The Power of Will

By: Richard Denson

Winter Edition 2013

Once upon a time in a land far

away, there lived a little boy

who dreamed of being the sav-

ior of his planet. His world was

crumbling before him as a

group of invaders, tyrants

more per se, engulfed the

planet and turned it into a

place of anarchy and violence.

They ruled the planet with an

iron fist. As the little boy grew

older, he dreamed of defeating

the invaders. He spent all of

his time learning and studying

them. Every day he would

sneak off into their bases and

hide in various spots and van-

tage points where he would

study their movements and

patterns in order to find their

weaknesses. His mom would

always worry, and she tried so

hard to convince him that he

alone wouldn’t be able to de-

feat the invaders or even lead

an army to triumph over the

invaders. She tried to get him

to stick to the status quo and

reassure him that everything

would be alright. She didn’t

want to lose another son. He

was determined though, and

he saw the toll it was taking on

his mother despite her optimis-

tic words. He refused to keep

living like this. He assured her

that his will would guide him to

victory.

He wasn’t quite ready

to confront them because

he knew it would be a battle

he couldn’t win. He wanted

for it to be when he did

overcome them that it

would be unforeseen. Over

those years though, the

invaders got stronger and

he started to get the feeling

that it was impossible to

defeat them. Although he

had gathered his planet’s

best warriors, he still had

that sense that victory

would not come, and he

began to lose hope. He

thought to himself “What

should I do? I’m not strong

enough, I’ll fail my planet

and get my men and I

killed.” But then he thought

of his mother and his broth-

er, and how they were

abused and mistreated and

how his older brother was

even locked up and thrown

into prison. Something rose

inside of him, and he pro-

claimed that “Whatever hap-

pens, happens. I’ve come to

far to give up. I will save the

world for me and my family.”

So he ran off into the

woods...

As he scaled the trees, he noticed that the invaders had indeed been following him. They had learned of him, they knew he

Editor In-Chief: Richard Denson

Art Editor: Carlos Hernandez

Writing Staff: ZaCouria McGowan, Sierra San Inocencio, Ayanna Flye, Tennice Yee, Yaffa Hunter, A’Sheriah Jackson, Culani Burks,

La’Dell Finnister, A’Jahni Aska

Creekside HS Literary Magazine

Page 1

was a threat because of the team he was putting together. The invaders had decided that they’d put an end to him before he could succeed in putting them down. The leader even had accompa-nied his men. Within seconds the invaders had him surrounded. The young man under-stood the circumstanc-es and ruled that this is what he had been training all these years for. It was now or nev-er.

Luckily, he had a trick up his sleeve, and his army appeared out of nowhere, pre-pared for battle. They quickly evened the odds. It was going to

be a full out war in the woods! The war began and it was ever so grue-some. After severe casual-ties on both sides, the young man stood toe-to-toe with the leader of the invaders. They engaged in a vicious one-on-one bat-tle, and eventually the young man defeated him when he without mercy, decapitated the leader with a samurai sword his broth-er had passed down to him. As his head descend-ed to the ground, the lead-er’s mask fell off.

A sudden realiza-tion then hit the young man. He had discovered the identity of the leader was that of his older broth-er who escaped from pris-on. The young man fell to his knees and screamed a heavy scream full of pain,

suffering and mourning. Legends say that his screams can still be heard across the universe.

Why?

By: Ashley Baker

Why are we here?

What is our purpose?

Why do we look the way we do?

Who created us?

Why do I not have friends?

Why am I so alone?

Why doesn’t anyone ask me what’s wrong?

Why don’t you care?

Why do I care?

Why don’t you want me to be here with you?

Why did you send me away?

Why am I so far away from love?

Why don’t you need mine?

All these inevitable questions that may never be answered, but all I can ask is why.

By: Kelsie Davis

Alphabet Poem

By: Makayla Huggins

Actress wishes

Bad intentions

Common sense that children envision

Doubtful parents

Extra credit reference

Forgotten junior struggle just to feel important

Googled homework

High school sweethearts

Indentured servants that serve education

Jacked up on my mid-terms

Kick it with homies

Late for class “My locker’s jammed, and I don’t wanna get sweeped”

Mama always told me I was smart; I didn’t listen

Never let appearance determine somebody’s diction

Open minded heartbreak that turns into a fist fight

Palpitating heart rate that keeps you thinking all night

Queens that think like peasants

Rambling through their thoughts like 12 year old adolescents

Saving up for college

Taking tolls for fashion sense is busting mama’s wallet

Underclassman lovers grow up without their seniors

Voiding out the issues like listening to guest speakers

Why else would we do this? To satisfy our pigment?

Xenophobic children always frowning on the strange

Yellow slip of paper, saying that I made it

Zipped up backpack two more years of h igh school

By: Osaze Stigler.

By: Osaze Stigler.

Page 3

Art by Celine Samaniego

Art by Osaze Stigler

Remember When

By: Desyree Feagin

Remember when you said you wouldn’t leave?

My heart so broken, pain no one else could see

Remember when you told me you were in love?

A love so sweet. Was it sent from above?

I remember when you used to call me your lady

Late nights on the phone. Conversations daily

Those days are long gone but I wish they weren’t

Realized you messed up and your bridges were burnt

Now as I sit here and write this about you

I want you to know all that I been through

Remember when I wanted a fresh start

You shot me down and shattered my heart

Remember when I gave you my all

But in the end you watched me fall

My love for you will always be true

Even though I can never be with you.

Self-Portrait

By: Cordejah Cousette

The One That Got Away

By: Ayanna Flye

It was a very rainy Valentine’s

Day in the NYC. All Amber could do

was sit in the house and watch love

movies. Suddenly, she got the idea to

go to Baker’s Shop. When Amber got

there, she remembered how she and

Robert used to go there every week-

end to just talk and drink coffee. She

sat all the way across the store parallel

to where she and Rob used to sit.

The waitress came to Amber

and asked her, “What would you like to

order?”

Amber replied, “I’ll have a mo-

cha latte and blueberry muffin for

now.”

The waitress walked away.

Amber had brought her laptop with

her. She was an upcoming paralegal

and took every chance she had to do

work. So by now her drink was halfway

gone and her muffin had two bites into

it. She got a call from her best friend,

Angel, but decided to decline the call.

Amber had been there for over an hour

now and got as much work done as

you would in a room full of crying ba-

bies. For some reason she kept look-

ing up at the spot where she and Rob-

ert used to eat. Amber decided that

she would not dwell on the past and

started on her work. Five minutes into

her work, she felt a tap on the shoul-

der; it was Robert. She could do noth-

ing but stare as if she had seen a

ghost. It was true; he was a ghost to

her because she hadn’t seen him in a

year since they broke up.

He smiled at her then

started to say, “Hi, how have

you been Amber?”

Hesitating, Amber

managed to utter the words,

“Hi, Rob and I’ve been fine.”

Amber hoped and prayed that

he wouldn’t sit down by her, so she put

her bag on the table. Reluctantly, he

still sat down by her. Amber still wasn’t

completely over Robert and was still

angry with him. They had broken up

because Amber cheated with his best

friend. It was the biggest mistake she

had ever made in her life, but in the

end he took her back. After a month

things started going wrong. She had

known he never let it go, but it started

to become more apparent in every ar-

gument they had. They had been on

and off for the next couple of months.

Then things took a really bad turn; he

started treating her really bad. Amber

couldn’t figure out why he was treating

her so badly. He had made her cry

multiple times and every time he apol-

ogized, she took him back. She had

finally had enough of being sad all the

time and she broke things off for good.

The next month was really hard for

Amber to handle. Everything reminded

her of him and to top things off, her

best friend still had communications

with him. They had become best

friends. When she knew that they were

still friends, her whole world stopped

and crashed and had been that way

ever since. Amber hadn’t realized that

she had been zoned out for at least

five minutes.

“Amber!” Robert yelled. “Are

you okay? You seem distant.” he con-

tinued. All she could do was nod her

head up and down. She was now start-

ing to really reminiscence about every-

thing. Robert knew Amber very well

and could sense that she wasn’t ready

to see him that day. He tried to end the

awkwardness by making a joke but his

joke proved irrelevant to whatever Am-

ber was thinking about. He knew that

things would never be the same be-

tween the two of them. All Amber ever

yearned for was to know how he truly

felt and how he could do what he did.

She didn’t want to bring up the past,

but she did anyway.

Amber blurted out, “How could

you!”

He was startled, but then

asked, “What do you mean?”

Hesitantly, she continued,

“How could you sit there for three

months straight and put me through

torture, and feel no remorse at all?!”

For some reason, Robert knew

it was coming; it just took a matter of

time before she said something. That

question stopped him in his thought

process. He didn’t know what to say or

how to say it. He took a minute before

he answered because he knew his

response could determine the rest of

the conversation. Either Amber would

hit him and storm out or she would sit

there and continue to talk it out with

him.

Robert stated “It was never my

intentions to make you cry like that,”

he continued “I don’t know what made

me act like that, I can’t explain it.”

All Amber wanted to do was

breakdown at that point. She couldn’t

wrap her head around how someone

who claimed that you were his first

love could be so mean to you for so

long. She knew she couldn’t show any

feelings. The only thing that kept her

from crying was replaying the words

Robert told her after they ended

things. They were talking about their

situation; Amber questioned him how

he can just act like nothing matters. He

uttered six deadly words that made

Amber know that this break up was

final.

Robert stated, “Having

feelings will get you hurt.”

Everything was coming to the

forefront. All the things they had with-

held inside for this whole year was

Page 5

about to come out. For Amber this con-

versation would be more about getting

closure and moving on for good. Am-

ber was the type of person that didn’t

feel as though things were finished or

worked out until she talked about it. On

the other hand, Robert didn’t know

what he wanted, he sort of didn’t think

about their situation so he didn’t know

where his feelings were at this point.

The front door was starting to look like

the perfect escape to Rob.

Quickly Amber replied, “that’s

what you have said every time we

talked about it, come up with another

excuse because that is total BS!”

Amber was starting to get re-

ally agitated with him and didn’t know

what to do. Amber knew she had to

calm down and to not let Robert get

her worked up like this. Tired of all the

excuses, tired of being hurt, tired of

holding in everything, Amber broke

down. She got up out of her chair and

walked to the bathroom. Now was the

time to get it together.

She said "Amber, get yourself to-

gether, no longer will you let him con-

trol you." Then she continued "he is no

longer in your life, even though you still

miss that friendship you need to let go

right now!."

Amber had been in there for

over 20 minutes now. As she walked

out she hoped he had left, but he was

still there waiting on her. At this point

Amber was done talking because she

knew they were going to get nowhere

with the conversation. Confused at this

point, Robert was hesitant to ask Am-

ber anything. Then again, being the

person that he is, he still asked.

“Why did you just break down

like that?” Rob asked. Amber was so

tired of going through the same thing

with rob over and over. She finally just

wanted to tell him how she felt.

“Rob, me cheating on you was

the worst thing I could have ever done.

I lost someone I really cared about for

something so stupid and pointless.

Every day I regret doing it but, there is

a point where you have to take respon-

sibility for your actions. No matter what

Angel has said to you, or who side she

takes we both were wrong. I cheated

on you, and you still chose to stick by

my side through everything. Deep

down I knew you weren’t going to for-

get it, but I still thought we could have

moved forward. You started to hurt me

mentally. Not only were you starting to

be mean but you were degrading me.

You made me feel as though I didn’t

matter at all, also you made it seem

like every time I said something it did-

n’t matter. You never took me seriously

when I told you if something was both-

ering me. I just feel like you didn’t care

anymore. I don’t know how you can tell

someone they are your first love, but

you continuously treat them wrong. Not

only that, but you continuously made

me cry and then you would apologize,

but the stupid thing was you would

apologize and do the same thing over

again. Like how do you put someone

through that and just feel like it’s okay.

I know what I did was wrong, but I feel

like you should have just let it go if you

were going to keep acting like that be-

cause you knew what you were doing.”

Robert had already known

how Amber felt, but this was the first

time he actually got it. He didn’t know

that he had hurt her so bad. She had

always told him two wrongs don’t make

a right. He started feeling really bad

cause he had always told her their re-

lationship was like a fairytale. He was

glad she had given him a second

chance. He didn’t know how to re-

spond to anything she was saying. He

could see she was hurt to the core at

this point and had held everything in.

All he wanted to do was make every-

thing right, but the next thing amber

was going to say would prove this task

difficult.

Amber then said, “How can

you be so mad and you don’t see me

mad after you got into a relationship

two days after we broke up. You didn’t

even let the breakup marinate, before

getting with another female. This

means you were talking to her before

we broke up which makes you no bet-

ter than me. There were a lot of things

that you did wrong that you need to

take responsibility for.”

Tears were now starting to

build up in her eyes again. She was

tired of going through the same thing

over and over with him. He didn’t want

her to cry again, that was something

he couldn’t watch happen.

Finally he said, “I’m sorry Am-

ber. I’m sorry for everything I put you

through. You were my first love and I

didn’t know how to take you cheating. I

blocked out all my feelings and by do-

ing that it resulted in my rudeness. I

know you cheating is not an excuse for

how I treated you. I’m sorry for not lis-

tening to you when you would tell me

how what I was doing was affecting

you. It was my first time in a serious

relationship and I just didn’t know what

I was doing. I know this last year has

been hard for you with your school and

I shouldn’t have added that extra

stress on you. Knowing you, I know it

will be hard for you to get past this, but

all I can ask for is your forgiveness.

You don’t have to talk to me anymore I

just need that pressure taken off my

back.”

Amber had finally gotten the

closure she needed to move on. This

was a breakthrough for her and Rob-

ert. They had the worst communication

ever during their relationship, and this

was the first time they had gotten

something accomplished. She was

happy he finally took responsibility for

what he had done and now she could

learn to be without him. This was the

Interview Setting: Interview con-ducted in classroom of Dr. Arm-strong in Creekside High School. The interview was conducted at 11:00 on Thursday afternoon.

Affiliation with interviewee: My AP Lit class has read Eudora Welty’s short story A Worn Path.

(Start of interview)

McGowan: Good afternoon Mrs. Welty! I’m really excited that you could join me. I guess I should start off by asking who is Eudora Welty?

Welty: Well, I was born is Jack-son, Mississippi. My parents were Webb and Christina, and where I grew up, family was important. We were a close knit family. My broth-ers Edward, Walter and I were very close. I’m really a combination of my mother and my father. My pas-sion for reading and language comes from my mother, and my love for all instruments that instruct and fascinate comes from my fa-ther. My loving and nourishing background molded me.

McGowan: So you are from Jack-son? Did your hometown help mold you also?

Welty: As for Jackson, I have al-ways liked being there. When I was growing up, Jackson had much more of an identity that now because it was smaller. It was so

small that everyone knew each other. It was a free and easy life. There was no sense of danger happening. We had a wonderful school of principals and teachers. Jackson made growing up fun. It is the whole foundation on which my fiction rests.

McGowan: When did you begin writing?

Welty: I did stories in school, but they were not any good. They were not any courses given in so called creative writ-ing when I was in college. I think you have to learn for yourself.

McGowan: Back to Jackson how did it influence your writ-ing?

Welty: It helped to identify characters… helps I created stories and characters sur-rounding around Jackson.

McGowan: I have read one of your short stories entitled “A Worn Path” Tell me about that story.

Welty: Well, that story was published in 1941. It’s a story about a loving grandmother who embarks on this wonderful journey for her sick grandson.

McGowan: Did Jackson help you create the story?

Welty: It did.

McGowan: How so?

Welty: The experience that inspired “A Worn Path” was out on Old Canton Road. I saw a small, distant figure come out of the woods and disappear into the woods on the other side. I knew she was going somewhere. I knew she was bent on an errand, even at that distance.

McGowan: I personally en-joyed the story, and I’ve al-ways questioned whether or not the grandson was already dead. Is he?

Welty: I actually receive that question all the time. I think that the reader is reading too far into the story. I always an-swer saying that Phoenix is alive.

McGowan: So does that mean the story is about Phoenix?

Welty: Precisely.

McGowan: I found myself comparing phoenix to an actu-ally phoenix that is reborn after

Interview with Eudora Welty, an American author

Interviewer: ZaCouria McGowan

first step Amber needed in order

to start her new life.

‘Thank you for that apol-

ogy Robert.” Amber replied. She

continued, “It was something I

had been waiting a year to

hear.”

“You welcome, and I

know it was long overdue.”

Rob said. They both then got

up and walked to the door.

Robert opened the door and

let Amber walk through first.

They gave each other one

last look and walked their

separate ways. Amber was

now on her way to becoming

the best paralegal ever.

Page 7

death. Is she symbolic?

Welty: She is; the thing that is always reborn is her love.

McGowan: Who are your sto-ries for?

Welty: I Don’t write for anyone particular. I write for writing.

McGowan: What do you mean?

Welty: I write for the pleasure of it. I don’t write for my friends or myself. I believe if I stopped to wonder what so-

and-so would think or what I’d feel like if this were read by a stranger I would be paralyzed.

McGowan: Beside writing, you also did photography correct?

Welty: I began to use a cam-era when I was young and de-veloped my film in the kitchen at night. . Anybody could have seen it. Even I, as a child, could recognize it. It was telling its own story in hu-man terms. And the actual picture taking, that was fine.

McGowan: What was one of your greatest achievements?

Welty: Well in 1973 I received

the Pulitzer Prize for the Opti-mist’s Daughter. And the year before that I won the Gold Medal for Fiction of the National Institute of Arts and Letters. It was the beginning of a long period of ac-complishments.

McGowan: If you were to die, what is the last thing you would want to say to the world?

Welty: I have been a lucky person all my life. I always have around me congenial, helpful, sensitive people. I was lucky in my agent and my publishers. Everything worked out beautifully, and I am grateful.

Love is like a drug

Once you find it you start to get addicted

It’s your new addiction that you have to have

It’s your new drug that you’re so twisted in

It’s all you care about and all you know

It makes you or breaks you

And right now it’s breaking you like a drug ever will do

Love

By: Sierra San Inocencio

The great defeat

By: Tennice yee

Applauded for his greatness, loved for his braveness is he

Because he fought in the war, and came back victorious, he is now courageous

Calm is he not, boastful some would say

Dare to disrespect and you will never see the light of another day

Ever so often would he say thanks to his wife, after all she still by his side

Forgiving him for his infidelities and sticking by his side is just one of the many reasons why she is the perfect wife

Greatness is his middle name, or so he claims

How can you forget where you’re coming? That is so lame!

Impostor his friend yelled, I will never forget what you did

Jokes, lies and misconceptions he said, these people have no idea of how it is in the end

King of the land he pleads, but the truth is coming out, it’s soon time to flee

Loving that he contained the problem, made him too blind to see

Movements have started; an army is forming against him

Nuclear war is set in place; one man will cause the world to seem dim

Opening the door of Pandora’s Box, death is going to sweep over the land like a tornado that can’t stop

People run in fear, for their lives are in danger

Questions left unanswered, but just be brave my dear

Reservations have been made in heaven for some, while others’ lives are over and done

Swim across the sea he said, because soon we all are going to be dead

Time is no longer on our shore; it’s no time for bed

Ultimately the truth was exposed to the world, they all know of lies you told and what they have heard

Violence is not the answer; but an exception have been made since you created such a disaster

Wrongs have been made right and the sky is once again bright

Page 9

A Woman and her Cats

By: Ayanna Flye

Once upon a time in a land far away there lived a woman with 32 cats. Her family was the very con-servative type and didn't really like too much attention drawn to them. So by the time she bought her eighth cat, her family so was fed up and disgust-ed by her and the attention she was bringing that they abandoned her. For some reason this woman became extremely obsessed with cats after an accident. She was in the local swim-ming pool and she jumped in the deep end and started to drown. She hit her head once she got to the bottom. The results of her hitting her head made her gain a weird case of amnesia. It was said that she thought the cats were her family and the people in her family were strangers out to get her. Her family tried to convince her that they weren't strangers, but she didn't want to listen to them. Eventually, they gave up and left.

She cared for the cats as if they were her children. The lady al-ways stayed indoors with her cats. But when she did get outside, the people that saw her thought she looked like a cat too. Since all she had was cats, she started to dress and act like one too. This made her feel more connected with her cats. She didn't see herself as a human anymore. Outsiders thought she was just crazy and had completely lost it after her accident. This wasn't normal for everybody but it was normal for her. Every time she went somewhere, people would just stare at her. She didn't care; all she cared about was her cats.

Then one day she was at Wal-Mart buying some cat food and a man came up to her and said, “Excuse me, are you are cat or a per-son?” When she turned around, he was dressed like a dog.

She said ,“You like to dress up too?”

He said, “ Yes, ever since my wife died me and my four dogs have become very close.”

The woman uttered,“ I'm sorry to hear that,” then continued to say “ I don't have family either, my cats are the only family I know.”

The man started to become curious so he asked her, “Umm, how many cats do you have?”

Hesitantly, she revealed,“ I have 32 cats.”

He exclaimed, “ Wow, that’s not that many!”

She smiled and replied, “Well, thank you!” They exchanged numbers and went on their way. One day, while the lady was cleaning out the litter boxes, she received a call. It was the dog man. He asked her out on a play date to the park, as he assured her that his dogs were cat friendly. She excitedly accepted! She was so excit-ed to finally have some human com-pany. At the same time though, she was also very nervous. She wanted to make a good impression, so this wouldn't be the last time something like this happened. So she picked her eight best cats to match the dog man’s four.

They went on their date. At first it was awkward for her, but then they started to get along very well. Eventually, they went on more, and more dates. She started to realize that she could trust somebody else other than her cats. After a year he finally proposed to her. The old lady was hesitant to say yes at first, but after a minute or two she finally yelled “Yes!” He was so excited that he found love

again. They were completely in love and knew this was real. They got mar-ried on July 1, 2011. A year later she found out she was pregnant, which made them give up more animals. They got rid of their animals and raised there child together. They had finally found love.

By:

Valerie Stephenson (10th Grade)

Page 9

By: Creekside High School

Student

Once upon a time there lived an old man who’s name was Thomas. Thomas was short and scary looking. He never spoke to anyone; he only stared at them for a while then walked off in the opposite direction. As the town’s outcast, it’s said that his family abandoned him when he was only a little boy. There were many stories about this old man. No one knew him well enough to use his real name, but the kids called him “Mr. Walking Dead.”

One day, while Thomas was

taking one of his normal walks and

scaring off the neighbors, a lady

passed him and caught his eyes. Her

beauty intrigued him, and the scent of

her perfume pulled his attention in her

direction. He didn't know how to ap-

proach her, so he spied on her. She

had long beautiful black hair, streaked

with a little grey. She didn't avoid him

like everyone did; she just walked past

him like he was invisible. It was kind of

creepy that he followed her home but

he did it anyway. For days he worked

up his courage to say, “Hi.” As he fol-

lowed her home one day, he made

several attempts to approach her but

didn't, as she disappeared in her

house. He cursed himself for letting

that perfectly good opportunity pass

him by. Finally, the day came when

he swallowed his fears and walked up

to her and introduced himself. He said,

“Hello! My name is Thomas, what’s

yours?”

She stared at him for a while

then she said, “Betty, you look very

familiar. Do you live around here?”

He said, “Yes, some of these

kids call me Mr. Walking Dead.” She

was very surprised that he was talking

to her because she recognized his

name and the reputation he pos-

sessed.

Then she said, “Can I help

you?”

After which he replied by say-

ing, “No, it’s just that you caught my

eyes, so I just wanted to say hi! And

would you like to have dinner with me

sometime soon in the near future?”

She was so shocked and that her

heart skipped a beat.

She said “I’m sorry no, you

don't have a good reputation around

here, and I don't really want to be seen

with you.”

He said, “Is it because the kids

call me Mr. Walking Dead?”

“Yes! That’s one reason and

you’re not very social and you’re kind

of weird,” said the lady.

Thomas was dejected, he re-

ally liked this lady. So he decided that

he was going to get rid of this title the

kids gave him. “MR. WALKING

DEAD,” he said angrily. Immediately,

Thomas started to initiate the change.

He socialized more, dressed

handsomely, and even bought the kids

ice-cream. There was a vast change in

him; everyone noticed. The entire town

was talking about him. Word eventual-

ly got around to Betty of how Thomas

had changed.

She wondered if he changed

because of what she said to him. After

months of changing his behavior and

appearance, he approached Betty

again. This time he greeted her joyful-

ly. She was so surprised she couldn't

even answer him. He stood there for

about two minutes waiting for a reply.

She was completely speechless. This

wasn't the man that approached her a

few months back. After waiting without

a response, he thought that he still

wasn't good enough for her. He

walked off disappointedly…

She shouted, “Wait! I didn't know what

to say to you. You have changed so

much since the last time I saw you. I

don't understand. Why this sudden

change?”

He explained to her that he

did it all for her. She fell in love with

him instantly after hearing what he did

for her. They eventually went out for

dinner and later got married and had

children.

Mr. Walking Dead

By: Tennice Yee

By: Creekside High

School Student

Page 11

Once upon a time in a land

far away there lived a couple, Tiara

and Bob. This new couple moved into

this beautiful, gigantic ,wonderful

house. As they were unpacking, there

was a knock on the door. It was their

neighbors coming to say, “Hello and to

welcome them. Tiara and Bob’s

neighbors names were Kevin and Tif-

fany. As everyone was talking and

getting to know each other all of a

sudden there was a loud boom.

Everyone stopped and said,

“What was that? Bob

and Tiara said,“ Let’s go check it out”.

Tiffany and

Kevin said, “No, wait here.” Kevin had

this eerie look on his face, a rather evil

look, as if he was up to something.

Tiara noticed Kevin looked a little wor-

ried but immediately dismissed it. Bob

and Tiara rushed outside ,and noticed

that their car had exploded. The car

was still on fire and every where all of

the car pieces were scattered around

their yard

Bob said,“

Could this be what the big boom

was?” Tiffany and Kevin disappeared

into the puffs of smoke. They just

blown up our car. For some reason

Bob still seemed dumbfounded to

what just happened . Tiara tried to put

the pieces together is this why bob

really was sad when we moved? Tiara

found out that the same thing happen

two months previous to them moving

in. Tiara still putting her thoughts to-

gether is this real did this really hap-

pen? Someone pinch me wake me up

please. Bob finally came back to life.

He

said, “Well I think this is real so what

do you want to do?” You

just want to pick up and move?

Bob said,“ Honey, I

will not stay here did you not just see

what happen this is not safe.” “Where

will we go ,what will we eat ,who will

we stay with.”

Bob said,

“Where is Tiffany and Kevin?”

Tiara said,

“Let’s go over and see if they went

back home.” They went and rang the

door bell ,Tiffany and Bob came to the

door.

He said,“ Are you okay?”

They replied,“ Yes,

we are fine.”

Bob and Tiffany

said,“ We will be moving back to New

York City. It is just a little crazy down

here.” Everything settled down and

everything was fine come to find out

Tiffany and Kevin owned that house

and they were a scam. That house

belonged to Tiffany’s parents both of

her parents were witches. They didn't

want anyone to live in that house but

Tiffany and Tiffany broke their law.

That’s when Tiara and Bob moved in.

Tiffany was sad that Tiara and Bob

moved back. She decided enough is

enough.

She

said, “ The curse will not take control

anymore.” She called Tiffany and Kev-

in and told the them the truth.

Two weeks later Tiffany called

them back and said, “We will be mov-

ing back we really loved that house.”

This will make you think before you

buy a big house that looks good on

the outside but scary on the inside.

The couple moved back and they both

lived happily ever after.

The Gigantic HouseThe Gigantic House

By: Yaffa HunterBy: Yaffa Hunter

By: Creekside High School

Student

By: Creekside High School

Student

A Love Forgotten

By: Brandy Rhodes (10th Grade)

As I see your face I remember your laugh

Your warm embrace is something of the past

I look at all the things we did and see love every time

But as we grew up it seemed as it was a crime

Now that I’m older, now that I’m wiser

I see what has been changed

A love no more, we have to go

Because now my love is forgotten.

Life

By: Lynnae’ Carr

The thing that keeps you living,

The feeling of being alive,

But sometimes you feel trapped inside,

Dreams are the only way out,

You dream what you want and what you think about,

But sometimes it feels too real and you escape your reality,

Forgetting who you are and who you are meant to be

That’s just life……a never ending possibility

By: Taylor Overbey

By: Creekside High School Student

Page 13

By: Creekside High School

Student

My Closest Fried

By: Ayanna Flye

The emptiness now becomes our closest friend

To live each day as it passes just as lonely as the last

The inside is crying, hidden suddenly by the smile

To feel acceptance is to open up to more pain and denial

Love, like a rain cloud, only there long enough to make the desert yearn for almost just enough

Growing close to losing hope all is becoming dark

The world easily shows hate without any remorse

To feel accepted and alive grows slowly thin

Another day ending with no promise or feeling from within

The child never sees it coming unaware of its strength

Adults love die along with the child’s will to survive

False hope in our world, Only to reveal that disappointment becomes our closest friend.

Success

By : Denver Wallace

It doesn't come naturally, It is only attained by those who crave it,

Quick is not what it has to be,

Your opponents are those who hate it.

Not always to the swift, nor the strong,

But to those who have time to invest in,

It may not come quick, but will last long,

Because to all success is destined

“Medusa”

By: Solomon Williams

By: Creekside High

School Student

By: Creekside High School

Student

Life at the Tabloids is always

crazy. Paperwork, new articles, office

drama, and celebrity leaked photos

storm the floors, printers, and comput-

er screens. It’s all about making mon-

ey for Mr. Van. He is CEO over this

whole business, but he is the male

version of Cruella De Vil. No one likes

him at all. Everything must go through

him and often, the stories we publish

are not the truth or twist the truth. But,

hey it is the tabloids. My name is An-

nie and I am Mr. Van’s “pet”. I practi-

cally do whatever he wants and I can’t

complain. On my spare time I work on

my blog, which I’m hoping one day it

can be much more. Of course I write

about the devil’s spawn from the un-

derworld.

On a cold winter Friday, I was

hurrying to work late. I had just

reached my usual coffee shop off of

James Ave. and 21st Street. The line is

out the door and Lord knows that my

boss will flip out without his coffee.

Cutting through the line, I spot my fa-

vorite manager and he quickly makes

my order.

“Thanks John! You’re a life saver!”

Swoosh!! The morning wind in Down-

town, Chicago bombards my jacket

and tickles my neckline icily. I have

less than 20 minutes to catch the sub,

get to work, drop off Mr. Van’s refresh-

ments and print this paper.

I’m hoping the edited edition

was ready because if everything isn’t

perfect by noon today I’m fired. I

swear Mr. Van can be a total jerk! He

doesn’t care what may come up. If I

am late 2 minutes I have 3 hours extra

of case load and 20 errands to and

from his many unneeded destinations.

I swear I write an article on him every

day on my blog. This man grinds my

gears until they leak motor oil!

Bing! Yes, I have finally made

it to work and of course Brian is on my

tail already.

“Good morning Annie! You look like

you’re in a rush. Care to talk a bit be-

fore you clock in? You know I’m dying

to talk about our latest scoop on Mr.

Van’s affair,” Brian said, snickering in

my ear.

“Look, Brian obviously, you’re right I

am in a hurry. So please move out of

my way! I hope you edited that article

he wanted on his desk first thing this

morning!”

I can’t help but get upset whenever he

starts irritating me. He knows that I

have to print this article and have Van

De Vil’s coffee hot and ready on his

desk.

The printer room was packed

to the max! I had to quickly send this

article and I didn’t have time to read

over it. “Why the heck hasn’t it arrived

yet?” I could’ve sworn I sent it to Print-

er 2. Looking around I rush into Mr.

Van’s office, but before I could look at

his printer, he has the meanest facial

expression on.

“Good Morning, Mr. Van I hope you’re

doing well today. How is the article?”

Nervously I manage to stutter out.

Clearing his throat, he began to read

the wrong article! Oh my God he is

reading the article I wrote about him!

No!!! I printed the wrong thing! I tried

to grab it to stop him from reading it,

but I failed and knocked his hot coffee

all over him accidentally. Furiously, he

cursed and jumped around his office

trying to cool his freshly ironed slacks

off.

I know I’m fired before he has

to say it. Quickly, I apologize and be-

gan to walk away, but I turn on my

heels slowly to find Mr. Van laughing

at me.

“I knew you had it in you, I was just

waiting on the right time!”

He begins to tell me the whole spill on giving me his position at the office be-cause he has been offered a new job. Not only was I astonished, but instead of firing me I was given his job and his office. There were rumors about Mr. Van being offered a new job, but we thought someone who fit his criteria would get the step in and become Cruella De Vil, not me. Who knew sending the wrong article to the wrong printer could change my life? Life at the Tabloid office is always crazy, but I guess times will be changing now that I am in charge.

Crazy Days At The Famous Tabloid

By: Culani Burks

By: Creekside High School

Student

Page 15

Underdog to Wonderdog

By: Alexus Fuller

He was born a star

To die young.

Made a change in the world.

We bowed our heads and wiped our tears.

“How tragic.”

We said, as we all reflected.

Suddenly the day has come.

Cut deeper,

Messages that he had already made a plan.

Each phrase was more encouraging than the last and

He was lost.

That didn’t stop our words, “Do it for Deuce.”

Searching for help but all they found,

Was each other.

So they reacted as a team.

They swallowed nothing much except,

Their sorrows.

Smiling at their own accomplishments.

December 13 under the dome night lights,

A hurting team.

Comes home with an angel and a title.

STATE Champs, a great achievement.

South Fulton could NEVER complete

A ring, a player, and a bond that no one can lay to rest.

I remember a time once,

where I could walk into my home town

and not be shunned by the people. I

was accused and convicted of a crime

I never committed, and for that reason

I was exiled to my home beyond the

dried and cracked creek. I was brand-

ed a murderer, a scum, and servant of

the devil, treated with disdain and giv-

en the treatment of a blowfly harassing

the locals. Showing my face, even af-

ter serving my time in jail would be

border-line foolish, and, for that rea-

son, I live in solitude. I live in FEAR.

Friends? Yeah I had them; I

lost a few, well more than a few…

mostly all of them. I was expecting a

warm welcome back and my best

friend waiting to pick me up from the

gates of the jail but instead I got a

rusted, barely running taxi with a rea-

sonable looking driver. But nothing

ever turns out how you would have

wanted it to, especially if you don’t do

anything about it. Anyway, we had

been driving for about fifteen minutes

with nothing said accept “Where too?”

I was just looking out the window

thinking about where I go from here

and remembering all things I used to

do at the places that we drove past.

There was one particular

place that brought back a good

memory, and a lot of bad ones, too-

my old high school. The place where

my life was miserable. I never fit in, I

never belonged. I sat alone at every

lunch and watched all the other kids

playing football on the lush green

grass of the field, heard the laughing

and singing of the younger girls play-

ing jump rope and hopping along the

ground playing hopscotch drawn with

the silky powder of chalk, the squares

numbered one to sixteen. Until one

day…I had been pushed into a pit of

thick, gloopy mud that didn’t rub off

and that left me cold and wet. A girl

came up to me and asked, “Are you all

right? I saw what happened to you.”

But she didn’t help me up. That’s

when I knew she was one of them, but

that was an old memory now.

I live in fear because when I

am seen, people throw things and call

me names. And as I try to tell them it

wasn’t me they become even more

enraged at my presence. I know that I

didn’t kill her but they just don’t believe

me. These people even turned my

family against me but I can handle the

pressure. It’s been three years since I

got out of jail and still, I have no

friends, no family, not even a pet. The

only person I have is me but I’ll live.

It’s the price you pay for taking the

blame for the murder that my twin

brother committed.

Murder in my Town

By: La’Dell Finister

By: Creekside High School

Student

Page 17

A path not crossed but one that’s intertwined.

Blindly searching for something that you will never find.

Catastrophe bringing pleasure.

Devastation erases pain.

Everlasting hope begins to fade as a person goes insane.

Farfetched ideas become easily accepted.

Good deeds become punishable acts as negativity is neglected.

Heaven is no longer the ideal place to be, people turn in the opposing direction.

It seems as if people have become blinded and possessed by false misconceptions.

Jubilant emotions are no longer shown.

Kept promises are continually pushed back, loyalty is postponed.

Lost in a nightmare, one in which you cannot awake.

Money is no longer power; it’s just another way to deliberate.

No one is safe anymore.

People who once were sweet are now rotten to the core.

Quite a change the world seems to have embraced.

Robust values have been lost and replaced.

Senses of security have become indecisive insecurities.

Tolerating perfection, seemingly brushing off the impurities.

United we fall and fail instead of stand.

Vigilance leaves us somewhat emotionally bland.

What once was will no longer be.

X-rayed lies reveal the truth.

Your death makes you come alive, a feeling so untrue

Alphabet Poem

By: A’Jahni Aska

“Depressed Fashion”

By: Mark Reid

“Ink Drawing”

By: Daesha Walton

The Negro has been robbed, defrauded, and hushed up.

He has been overpowered by his employer, merchants, and government agents that are unjust.

Others have interests in The Negro as a means to an end

Acting friendly, just for pretend…

The Negro has not the desired purpose of only merely working, but of development.

For he has been urged to serve under selfish elements…

The forecast for The Negro race has been determined, temporarily

For the sun will be setting on the “American,” especially...

The Negro Found

By: Simone Salter

Page 19

Breaking News!! (brought to you by Richard Denson)

11/10/13

Roger Rabbit had the potential to be bigger than his father, Bugs Bunny. But his depression from being framed led to his

untimely death.

Roger Rabbit passed away on Saturday in a car accident. Coroners and police say that Roger had had too many drinks

and was driving intoxicated. His car collided head on with a tree, and he died later on in the hospital from his injuries.

Roger is survived by his now-widowed wife Jessica Rabbit.

Roger Rabbit was involved in the highly-publicized case involving the murder of Marvin Acme. He was “framed” and alt-

hough Eddie Valiant was able to prove his innocence, it still took its toll on him. He had been pictured as a murderer in

the eyes of all his fans (including children) and he felt that things would never be the same. This drove him to constant

alcohol abuse and arguments with his wife.

Jessica Rabbit reported that she and Roger had just finished arguing at their home when Roger stormed out with a huge

bottle of vodka. He drove off, not saying where he was going, and drove for about an estimated 20 minutes before run-

ning a red light and swerving into a tree.

Roger was an ageless wonder and he will surely be missed.

indeed this was not a gift it

was a curse it became more

realistic when she met the

love of her life.

Once upon a time, in a land

far away there lived a drama queen.

She would turn even the smallest

encounters to a huge Broadway

show. One day was 2 minutes later

for work, and made up this elabo-

rate story that included a dragon, a

subway store, two DVD rentals from

Redbox, a glass slipper, and Joe

the Pizza delivery guy. Everyone in

the offices were intrigued by her

story and was under her spell. That

was when she found out that was

originally perceived as a nuisance ,

or a curse was actually a gift.

She was a perfect liar and the

more preposterous her stories

started sounding, for some odd

reason, the more her audience

began believing them. Every

time something happened she

had an excuse for it. One day

she told them that her car

caught on fire and an old lady

came to help her put it out.

She became so good at lying

she started to convince her-

self; she soon realized that

Once upon a time in a land far

away there lived an enormous great

white shark. He had no friends to play

with, so everyday he would feel lonely;

he felt companionless. Everybody was

scared of him because he was big as a

mammoth and had teeth sharp as ra-

zor blades. The big white shark decid-

ed he wanted to go try and make

friends, so he went to the other side of

the sea to see if anybody was there.

As soon as the little fishes saw him,

they all scattered like roaches.

Whitey was vey upset and

thought to himself, “What’s wrong with

me? Is it because I’m big and look

scary? Why doesn't anybody like me?”

After a while came along a

turtle. The turtle spoke to Whitey and

said,“ Hi there what is your name?”

Whitey answered,“ Hi my name is

Whitey and why are you talking to

me?”

The turtle then muttered, “Well you

were all alone and you seem very ut-

tered, “You’re not afraid of me?” The

turtle exclaimed, “No, why should I be?

You’re not going to eat me are you?”

Whitey replied, “No, but everyone

thinks I will!”

The turtle then muttered, “ Well, you

are a great white shark, but my mother

always told me to never judge a book

by its cover.”

Whitey then turned to the turtle and

asked him if he wanted to play a

game. The turtle excitedly accepted

and told Whitey to wait here while he

went to go get his friends. Apprehen-

sive, Whitey replied softly “ok.”

The turtle seemingly proceeded to go

get his friends, but it seemed to take

too long. Hours and hours passed and

no one showed up to meet Whitey.

Whitey started feeling insecure and

depressed; he then proceeded to sob.

He felt like he had been duped. Then

suddenly the turtle showed up with

three friends, but they were all scared

to talk to him at first. The turtle said,

“Let’s play sea ball.”

So they got a piece of coral and start-

ed playing. After the first game the tur-

tle and his friends knew that Whitey

wasn't going to hurt them.

Whitey was filled with joy that he finally

had friends. He was extremely happy

that he met all 4 friends that he can

play with everyday. Whitey can finally

say that his “Happy Ending “ that he

always wished for FINALLY came true.

IN A LAND FAR AWAY

By: Sierra San Inocencio

Confessions Of A Middle Aged Drama Queen

By: ZaCouria McGowan

By: Taylor Overbey

By: Creekside High

School Student

When people ponder about

Valentine’s Day, typically they think of

a day of love, laughter and compas-

sion. You think of all the joyous and

loving times with you have with your

significant other. But when you run into

the wrong “lover” on the wrong day, it

can be the complete opposite. Febru-

ary 14th reminds me of the one who got

away.

Walking freely through the chili

streets of New York on the fourteenth

of February, I’m heading home as my

tiring and typical day comes to an end.

I decide, as I often to do, to stop at

Starbucks and treat myself to a warm

caramel latte. Patiently waiting for a

waiter, I sit in the booth all alone. Sud-

denly a familiar voice says, “How may I

help you?” Not concerned by the famil-

iar voice, I give him my order. Mo-

ments later he comes back. I look into

his eyes as he hands me a beverage,

and I stop with my hand mid-way in the

air. I soon then realize that the familiar

voice was once my high school lover;

the one who got away.

I grab my latte and dash out

the door. Not realizing that today is

Valentine’s Day, I run home and think

about all the good times we spent.

When I get home, I look through old

pictures online and I notice how happy

we were. Swiftly, the smile disappears.

Throughout all those wonderful times, I

then think about the reason we ended.

All the lies, pain, and hurt all came

crashing back to me at once.

Feeling depressed, I lay in bed

and try to move on with my lonely

night. I then hear a knock on my door.

It’s not usual that I get company, con-

sidering the fact that I just moved on

this side of town. I drag myself out of

bed and head towards the front door.

Looking through the peep hole, I see

my ex-lover. Franticly fixing my hair

and changing my facial expression, I

answer the door. He stands there with

a bouquet of flowers and a box of

chocolates; I assume that it is a gift for

me. We had a long pause before he

finally says, “This is for you.”

In amazement, I take the flow-

ers from him and I say, “How did

you…”

He cuts me off in the middle of

my sentence and says, “I love you and

I always have.” All those feelings that I

thought had gone away a few mo-

ments ago came back at once. We talk

for hours and hours, and conversations

seem ordinary.

Weeks, months, and years go

by and I find myself, once again, head

over heels. But this time the love felt

so real. Before, when I thought about

February the 14th, I thought about a

regular day of the year. But now when

I think about Valentine’s Day I think

about, how love can be a rollercoaster,

but also how you can always find your-

self back with the one who got away.

Valentine’s Day

By: A’Sheriah Jackson

Photograph By:

Trevise Wilson

Page 21

Once upon a time in a land far away there lived

a grouchy, shiny, and metallic robot gorilla that

knew how to cook anything it was told to cook.

Several times it was invited on the Food Net-

work to show aspiring cooks its flawless skills. It

never disappointed the ambitious taste buds of

world renowned food critics. Every time they

took a bite of its food, their brains gushed out

dopamine as every minute bite they took filled

them with bliss. The deliciousness of the food

was so intense that it could make anyone’s

mood shift to bliss. Some critiques even claimed

that the robot gorilla’s skill was a form of art.

Even critiques with the most abundant vocabu-

lary were speechless to the meals the robot pre-

pared; it was as if the food was blessed by the

heavens. There was no one in Apeville who es-

caped the temptation of eating these meals, as

it was almost profane not to.

As perfect of a chef as the metallic robot gorilla

was, it had one problem; it was such a grouch

that anyone who tried to communicate with it

always ended up with their morale obliterated.

However, the meals prepared by the robot goril-

la always made people overlook its grouchiness.

Outsiders who never ate the shiny robot gorilla

chef's food wondered if getting your feelings hurt

was really worth this meal. The outsiders were

concerned and deeply confused.

The outsiders were concerned with the well-

being of Apeville that they formed a riot and

convinced some Apeville citizens to be a part of

it. “This must stop,” yelled the leader of a newly

established

riot. “We can-

not allow this

robot’s talent

to be more

important

than what we

feel, we must

act!” So after

some pon-

dering and

gatherings

with the com-

munity, they

decided it was time to find someone who knew

how to alter the grouchy shiny metallic Gorilla’s

personality.

As they made their journey to the robot’s restau-

rant a mysterious man caught their attention by

blocking their path into the restaurant. The mys-

terious man warned them that changing the per-

sonality of the robot gorilla would be something

they would regret, but no one listened.

“Changing the negative quality of the robot will

break its balance. If it is to be broken then it will

have to adjust its positive qualities to re-

balance,” said the mysterious man.

“I am pretty sure that with such glorious

minds in Apeville, we can simply reprogram this

robot to our liking, Mister,” replied the lead riot-

er.

“Well, don’t listen to the mysterious

By: Carlos Alberto Hernandez

The Shiny Metallic Robot

Gorilla

The Shiny Metallic Robot Gorilla

man, it’s not like he has any say as a citizen of Ape-

ville,” murmured the mysterious man as the rioters

walked in to get the robot.

The people of the community booted down the

robot and took him to get repaired. Outside the myste-

rious man just glared, as if he knew something. They

took him to one of the most advanced robot program-

mers there was in town. Once they arrived at the pro-

grammer’s house, they realized that it was a very old

woman, by the name of Silvina. The rioters handed the

robot over to her and asked if she could install some

more “User-Friendly Software”.

“Can you uninstall the grumpware the robot

has please?” demanded the lead rioter.

Following the demand of the lead rioter, the

rest of the rioters let out a bunch of screams with com-

plaints. Once the lead rioter handed the robot over,

Silvina immediately recognized the robot she was

dealing with. She agreed to their demands and with a

smirk said, “Of course I will. I love the food of the ro-

bot, but I know what to expect from such a perfect

crafter of food, but sure I’ll do it for free.” She got to

work immediately; the rioters stared as if they were

spectators for a very entertaining sport. Once finished

Silvina let out a laugh of victory, many of the rioters

stared in confusion; she then turned to them and

warned them that she is finished.

The rioters returned to the community and no-

tified them about the robot gorilla’s return.

“He is back and ready to satisfy us completely,

not only with great food but also with great service,”

announced the riot leader. Once they received the

good news, they decided to throw a party in order to

test out the robot gorilla’s cooking skills. The gorilla

decided to cook steak with pasta as a side dish. It was

confident and ready to tackle the task that was put in

front of it, so it finished instantly. People

gazed at the food in confusion; it looked

different from a usual plate from the robot

gorilla. The steak looked burnt and had a

rugged look to it and the pasta was dry with

a bland look to it. However, they ignored it

and decided to give it a try anyways. As

they noticed how much friendlier the robot

gorilla was, they also noticed that they in-

gested the worst tasting food in history.

“What is this, it tastes like some-

thing my wife would cook,” yelled out a customer as he

spit the food from his mouth.

Out of nowhere people sought medical attention as the

food contained ingredients that usually aren’t meant

for consumption of a human. This led people to regret

tweaking this robot. The community as whole learned

that no matter how someone or something is they

should just let it be not interrupt the flow of nature or in

this case machine.

“That mysterious man was right,” says the riot

leader, “we must go back and fix the robot once

again.”

With this lesson learned they took the robot

back to Silvana to check if they could get a restoration

of the robot’s old software. To their surprise the myste-

rious man who warned them about tweaking the robot

was there.

“What are you doing here mister?” asks the

riot leader.

Following the riot leader’s question his follow-

ers yell “YEAH! What are you doing here?!”

“I live here, this is my home,” replies the mys-

Page 23

By: Carlos Alberto Hernandez

The Shiny Metallic Robot Gorilla

terious man, “I am Kashikoi 53 and I am a robot that is

programmed specifically to keep all the robots made

by maker, Silvana working the way they are supposed

to be working.”

“So you’re telling me that the robot gorilla was

programmed to be grumpy?” asks the riot leader.

Kashikoi began to explain, “Why yes, you see

a while back, it was the golden age of robotics, and the

top pioneer was Silvana. One day she made the most

glorious robots ever, they could do anything a human

could thirty times better, however as perfect as these

robots were, Silvana realized that they aren’t durable.

And in order for them to last, they, like humans must

have some type of balance in them, what you call im-

perfections.”

The rioters were dazzled and angry, but as

angry as they were at Silvana, they couldn’t help but to

praise her elaborate plan. Kashikoi then attended them

and let them know that Silvana knew that they’d be

back, but she wasn’t going to be in town for a while.

However, he informed them that there was a simple

solution to revert the robot gorilla back to the way it

used to be, all they had to do was cook a meal for him.

They rapidly ran back downtown to the robot

gorilla’s restaurant where they decided they would

cook the best meal ever made in

the history of Apeville. They

knew that this would take an

eternity, so they were prepared

for this. Everything needed was

already at the shop, so all they

needed was patience. They be-

gan by marinating the meat used

for the meal in the oldest wine

they could find. They soaked it in

the wine for a day, and at the 24 hour mark they began

to cook. There were egg shells everywhere, particles

of salt and spices on the burgundy tile floor, and a gar-

den of vegetables in every counter. During the cooking

process the rioters began to realize that they them-

selves were getting grumpy which led to an epiphany;

they realized that they, the customers, weren’t what

made the robot gorilla grumpy, but the time consuming

process of cooking such perfect food. After a few more

hours of grumpy cooking they were finished and they

excitingly called the robot gorilla to eat. After the first

bite, his eyes turned red and his muffler released a

cloud of black smoke and everyone began smiling

once again.

Page 23

Dear W riter ’s Block,

I t ’s not you; i t ’s me. I want to be a wr iter , more so a journal ist , but for some

reason I ’ve lacked inspirat ion, mot ivat ion, and dr ive these past few weeks. Maybe i t ’s

the lack of obvious subjects. I t could poss ib ly be that I ’ve t ied my whole t ime into edit-

ing the newspaper, that I forgot the other s ide of th is c lass’ t i t le . Maybe i t ’s just that

I ’m so focused on f in ish ing the chal lenging c lasses so I can hurry up and graduate,

that I ’ve lost s ight of a chal lenge look ing me r ight in the eyes.

When I was on b leacherreport .com and peachtreehoops.com dur ing the sum-

mer, I b logged several t imes a week and was overf lowing wi th words and ideas. May-

be i t was because i t was sports , more par t icu lar ly basketbal l , and I ’m real ly into that

k ind of s tuf f . Each week was f i l led wi th something new to comment and wr ite about

because i t was NBA’s of fseason: the per iod of f ree agency, rook ie summer league,

and my par t icu lar team was undergoing a fu l l reboot / reconstruct ion - new coach,

staf f , p layers , and a re lat ive ly new GM; who wouldn’ t have th ings to wr ite?

I guess now that I ’m back in school , I ’m f inding i t hard to get inspired and mot ivated.

There are thoughts , ideas, and stor ies a l l around me but I ’ve fa l len v ic t im to the

dreaded “Senior i t is” . I t ’s not that every day in school is bad and st ressfu l because i t

isn’ t . I t ’s just not conduc ive to new thoughts and new wri t ing. I ’m tak ing for granted

what I have and what ’s in f ront of me. I ’m not stretching myself to f ind topics compel-

l ing enough to wr i te about.

I know that anyth ing can be interest ing f rom the voice of a good wr iter and I ’m str iv ing

to be a great wr i ter , maybe even one of the best to do i t ! So what k ind of wr iter am I i f

I can only be inspired by my l i fe ’s s i tuat ions, c ircumstances, and my teacher ’s instruc-

t ions? I should be able to wr i te on a d ime!

I want to push myself as a wr iter . I p lan to go to col lege and potent ia l ly major

in journal ism. I ’ve heard that to become a good wr i ter you need to wr i te every day, es-

pec ia l ly s ince I want to work in the sports wor ld where journal is t ic wr it ing is a l ike ly

pathway. I ’ve a lso been to ld that my f ic t ion wr i t ing style is pret ty good. The other

day I wrote an obituary for a f ic t ional character . I have never wr it ten an obituary in my

l i fe! Obituar ies tend to make me very emot ional . Never theless, the words seemed to

just “come to me,” as cheesy as that may sound. One would have thought that the per-

son in the obi tuary was real. I observed the faces of those reading my piece and they

seemed deeply absorbed in i t . The response received f rom th is new f ict ion wr i t ing

style was shock ing! This new wr i t ing exper ience woke me up f rom the rugged compla-

cency of my usual wr it ing style.

So, now I ’m trying th is “prompt -a -day” th ing for every t ime I have to wr ite a f ic-

t ion p iece. However , I must acknowledge that I have a busy schedule which inc ludes

two chal lenging core c lasses (Calculus and AP Lit .) , Aviat ion, marching band, basket-

bal l , and a s lew of other ext racurr icular ac t iv i t ies. This real i t y, coupled wi th tr ying to

f ind t ime to rest , re lax , and soc ia l ize, is not conduc ive to generat ing a real ist ic expec-

tat ion that I wi l l cons is tent ly d ish out good writ ings for th is l i terary magazine. I

g lanced over the f irs t few magazine -prompt topics , but af ter day seven, I forced my-

self to s top. Ins tead, I jus t dec ided to keep on going wi th th is unt i l I f in ished al l four-

teen wri t ing prompts . I want to be surpr ised by how I wr ite on my toes. I ca l l i t “ Improv

-Writ ing”.

So Writer ’s Block, th is is goodbye. I ’m sure I ’ l l see you again one day, but for now,

don’t even try cal l ing. We’re done! We’re f in i to! Vamoose!

Sincerely,

Page 25

Dreams Do Come True

By: Sierra San Inocencio

“Honey, Honey, Honey, wake up,

wake up! It’s time to get up. To-

day’s the day to go out and start

looking for our dream house! We

need to decide what kind of house

we’re looking for. I want our big

white dream house with a wrapped

around balcony and pillars out in

front and huge front and backyard

when we can just sit outside and

enjoy the view. And oh, it has to

have a lake by it,” said Ms. Daniel.

Mr. Daniel said, “Okay sweetie,

anything for my precious angel.”

“Aw, thank you honey,” said Mrs.

Daniel.

“Alright now go get ready so we

can be on our way,” said Mr. Dan-

iel

“Let’s go! We’re going to be late if

we don’t leave no,” shouted Mr.

Daniel.

“Okay, honey I’m coming,” said

Mrs. Daniel.

“Come on come on get in the car

already sweetie,” Mr. Daniel.

“Alright, alright,” said Mrs. Daniel.

As they’re driving they’re getting

more and more excited to see their

new dream house that they’ve been

looking for a while. After an hour

of driving, they finally pulled up to

their dream house. The realtor is

waiting for them to arrive and to

come see the house. Mrs. Daniel

got out, and she’s breathless once

she sees the house. She can’t be-

lieve this day has finally come that

she is standing in front of her dream

house and the searching for it is

over. She was so ecstatic that she

couldn’t wait to see how it looked

inside.

“Honey, the house is perfect; let’s

just sign the papers now,” said Mrs.

Daniel.

“Oh, now darling of mine, just be

patient sweetie; we have to take a

look inside now,” said Mr. Daniel.

“Okay honey, let’s take a look

then,” said Mrs. Daniel.

The realtor guides them to the front

door of the house, and Mrs. Daniel

just couldn’t believe that this will

soon to be her dream house. She

was just astonished on how im-

mense and completely furnished the

how was when they walked in, and

how the house had the pillars she

wished for that the house would

have. The realtor opened the door

and she let in Mr. and Mrs. Daniel.

They were amazed on how beauti-

ful it looked when they walked in.

Mrs. Daniel turned to the realtor

and exclaimed, “Yes, we’ll take it!”

“Now honey, we still have a lot of

house to look at, so don’t get ahead

of yourself,” said Mr. Daniel.

“But darling, dear I want it; it’s our

dream house and everything we’ve

been looking for so far,” said Mrs.

Daniel

“I know Sarah dear, I know how

much you really want your dream

house and I don’t have a problem

giving it to you but sweetheart we

have to look at the house first and

make sure there’s nothing wrong

it.”Said Mr. Daniel

“Okay darling, let’s get to it”, said

Mrs. Daniel

Okay Mr. and Mrs. Daniel, follow

me this way. This house has 5 bed-

rooms, 3 full baths, one half bath

and three floors. This will be a

great house to raise your kids in and

settle down years from now,” said

the realtor.

Mrs. Daniel wasn’t really paying

attention to the realtor; she just re-

ally wanted the house and start

signing the papers.

Oh honey, I love it, it’s absolutely

everything I ever wanted. It’s gor-

geous but waits; does it have a lake

side view? Says Mrs. Daniel

Mr. Daniel then turns to the realtor

and asks her, “Well does it have a

lake side view?”

Oh why yes Mr. Daniel right-out

here to the side of the house there’s

a gorgeous lake side view just for

you and Mrs. Daniel to sit on the

porch and relax and watch the

beautiful sunsets together for the

rest of your life.” Said the realtor

Mr. And Mrs. Daniel starting

laughing at what the realtor had

said.

Mrs. Daniel looked Mr. Daniel and

said, “Can we now get the house

please?”

We both like love it and everything

about it and most importantly it’s

our dream house and everything we

ever wanted, Mrs. Daniel said.

Mr. Daniel just stood there for a bit

and took everything it and looked

around and finally he turned to Mrs.

Daniel and said, “yes, honey we can

finally sign the papers.”

Mrs. Daniel jumped with joy and

finally turned to the realtor and said

we’d take it.

The realtor said “great, let’s get

started on the paper work.”

Mr. Daniel had this weird look on

his face, it seemed like he was

thinking long and hard about some-

thing for a while or that was bother-

ing him. He then came to his senses

and went over to the realtor and

asked wait a minute, Mrs. Evans do

you know about the history of the

house. Mrs. Evans looks shocked

like she had something she was hid-

ing. She just looked at Mr. Daniel

and didn’t say anything she tried to

change the subject by saying Mrs.

Daniel do you know that this house

comes with a pool and a full tennis

and basketball court?

Mrs. Daniel then looked up and

said oh really, that’s wonderful for

a day to have fun and relax.

Mr. Daniel again asked Mrs. Evans

is there anything that we should

know about the house before my

wife continues signing these

papers?

Mrs. Evans looked surprised be-

cause she has never been asked this

question before in her whole career.

She was surprised that today was

the first day that she has been asked

this question while buying a house.

She looked at Mr. Daniel and then

down at her papers and up again.

Ms. Evans is a little hesitant to

speak because what she has to say

might ruin the chance for her sell-

ing the house.

Mr. Daniel then looked at her and

said, “Well Ms. Evans is there any-

thing we should know?”

Well there is one thing that you all

should know said Ms. Evans. Well

what is it, out with it, Said Mr. Dan-

iel.

Well about 10 years ago there was a

family. They were a young couple

such as yourself and had two kids.

A boy and a girl, I don’t know their

names but it seemed as if they were

the perfect little family that I’ve

ever encountered on. But one day

everything just took a turn for the

worse. Nobody knew that the dad

was “crazy” and took medicine to

help him stay calm throughout the

day. One day he missed taking his

medicine and starting going on a

rampage. He started tearing up the

house and locking the whole family

up in the closet, he then poured gas-

oline all over the house and set the

house on fire. He then called the

police and told them that they need-

ed to come because there was a fire.

After he got off the phone cops say

that they found him lying in the

front yard dead. Since then we re-

built the house and tried to restore it

as much as we could so we can put

it on the market and try to sell it.

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel looked stunned

to what they just heard.

Mr. Daniel asked, “How long ago

did this happen Ms. Evans?”

Ms. Evans said, “It happened 25

years ago Mr. Daniel.”

Mr. Daniel said, “Well, sweetie do

you still want this house?”

Mrs. Daniel then said, “Yes, of

course. It’s been rebuilt and it’s our

dream house. I’m not going to let

an incident that happened years ago

keep me from my happiness. Well

Ms. Evans we will take.

Ms. Evans then finalized the paper

and finally said to Mr. and Mrs.

Daniel these are the keys to your

new house. I wish you guys the best

of luck to you guys and your future

plans in life.

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel said, “thank

you Ms. Evans same to you.

They all waved good bye and Mr.

and Mrs. Daniel lived on with their

lives happily ever after.

Page 27

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Copyright 2014.

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