone and observed. She heard a cry, an old owl was sitting on the branch of a tree behind her. The majestic animal looked in her eyes with Persian eyes, which did not destabilize the teenager. “What are you doing all alone, old owl? Are you not afraid of this place?” Eve didn't know if she was speaking to the animal or to herself. “You know that owls don’t speak ... You really have to feel quite alone to speak to an animal!” Eve turned abruptly towards the person who had talked to her. The girl blushed from head to foot when she saw the handsome young man leaning against the tree. You could see his blue eyes staring at her, the black messy hair covering his forehead. He had a big smile on his face. The man was charming and very attractive. His boots were worn, his hands were slipping into the back pockets of his old jeans and he was wearing a white stained top. “Oh ... I ... well ... I walk talking to it to pass the time ... Yes, that was to pass the time!” The boy looked down and grinned like a Cheshire cat. “Oh, yeah? Tell me, what is a fragile little girl like you doing alone in this desert place?” “I...I don't… » She began her sentence but stopped because she didn't know either why she was so away from her world. Eve’s silence made the young man move away from the trunk and he walked towards her, dominating her with his large body. The man gently took her hand in

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order to escort the woman to the border so she could go back to her world. Once at the limit, she thanked him with a shy smile for having accompanied her and the young man replied: “The pleasure was all mine, beautiful girl. I'm Tristan.” Eve was charmed, she had never met a boy like him before. “And I'm Eve”, the girl answered, turning away. From this moment, the two young people kept meeting and soon they fell in love with each other. It was a big and strong love but it was also a forbidden love. Well, Tristan lived in the other world and was a member from a gang which was fighting against a gang from Eve's world. There were a lot of issues between these two gangs which always ended up in fights. People were hurt but nobody had been killedyet. So, yes, Tristan was a part of this and it was dangerous for him to love Eve. Nobody could accept this love. Because of that, Tristan and Eve were hiding. One day, their happiness came to an end. The young couple was hugging against a tree when they heard voices. They were the men of Tristan's gang’s. The secret that the couple had tried to hide was discovered. The leader of the gang became furious to see one of his members with a woman from the enemies. He began attacking Tristan and a fight broke out. The other members of the gang came to help their leader to beat Tristan who was a traitor to them. Eve couldn't do anything, two men were holding her, preventing her from helping Tristan. She was crying and screaming. Every scream from Tristan echoed in her head. He was exhausted and he had difficulties staying awake. Suddenly he raised his head and stared at Eve. She could see all his love for her. She had the impression that he was saying goodbye to her. His look became glassy and he collapsed on the ground. Eve cried louder. She knew it, Tristan would never get up. It was over. The man she loved was dead. She knew it. There could never be any peace in those two worlds.

...From this moment on, Eve grew up and she became a strong woman. She married and had children but she never forgot Tristan, her first love. “That's all my sweethearts! I hope that the story didn't scare you. I just wanted you to know this story because this is something very important to me. “Grandma, can I ask you about something, please? You said that the girl in the story was called Eve but your name is Eve. “Yes darling, I'm Eve.“

Audrey, Delphine et Désirée.

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Giny

In 2118, after a Z-type natural disaster, half of the population, about

750 000 persons, were still alive. However half of them woke up as

vampires whereas the second half, scared, tried to escape from them

by any available means, without knowing they might die if they tried

to. Ginny, a mortal who didn’t want to follow her family and leave

her native town, ran away in the middle of the night towards the

unknown…

Ten minutes after leaving, her father realized she was not home. He

went outside, looking for his daughter, and saw her running about 50

meters away. He ran to catch her up, but she didn’t want to follow

him and, as a result she started to scream…

Tyler, a young vampire, heard the young lady’s screams, and decided

to rescue her. As a vampire, he had the ability to teleport himself.

Therefore, he was quickly there. He jumped on the father, struck him,

and took Ginny far away. They learnt to know each other, and

became quickly quite close in spite of their differences.

Because he had seen his assailant’s face, Ginny’s father decided to

chase him, followed by all the mortals he knew. During this time,

Tyler was introducing his “world” to Ginny, who found it completely

fascinating.

Julian, Ginny’s father, living in Chicago, was moving heaven and earth

to find his daughter, without knowing she was in Boston with Tyler

and his family.

More and more disasters appeared in the South West of their

country. Unfortunately, Julian wasn’t aware of them.

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Then Ginny had a feeling that there was something wrong, and

decided to look for her father with Tyler, who, thanks to one of his

abilities, quickly detected the man. He went to meet him.

But, before they had got to Boston, Julian and the others had been

caught in a tornado... Julian ended up on a car and his body was lying

on the windshield. Ginny, distraught, begged Tyler to do everything

he could to save her father. He took him to his home and made him

drink a cocktail which cured his injuries. Julian needed two days to

wake up, and he thanked Tyler for saving him.

He understood vampires weren’t dangerous, so they signed a treaty

of peace, and, crazy about each other, Ginny and Tyler got married.

The End

Anaïs, Estelle & Axelle

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