Welcome to Mrs. Demko's 7th Grade ILA Class

Comments

• George

  It was a dark, cold, windy an afternoon on February 10, 2009. My mom, little sister, twin sister and little brother were at our church, the Saint Mary Coptic Orthodox Church of East Brunswick. We were just about to finish the priest’s lecture and leave. One of the priests of the church, Father Mark had just pronounced the heart breaking news that one of our priest at our church had passed away. It was Father Bishoy the eldest priest at the church, the one that was loved by all. Everyone in the whole church broke in tears even the 90 year old adults. He had passed away at a very young age. He had surgery because he was sick for 40 years…YEARS. That was the real major reason. We had the most longest funeral for him it stared at 6:00 A.M and finished the next day at 5:00 A.M it was more then 12 hours, but no one seemed to care. They, like me, just wanted to see Father Bishoy for the last time in his casket before they take him away and never saw him again. Somewhat that afternoon, the church was mourning for their beloved Father Bishoy. The only sounds heard were cries as the hundreds of thousands of people in the crowd tried to be brave and hold their tears in, but it somehow pushed itself out even through the toughest of men. Close to the end, our Alexandrian pope, Pope Shenouda, came with many other priests and bishops. He started to give a short, tearful and touching speech on how Father Bishoy was his favorite and his #1 student in the Egyptian Clerical Collage. He spoke of how he had sent Father Bishoy after ordaining him priest to go to America and build the first Saint Mary Coptic Orthodox Church in East Brunswick. Of course it took a lot of time, effort, and hard work until it came to the beautiful church it is now. He spoke through short pauses where his tears came in. As he kept wiping his bitter tears with a handkerchief, the crying sounds grew louder. I tried to be the most courageous there, but it was no use. Silent tears rolled down my red, hot cheeks as I struggled to hold them in. I often had to go to the bathroom to wash my face with cold water to relax my broken heart, but it just wouldn’t stop. The tears kept forcing themselves out. All my life I never thought this day would happen so soon. Me and everyone else that I know and don‘t know never expected to wear black, but we did and I wish it never happened. But in fact he never has left us. He may have left us in physical form, but I just know that his love and compassion is still in our hearts. So that when I think that he has left us I remember what the father of the church said and they were right. After the funeral I felt as if life had no meaning anymore. My family and I left and went back home. I was lying in bed, buried my face in my pillow and exploded into tears and. My mother came in trying to calm me down, but it got even worse. I was missing him too much. I had memories of him planning field trips, make speeches, and praying in liturgies. I still wish that he was here planning more field trips, speeches, and praying. His gentle voice still running through my head. If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be where I am today. It was like he was carrying the whole church on his back. It must’ve been a very heavy burden especially since he was very sick. I still have memories of him ’till this day. I will never forget him. That is why he was my favorite person in the whole world. I just hope he still remembers me.

  10/5/2009 4:04:46 PM
• Nicholas Mangarella

  Slip Up 10/5/09
  By: Nicholas Mangarella
  One quiet August morning, I was fishing by a railroad bridge which was right after the bridge crossing to get to Pt. Pleasant. It was my dad and I, and we were fishing for snapper which are baby blue fish. We weren’t catching them after a little while, so we were about to give up. Then we heard an elderly man say there were some snapper on the other side of the railroad bridge. I took a walk over to the other side and my feet were killing me. I was walking barefoot, but I didn’t know about the sharp pointy rocks over where the fish were. Every step I took Ouch, Ouch, and Ouch. It really hurt, but I wasn’t going to stop.
  I started to cross the railroad bridge and then I was walking on some sharp metal. It did not cut my fee, but it hurt a lot. Once I had crossed the bridge I had to step on some more sharp and pointy rocks. I just thought to myself, “Oh No. Are you sure you want to do this?” My answer was yes. I took one step on the rocks. Then another. I realized my feet still hurt. I took a deep breath and walked on the rocks. I went over to the spot where I saw the fish. I took a couple of casts but I didn’t catch anything. My dad showed up behind me.
  I took another step and “whoosh” I fell into the water. My dad was in the middle of a conversation but he just dropped his phone to come pull me out. I was holding on to a big rock while my body was swaying to the left from the ocean’s current. My dad grabbed my arms and pulled me up to the land. I was shivering a little. I still had my pole in one hand. My dad asked if I was okay and I replied with a yes. He said to the person the phone I have to go. I told my dad I would be okay but I was just really shocked about what had just happened. I told my dad to cast over where I saw fish and he kept saying no. Then I pleaded, “Dad come on.” He took a few casts and caught a little snapper. He told me to try but I didn’t get any. My dad said “Let’s go get you washed up and go and get your brother at the airport.”
  I joked, “Ok because I want my necklace he was supposed to get me.”
  My dad replied laughing “Yeah.” My dad and I just walked back and laughed. Walking back to my car, I realized to treat everyday with caution because you never know when you might just slip up.
  

  10/5/2009 4:07:46 PM
• Jacob Youssef

  My Fishing Trip
  Jacob Youssef
  
  The day was finally here. Today I am going fishing with my dad George and my brother Joe. So we packed our fishing rods and bait, and hit the road. We drove from our house to Pt.Pleasent beach. It was nearly a hour drive away, it wasn’t so bad. When we arrived at our destination, we went on the dock to look for the boat. Finding the boat was easy, because my friend’s dad was waiting for us. He was coming with us on the fishing trip. We got on and steered into the ocean water. It was a very nice sunny day with clear blue sky’s. To me it was a beautiful day to go fishing. I was so excited we were going really fast. My dad’s friend even let me and my bother drive a little.
  After driving we went into a complete stop. After we stopped we ate a sandwich and had a drink, I was so hungry. So after we ate, we started to get ready for fishing. We hooked on our bate and threw our rods in the water. It took a while but we finally got something. I yelled to my dad and said “Hey I got a fish dad”. When I reeled it in, it turned to be a small fish. My brother was so lucky he caught these humongous fish. I was wondering how he caught those fish. My dad caught a baby shark, but then we put it back in the water. All of the sudden I felt a hard tug. I saw something really big, so my dad says “Reel him in” Jacob. When we reeled it in I got a fish’s head. I told my dad how this happened. We thought about it and said, maybe it was a bigger fish that came and ate it. It probably didn’t get on the hook and it ate the other fish. We started to laugh so much.
  After we stopped fishing, we ate again. Then we relaxed and sat there. We saw other boats with tourist waving at us. So we waved back. I asked my dad to take one last hook and he said ok. So when I came to go one more time something happened. I THREW the hook and I almost hit my dad. Thanks god I missed , just by a inch. Then we started to head back to the dock. The fish we caught, we cleaned it and washed it. Then we wrapped it and took it home to eat. It was the bet time in my life. In my story my life lesson is never throw a hook or someone will get hurt. I decided to do this again in my life, but to all was be careful when you go fishing. You can’t blame me?
  

  10/5/2009 5:42:34 PM
• Nicole Shaffery

  My Dog Ate My Homework!
  By: Nicole Shaffery
  
  
  Creek…cling, cling, cling. That’s the sound of my dog Malibu entering my room, searching for something to make his own. He is very mischievous but gets caught fast. On the hardwood floor in my house you can hear his tiny paws clicking…the door opening….and his chains clinging together. He enters my room, sniffs around then just plops himself down on my floor. “Malibu don’t even think about it”, I plead. There’s nothing in here for you to take.” He usually likes to steal socks, pencils, paper and pen caps.
  My friend and I are doing our homework. I could tell that Malibu had that look in his eye. That any minute he would snatch something he can run with. He does that often. He kept looking at us then at our homework. I kept my eyes on him watching his every move.
  Eventually my friend’s mom came and she packed up her stuff to go. I went to walk her to the door with all my stuff still sprawled out on the floor. Well that was a big mistake. BAM!!!! My dog was off with a sheet of my homework! “Noooooooo!, I scream. Not my homework! Get back here!” I wasn’t expecting this at all. I was shaking and speechless and the expression on my face was inexpressive. I didn’t know what would happen next. So I first just got a treat and gave it to Malibu and he dropped the paper. Phewwww. What a relief. But there’s one tiny problem. My homework is ruined! Uhohhhhhh.
  Luckily I had enough of the paper to make a new one. Thank god. I didn’t know what I would do if I couldn’t. “You got lucky”, my mom said.
  “You got that right”, I responded. It was a tragedy when my dog took my homework. I didn’t think there would be any hope. This is a life lesson for me to remember. Not only should I keep my homework away from him but anything else that’s important to me.
  

  10/5/2009 9:24:33 PM
• Justine Barr

  Cookie Monster
  
  It was mid- afternoon, and we were driving to my Aunt Mary’s house. They live in southern New Jersey. So through the car window you could smell the salty air, and hear the waves crashing up against the rocks. “Whoosh.” “Whoosh.” Everyone we passed had a friendly smile on their face. It felt like I was at home. Boom! Bang! “What was that?, I pondered in my mind. As I looked straight ahead it was just the bridge coming back down. But, then I had the one unpleasant thought slowly picking away at my mind. “My cousin Matthew!”
  Even though he is only two years old, he is very opinionated. He also is just so adorable! But, what I was thinking was that like everyone, Matthew has an ugly side. He doesn’t like a lot of people. And he shows it too! If he doesn’t like you he starts to suck his thumb, and pout. But I, was coming prepared. I was not going to listen to the dreaded, “Suck!” “Suck!”, of his mouth. Since I was so absorbed in my thinking, I didn’t even acknowledge we were coming to a stop in front of her house, until I heard the brakes screeching , “Eeeeeeee!” Then our car hit a dead stop........
  I jumped out of the back seat. And ran up the deck into the house. I saw him sitting in the family room. So I ran by him and shouted, “Hi, Matthew!” I kept up my pace throughout the whole house until I got to the kitchen. I grabbed a GIANT cookie. And he ate it, trust me on that. All you could hear for miles was “CRUNCH!” “CRUNCH!” Then he gave me a big hug. And so now I knew that he liked me!
  Even though sometimes Matthew can be a handful, we do still love each other. I guess that’s really what the word “family” really means!

  10/14/2009 12:50:23 PM
• Giana Nguyen-Demary

  Locker
  By:Giana Nguyen- Demary
  It was in the mid-day and I was in the hallway at school carrying all my heavy books dashing to my locker like a race car. I was passing by many kids. My legs were very soar because I was walking fast. My face was as red as an apple. I was racing up the stairs, breathing heavily thinking to myself I would be late for class. I finally arrived at my skinny, brand new, silver locker. I turned the lock. Click. I opened my locker. I stuffed my books in my locker extremely fast and took my afternoon books. I shut my locker. Slam. Then suddenly..... OWWww!! I slammed my finger into my locker. A big chunk of skin was pealed from my finger. Blood was on the side of my locker and dark red liquid like a volcano erupting lava was on finger. Blood! I took my books and went through the crowds of kids with a worried face down the stairs while the blood on my finger was dripping down onto the stairs. It was like raining blood. I was screaming in my head, “Ahhh!” I finally got down the stairs. I dashed through the hallway really fast feeling wind go through my dripping face of steaming sweat. My face was so hot that if you cracked an egg on it the egg would cook. I finally arrived at my theatre class. I told my teacher Mrs. Langdon sounding like I was about to cry, “Can I go to the nurse?”
  She saw my finger and her eyes opened wide like they were about to pop out. She got a tissue and rapped it around my finger. Then she rushed me to the nurse’s office. When I got to the nurses office Mrs. Langdon shrieked, “Her finger is bleeding!”
  Two nurses bought me to a silver table. One nurse with brown hair rapped my finger with a paper towel. I was shaking. I thought the bleeding would not stop for a long time. The blood soaked the whole paper towel very fast. Finally the bleeding stopped. I was relieved. Another nurse with grey hair put some cream on my finger. Then the brown hair nurse rapped a bandage over my cut finger. I told the nurses what had happened to me. They told me to call my parents to pick me up. I really didn’t want to go home because I was going to miss my classes and make up work. So I picked up the phone and dial my home phone. My mom picked up. I told my mom what happened and she quaked, “I will be right there.”
  The brown hair nurse lilted, “You can go sit in that bed if you want.”
  So I went and sat on the blue, firm bed. I looked at the clock. Tick. Tick. Time was going real slow. I heard a door open. My mom arrived. It felt like my mom took thirty minutes to get here but it was only five minutes. My mom asked me in a worried voice, “Are you okay?”
  I told her, “Yes.”
  My mom talked to the nurse for a few minutes. Then my mom drove me home. Today I am in seventh grade and my finger’s that got cut now turned to a scar. That scar reminds me never to rush doing anything.
  

  10/14/2009 1:15:39 PM
• Dhiraj Peddu

  Money
  Dhiraj Peddu
  It was the year 2001, the year of 9/11. The story takes place on a hot summer day at my peaceful apartmeant in Edison. At the time was a 5 year old kid with hair as black as the night sky. Like every other kid my age I loved to play with toys. However, I was obsessed; I kept on wanting brand new toys every week. Even though my parents said “no,” I would keep begging them again and again and occasionally use the puppy dog face. My dad would always say no, when I begged, but my mom was easy to tire out. So weeks passed and we became toysrus most valuable customer and I kept on getting more toys until one day. On that day my dad sat me down on the couch and turned on the TV to the news. I was dumfounded, I didn’t know what we were doing. On the news they were showing a group of people who were homeless and begging for money, I felt so bad for them because they had nothing to eat and no home.
  While we were watching my dad said, “Dhiraj do you see these people that have no money.”
  “Yes!” I replied
  “Well this is what could happen to you when you grow up and if waste your money on unnecessary items.” insisted my dad.
  When he said that I imagined me as a beggar, I saw my family at my side ill and begging for food. I was looking to see if I could find a dime on the road.
  I was shocked. I didn’t want my future to turn out like that. After all I wanted to be very successful and earn a lot of money when I grow up. So that day I gave up my half toys to charity. It was painful, but a flashback of my imagination of me as a beggar reassured that I did the right thing and this would be the first step to a bright future.
  
  
  

  10/14/2009 1:15:55 PM
• Vivian Nguyen

  Remember to Close the Cookie Jar!
  Vivian Nguyen
  It was seven o’clock at night. Grumble, grumble. My empty stomach howled for something to eat; a snack preferably.
  “I am so hungry!” I moaned. Good thing my mother had just finished baking a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies. The smell of warm, soft cookies fills the air. Sniff, sniff. I smelled the sweet scent of the chocolaty sensation.
  “Yum.” I reached for the cookie from our ceramic monkey cookie jar, and bit into the soft and mushy goodness. Crunch, crunch. Delightful. Crunch, crunch. Delicious. Later that evening… grumble, grumble! My tummy shrieked for more cookies. When I go to the kitchen, I heard little noises… tap, tap, tap. I heard something. Something small. And I saw… ANTS!!
  “Uh oh….”I murmured. I peeked at the cookie jar. Tiny black creatures were marching they’re way, stealing itsy bitsy pieces of the cookies.
  “OH MY GOSH! AHH!!” I screamed. I ran to the highest point of the kitchen, which was apparently the chair. Then, that imaginary light bulb in my head flickered on. I had an idea. I walked around the ants, being careful to not squish any one of them. Opening the sliding door, they all marched out like little soldiers. I glanced back into the cookie jar. Nothing. Gone. Poof! Now I remember how these ants got in. I had left the cookie jar open. And so they all probably crawled in.
  “Clean up when you’re finished, honey!” my mother would always remind me. That phrase really applied here now. Something now I would never forget to do.
  

  10/14/2009 1:19:05 PM
• Tom Lanzano

  
  The Injured Hero
  
  
  “Lets go, Tom, bounce back now kid!” My coach Bill Geiger screamed as I trotted slowly into the left-handed batter’s box. It was time to be clutch, especially because it was the third inning and the game was tied up at 4-4. It was so quiet you could hear a pin dropping on the baseball field. It was as if nobody but the pitcher and I were on the field and as a matter of fact, the only people at the complex. But, that was the exact opposite of what the case was. There were so many people I couldn’t even count, and pressure was overwhelming me.
  Overwhelming pressure was upon me because I had a BROKEN THUMB! Yes, a broken thumb. Something that I didn’t want to have, and didn’t want to know either, especially because my team and I were going to Cooperstown to play in a North-American baseball tournament! My thumb felt as if a knife was stuck into it. I broke my thumb by un-cautiously slipping on the soaking-wet grass while trying to run for a fly ball at practice. Unconcerned about anything but the ball, I stuck my glove out and went, PLOP! I fell on my behind and cracked my thumb.
  Anyway, I was in the batter’s box trying to look as composed as anyone on the field. The pitcher throwing from the stretch, lifted his leg and threw a bullet by me. Finally, the count was 0-1. To myself, I was thinking, “ I guess bouncing back from an injury isn’t the easiest thing after all.” The pressure on my thumb increased heavily after I swung the bat.
  “Lets go Thomas, make the adjustment on your swing, kid!” Coach Ed, my third base coach demanded as if he was about to croak. Shaking, I step into the batter’s box once again thinking about all that has happened to me. I felt like I was giving in to my emotions, the way you do when something horrible has happened to you. With the meanest look on my face, I go through my batting warm-up, and here comes the pitch. The pitch that means everything to me. The pitch that will prove myself to be a great player.
  Here it comes, “Strike two!” the umpire screeches before I try to pull my bat back to myself. The, count, 0-2. I was as angry as you think angry can get, and while clearing the mechanism around me, I trotted back into the batter’s box with a purpose. A purpose to crush the ball off of this pitcher! I go through my warm-up once again, pull my bat back, and here comes what I thought was a 90 mile-per-hour fastball, BOOM!! It was a deep drive to center field. There was no doubt about it, GONE! I had just hit a three-run homerun!
  Everyone was so proud of me. I was totally ecstatic as I jogged around the bases. Everyone on the team was waiting for me at home plate. Right before I got there, I jumped onto the plate and everyone was giving me high fives saying, “Way to go,” and “How did you do that?” Then, I jogged back into the dugout with the biggest smile. The game ended and my team won 7-6. After the game I saw my parents and they were also ecstatic. My mom was in tears.
  Being different isn’t the worst thing to be in your life. Sometimes doing activities entirely different, are just spectacular. Everyone, I mean everyone, different, cool, popular, or even one with disabilities, always should have an opportunity to express their interesting ability. My homerun with a broken thumb really expressed what I mean. I will remember this for the rest of my life.
  
  
  

  10/14/2009 1:33:48 PM
• Nicole Shaffery

  My Dog Ate My Homework!
  By: Nicole Shaffery
  
  
  Creek…cling, cling, cling. That’s the sound of my dog Malibu entering my room, searching for something to make his own. He is very mischievous but gets caught fast. On the hardwood floor in my house you can hear his tiny paws clicking…the door opening….and his chains clinging together. He enters my room, sniffs around then just plops himself down on my floor. “Malibu don’t even think about it”, I plead. There’s nothing in here for you to take.” He usually likes to steal socks, pencils, paper and pen caps.
  My friend and I are doing our homework. I could tell that Malibu had that look in his eye. That any minute he would snatch something he can run with. He does that often. He kept looking at us then at our homework. I kept my eyes on him watching his every move.
  Eventually my friend’s mom came and she packed up her stuff to go. I went to walk her to the door with all my stuff still sprawled out on the floor. Well that was a big mistake. BAM!!!! My dog was off with a sheet of my homework! “Noooooooo!, I scream. Not my homework! Get back here!” I wasn’t expecting this at all. I was shaking and speechless and the expression on my face was inexpressive. I didn’t know what would happen next. So I first just got a treat and gave it to Malibu and he dropped the paper. Phewwww. What a relief. But there’s one tiny problem. My homework is ruined! Uhohhhhhh.
  Luckily I had enough of the paper to make a new one. Thank god. I didn’t know what I would do if I couldn’t. “You got lucky”, my mom said.
  “You got that right”, I responded. It was a tragedy when my dog took my homework. I didn’t think there would be any hope. This is a life lesson for me to remember. Not only should I keep my homework away from him but anything else that’s important to me.
  

  10/14/2009 1:36:58 PM
• Rupa Mitra

  
  “I Procrastinated!”
  By: Rupa Mitra
  “Oh no. Not again!”, I said to my friend. We have this major school project that was due the next week, and guess what project it was it was? Math! Ugh! Math can be so boring sometimes. But the good thing was that I have tons of time until the project was due! So when I came home from school, I wrote when my project was due on the calendar so I will remember. When I wrote that, I thought I had tons of time. So I went outside and I was playing with my friends. After I came home, I did the rest of my homework.
  The next day, I went to school and my teacher was talking more about the project and I still thought I had more time. When I came home from school, I played outside with my friends again and then I came home and did the rest of my homework. I kept doing that day after day until one day- I looked at my calendar and I saw that tomorrow is when my project was due! Oh no! What will I do?! I didn’t even start planning! Wait a minute, why am I just standing here, thinking?! I have a project to do! So I started working right away. I finished just in time. “I am so tired.”, I said warily. I had never been so exhausted in my life. The next day I was so tired at school. But the important thing was that I did my project and after I presented it to the class, I got my grade. Yes. I got a decent grade. I felt great. But I felt bad that I did my project at the last minute.
  After I gave in that math project, I’ve learned something very important. That when you have a project that is due, start planning before the due date comes closer, so you don’t do what I just did. Next time I’m going to know better and pay attention and care. Am I right?
  

  10/14/2009 1:41:34 PM
• Nolan Choi

  Freeze!!!
  Nolan Choi
  It was 10 o’clock in the stormy night. The night sky crackled above. Lightning flashed about. Flash. Crackle. Flash. Crackle. The wind and rain made the storm even more terrifying. The wind howled through my window like sled dogs howling through the blizzard alerting that they have arrived. I was lying on my bed under the covers in my room trying to sleep.
  The next morning, the weather seemed well inside until I went outside onto the deck. A breeze swept by on my pajamas and I shivered. I trembled with fear how cold practice was going to be unbelievably cold. I went to get my swim trunks and goggles on the hangar on the right of the deck. After I collected my belongings, I headed back into my home. I went back upstairs to my room to put on my swim trunks and went back downstairs to eat a bowl of cereal. The swim trunks were cold and the first words that came to my head were cold, freeze, frostbite, and ice sculpture!!
  After my tasks were done, my dad drove me to Crystal Springs on Dunham’s Corner in East Brunswick for team swim practice from 8 o’clock to 10 o’clock. The team name is East Brunswick Sandpipers. I placed my stuff on the chairs and went to feel the water’s temperature. It felt COLD. My age group was swimmers between the ages of 11 and 12. We waited for our coach Christina. At last! Coach Christina arrived.
  “Everyone get in!!” she ordered.
  Everyone who was in my age group shook their heads while trembling in fear and tried to induce Christina to do dry land. Dry land is when you exercise on land instead of swimming.
  “Can we please do dry land, Christina!!? PLEEEEEAAAAAASSSSSSEEEEEE!!!!!” they persuaded.
  “NO!!!” thundered Christina.
  No one entered the pool. Not any one of the swimmers in my age group entered. They all agreed that the water was below 60 degrees and they all backed away from the pool. I was the first swimmer that entered the pool to just get it over with. The cold water rushed by while swimming my warm-up.
  TWO HOURS LATER, practice was over and we probably swam about 115 to 145 laps. The whole team was happy to get out including me. Everyone wiped their bodies dry and packed their things. Everyone headed to the gate to get their ride home. The coaches locked the gate and waited until everyone left for them to be able to leave. I waited for my dad and he came to pick me up. We drove home and left Crystal Springs.
  Now that I know swimming in the morning can be a good thing, going in the afternoon after a windy storm can be a better solution. Next time I will convince my parents to take me in the afternoon for practice.
  

  10/14/2009 1:49:27 PM
• Frankie Wai

  An Experience of a Lifetime
  Frankie Wai
  The sun was searing hot one day at the beach. The fragrances of all different sun tan lotions hung in the air. The beach was covered with tons of different people; people coated in sun tan lotion, people tanned like crazy, and people soaked in the ocean’s water and I was in the middle of the ocean snorkeling, far out from the shore. I gazed at the abundance of fish and admired each and every one of them. They were all special in their own way. My mom was also with me and then, suddenly a gush of the salty ocean water plunged down my breathing tube and into my mouth.
  My head sprung up from the water and I spat to remove the disgusting salty taste from my mouth. It tasted like there was more salt in it than water. I look to the far off shore and see my dad jumping and pointing at something behind me. I thought, “What is there to see? It’s just the blue sky and the light blue ocean that I am snorkeling in!” I was corrected at the astonishing sight that was behind me
  There before me was an army of dark clouds. Each and every cloud, Pitch-black with the occasional flash of light signaling thunder. One side of the sky was shrouded in darkness and the other was still bright. It was like the sky was a bucket of water and someone had just dumped a lot of black paint into the it. The line between light and darkness was drawing closer to me and my mom. I stammered in disbelief, “Holy cra. . c. .c . .cow!!” The friends that had swum out to the sea with us had already swam back to shore. The feeling of panic suddenly drowned the feeling of happiness in our hearts. We had to get back to shore before the clouds caught up with us
  Not really thinking of what to do we kicked the water as hard and fast as we can with only one thing in our minds- Swim as fast as we can and maybe, just maybe we’ll get back to shore in One-piece. The race had begun. The thought of standing in a hot shower after we got back seemed to keep my hopes up. I suddenly thought, “Are we going to make it? What if the clouds catch up to us? Will we survive? Will the clouds beat us to shore” I quickly redirected my attention to swimming safely back to shore. I put all my remaining strength into my feet. I look up thinking, “We should have made some progress by now.” The shore seemed as far away as it was when we started swimming for our lives. It was like the storm was sucking us into its ominous darkness. I quickly returned to swimming as fast as we can.
  At this point, I paid absolutely no attention to the fish underneath me. I didn’t even notice them. I was too focused on swimming. I tried to calm myself down by looking at the fish again but there was less fish now. After a few more kicks, the fish disappeared. All that was left in our sight was the sea-grass swaying from side to side due to the current. Now, I had absolutely No feeling in my legs so I looked up at the sky. The storm had caught up with us. We were, under the clouds. This made me even more determined to get back to shore. With every ounce of strength left in me, which was not a lot, I kicked the water as fast and hard as my legs could handle. A few kicks and the sea-grass left our sight. Now all we saw was the millions of grains of the sand. We were almost there!
  Suddenly I felt a jerk on my foot! I turn around and saw my foot tangled in the rope that separated the regular area and the area that is only for people with snorkeling gear. I struggled to untangle the mess but my mind was still on swimming. I couldn’t keep my head above water with only one foot. I started to sink into the water. I fell slowly into the water watching the storm clouds advance forward, closer and closer to shore. I was in the water, motionless. I thought, “This can’t be it? I’ve tried so hard. It can’t be over. I need to reach the shore! I’m not going to give up!” With all the strength in my foot I kicked so hard it broke the rope! But I had cut my foot. I saw my mom already at the s

  10/14/2009 1:59:44 PM
• James

  James Chiarello House 8 October1, 2009
  Mrs. Demko
  Bye
  It was a cool October day, like the ones Joseph and I played football on. I could smell the exhaust of the U- Haul truck entering my right nostril, since my left nostril was stuffed. I knew that it was time to say goodbye. As Joe was tying his new shoes I bought for him as a goodbye gift, our moms were crying thinking about all the memories they had.
  “Well maybe Florida isn’t going to be as bad as you think”, I suggested, trying to cheer him up.
  “Maybe, but I’ll still miss East Brunswick”. Joe replied.
  “I guess”, I added.
  Our dads were talking about why Joe’s dad’s job got switched to Florida. I think it was because they didn’t have enough money to keep him.
  After we stuffed the last suitcase in the back of the truck, we sadly said our last goodbyes. As Joe went in the van, I thought to myself,
  “This is it, I’ll hardly get to see my best friend again. I saw him holding the football that I gave him on Christmas, I knew that he would always remember me. Now the car was motioning out of his driveway.
  I was wondering how his dad was able to drive with all those tears in his eyes. He put it in first gear and drove away. Joe’s hand was out the window waving goodbye to us, I waved back, even if he couldn’t see me. My throat felt like it was all swelled up and getting stiff. I ran into the street to see if I can get one last glimpse at their car turning the corner, but I was to late.
  Eve though I was filled with sadness, deep in my heart I new that Joe was going to make new friends, get a nice house, and be all good. I walked back in my backyard, and strolled around for a minute. I found the baseball me and Joe always used to throw around when we were bored. I also found his watch he left under my trampoline for a year. I moved on to my, planning to take a nice, long, forgetful nap, but then I stumbled upon the fifth grade yearbook. The only year that Joe and I were in the same class. I attempted to flip through it with out bursting into tears. But I failed to do so.
  I wondered if I was ever going to see him again, or at lease talk to him.
  

  10/14/2009 2:13:15 PM
• Amanda Fabian

  The Most Spectacular Gift Ever!
  By: Amanda Fabian
  
  Many people say that he is just a stuffed animal and he is old so I should donate him to charity. The truth is, they don’t know the story behind him like I do. They don’t know anything. He has feelings and was a part of my life since I was 5. Only I realize how important he is in my life. I went through many tough times and he was there through all of them. It all started one day, Christmas morning in fact…
  “Beep Beep BEEP!” my alarm clock burst into beeps of all levels of noise! I sprang out of bed startled by the loud, obnoxious noise! I was thinking to myself that there must be a reason why I set my alarm clock for 5:00am! It then popped into my head why I DID get up at 5 in the morning! It was Christmas morning! I was waiting for this day since December 26th last year!
  I hopped out of bed, not even bothering to put on my slippers, and sprinted down the hallway and into the living room. I could tell it was officially Christmas because I could smell my mom’s apple cider candle that she only lights on Christmas Eve and Christmas day! To add to that splendid smell, my eyes were so close t shooting like rockets out of my head at the sight of the green Christmas tree hovering and practically hugging the presents! Oh my! How the gifts were arranged one by one stacked on top of each other forming a rainbow of colors!
  I dashed to the couch hoping that I would see at least one snowflake out the window. I saw much more than just one snowflake, but a beautiful blanket of snow! It hadn’t snowed on Christmas Day for years. I automatically knew this year, my fifth Christmas was going to be very special and memorable!
  My family finally settled down and started to small talk about the dreams we had over night with Christmas music in the background. My grandma then struggled up the stairs with her arms full of presents taller than her! I dashed off the couch to help her so she didn’t fall! When she was finally up, she plopped down on an open space on the couch for her to recover from her long journey up the stairs.
  Not long after that, we started opening presents. First, were the stockings. I got many pieces of chocolate that would be gone by the end of the day! Then we advanced to the big presents! Oh Boy! My favorite! I got many of the items that I asked for. After I thought we were done opening presents, my grandma said that she had one more present for me. I was wondering what it was because she had already gotten me everything I asked for. Before I could respond, she pulled out a smaller sized package and placed it in my confused hands. She had that “I know you will love it” look on her face. I felt it and it was soft. That ruled out all electronics and expensive things. “Darn I thought its probably just more clothes.” I opened it up slowly, not very excited as I was to open the other presents. But then, my eyes caught a glimpse of something very spectacular; black fur! I was now very excited thinking of all the possibilities of what the gift could be. I decided that it couldn’t be a real animal because it would have been in a cardboard box with air holes on it. Maybe it was one of those fur real pets. No, those are heavy and this is not. Hmm I thought to myself, I have no idea what it could be! I was tired of guessing so I decided to open it and see for myself. I tore away the remaining wrapping paper, and held the most precious thing in my hands; a black Labrador stuffed animal! My heart skipped a beat. I stood in aw at the sight of this stuffed animal!! He was as cute as a newborn baby! I held him in my hands, running my fingers across his fresh coat of fur. He had that delightful new smell! He was stuffed perfectly: not to hard and not too flat. Nope, just perfect! Also, he was the perfect size for travel I won’t lose him nor will I not have room for him!
  From the second I laid eyes on him, I knew he would be with me for a long time. For the rest of the day,

  10/14/2009 2:18:05 PM
• Tom Berzok

  The Best Swim I Ever Had
  By: Tom Berzok
  “Oh my god, I can’t survive! “ I said Trudging along. The blazing sun came like there was no tomorrow at he Chitza- Nitza National Park in Mexico. It was about… mid- afternoon. We we’re on our way back when I saw my cousin’s, and brother at the top of the pyramid. “Come on Tom!” they screamed. So, T tried. Thump the first step, thump, the second. I was at, about the tenth step when I stopped. I wanted to continue, but I was too scared. That made me feel bad.
  We all got back on the tour bus. I was dripping with sweat, I was so glad the bus was air- conditioned. It felt like the sweat on my back turned to ice. “Okay since you all said you wanted to go to the Cenoté that’s where we’re heading.” The tour guide spoke through the loud speaker. “What?” I thought. I must’ve been in the bathroom at the time, so I just went with it. Within 10 minutes we where there.
  As I got my bathing suit on, I caught a glance at the spring. It was like one of those post- cards you find in a souvenir shop. My cousins brother and I rushed down the wet bumpy stairs…Or at least as fast as we could. It took a long time to get down because the spring was about 300 feet below the surface, and one bad move and… you know the rest.
  We flipped, flopped, and flew in. The water was kind of CHILLY, but it felt like heaven. I swam around finding my family and having fun. As I pulled my head out of the water I notice a ledge that was about 20 feet above the water. And, there I saw Charlie, Willa, and Sam all up there. 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…, and they all hopped off. Before I could say anything they all got out and went back up again. ”Okay Tom,” I thought,” you backed out on the last cool thing, go do this one.” So I got out with them cautiously.
  I walked up the wet, rocky stairs hoping I wouldn’t fall. “Hey Tom!” they all said in unison. Which was kind of weird? There went Charlie, and Sam jumping off like total idiots. It was just me and Willa. “I’m not going until you do.” She said sassily.
  Five minutes passed and I was still there. Even after all the chants from Willa and my family I still couldn’t go. I felt a knot in my stomach that wouldn’t go away. It just got tighter. Yes. No. Yes. NO. YES. NO. YES. No. Fine… I flung myself off, feeling as if I where weightless. Everything in my body went up. “Why?” was the last thing I thought?
  I hit the water with my left arm hanging out. “That’ll hurt tomorrow.” I said in pain. My left arm was as bright red as a raspberry. I swam over to my family. They all yelled a good job and patted me on the back. I couldn’t believe it. I could do anything it I put my mind to it, and to trust myself more. Jumping off a 20 foot ledge proved a lot to me. I should always try to take risks and have fun. Being boring is a drag and it takes away from other people, not just yourself. That day was the first day of the rest of my life.
  

  10/14/2009 2:38:13 PM
• Tirtza R.

  “No Jumping on the Furniture”
  
  
  
  “Ding, Dong” “Tirtza you’re here!!” Screamed all of the girls. I walked into Mandy’s house and gave her the present I got for her birthday. Mandy led us to her basement. Before we did anything, Mandy told us “DO NOT jump on the furniture.” Then Mandy stood on a sofa chair and told us some of the basic rules of some game called “Night Vision Tag.” So, Mandy went to the light switch and turned off the lights. Then Kevin and I went upstairs. We waited for one minute until we zoomed down the staircase. When Kevin got downstairs, he ran over to the corner and cornered 3 girls at once. So, I ran as fast as I could possibly go to tag them. I won! So Mandy and my friend Jackie were it. Kevin and I hid behind the couch quietly while Jackie hid beneath the steps. Mandy popped out from inside the pantry closet and scared me onto her really soft leathery couch. We stopped playing out of HUGE boredom. Mandy went upstairs to go to the bathroom. So I started jumping on the couch for fun. A few minutes went by. Mandy still didn’t come down yet. Jackie got on the couch with me. But as she was jumping, she jumped the highest I have ever seen but she bumped really hard into me. I fell HARD. I started to cry because my wrist started hurting. Mandy ran down stairs. “OMG” Mandy yelled! Mandy called my mom and my mom rushed right over to the hospital. The doctors told me to stay home for two full weeks because I fractured my wrist. Now I know that I probably shouldn’t ever jump on any furniture EVER again! It was a pretty dumb idea NOT to listen to Mandy’s rules!
  

  10/14/2009 3:11:12 PM
• Mariah Caise

  My Tongue
  Mariah Caise
  “Yeah! We are going to the Chittick playground!”I exclaimed excitedly. My whole family was going.
  It was a cool breezy day when we arrived at the playground. My brother, my dad, and I tossed the football around and the wind wrapped around me sending a chill down my spine. A little later football ended up getting boring for me so and I was very cold, so I decided I needed to run around. I asked Malcolm (my brother), “Wanna race to the slide?” I didn’t wait for him to answer, instead I immediately shouted at the top of my lungs, “Ready, Set, and ……… GO!” While were racing to the slide, I glanced back at Malcolm to see how far behind he was. “Yes I’m leading!” I laughed and shouted at the same time. Then, when I turned back around to see how close I was to the slide, WHAM! I was on the ground screaming, kicking, crying, and yelling! Thank god there was no one else at the Chittick playground with us. Automatically, Malcolm ran to where my parents were, which was on the swings, swaying back and forth. When they heard that I was on the ground crying, they both ran over frantically. My mom helped me up from the ground while my dad got the other side. I was on the ground for about five minutes because I was hurt so much I refused to get up.
  While my dad helped me up he asked, “What happened? I don’t really see anything wrong, so it must not have been anything too serious.”
  But then I opened my mouth to show him where I was hurting and he saw a lot of blood coming from the inside of my mouth. I was still crying and he couldn’t tell where the blood was coming from. “Whoa!” My dad shuddered, which made me cry even more and by now my whole family was crowding around me.
  “What did she do?” Mahalia (my sister) asked. “Do you see all that blood mommy and daddy?”
  “Yes, we see very clearly Mahalia, but we are wondering where it’s coming from and how it happened?” my dad responded
  “I… I…” I stammered. “I… was… was… running… and… I… crashed into the… that… bar!”
  “Aaw!” Mommy said. “Come here and give me a hug. You will be alright. I promise.”
  “Well we are going to go home and call the doctor. In the meantime you need to be more careful little girl!” My dad told me in a stern voice.
  The doctor arrived at the house about ten minutes later and started examining my mouth. First, he cleared all of the blood by telling me to go to the bathroom, rinse my mouth with water then spit it out. When I spat out the water there was blood mixed in with it. Then the doctor told me to put some peroxide in my mouth, so that wherever the blood was coming from it would stop. When I put in my mouth it stung and it tasted horrible. The peroxide tasted worse than a raw onion! After I was done with the peroxide the doctor looked in my mouth and he saw exactly where the blood was coming from… my TONGUE! “Now, I see why there is so much blood,” The doctor exclaimed. “Mariah has bitten off a piece of her tongue!” Everyone was shocked when they heard this. They thought it would have been something less serious!
  After fifteen minutes of the doctor sticking that light in my mouth examining my tongue he gave me a prescription for my swollen tongue. He told us that this medicine would help to relieve some of the pain I was feeling and to help my tongue grow back. “I don’t want this to happen to you again. I hope you are more careful Mariah!” The doctor told me.
  After this incident, I wasn’t able to talk right for about a month, but my tongue successfully grew back and is perfectly normal now! Next time, I will pay attention to my surroundings and if I would have paid attention this time, I wouldn’t have forced the rest of my family from leaving the playground and I would have been safer and not hurt!
  

  10/14/2009 3:29:25 PM
• Jacob Barry

  Ockanickon
  Jacob Barry
  I was cabin camping for the first time. We were in Pennsylvania, at a camp called Ockanickon. I was really excited to be able to go. I was sledding and we had a great time except they kept plowing it. “Why are they doing this” I asked along with others.
  They know we are trying to sled, we thought. That didn’t deter us. The cold, snow, and ice stung our hands and faces. They felt like they were on fire. We still were sledding. I ask a friend if I could borrow his snow board. He said yes and the first two times I fell, but nothing too bad happened, except for a couple of bruises and a lot of fun. On the third time I was half way down and I slipped slammed my knee onto the side of the road. I felt like my knee was broken but I kept on moving. I was sledding and noticed stinging and saw red. I ignored it thinking it was just my drink from breakfast, a couple of minutes later I saw a rip in my pants by the blood and decided to take a look. I saw a cut about two inches across my knee. It was a millimeter deep and wide. I decided it should have a band aid on it. I went inside and asked an adult if it needed to be disinfected. He cleaned it and put band aids on it. I went back out and I didn’t even notice that the band aids fell off. “I have to go back” I yelled to my friends.
  I went back to get more new band aids for my cut. When I got back the adults wanted to get a better look at it. They put new band aids on it and I went back. I went sledding again. The air was so cold that I didn’t even notice that I was still bleeding and that my band aids fell completely off and were covered in blood. I still was sledding though and I even participated in a sled race. We heard go, go, go, go, and I ran. I had to be careful though so I didn’t fall and slip and get hurt again. I made it to the sleds and slammed down on my knee trying to go, and felt stinging. I made it third and then everyone went back inside. I was so cold that I felt like I just walked into an oven. But I still wanted to stand by the fire to warm up my freezing fingers and face. I asked the adults to fix my cut properly and after a while of wondering one adult had the idea of duct tape. They pushed it together and butter flied it and taped it. When they finished I was a little upset and I felt that I could do things and wish they let me but I still wanted to work. We spent the rest of the night watching Iron Man and messing around with my night vision. I had a great time leaving Ockanickon thinking what will happen next. I also learned that you should tell an adult if you get hurt, even if you might not be able to do things. I also learned that you should take proper care when you get hurt and also when you go out to play to dress right. I could have avoided this is if just took extra time to put on my snow pants.
  

  10/14/2009 4:08:00 PM
• Amiti Sinha

  Cook!
  By Amiti Sinha
  
  Drip. Drip. The rain rattled on the roof. “Now what am I going to do? A good summer ruined!” I fumed to myself. I was in my cozy family room, on the soft couch, looking out of the foggy window at my wet backyard.
  “Amiti? Can you help me? Please!” called a voice from the kitchen. I dragged my feet to the kitchen. “Can you help me with these sweets? They are really easy to make,” my Grandmother pleadingly asked. Her black hair was tied into a tight bun on the top of her head and she wore a typical Indian sari, like all Indian Grandmothers do. She was visiting from New Delhi and had been here a couple of weeks but I hardly ever talked to her: any time I used to get after finishing my work, I used to spend with my friends.
  “Fine.... what do I do?” I groaned as I slouched into the half broken black leather stool beside the island. In a plastic container was a huge mound of dough.
  “First you pour the filling into the dough –- I am going to roll them out and give to you. Next, you pinch the sides and secure the pastry. Now you try,” my Grandma explained as she demonstrated. She worked as fast as a machine. It was hard to understand what to do at first and I messed up at least twice before I got one right.
  So I poured, pinched and secured, over and over again. While we worked together, my Grandma chatted. “I really miss talking to you Amiti,” she said. Then she started telling me funny stories about herself and my Mom. I almost fell out of my stool laughing when she told me about the time she was riding on the back of a motor bike, with my Grandfather driving. When the bike went over train tracks, my Grandma slid off of the seat and my Grandpa did not even notice and drove off!
  It was fun talking with my Grandma. I realized that I missed talking to her too. I remembered that when I was little, I always used to play with her. I would even follow her around the house!
  When we finished 70 pastries, my Grandmother heated up some oil on the stove. I felt so excited; I was hopping around the kitchen. When the oil started steaming, one by one she placed the sweets into the oil and took them out after they turned golden brown. The first one she made came out a little undercooked, so my Grandma quickly made another for me to try. The smell overwhelmed my senses and I found myself taking deep breaths trying to take in the divine aroma. My mouth watered like an open faucet! I couldn’t wait long enough for the pastry to cool down and popped one into my mouth. My tongue burned at first but the pastry was so tasty that I forgot about my tongue. The outside of it was crunchy and the inside was creamy and delicious. My Mom and sister also came into the kitchen to try some. They said that they had smelt them from their bedrooms. I was proud to tell them that I had made them -- partially, but I didn’t say that.
  I had an incredible day cooking and spending time with my Grandma; I learned lots of new things about her too. I had never thought I would like cooking as much as I do now. Since then I never lost an opportunity to spend time with my new best friend - my Grandmother.

  10/14/2009 4:14:51 PM
• Leena Kasa

  The Laundry
  I used to be lazy and never felt like doing my laundry on Fridays. As a result I had to learn the lesson about doing my own work the hard way.
  Once my mom offered to do my laundry while I do my homework. I gladly accepted the offer because I had a lot of homework for the weekend. So I sat down and looked at the agenda I decided to do my ILA homework first because it was my first period of the day. I had to write a story about a time in my life I wasn't able to trust someone. I groaned. They make us write about the same topic every year. I keep thinking of new thing, but I'm running out. I started to think and tapped my pencil. I don't know how long my pencil went tap tap tap because suddenly my brother yelled, “ Stop”. I just realized he was in the room with me.
  “Sorry,” I whispered quietly and tip toed out of the room.
  I put all of my stuff down in the living room. I sighed. I hated homework so much. I thin I'm going to explode one day. I could almost hear the boom in my head. I smiled inwardly.
  Since I had until Monday to do my homework, I decided to go read a book. I sat on the couch and started to read, but I couldn't concentrate on my reading. I felt really tired, but I kept reading.
  Soon, our cuckoo clock started to ring. I looked up a the clock. It was 6:00! I was having a little party in my head. Almost bedtime. I was really glad because I was having one of those days where you just want to wake up in the morning.
  I wondered if my mom was done with the laundry. I decided to go help my mother if she needed it. I walked up stairs to my room
  I went to the It turned out she didn't need any help. She completely did all of my laundry. I smiled and said thanks.
  I decided to take a shower before dinner, so I did. When I came out of the bathroom, I went to my room to find some clothes. I looked in to my closet and found that everything has been reorganized! I couldn't find my P.J.'s. I threw my clothes everywhere. It was a disaster.
  By the time I was done, my clothes were all over the room and I still couldn't find my P.J.'s. I just threw on the first pair of clothes I saw on the ground.
  I went down stairs really annoyed, but I kept smiling. My mom asked me,” Are you okay,” because of my strange smile and weird clothing.
  “Better than ever I said through gritted teeth. Strangely, she believed me. She just shrugged and went back to doing her work. I just looked at her like she was crazy.
  I knew exactly what I was going to write a story about for ILA. I wasn't going to tell her that she is never going to be trusted to fold my laundry ever again. I followed that rule, most of the time.
  
  by Leena Kasa

  10/14/2009 4:26:48 PM
• erik berger

  The Funeral
  Erik Berger
  Most people have grandmas, but they don’t see them too often. Your grandma won’t always be there, and you should see her more. Unfortunately I rarely see my own grandma. I woke up in the morning, it was a perfect day to watch some TV. “Plop”, I jumped onto the couch and clicked “Power” on my TV remote. While I was watching my favorite TV show, my mom came over. She had a sad look on her face and I felt like bad news was coming, “Erik, Matt’s grandma passed away.” She informed me sadly.
  I immediately turned off the TV, While Trying to process what I just heard. I responded “Oh no.”
  The next day my mom helped me pick out a black outfit for the funeral. It was hard finding clothes to wear for the funeral. I don’t have a lot of black clothes in my closet. When we arrived to the funeral, there were a lot of vehicles and we had to park far away. After a 10-minute walk, we finally got to the funeral home and as soon as I walked in my face changed. Cry. Cry. Moan. Moan. People were crying all over. It was as if they were all being tortured. Matt’s whole family was crying, including him. I really hated seeing things like this. It was very sad to see some grown men crying. I never thought I would see them cry in my lifetime. Friends and relatives came from all over to pay their respects to Matt’s Grandma. His family gave eulogies while crying and stuttering. My eyes got watery from seeing them so sad. I hugged his family and said in a sad way, “Sorry for your loss.” She was gone and that was that. It was definitely my friends’ worst day in his entire life. If I was in his shoes, I would be devastated. At least he knows that he always has support from his friends.
  Seeing my friend made me want to spend more time with my grandma. I realized that she wasn’t going to be here forever. The same thing that happened to Matt might happen to me! I prayed that that day would never happen. I used to not see my grandma too often, but that will change. Never again will I ignore her or be too busy for her. The next morning, I invited my grandma to go to I-Hop with me. We ate a lot of food while laughing and enjoying ourselves. I hope we would do it again because it was a blast.
  While leaving the restaurant, she said, “I love you.”
  “I love you too.” I emitted as we hugged. I was not embarrassed to be seen in public with her, only proud and happy to spent some time getting to know my grandma.
  
  

  10/14/2009 4:33:30 PM
• Amanda Wortham

  Danger: Wet Floor
  By: Amanda Wortham
  
  One hot summer day around noon, my mom mopped the kitchen floor. “Don’t go in the kitchen until the floor is dry,” she demanded. Our kitchen windows were open , the sun was shining, and the fan was on. I thought the floor was going to dry quicker, so I only waited two minutes. This is because I was really thirsty and wanted a water bottle from the fridge. After two minutes I couldn’t wait any longer because I was so thirsty. The bad part is that the fridge is at the other side of the kitchen. For about thirty seconds I tried to think of a plan to get to the fridge without slipping on the floor. I knew the floor was still wet because the floor was shining from the sun.
  I finally opened the dog gate at the door of my kitchen, and took one step in . Carefully I took another step in and now my whole body was in the kitchen. Slowly I took another step, holding on to a counter at first then a dog gate. Then I took another Step. Then another. And another. Then I got to the dog cages. When I got to the dog cages I was relieved. I was almost at the fridge and I didn’t slip. Very slowly I took one step and I wasn’t holding on to anything. “ Please don’t fall. Please don’t fall,” I prayed. Then I slowly took one step. I slipped, but I caught myself and didn’t fall. Then I realized that the back of the kitchen is more slippery than the front. That is because my mom mopped the back of the floor last. So, I knew I needed to be more careful. Then I took one step. Now I was one step away from reaching the fridge and being safe. I lifted up my foot, and when I put it down I heard a squeak. Then… my foot slipped, and I fell backwards. BANG!!! My arm hit the side of the dog cage really hard. It made a loud sound.
  My mom was upstairs in her bedroom, and she heard it. She came running down and she saw me on the floor. By the time she came down the stairs, the floor was dry. When she helped me get up, she said, “I told you so.” I got a big bruise on the back of my left arm. Then, I finally got my water bottle. I was satisfied, but my arm hurt a lot. I knew I should’ve listened to her, but I didn’t. It was all my fault. Next time, I know I should listen to my mom.
  

  10/14/2009 4:39:09 PM
• Peter Eskander

  
  Lost By: Peter Eskander
  It was a sunny day at the beach, the sky was a deep blue without a cloud in the sky, and it was very noisy too. There were a lot of people so you can’t find a place to sit there and I suddenly couldn’t find my mom. I was sad and afraid because I was only 6 years old and in the kindergarten. Two of my cousins from America, two of my cousins from Egypt, and I were there. My mom left us to get chocolate ice cream.
  I told them that I would go and search for my mother and tell her that I don’t want ice cream, but they told me, “Peter, Do not move from here!! You will get lost” I didn’t listen to them and I went searching for my mom.
  I looked here and there and everywhere but “I could not find mom.”
  I screamed loudly and cried but no one answered. I began to get worried and I searched everywhere; even the place that we were sitting at but I couldn’t find anyone. Finally I saw two lifeguards sitting and watching the beach. I went left and right lots of times and then I found a woman talking to the lifeguards and she was wearing a T-shirt like my mom’s. I ran at her and cried “moooooooooooooom. I found youuuuuuuuuuuu. I missed you so much I was looking for you for 10 minutes but it past on me like 10 days” she was happy to see me but she told me in an angry voice, “Peter, why didn’t you listen to your cousins?” Finally, we arrived home and I thought that going to search for my mom was a very silly idea and from that day I decided: from now on I will obey those that are older than me.
  

  10/14/2009 4:43:58 PM
• Jordan Green

  A Sunday to Remember
  
  It was a quiet Sunday morning at 11 AM, as my mom and I went to visit my grandma at Care One rehabilitation center. My grandma had gotten hip surgery during the past week, and she was currently trying to get back to the way she was before the surgery. While she was rehabbing at Care One, the nurses and doctors thought that her leg was clotted and gave her a blood thinner. It turns out, that her blood got too thin and she had a stroke. She was unable to use her limbs and waist on her left side and she could barely speak. She was just looking sad. I was so shocked because the doctors had previously informed us that the surgery had gone fine. But, all of a sudden, things just seemed to have gone downhill. Nothing was working out lately. First, she needed a hip replacement. Then, she had to go through rehab. Next, her leg was clotted. And worst of all, she had the stroke. I wasn’t sure if she’d ever be the same. I was just hoping she could use her left side again.
  I decided to give my grandma a visit. I walked down the quiet, sad halls noticing that everything was bunched up close together. As I entered the room, she lay there on the bed, eyes shut sound asleep. I took a good long look at her. All of my thoughts were racing. Not with excitement, but with all of the frightening possibilities. I was afraid of what might happen or where she’ll be in the future. I knew it was going to be tough to think positive. I didn’t want to wake her up, so I’d figure I’d let her sleep. I took a deep breath and slowly twisted the doorknob.
  I went to the visiting room and saw my mom. “Was it that bad?” she asked.
  “No, she was sleeping and I didn’t want to wake her up.” I replied. “It was bad just looking at her like that” I thought to myself.
  Instead I said, “It is like a dead zone in there.”
  “Yea it’s depressing, but she’ll get out soon.” She responded.
  Tonight is the night. My grandma will finally be coming home. I had just seen her but she was sleeping; now I was going to see her walking with energy for the first time in a while. I was so excited, and couldn’t wait. My mom had just left to sign her out so she can come back home. Tonight we were going to have Sunday dinner, just like we use to before this mess got started. I was eagerly waiting on the couch along with my brother. It was pretty silent.
  “You think they’ll be home soon?” I questioned.
  “Yea but I wonder if she’ll ever get back to her normal ways” he answered
  I sighed, “Yea it will be tough”
  “I think she can do it” My brother acknowledged.
  All of a sudden my dogs started barking at the sound of the garage door opening. They were here! We figured we would wait until she opened the door to get in. Once she walked in, we helped her walk up the stairs. The dinner table was set, and my dad took the pasta off the stove.
  “Pasta and sausage just like old times right?” I joked. She smiled at me. We sat down for awhile and talked. We talked about the stroke, talked about school, work, and my dad even added a funny story too. Not to mention we also talked about the future that lies ahead. That was probably the most memorable Sunday dinner I will ever have. Even though she may never be the same, she is still my grandma, and she will always be with us, and that will never change. I learned to always treat every day like a special gift because you don’t know how much longer people have. For a while, my family had gone through struggles. But now, they were over. It will be a long time be my grandma goes back to being the same old grandma of mine, but that is for another story.
  

  10/14/2009 4:46:59 PM
• Sam Friedman

  Money
  By Sam Friedman
  My friend’s dad got four tickets to a Yankee game, and my friend was allowed to invite one person so he invited me. I was so happy that he invited me! He could have chosen anyone! After an hour long car ride to New York, we finally got to the stadium. It was beautiful (well it should be for 1.2 billion dollars)! We got there an hour early, so we wandered around the stadium a little bit. There was a museum, suites (which are just fancy restaurants which you need special tickets for (which we had)) gift shop, World Series rings, trophies, signed baseballs, a Yankee stadium replica, and so much more! After wandering, we went to the Jim Bean suite which just smelled like the best hamburger I was about to eat. We ordered, and I had a 20 dollar bill in my pocket. It was too late for me to pay for my own meal, so I thought to myself, “I’ll pay for their ice cream.”
  When we finally got to ice cream, I gave them money to pay, but they refused to take it. “It’s OK, we’ll pay,” they responded. I felt bad about it. By the end of the night, they had paid for my hamburger, sushi, fries, more fries, ice cream, and ticket, and they didn’t let me pay for anything! For the rest of the night, I tried to pay them back, but they refused to take my money.
  “Please take the money,” I begged, hoping that they would take it. I really felt that they should take it. Finally, I made a deal with my friend that I would pay for Wawa the next time we rode our bikes there. (We both live right by Wawa and we ride our bikes there). I was very thankful for what they did for me that night and I made that very clear to them. Sometimes, it’s okay to just say “thank-you” and accept that someone did something nice for you.
  
  

  10/14/2009 4:56:29 PM
• Grace Wang

  Getting to Know my Family
  Grace Wang
  
  That day seemed like seemed just like any old regular day. I was around 7 and my brother was around 5. I came home from school with my little brother. We sat down and started to do our homework. Riiing. My mom rushed form the kitchen to go pick it up. My mom was at the phone for a long time. CLANG! The phone dropped. I whipped around to see what had happened. My mom was on the floor crying. “Your great-uncle…h-he…died”, she sobbed.
  Saturday we got our tickets and flew to China for the funeral. I sat miserably in my seat as we flew to China. When we arrived I looked around. There were all these strangers around me. Who were they? My parents walked up to them and started laughing and hugging. Then I realized they were me relatives! But I couldn’t even recognize them. I don’t even know some of my cousins. Even though I come from a big family everyone here seems to know each other so why can’t I? I felt depressed and lonely. Everyone knew each other except my brother and me. I started on thinking about how I barely even know my own grandparents. I didn’t even get to know my own great-uncle and I didn’t even get to meet him. But that doesn’t mean I can’t get to meet the rest of my family that are still here. So when we flew back I decided to try to keep in contact. It worked and now I can recognize everyone in my whole family.
  Families are important and are supposed to say together. I call weekly and every other month our family goes to china to visit them. We now keep in contact and they don’t seem like strangers anymore. They’re my family.
  
  

  10/14/2009 5:33:39 PM
• Jacob Youssef

  My Fishing Trip
  Jacob Youssef
  
  The day was finally here. Today I am going fishing with my dad George and my brother Joe. So we packed our fishing rods and bait, and hit the road. We drove from our house to Pt.Pleasent beach. It was nearly a hour drive away, it wasn’t so bad. When we arrived at our destination, we went on the dock to look for the boat. Finding the boat was easy, because my friend’s dad was waiting for us. He was coming with us on the fishing trip. We got on and steered into the ocean water. It was a very nice sunny day with clear blue sky’s. To me it was a beautiful day to go fishing. I was so excited we were going really fast. My dad’s friend even let me and my bother drive a little.
  After driving we went into a complete stop. After we stopped we ate a sandwich and had a drink, I was so hungry. So after we ate, we started to get ready for fishing. We hooked on our bate and threw our rods in the water. It took a while but we finally got something. I yelled to my dad and said “Hey I got a fish dad”. When I reeled it in, it turned to be a small fish. My brother was so lucky he caught these humongous fish. I was wondering how he caught those fish. My dad caught a baby shark, but then we put it back in the water. All of the sudden I felt a hard tug. I saw something really big, so my dad says “Reel him in” Jacob. When we reeled it in I got a fish’s head. I told my dad how this happened. We thought about it and said, maybe it was a bigger fish that came and ate it. It probably didn’t get on the hook and it ate the other fish. We started to laugh so much.
  After we stopped fishing, we ate again. Then we relaxed and sat there. We saw other boats with tourist waving at us. So we waved back. I asked my dad to take one last hook and he said ok. So when I came to go one more time something happened. I THREW the hook and I almost hit my dad. Thanks god I missed , just by a inch. Then we started to head back to the dock. The fish we caught, we cleaned it and washed it. Then we wrapped it and took it home to eat. It was the bet time in my life. In my story my life lesson is never throw a hook or someone will get hurt. I decided to do this again in my life, but to all was be careful when you go fishing. You can’t blame me?
  

  10/14/2009 5:46:45 PM
• Jenny Hoffman

  Where Are You
  By: Jennifer Hoffman
  Buzz, buzz. My alarm goes off at 7:30. Today my mom is taking my grandma, my older sister, and me to New York City. We’re going to see the Rockettes at Radio City!! It was going to be the best day of my life. I went into the kitchen for breakfast. I open the cabinet to get a bowl and I see there is only one bowl left. As I reach for it, I saw a long arm go over mine and get it first.
  “Hey that’s mine, give it back,” I yelled at my older sister, Kathleen.
  “Get over it. I got it first, so it’s mine,” Kathleen replied. Since she’s ten and I’m only eight, she thinks she’s way better than me. I take out a soup bowl and fill it with cereal.
  After breakfast, went back to my room to get dressed. Since it was winter I knew I had to dress warm. I threw on a pair of jeans, a long-sleeve shirt, a sweat shirt, two pair of socks, and my boots. I was really excited for the up coming day.
  About a half an hour later my mom, my grandma, Kathleen, and I stood in a bus station in New Brunswick, waiting for our bus. Even in the bus station it was still freezing cold. The bus station had this really bad smell. It smelt like gasoline and that a skunk had just been there. The whole place was plain white walls and floors and the benches were silver. To pass the time Kathleen and I played a hand game. Finally, about ten minutes later, the bus came. I made sure I got a window set next to my grandmother. As the bus headed to New York City, I had my face pressed up against the window to look at all the big buildings. They were amazing. At the time I wanted to work in a big building like those I saw, but with a good view.
  When we got to New York City, my mom gave both Kathleen and me hats, scarves, and gloves. We walk slowly out onto the freezing streets of New York City. The smell of hotdogs, pretzels, and roasting nuts filled my nose. The streets were crowed with cars and the sidewalks were full of people. The noise from all the people and cars gave me a big headache. Being that our show didn’t start until 1:00, we’re going to have an early lunch.
  We went to Kathleen’s favorite restaurant, Hard Rock Café. The wait was really long and the food was really bad. I got a burger that was so burnt it was coal black. Also the background music was really loud. They were also playing really old music like Aerosmith and the Beetles that I really didn’t like. After lunch we went to the theater. We had to wait outside for about 15 minutes before they let us in. The show was amazing. There was really cool lights and singing and dancing.
  Once we got out we headed down the street to the bus station. As we walked, I stopped at the store on a corner to look at their window display. It was amazing. It was full of toys and other really cool things. I turned around to show my mom something, but she’s gone. I turn in a full circle and my grandmother and Kathleen were gone, too.
  My heart stopped. I couldn’t believe it, I was lost in NEW YORK CITY!!! All I could hear were the streets full of cars and the thousands of people around me. I could still smell the hotdogs, pretzels, and roasting nuts, but I didn’t pay attention to any of these things. What if no one finds me or if someone kidnaps me because they see I’m with no parent? These questions and others raced through my head as I looked around me for any sing of them. I kept turning around and around, but I still didn’t see them. I was also wandering, if Kathleen, mom, or grandma ever found me, how much trouble I was going to be in. Even though it was about only 10 degrees out, I was so hot, I was sweating. I felt like I was going to be sick. This was the worst day of my life by far. My vision went blurry. Right when I was on the verge of tears, I see Kathleen’s head poke around the corner. I quickly ran towards her. For the first time in my life, I was happy to see her.
  “You don’t know how glad I am to see

  10/14/2009 6:04:12 PM
• Phillip

  October 4, 2009
  Selfishness
  By: Phillip Park
  
  Click. Click. The sun was dimming. A cool air flowed in through the window. Noises are blasting around the room. The keys are being pressed rapidly. The computer is flashing and I was playing games on the computer for a long time. I was having a lot of fun until… the door swung wide open and my brother walked in.
  What is he doing? I wondered. He always does something different. It is either playing with the toys and then start watching TV or grabbing a piece of paper and begin drawing. He didn’t come in to play with the toys or to draw though. I guess he wants to draw since he is coming toward the printer. Wait. No. I bet he will ask me a question since he isn’t grabbing a piece of paper which is, clearly, right next to him. Does he need to check something on the computer?
  He walked up to me and asked, “Can I play?” He didn’t use it for a while now, so I would have said yes, but it was back then, not now. So back then, I replied with a, “No.” He was innocent and fair, but I felt nothing.
  “Why not?” my brother asked.
  “Because I still wanted to play,” I replied. I wasn’t as nice then. Actually, I fought with my brother a lot more in the past. He huffed in anger and left the room. I got up and closed the door as he left the room because my ear started to hurt.
  As I finished using the computer, I thought that I should tell my brother. I found him watching TV in the living room. I was glad seeing him happy again until I started talking.
  “Hey. I’m done using the computer.”
  … No answer. I felt a slight anger in the air that gave me the chills.
  “Ok. Fine. The silent treatment. Two can play it that way… Ok only one can.”
  He just ignored me and continued watching the TV. I felt bad that I was so selfish. To me, people with weak minds can be controlled by greediness and I don’t want to be one of them. I don’t want to be selfish and greedy. I wanted to be strong minded and fair. So for me to learn that lesson, I had to find out the hard way.

  10/14/2009 7:34:11 PM
• Michael Liu

  AMAZING CLIMBING
  By Michael Liu
  Look how high the mountain goes!” We were at the famous Hua Shen mountain located in Xian, China. I laughed to my mom as we were on the shuttle Bus. This part of the Journey was too dangerous for people to walk on foot. If you fall off or lose your balance, you can become seriously injured. Right now we were 800 meters from sea level. When looking down, you could see the waves crashing down on the side of the mountain.
  We took a cable car next to the peak of a tiny mountain and continued making the journey. This was an adventure of a lifetime. We climbed onto giant slabs of rocks and natural formations while hiking through some undergrowth. There were parts where there was only a wooden plank with only a medal chain to hold on to. This was the Journey 7 soldiers took. There were terrorists camped onto the peak of the Mountain at 2903 meters. They took the treacherous path up to the sleeping terrorists. They climbed, climbed and climbed. It took them 10 hours to make the journey but they had a advantage and killed the terrorists. While climbing the mountain, I noticed it seemed to go on and on forever.
  That was when I looked up! The tip of the mountain had pierced through the thick layer of clouds!! I felt like I was going to Mt. Olympus. I was going to meet Zeus!” I joked to my mom. After an hour of climbing, I started to notice that it started to get colder. The higher I climbed the colder it became. Before long many people had started wearing winter coats stuffed with animal fur all of which looked very expensive. Looking down from where I was, It was a spectacular sight. There were many shades of green, brown, and some blue all of which seemed to have been made 1000s of years ago. It was the kind of picture that seemed to come out of a story. By now I had started to get very scared at the altitude we were currently at. I was so high, I was only a few inches away from the clouds. I started to get scared when I looked down. The ground was hidden away. FAR, FAR, AWAY! I quickly ran to the farthest place away from the ledge. I felt a great wave of fear rush through me. My mom sat next to me and started to calm me down. “Son, if you try your hardest and be brave, you can achieve anything” she said with a kindness in her voice.
  After the talk, I felt much better, she had given me the confidence to climb up to the peak of any mountain! “ I can do it!” I said out loud, the confidence in my voice. She couldn’t climb with me so I quickly started to climb without my family. They were all too scared and tired. Finally, it was time for the Dragon’s path. This was the path that led straight up to the top and never turned. It was like walking up into heaven! Climbing up and up was VERY TIRING on the Dragon’s path. My legs were burning of pain as if I had just fallen into a giant burning pot. But the determination my mom had given me helped me to run all the way to the top. I looked at the long path before me and it seemed very short. It was very short after all. I had made it in less than 15 minutes. “Woo!” I laughed as I reached the top. I looked at people gazing from the peak of the mountain down and noticed that the sight was almost too crazy. I saw one person walk over to the edge and watched as he fainted the moment she had looked down. I look down and a shiver went down my spine. WOAH! It was like the kind of sight you would see when you were on an airplane and be looking down through the window. You could only see the clouds and very light shades of green. I have completed the adventure of the 7 brave soldiers. Today, I had realized that if you try your best, than you can accomplish anything!
  
  

  10/14/2009 8:29:20 PM
• Amanda Evans

  Sunk
  By Amanda Evans
  "Ahhhhh!", I screamed as I fell straight into the wet mud. Covered up to my knees in mud, I started to panic. I knew that I was definitely stuck, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to get out.
  On that sunny Sunday afternoon, I had been going for a hike in the Rutger's Gardens woods, as my family calls them. It was the first time it hadn't rained in days so my aunt, my brother Brandon, and I decided to go out and enjoy the day. We were hiking in the beautiful park, I guess you could call it, that is very close to my house. In the first section when you enter there are gardens with beautiful flowers surrounding everything. There were even some private farms on the side with crops growing and animals all around. Next of course, are the forests. They are gorgeous forests with tall trees and some clearings separating them. Inside the forest, there is also a remote section with only pine trees. However the best secret hidden inside the forest is are the bamboo trees, which consist of huge bamboo stalks shading the entire area. This is also where we were trying to get to on our hike.
  On the first trail that we came across that started at the parking lot, we hiked on. We were only a few minutes in when we had reached a section where the river that ran along the side of the forest was in view. I suspected you could see this basically on every place on the trail we had chosen and maybe that was why we had chosen it, so we could follow along the river? However, I wasn't sure about this. But slightly in from the river, my brother and I saw a large fallen tree going across a small section of land. It was only about two or three feet off the ground so I was not worried when my brother dared me to cross over it. "Go ahead, Amanda. I'd love to see you get across since you always think you can do anything," he laughed mockingly. I didn’t like what he had said, but I considered this a challenge and wanted to prove I could cross this fallen tree since by the tone in his voice I could tell that he obviously thought I would fail. So I climbed up and started across the tree trunk walking at a normal pace. "Wow this is going well," I thought when I was about halfway across. So confidently, I quickened my pace. Unfortunately, I should have been more careful and kept with my original pace because I could feel myself starting to fall, and then I knew it was over. Although, I did know that I could simply jump off so I wouldn’t get hurt. How bad could that be? I figured if I was going to fall, which I clearly was, I could at least do it safely. However this was apparently not the best idea because when I landed, I sank. I sank up to my knees in the thick brown mud. Oh no, this could not be good. I was sinking faster and faster by the second and I could see no way of getting out. Thoughts raced through my mind, but finally I saw my aunt trudging out through the mud to rescue me. I could tell she was sinking too but she was persistent and she made it to me. But through taking long hard strides we made it out. Meanwhile my brother was just standing there on the side laughing at our ordeal. I found myself too relieved to care anything about his smirking and laughing.
  That was when I realized something, I only had one shoe! Oh great, I thought to myself. This was just what I needed. I mean I finally make it out of this mess and then I see that have to go back in? I knew this was absolutely terrible but if I came home with only one of my sneakers, well that wouldn't go over well I was sure. So we trudged back in. Trying to remember what spot I had landed in, I dug my hand through the mud for any sign of anything being under there, preferably my shoe. Even though I found this quite disgusting and just wanted to go home without all this trouble, I finally came upon a spot where I thought I felt something. Pulling hard and exerting a lot of energy for just on

  10/14/2009 8:46:44 PM
• George

  It was a dark, cold, windy an afternoon on February 10, 2009. My mom, little sister, twin sister and little brother were at our church, the Saint Mary Coptic Orthodox Church of East Brunswick. We were just about to finish the priest’s lecture and leave. One of the priests of the church, Father Mark had just pronounced the heart breaking news that one of our priest at our church had passed away. It was Father Bishoy the eldest priest at the church, the one that was loved by all. Everyone in the whole church broke in tears even the 90 year old adults. He had passed away at a very young age. He had surgery because he was sick for 40 years…YEARS. That was the real major reason. We had the most longest funeral for him it stared at 6:00 A.M and finished the next day at 5:00 A.M it was more then 12 hours, but no one seemed to care. They, like me, just wanted to see Father Bishoy for the last time in his casket before they take him away and never saw him again. Somewhat that afternoon, the church was mourning for their beloved Father Bishoy. The only sounds heard were cries as the hundreds of thousands of people in the crowd tried to be brave and hold their tears in, but it somehow pushed itself out even through the toughest of men. Close to the end, our Alexandrian pope, Pope Shenouda, came with many other priests and bishops. He started to give a short, tearful and touching speech on how Father Bishoy was his favorite and his #1 student in the Egyptian Clerical Collage. He spoke of how he had sent Father Bishoy after ordaining him priest to go to America and build the first Saint Mary Coptic Orthodox Church in East Brunswick. Of course it took a lot of time, effort, and hard work until it came to the beautiful church it is now. He spoke through short pauses where his tears came in. As he kept wiping his bitter tears with a handkerchief, the crying sounds grew louder. I tried to be the most courageous there, but it was no use. Silent tears rolled down my red, hot cheeks as I struggled to hold them in. I often had to go to the bathroom to wash my face with cold water to relax my broken heart, but it just wouldn’t stop. The tears kept forcing themselves out. All my life I never thought this day would happen so soon. Me and everyone else that I know and don‘t know never expected to wear black, but we did and I wish it never happened. But in fact he never has left us. He may have left us in physical form, but I just know that his love and compassion is still in our hearts. So that when I think that he has left us I remember what the father of the church said and they were right. After the funeral I felt as if life had no meaning anymore. My family and I left and went back home. I was lying in bed, buried my face in my pillow and exploded into tears and. My mother came in trying to calm me down, but it got even worse. I was missing him too much. I had memories of him planning field trips, make speeches, and praying in liturgies. I still wish that he was here planning more field trips, speeches, and praying. His gentle voice still running through my head. If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be where I am today. It was like he was carrying the whole church on his back. It must’ve been a very heavy burden especially since he was very sick. I still have memories of him ’till this day. I will never forget him. That is why he was my favorite person in the whole world. I just hope he still remembers me.

  10/14/2009 9:55:12 PM
• Ellen Lee

  That’s Nasty
  “Oh my god” I blurted out. Not again. I can’t believe that my dog pooped again. Whatever I said “ I will just clean it later.” After about a few hours when my mom came home she starts yelling at me since I didn’t clean it up. Like I don’t understand why I have to clean it? I have a older brother who could take care of it. The next morning, it was a school day I got ready, and woke-up early. I went downstairs and my dog kept barking I got really annoyed by it so I took her out of the cage. Five minutes later, I was talking to myself like a freak. Saying to myself why my dog was just sitting there? Actually it came out that my dog was peeing on the floor. I am so not going to clean that up I said to myself.
  My mom came down she started to yell at me that I didn’t clean it up. I said to her its not my fault that she peed. Then all that screaming from my mom when I came back home from school I went upstairs to do some homework. I saw Candy my dog up there. She’s pooping again! I said. I am so not going to clean that up. I went downstairs and asked my brother for a favor to clean Candy’s poop and went outside to go over my friend’s house. Just then, my mom called and said that she will pick me up from her house because it was late at night. So we arrived at my house I was starving and ate. My mom went upstairs to watch some television. My mom screams “ELLEN!” I shuddered. I ran upstairs and just saw candy’s poop. I said in my mind “wow, my brother didn’t clean it up!” So, my mom took away my phone for a week… I was depressed at myself for not being respectful. I always say that why I always have to clean it when I have a older brother who is in high school who acts like he’s in first grade. The next morning, I walked my dog out for awhile. I got a plastic bag in my hand so I don’t forget to clean up what my dog did. It was freezing, I felt like the wind was pushing me as while I was walking. It smelled like cold metal. I did clean it after all.
  Problem with my self is that I need to be respectful for what I am doing. Or things will turn the other way around. Even though it can be disgusting cleaning Candy’s poop, I would always have to clean it before it becomes a stain. No matter what stops me I would have to do it anyhow I kind of feel self-fish for not cleaning it. My parents work very hard for us. And I don’t want to be rude and keep the house a mess. So what if my brother doesn’t want to clean. It’s his life to do whatever he wants. Like I would want to be respectful and mature un- like him. And I have been dying for a puppy. There I got one, now its my turn to take care of it. Now that I learned my lesson, I would always take care of my dog.
  

  10/15/2009 6:00:20 AM
• GurMaher Arora

  My Shocking Swimming Day
  By: Gurmaher Arora
  
  I was at my grandma's complex pool on a hot summer day in July. The pool was so large and it was really wide too. It was as blue as the ocean. It was so quiet and peaceful. I saw birds flying in the warm, refreshing air, and the sun was bright in the sky. I felt warm air from the outside of the pool and I felt so refreshed and relaxed. I could smell the great air and the green trimmed grass on the ground. Then my aunt Preeti came walking from the other side of the neighborhood. She ran pan tingly because she was very excited to get into the pool. "Come on in", I had insisted.
  "I'm coming", she replied. She came in after five minutes, and she was feeling as cold as it was in Antarctica when she touched the water! I demanded her to come, or else she wouldn't have had any fun in the pool. She came in by jumping into the four feet zone. She finally got used to the chilliness of the blue water. Then I started to do my laps in the nine feet zone and my aunt was doing her laps in the three feet zone. My aunt isn't such a great swimmer, so she practiced where she was for a long time. Later on, without asking, she came to the nine feet zone area. So I was swimming my laps, while the lifeguard was sitting in his chair with his sunglasses on. At first, I thought he was sleeping underneath them, but then I lost my focus. I was looking at him the whole time, instead of looking at my aunt Preeti swimming!
  I started to swim too, and then I caught a really annoying sound in my head. "HELP"! I was thinking where that sound was coming from. "HELP"! I heard the voice again. I turned around with a glanced look to see where that horrible sound was coming from and guess what I had saw. I saw my aunt drowning. I said, "O’ MY GOSH"! I looked back into the pool and boom, my aunt was gone. I looked everywhere, and I then looked down. I saw my aunt sinking to the floor. I dove in and I threw my aunt over the water so she could breath. She flew out and started to catch her breath. She was breathing like a hippo! I came to her and she thanked me, but I told her to never ever go into the nine feet zone in a pool without asking me or to only go into the deep end when you're ready to. That was her new life lesson. That day I found out another life lesson. It was to never let a lifeguard wear sunglasses. Do you know why? If you think about it carefully, then you'll find out the answer. The answer is that he/she should never wear sunglasses because he/she can be sleeping underneath them! If that happens then the whole pool will be out of security! Well you should never go into the deep end until you are ready to go in it!
  
  
  

  10/15/2009 6:26:00 AM
• Rebecca Woods

  The Eyes of a Videogame Addict
  
  
  Alex was playing videogames, as usual. So I decided just to waltz in front of him and ask. “Do you want to play a game?” “Not a videogame”. As I pleaded. “Uhhh, sure.” Alex accepted. Wow I was in shock that he would even say that. Especially since he never takes his eyes of f of that TV… but right then and there I was wrong. Alex thought I meant a game that was like a VIDEOGAME, but in human version. Alex started getting out his Nerf guns. Since he has so many he handed me three guns. I didn’t want to play in the living room (where things can be easily broken). I decided that we would go in the kitchen. It was really hot though, so we opened the window. Then the sun started blazing in and I couldn’t see so well. As I was trying to tell Alex that I meant a game that doesn’t involved violence. It happened… I shot the gun. “Clonk, uh oh?” The bullet went flying, since the window was open, that meant… “Yeah”, it flew outside. Alex got so mad at me. All I wanted to do was tell him that I wanted to play a different game. It turned out to be the other way around. “Oh my god Rebecca”!!! “I hate you”! Alex yelled as he was getting his Magnetix out. Suddenly he started throwing them at me, then, “Thump, clash”. “Oh, Alex, you are in so much trouble”!!! The glass with our pictures in it broke. “You better clean this up before daddy gets up here”. Alex started getting the dust pan and the broom. Then the door opened “Creek”. The door opened. Wow, I thought, I hope he doesn’t kill me for what Alex did. While Alex had the dust pan in his hand, my dad gave him a look. You should’ve seen my dad’s face, he was so angry. He was so angry that it actually looked kind of funny. Alex ended up getting punished for two weeks. “I can’t believe it, I wasn’t even touched, yelled at, or looked at”. Finally I was off the hook. I was feeling pretty good about myself. “Yeah, this could work”. I guess I should never bother my brother until he gets up or something “Right”. Especially since he is addicted to it. I guess that’s what he deserves, or what I deserve, for disturbing him. Oh well, at least I do not have to worry about it anymore. Or do I? I guess I will have to keep waiting. Will Alex stop playing videogames or will he quit being violent. Like I said before, I have to keep waiting.
  

  10/15/2009 1:35:10 PM
• Rebecca Woods

  The Eyes of a Videogame Addict
  
  
  Alex was playing videogames, as usual. So I decided just to waltz in front of him and ask. “Do you want to play a game?” “Not a videogame”. As I pleaded. “Uhhh, sure.” Alex accepted. Wow I was in shock that he would even say that. Especially since he never takes his eyes of f of that TV… but right then and there I was wrong. Alex thought I meant a game that was like a VIDEOGAME, but in human version. Alex started getting out his Nerf guns. Since he has so many he handed me three guns. I didn’t want to play in the living room (where things can be easily broken). I decided that we would go in the kitchen. It was really hot though, so we opened the window. Then the sun started blazing in and I couldn’t see so well. As I was trying to tell Alex that I meant a game that doesn’t involved violence. It happened… I shot the gun. “Clonk, uh oh?” The bullet went flying, since the window was open, that meant… “Yeah”, it flew outside. Alex got so mad at me. All I wanted to do was tell him that I wanted to play a different game. It turned out to be the other way around. “Oh my god Rebecca”!!! “I hate you”! Alex yelled as he was getting his Magnetix out. Suddenly he started throwing them at me, then, “Thump, clash”. “Oh, Alex, you are in so much trouble”!!! The glass with our pictures in it broke. “You better clean this up before daddy gets up here”. Alex started getting the dust pan and the broom. Then the door opened “Creek”. The door opened. Wow, I thought, I hope he doesn’t kill me for what Alex did. While Alex had the dust pan in his hand, my dad gave him a look. You should’ve seen my dad’s face, he was so angry. He was so angry that it actually looked kind of funny. Alex ended up getting punished for two weeks. “I can’t believe it, I wasn’t even touched, yelled at, or looked at”. Finally I was off the hook. I was feeling pretty good about myself. “Yeah, this could work”. I guess I should never bother my brother until he gets up or something “Right”. Especially since he is addicted to it. I guess that’s what he deserves, or what I deserve, for disturbing him. Oh well, at least I do not have to worry about it anymore. Or do I? I guess I will have to keep waiting. Will Alex stop playing videogames or will he quit being violent. Like I said before, I have to keep waiting.
  

  10/15/2009 1:36:59 PM
• Billy.S

  The Notebook Check
  Right before the end of the 1st marking period last year, Mrs. Novak announced that she would collect our science notebooks and grade them in a week or so. I spent the majority of the period copying the table of contents down to make sure I get an A or a B. About 3 days after she collected them I saw that I got a 50. I was real bummed out. Then Mrs. Novak said most of the class got a 100, just to spite me. Then Mrs. Novak announced with a megaphone, that she would collect them every marking period. And there were major fumes from my mom and dad. I’d never gotten anything below an 80 before, so they were steamed. And the steam from the fumes lasted all Halloween long.
  So the 2nd marking period I worked harder. I put a lot of effort into it, and that’s not something I usually do. You can even ask Mrs. Novak, every time there’s a test she gives me the “You don’t work up to your potential” speech. She still gives me that speech every time she sees me in the hall. Anyway, I wrote down the table of contents, numbered the pages correctly, and a bunch of other stuff. The results came back and it was a 65. I bet right now you’re thinking I should be happy and more hopeful because I got a higher grade than last time. You are 100% wrong. If anything, it said give up hope all ye who get their notebook checked. I mean I actually “worked up to my potential” this time, and BAM! I get a D.
  The next marking period, miraculously, we didn’t have a notebook check. Instead we had an insanely hard open note test. Most of it was stuff we learned in class recently, but there were a couple of questions from things that we did back in the very beginning of the year. Do you know how hard it is to remember stuff like that!? The test was so hard, Mrs. Novak had to make a new system of grading for it. This system had several flaws. Mrs. Novak herself, even admitted she messed up making it. Plus I was absent the day we took the test. When I took it, she forgot to tell me a couple of rules. Because of that she marked some questions right that I should’ve gotten wrong and in the end I got a 90. The test was insane though. It was so hectic people were congratulated for getting a 75. I would’ve gotten like a 70 if I wasn’t absent the day the class took it. Like half of her 2nd period failed it. I heard rumors about one guy who got a 13 on it.
  The last marking period, unfortunately, we had a notebook check again. To be honest, I didn’t try hard at all. I gave up hope completely. I mean what are the chances of me getting a good grade? The day she collected them I thought of how I would fail again with the side effect of my mom and dad fuming at me with disappointment and rage. Maybe they would even return my I-pod to the store. Well, at least it was the last day of school. Then she handed them back. “What if I got a 40 or a 30” I thought nervously. Then I looked expecting a bad grade, but the only thing I saw was an A+. That’s right you heard me an A+. As soon as I saw it I screamed “YES!!!!!!!!!!! VICTORY IS TOTALLY MINE!!!” As you can imagine I was mega excited. When you see the impossible happen you just have to get hyped up. I didn’t even want to know why I got such a good grade all that mattered was that it was the last day of school. That day I learned if expectations are ridiculously low and you do something awesome then teachers, parents, and even yourself appreciate it more. Later that day I thought of something. As soon as I realized it the smile vanished from my face. What if the science teacher does the same thing next year…….
  

  10/15/2009 4:15:55 PM
• Ridhima Sakhuja

  The Day I Broke My Wrist
  Ridhima Sakhuja
  
  “I am going to play outside!” I called to my mom, as I made a dash to the garage.
  It was a bright sunny day three years ago. It was the perfect weather to have in May, after the endless rain in April. The day looked stunning, almost like a fairyland. The birds were slowly singing their steady songs, while the tall trees swayed along with quiet and cool breeze.
  “Ridhima,” my friend, Neha, sighed, “Hurry up!”
  I quickly put my sneakers on, without really bothering to tie the laces, and grabbed my bike. Just as I was about to leave, I spotted my sky blue helmet dangling from a hook on the wall. “Do I really need my helmet?” I wondered. I never liked wearing helmets. In my opinion, helmets looked really peculiar and they were very exasperating. The strap of the helmet always itches, and my helmet was kind of loose. As a result of that, my helmet fell to the sides of my head. Most importantly, they embarrassed me. I came to the conclusion that I would not need my helmet.
  “Besides,” I said to myself, “I am usually very careful.”
  As I rode out, I looked back at my helmet. My helmet seemed to say, “Please wear me!” I turned around and rode out the garage. I was welcomed by a strong ray of sunlight. It was an ideal day to play outside. Neha and I began to ride around the entire block. We saw houses and houses. We passed even more houses until…we came across a vast slope. None of us had seen the slope before. For a few moments, Neha and I stared at the slope in awe, as if we have never seen a single slope in our lives.
  The slope was big and steep. In fact, it was so long that I could not even see the end of it! The sight of the slope sent chills down my spine. “What if someone falls off the slope?” I wondered. I pictured a boy riding his bike down the slope, and he lost balance and fell. I imagined the poor boy doing a perfect somersault, as he skidded down the slope just like a rock. I shuddered at the thought.
  “I will race you down the slope!” Neha cried, interrupting my train of thoughts.
  We both took off. I forgot about everything. I forgot that a moment ago, I was scaring myself by a picturing unfortunate people fall down the same slope I was on. I forgot that Neha and I were in a state of monotony after seeing an endless street of houses. I forgot about where I was. I forgot that my sneakers were untied. Most importantly, I forgot that I was not wearing my helmet. All I remembered was my goal for the particular moment: winning the race.
  I realized that Neha was a great distance behind me. I would have rejoiced the fact. I would have cheered. I would have slowed down, or maybe even stopped and take a short break. However, Neha was catching up. She came closer, and closer, and so close that she could have touched my hair! I knew I could not give her a chance. I went faster, and faster, and so fast I felt like I was in the air. Zoom! I swished past a pile of rocks. I was three quarters done, when a small fruit fly came to my palm.
  “Aaah!” I shrieked.
  I just hate it when a bug, especially a fruit fly, lands on my palm. It feels very ticklish. Moreover, I get distracted and I become a bit cranky because I do not like to have a small black bug, about the size of my fingernail, with red eyes, the size of its body, come and rest on my palm. I tried to brush it off. Brush, brush, brush…..CRASH! I ran into a huge rock, lost my balance and fell.
  “Ow,” I moaned in pain.
  “Ridhima,” Neha called, as she ran down, “Are you okay?”
  I shook my head. “How could I be okay?” I thought, “I am in pain!” My elbow had a deep cut that was bleeding, like a calm stream. My right knee had a big purple bruise, and I had stinging blister on my hands. Plus, my untied shoelaces were tangled to the pedal of my bike, making my shoelaces seem like a spider web. Worst of all, my wrist was so stiff and rigid that it felt like someone squee

  10/15/2009 5:42:21 PM
• Ghil Joseph

  He was in Her Shoes
  Ghil Joseph
  
  He was in her shoes, her cloud white, one-week old slippers, to be exact. We were in the Turks and Caicos Islands for two weeks and it didn’t feel long enough. We lived in the sun yellow house my uncle just designed right next to his home, and right in front of a huge lake that was so large you couldn’t see the other side.
  My brother and I decided to take a walk next to the lake. It was around noon so the sun was so bright that it practically blinded you. Before we left, my mom warned us, “It’s l o w tide. Do not go too close to the lake.”
  “OK mom,” we mumbled, even though the sentence went through one ear and out the other.
  I grabbed my shoes and my brother took my mom’s slippers because he was too lazy to get his own—not smart. We started walking, when suddenly my brother decided he was going to touch the crystal clear water. He slowly got closer and closer, like a kid trying to get a cookie out of a cookie jar without getting caught. I got a feeling in the pit of my stomach that something bad was going to happen, because my mom is always right. Suddenly, his foot started sinking. I knew it. Something bad. You could see he obviously was a little worried because his face started turning bright pink. I was about a foot away from him. He pulled his foot out and stepped on the hard ground, but the shoe was still in the mud. My brother stuck his hand in the mud. I leaned over to see how deep the shoe was—also not smart. PLOP!! He tugged the shoe out of the mud, but not one spec of white remained on the shoe. The mud came up like a volcanic eruption and splattered all over me. The mud on my shirt wasn’t the main problem though. I could make an excuse for my clothes, but not for the shoes.
  Our hearts were beating like drums. We ran home as fast as we could, looking like racecars. When we got home we hid the shoes from my mom. Suddenly, we heard my mom scream, “Going to get food. Be back in an hour.”
  We heard the door bang shut and at the same time we let out huge sighs of relief. “What a rush!” my brother squealed.
  We threw the shoes in the washer, then dryer, and put them in the same place we got them from. When my mom came back, we decided to look casual and do our homework. She looked at us and asked, “What did you do wrong?” But then she walked away and said, “You know what? I don’t want to know.”
  Sometimes I get lucky, but other times I’m only hanging by a thread. No matter what you do, you learn from it, but there’s always a consequence for you actions. I know your parents know best, and they mean well, but for some reason when your parents say one thing, you’re always tempted to do the other thing. Even if you’re doing something as simple as touching water. You just can’t resist!
  

  10/15/2009 5:59:25 PM
• Zachary Nazario

  By:Zachary Nazario
  10-1-09
  Yessssss!!! I shouted as I woke up on a Saturday morning like all kids I was
  glad it was Saturday but more happy because today was the day I pick up my new
  puppy. I ran downstairs smelling eggs and bacon. While eating breakfast I
  exclaimed “ when are we going to pick up Jake”!My mom then responded “after
  breakfast because we have to be there by 2:45”. 10 minutes later me and my
  mom got in the car and left for the airport. Jake was half Cocker spaniel and
  half king Charles caviler. He was coming from Ohio. All I was thinking was Jake
  they whole ride.30 minutes later My mom exclaimed “honey, were at the exit”. I
  was then looking out the Window and it was clear skies around 2:30 pm. All I
  could think about was my new puppy. Is it fake or is it really scheduled to land. I
  know it sounds ridiculous but to me it seemed to good to be true. We then
  arrived at the airport. Me and my mom exited the car and went to the terminal
  were Jake was. As soon as I entered the terminal I had tears of joy. It was like a
  million rain drops a minute. As soon as I saw him I knew for a fact he was mine to
  Keep and care for. I was so excited. Can you blame me?
  

  10/15/2009 6:31:50 PM
• Justin Lipinski

  The Late Night
  Justin Lipinski
  On one grayest and gloomy night at Bicentennial Park, I had one of the most important practices ever. It was the night before our first playoff game. I was twelve years old and it was chilly and damp. When I got home from school that day, “I’m home” I mumbled to my dad as I stumbled through the door. I blasted through my homework like it was nothing. My dad told me the usual. “Wake me up at 5,” he groaned with his hat over his face so I couldn’t see his eyes.
  I usually take my phone down to the basement with me when I go to play my X Box 360. I didn’t, I forgot it. After an hour or 2 I had to go to the bathroom. So I ran upstairs, went and looked at the clock, it read 5:30. “Oh no” I trembled. I felt nervous at that point because my dad would have gotten mad. I woke him anyway because I had to eat.
  After enjoying a wonderful chicken dinner I saw that the clock read 7:02. I busted upstairs and into my under armor. When I had gotten outside my mom had already thrown my gear into the trunk of the car and was about to honk the horn. “I’m coming, I’m coming,” I ordered.
  On the far muggy field I heard the coaches screaming and yelling their lungs out. I knew if the big sweaty screaming coaches saw me there late and out of uniform they’d be on me all night. My mom pulled up to the curb and I threw on my shoulder pads and everything else in less than a second. I got out there just as the team was about to run. Once they saw me they added an extra lap. My team moaned and groaned at me. “Come on Jus,” “really,” “this sucks.” They all sobbed.
  After a long sweaty practice our coach had said something to me I would not soon forget. “Go run two more laps.” He demanded. We all just about dropped. Until they found out that I just had to run. I threw my lacrosse stick down and trotted off into the musk.
  I was as hot headed as a chilly pepper after he made me run again. Once I got back I threw my stuff in my bag and stomped to the car. Any practice, game, or anything to do with lacrosse I was always at least 10 minutes early. I knew in my head that I didn’t deserve to run two more laps. I knew I should say something. I knew at that point I should have left, but I took what the coach thought I deserve. Practices after that you can bet I was never late again.

  10/16/2009 7:47:19 PM
• Brian Woilverton

  Brian Wolverton
  
  
  The Hill
  
  
  One day me and some of my cousins wanted to ride our dirt bikes. On my way to their house a crash in the middle of a road blocked where I needed to go so there was a detour. I was looking out the window and saw this huge hill! I probably stretched for about a 3rd of a mile. It also looked like it was abandoned. After some discussion we decided to ride on it. “This is going to be fun.”
  “Wow… that’s a big hill! You can say that again…That’s a big hill!” My uncle’s basically a pro so he went first. This would be easy for him. My one cousin is a complete speed demon so once he saw how fast he was going….Vroom!!! He went down that hill with no hesitation. Now Colin and Nick went down the hill. Next my uncle Steve. Finally...it was my turn.
  I took a deep breath and went down the hill I was going so fast my gauge said I was going 70mph! I saw I was coming to the end, so I needed to think about stopping. Since I was going really fast I decided to hit the brakes lightly. Oops! I thought to myself “I’m Screwed” The bike turned to the side and fell…with me still on it. Still going about 35ph I slid on the pavement losing massive amounts of skin as well as blood.
  My uncle quickly called 911. Luckily there was an ambulance nearby. So they could take me to the hospital quickly. The doctors wrapped cloth around my left arm, my torso, my head, and both of my legs. I looked like a mummy! It took about 2 weeks to heal. I couldn’t really do anything. No sports or physical activities. It was a boring 2 weeks. I sat inside while my friends and family was outside playing.
  On a dirt bike going 70mph down a steep hill…would you do that??? This is my response to this question….NEVR AGAIN!!!!!!
  

  10/17/2009 9:15:59 AM
• Jun Sun You

  The First Day of Riding Bike
  
  I slammed the door and waited outside. I could see the morning dew on my yard. It was freezing outside but I couldn’t feel it because of my excitement.
  “Mom, come on! We are ready to go!” I yelled while I was watching my mom opening the door. My mom was coming with the jackets and her handbag. My dad put my new bike in the back of his car, went inside his car first. I ran toward his car and slammed the door. After, my mom came in. The car started moving. Few minutes later, we were arrived at park. We were at the parking lot, but I could see no cars around us. My dad pulled the bike from the car, and then I took it from him. I put my one leg over the bike and I grabbed the handle. However before I tried to paddle I started to fall. I tried to put my feet on the ground but my bike was little too big for me. Suddenly something grabbed my bike to get up. I turned my head back and it was my dad who saved my life from falling into hard, rough ground.
  “Thank you so much dad, you saved me.”
  “You can’t be good for the first try,” said my dad. My mom was watching behind and following me.
  ‘Maybe I should be careful for the next try,’ I thought. I tried it again. For this time, my dad helped me to get on the bike, and then I just started to paddle by myself. ‘Riding bike was that easy?’ I asked myself with unconscious look, but that was only when my dad was helping me from behind. After my dad stopped helping, I started to be unbalanced.
  ‘On, no, what should I do? If I keep riding like this, I might fall and hurt,’ I was keep thinking, Should I use a stop riding and just fall or should I just try to keep riding?
  Suddenly the bike started to fall to the left side. I tried to turn the bike to the opposite direction but that made it to fall more.
  “Ahhh! Help!,” I screamed.
  Suddenly the bike got back up. It was my dad who was trying to keep me from falling.
  “Dad, I don’t want to ride this bike anymore, I always fall, and I am so scared to ride.”
  “You just tried only two times. Jun, that is the way to learn how to ride a bike. As you try more, you learn more,”
  “But, Dad if I fall…”
  “I will hold your back” my dad said
  Therefore I kept trying again and again. My dad held me up when I started to fall. A little while later I finally learned how to ride a bike.
  That day I have learned a new lesson: learning how to do something is never easy for a first time, but if you keep trying it will be you will be able to do it.
  Learning how to ride a bike was never easy but when I try and keep trying, it becomes very easy.
  

  10/18/2009 2:31:52 PM
• Finn Ebersbach

  The Flip of My Life
  
  By:Finn Ebersbach
  
  
  I went to a place called the Pool Club. They have a really cool diving boards, it is 5ft high with metal rims and a white board. My step brother, Kevin, and I ran like jaguars to the diving boards. "Hey dude, I dare you to do a flip!" I nod my head afraid I might not make it. I thrust myself. Jump. And try to flip. "Splash!" "Ouch!" I landed right on my back feeling as though it might break. doubtfully listening
  
  "You know what you should try? Curling up in the air, it will make you flip faster so you land on your feet." Kevin chuckled at the very sight of my back. I attempt to try again. Another backsplash. "OK, three times the charm." I say to myself encouragingly. I start bouncing on the diving board "3,2,1..."I jump soar into the air tuck into a ball."Too fast, ahhhh!!!" I landed flat on my stomach. In the background I can hear Kevin yelling, "Belly Flop!" By now both my stomach and my back were killing me, and I know that some one must have thought I have some weird rash or something because it was so red. Not wanting to do this again"OK dont go so high - got it!" I say to myself regretfully. I climb the ladder clentching my stomach in pain, "You ready?" I question, "Always, 1, 2, 3... Yeah you did it!" "I did didnt I?" That felt awsome,thanks to you I conquered my fear and flipped ." "Anytime dude." Kevin encouraged.
  
  So we went on with our day flipping off the diving board with a few errors from me and cannonballing into the pools like normal kids. But the differance between me and them, I was in pain. "To think I used to be afraid. Wouldnt you be too?"
  

  10/20/2009 6:09:58 AM
• Charles Huang

  
  
  Skateboarding On Ice
  By: Charles Huang
  
  
  Last Winter Vacation I was bored…. I already watched TV for about 3 hours. I was looking crippled cause my eyes were red. I didn’t want to grow fat and eat pizza everyday. That’s when I had an idea! I wanted to skateboard on ice (it was pretty stupid). I did not want to put on helmets or any safety equipment. I walked outside and grabbed my skateboard…. Just to make sure it was safe, I decided to butt-board first (I doubted it was going to work) so I sat down on the skateboard and went down the giant hill. I could hear the wheels smashing on the ice. “Oh my god”, I thought, “I’m going to die!! I shifted my skateboard….or tried to. I failed pathetically. I couldn’t stop the wheels. I was bracing for the collision with the sidewalk. My face was fixed in a horrified expression. My skateboard crashed and I fell on the grass. “Wow I am still alive!”, I shouted, deeply relieved. Of course, taking it all for granted I thought I was a safe ride and I was protected (I don’t know why and it was PURE STUPIDITY).
  
  So I ran back up the hill with the ice on it and stood on my old skateboard. I began to move, the skateboard was rumbling. It was like going 60 miles per hour. The wind was blowing on my face, making my teeth chatter and make my lips crack. I was scared. “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh” –2 seconds later- CRACK! I rammed into the car and slammed into the pavement. The pain was really painful. I had gotten cut up and bruised. My arm had turned red with a giant bruise. I was pretty injured, I was almost going to tear up but it wasn’t fatal so I got up and shook it off. But then…(karma) I slipped on the ice and banged my head on the ground. “Awwwww, OUCH”, I said. I let out a bunch of swear words…. The pain was excruciating and I was pretty sure that it wasn’t over yet. “Well that’s going to hurt in the morning”, I thought grinning to myself, thinking about the stupid thing that I had done. I limped slowly through my driveway and went home…. Of course I decided to not to do it again….for this time period. Who knows what else I will try in the future!
  

  10/22/2009 4:25:23 PM