Mt Hebron Literary Review 2011

8/6/2019 Mt Hebron Literary Review 2011

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The Mount Hebron Review

Faculty Editor

Maria McDonald

June 2011

Mount Hebron Middle School 173 Bellevue Avenue Upper Montclair New Jersey 07043


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Table of Contents

POETRY

Anonymous, House 2 Diamante Poem 5

Anonymous, House 2 Patterns 8

Anonymous, House 2 Tanka Poem 9

P C, House 4 Past the Gloom 14

I C, House 3 The Beautiful Bahamas 15

J C, House 5 Ode to Paradise 16

Charlotte Fall, House 4 Spring Time 20

E G, House 3 Recycle 22

Stephanie Hayes, House 1 Push 25

Priya Kaushik, House 2 The Signs of Summer 29

T K, House 4 My True Self 30

Serena La, House 3 Puerto Rican History 31

Charlotte OLeary, House 2 I Am 42

A R, House 3 The Seasons 43E W, House 4 Birds 48

Poem 49

Erik Zeug, House 2 I Am Poem 55

PROSE

Anonymous, House 2 The Almost Last Smile 3

Anonymous, House 5 The Forest of Norbeh 6

Adam Behnke, House 1 On to America from a World of War 10

F B, House 4 Falling In the Dark 11

Rebecca Brownsword, House 2 Dress Code 13

T E, House 1 From Potatoes to Disasters 17

Josephine Emanuelli, House 2 Untitled 19

S F, House 3 Untitled 21

M H, House 3 Alien Earth 23

S H, House 4 Not Alone 26

L H, House 1 My Failure Mission 28

Nicolette Levy, House 1 Lookin like a fool if your pants arent on the ground! 32

G L, House 5 Untitled 33

John Macksoud, House 1 Bread for All 34M M, House 3 Giovannis Journey 36

C O, House 2 The Perfect Classroom 38

Katie OBrien-Smith, House 2 Life Lessons 39

Life Without Warning 40

Grace Riggs, House 4 The Secret Immigrant 44

J R, House 5 Spirits Reconstruction 46

S T, House 2 Excerpt from The Guardians of Olympus 47

L W, House 4 Camp Green Lake 50

The Storm: Diary of a Blizzard 52


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Anonymous, House 2The Almost Last Smile

I dread this day Every year Same day Same things

happen The rst day of school I hate seeing all the

people in my school again, all in one place, all at one

time Id be much happier if I could just stay at home,all day, all year Now as I walk into school, I look around

Everyone looks the same, yet so different Aaron grew a

mustache, Tasha is even taller than last year, and Russell

cut his hair! As I look around, I realize everyones staring

at me Me! Why? Did I change? No Is there something on

my face? God, I hope not Its Tanya I can see her, walking

towards me I feel myself tense up My hands curl up into

sts, my nails digging into my palm I cant move Why

cant I move? II

Hey look, its Rachel! Jeez girl you lost a fewpounds You were like 300 pounds last year Now look

at you, only 90 pounds Is that healthy? I dont think so

Gimme your lunch Youre not gonna need that Youre

anorexic now, arent ya? Ha-ha!

Before I can react, Tanya grabs my lunch and pushes

me to the ground I look up to see the same taunting

scary face I know all too well look down at me It smiles

its cruel smile, and disappears I get up to nd everyone

laughing and pointing at me I am so embarrassed I run

all the way to the bathroom on the third oor No oneever goes up there I run into the stall where I spent all

my time last year I can see all the markings and words I

carved into the walls It brings back so many memories,

so many bad memories I sit on the lid of the toilet seat

and cry I hear the bathroom door creak open and the

sound of footsteps on the tile oor Its Jenni, my best

friend in the whole world She always knows where to

nd me, and what to say I hear her soft knock on the

door, and her soothing voice telling me to come out I do

We sit on the oor of the bathroom, and I cry into her

caring arms

Shh, baby Dont cry She whispers Its just Tanya

Shes a cold-blooded reptile, remember? Dont listen to

her Shes just jealous Dont think about what happened

between you two last year; its the past Just think about

how great the future is going to be Youve changed, you

can handle her

Jenni is right, like always I have changed! So what if

I decided to lose a few pounds, it doesnt mean Im sick

Im a changed person I can get through this!

We walk out of the bathroom, my eyes still red and

teary, and walk to our creative writing class The onlyclass I actually enjoy I can write anything I want, without

people judging me It keeps me sane Jenni leads the

way to our usual seats next to the window She says the

sunlight brings out the natural beauty in our hair I notice

a new boy in the class He is sitting a row in front of me

The sunlight really brings out his natural beauty He is

tan and muscularly built Lets hope he doesnt turn out

to be like Tanya Mrs Lacone walks in with loud echoing

steps The sound of her stiletto heels hitting the oor in a

rhythmic patternWelcome, everyone, to creative writing class I hope

we have lots of fun together For those of you who dont

know me, Im Mrs Lacone

After class I have lunch Tanya used to make fun of

me eating so much, but now she makes fun of me for

eating less I get up and leave Tanya starts yelling at me

Where do you think youre going!? Trying to run

away from me, huh? Like a little baby Well you cant run

from me so you better come back You better come back

right now, if you know whats good for ya!I dont go back She runs up to me, grabs my jacket

and slaps me right across the face She starts cursing at

me and then pushing me into a garbage can I try to get

out of the garbage can but Im stuck, which makes me

even more embarrassed and mad When I get out, I run

to the bathroom on the third oor I sit on the oor and

cry for the rest of the day From then on, I am never the

same

I stop talking to people and ignore anyone that tries

to talk to me I watch as the world goes on without me

I watch as the days turn into weeks, as weeks turn into

months With the constant teasing, I want to die I really

do Its not like anyone would be sad if I did Not even

Jenni I feel like a weight keeping her away from things

she wants I just feeluseless

Although Jenni tries her best to get me to talk, I

wont make a sound I just want her to go away But she

stays with me all day and sleeps over sometimes, to


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keep me company and to make sure I dont do anything

drastic She would be better off without me

Then one day, when Tanya is making fun of me

at lunch, a boy I dont know walks over, and squeezesthrough the ring of people surrounding Tanya and me

Hey! He yells as he gets right in front of Tanya,

Ive seen this go on for too long! Who do you think you

are, making fun of an innocent girl like that? Is your life

so pathetic that you have to make someone who was

perfectly happy the way she was feel bad, so your life

could seem better? And all of you who just watch and

laugh, youre all as pathetic as Tanya! Do me a favor

Get a life!

Tanya stares at him and then me for a second andthen walks away She just turns around and leaves! I am

so stunned; I dont know how to react In the couple of

seconds I sit speechless, I realize that if that boy never

came and told Tanya off, I probably wouldnt have been

around much longer

I dont know anyone who has enough courage to

stand up for someone, let alone me! He gives me a

reason to care about myself again That he cares about

me He reminds me that my life is perfect and I shouldnt

have let Tanya make me think differently I look up athim with tears in my eyes He looks right back with his

beautiful caring eyes

Hi, Im Mike He smiles Im in your creative writing

class I smile back, my rst smile in a very long time

!Stop Bullying For Good!

!Stand Up For Whats Right!


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Anonymous, House 2Diamante Poem (Inspired by Shel Silversteins Where the Sidewalk Ends)

End & Beginning

End

Dark, pittedAmbling, slogging, trudging

Asphalt, smoke, arrow, peppermint wind

Marking, following, striding

Soft, crimson bright

Beginning

The majority of Silversteins poems have a fantastic

sense of humor, but some are difcult at times to relate

to because they are so peculiar and have wacky topics

This isnt technically a bad thing, but I think his writingstyle could have more variety This is why I chose one of

his most unique and famous poems called, Where the

Sidewalk Ends When I rst read this poem, I was quite

confused, but as I started to read each line more and

more carefully, I nally began to understand how deep

this piece of writing is To me, he is saying, why stop

at the unknown, why stop exploring, let your curiosity

overcome your fear, be adventurous and take the road

not taken, for it will change your future He describes

a place where the grass is soft and white, and the sunburns crimson red This is the unknown Then he talks

about a place where the smoke blows black, the dark

streets bend and pit in the asphalt It makes me want

to leave this area behind and explore to nd out what

is in these lands that come after the pits I will follow

these white arrows, but at a slow measured walk and

go beyond where the side walk ends This may be very

inspirational and uplifting to many people One can

choose to travel past the point where the sidewalk ends,

into the unknown Depending on if you stop, turn around

or proceed, you inuence and redirect your future


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Anonymous, House 5The Forest of Norbeh

It was a quiet day in the Forest of Norbeh The sun was

rising and everyone was waking up White Rabbit woke up

and started brushing herself After all, it was the rst day of

school and she wanted to look spiffyRabbit! Her mother called

Mother, Im not done brushing my hair

Well, hurry up!

I will!

After twenty minutes, Rabbit made it to the table for

some carrots and kale It was her favorite

Rabbit, do you have everything?

Yes, Mother

Remember, you are meeting Bear and Turtle at the

tree Be nice to everyone including the new kidsOk, I will! Ugh Parents, thought Rabbit

She walked out of her house with her new backpack

and jacket Rabbit then walked down the road and met up

with Bear and Turtle

You look nice today, said Turtle to Rabbit

Why thank you!

I heard theres a new family in town, said Turtle

Me too, chimed in Bear I think theyre the Toad

family

They even have a daughter our age! Turtleexclaimed

Ick! Toads! said Rabbit Theyre disgusting! They

have warts!

Bear and Turtle exchanged a glance The rest of the

way nobody talked Finally they arrived at school

Hello, everybody! I would like to welcome Toad

Everyone say hello Mr Fox said

Hello, Toad, replied everyone in the class Except

Rabbit

She was sitting there pouting Boy, is she ugly, Rabbit

thought about Toad

Toad, why dont you sit next to Rabbit?

Hi, Toad said shyly

Hello, Rabbit winced as though it was painful to

say hello

During lunch, Rabbit ignored Toad, but Rabbits friends

didnt Rabbit sat alone as if she was too good for them

How do you like it here? asked Bear

Its nice Is Rabbit always this cold? asked Toad

She normally is a little at rst, but eventually shewarms up to you Bear didnt want to tell Toad the reason

why He was too kind to do that to Toad

Oh, well I just thought she didnt like me Bear and

Turtle looked at each other

Of course not Turtle said nervously

Meanwhile, Rabbit was still pouting by herself on the

swingsWhy are they talking to her?Rabbit was becoming

jealous Rabbit walked home by herself that afternoon Bear

and Turtle had gone to Toads

When rabbit got home after school, her mom was

there

How was school today?

Ok Theres this new girl, Toad Shes really ugly Mr Fox

made me sit next to her

Now, Rabbit You know what you just said wasnt very

nice

But its true!

Rabbit, go to your room!

Ughhhh! screamed RabbitThat night Mother Rabbit mixed up a concoction of

leaves and berries It formed a mucky green color She lled

a shampoo bottle with the mixture and switched it with

Rabbits

The next morning Rabbit woke up and took her shower

As Mother Rabbit was preparing breakfast, she heard a

scream

MOTHER! Im green!

Dear, Dear Ill have to go to the store and get

something to get that out It must have had something to

do with that new shampoo In the mean time, get ready for

school

But I cant go to school like this! Rabbit replied

Well you are Period

After Rabbit attempted to make herself presentable,

she walked to the meeting spot Good morning, Rabbit

Turtle smirked Bear let out a quiet laugh


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Turtle and Bear kept talking about how they had

so much fun at Toads yesterday, when they had gone

swimming

When they reached the school, Toad was waiting forTurtle and Bear At recess, everyone kept staring at Rabbit,

who sat alone in the corner of the playground Her friends

didnt talk to her Her classmates made fun of her all day,

cracking jokes like looks like someone took a slip in the

mud or who didnt take a shower this morning

That afternoon Rabbit was lonely again Bear and

Turtle had gone to Toads house

Im home, Rabbit said in a sulking tone

Oh, good dear I have the cleaner

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!How was school?

Bad Everyone made fun of me

Do you see how you made Toad feel?

Yes Now can I please take a shower?

Yes Oh, and make sure you throw out that other

shampoo

Mother Rabbit knew she had done the trick

The following day, Rabbit walked to school with Bear

and TurtleMaybe Toad isnt so bad after all, Rabbit said

What made you change your mind? asked Turtle

I realized how it felt to be called ugly I didnt like it,

Rabbit said When they reached school, Toad was there

Toad, can we try this again?

Okay Toad was obviously very forgiving

Hi, Im Rabbit Welcome to Norbeh


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Anonymous, House 2Patterns

Zig zag

Criss cross

Checkerboard

All of the above

They are the patterns

On my wrist

Covering up

Forgotten love

They are the scars

Ive put there

To remind me

Of my unforgotten pain

I love the sting

Of steel slicing

Through my skin

Slithering its way through the vein

I hate that

I love it

And love

That I wont stop it

I love the

Red scarlet line

That comes after

the skin has split

I dont believe

That I have the strength

Or the will power

To stop my deadly addiction

So in the

Mean time I

Think Ill have

A little fun

Maybe one day

Ill go too far

But I know

I wont care

After all

No one ever

Said that

Life is fair


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Anonymous, House 2Tanka Poem (Based on Still I Rise by Maya Angelou)

I am not bowing

Nor will I ever give up

I am courageous

And I will hold my head highLike dust, like air I still rise

Maya Angelou wrote many amazing poems They all are

very inspirational and motivational The poem I chose is

called Still I Rise Personally, I believe this is her best poem

because it is beautifully written and gives us strength and

courage through its message To truly uncover the meaning

of this poem, you have to dig really deep I read this poem

several times, and the overall message was, that no matter

what you should continue to stand up with your head heldhigh Also, it tells you, no matter what struggle you face

in life you have the ability to rise above it Maya Angelous

poem reects on human nature and the inner strength we

all have to ght back against whatever life throws at us The

poem has an interesting rhythm Each four lines normally

have an ABCB pattern It ows very much like a song, but

is not as predictable The refrain line that ends in Ill rise

does not always appear in the same intervals Stanzas 1,

3, 6 have it, but the last one uses it a total of 7 times The

poem ends with a triple use of I rise, which makes it like anexclamation point, very strong and positive


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Adam Behnke, House 1On to America from a World of War

Where am I? I said All I saw was black

Wake up! Someone shouted

Who was that? Where am I? Suddenly I woke up In front

of me, were a lot of men I did not recognize any of themOne of them told me his name was Captain

Are you ok? The captain asked His voice was deep and

he frightened me We are almost there Do not worry The

captain told me

What was he talking about?

America is only a couple of hours away The captain

added

I got up slowly and looked around I was in a dark room

with one little window I opened the window and looked

outside I was on a boat and all I could see was ocean Theocean stretched out for hundreds or even thousands of miles

I looked to my left, more water Then I looked to my right Out

by the horizon I saw where the water stopped It was land!

Quickly, I got my head out of the window, rushed out the

door and onto the main deck By the time we reached land, I

was very tired and seasick The crew led all the people off the

ship and onto a strange island

There were only two enormous buildings on the island

When I stepped inside one of the buildings, I saw many

people wearing white, many immigrants, and what seemed tobe security guards I later found out that the people wearing

white were doctors that would have to question me

I stood in a line, waiting to be questioned I had nearly

fallen asleep by the time I was called to be questioned by

one of the doctors There was one doctor in front of me I

sat down in front of him in a big black chair I was very afraid

What would he ask me?

The rst question was very easy, although I did not speak

a lot of English What is your name? The doctor asked

Is Adam Behnke, I answered quietly

Okay then The doctor replied Where are you from?

Why do you want to come to America? He added

Umm I do not know I whispered I did not seem to

remember anything Where did I come from? Why was I

coming here?

The doctor continued asking questions, I could not

answer any of them He told me to try and think about it

I could not get the questions out of my head Suddenly, I

blacked out I had not woken up, but I started seeing things

* * *

I was hiding I did not know what from, yet, or anythingAll I could hear were guns ring and trucks zooming by I was

outside behind bags full of sand Thats it! There must have

been a war I started running What was I running from? I

realized that I was being chased

Help! I had screamed Bullets ew past me I ran to

the docks but the dock had been smashed to pieces I threw

myself onto a piece of wood oating in the water and I fell

asleep there Germany, I realized I was from Germany during

a war in the countryside It must have been the start of WorldWar II

When I came to, I was in a huge city Soon I realized that

it was London, England I was sent from there to America

because of the war and a German, like me, was considered an

enemy to the British Suddenly I woke up

* * *

The doctor was in front of me Are you okay? He asked

I nodded yes

Are you ready for the questions? The doctor asked,

and I nodded yes againQuickly, I explained where I was from and how I got here

I told him about every little detail I had seen All the other

questions I easily answered, and I answered them quickly too

Finally, when the doctor was all done asking his questions, I

was allowed to leave the building and go on to live in America

I walked out the door and got in line to go on a ferry to

the main land I was very proud of myself in knowing that

now I was safe I made it!

During the ferry ride, I spoke with many other

immigrants and shared experiences and thoughts Many

of the people I spoke with were very nice From the ferry, I

became much more excited to live in America because I saw

the towering building and the wonderful Statue of Liberty

What time is it? A man asked me during the ride

I was very condent with my answer I replied to him, It

is time to start a great new life


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F B, House 4Falling In the Dark

I traversed down the street with Ingrid, Lexi, and Max,

walking passed that certain house, the house everyone was

scared of; I wasnt I thought it was just a perfunctory house,

same as any other house Lexi was scared of it though Shewould never admit it, but every time she walked by it, she

sped up a little

Its just a house I muttered soberly Lexi was walking

a little faster at that moment

She scoffed I know! She lied petulantly, I dont see

why people are even scared of it

Ingrid rolled her eyes, knowing the truth She coughed,

Lexi frowned, and Max shook his head

It sort of is creepy Max said, trying to defend her a

littleYou too? Ingrid and I laughed

You guys are wimps! She said a little obnoxiously

Lexi opened her mouth to say something, but no words

came out

Were not! Max exclaimed, defending himself now

Ingrid laughed again Yeah, we were friends, and I liked her

a lot, but sometimes she got a little too sure of herself and

acted conceited

Okay I said chuckling Lexi suddenly grinned

I bet that you two cant spend a night in there withoutrunning out Lexi said A smile still plastered to her face

Before I could object, guess who runs her mouth again?

Whats the prize? Ingrid grinned

Twenty dollars Lexi replied, grinning back Max bit his

lip, also knowing that this was not a good idea

Are you sure? He asked, frowning The girls nodded

Tonight Nine oclock Ingrid said

Were on! Lexi shouted, and they went their separate

ways Max and I looked at each other, shrugged, and walked

away

That night, instead of my usual ritual of eating dinner,

brushing my teeth, and going to sleep, I stayed up and

waited As the clock struck nine, I walked down the street,

with my hood up, walking toward the house As I neared, I

saw Max and Lexi at the facade of the house Lexi smiled

as she noticed me, and Max gave me a look of sympathy I

didnt see Ingrid though

Wheres Ingrid? I asked Lexi shrugged, but her smile

turned upside down and into a frown Max frowned deeper

We thought she was with you Lexis face turned

white and her eyes widened

I bet shes inside there, going to scare us I said,hoping that was the case Max nodded, in agreement

We should go check it out He said softly, starting

to walk up to the house I followed, but Lexi needed some

coaxing before she walked with us

As we entered the house, a cold breeze greeted us I

shivered slightly I felt bad for Lexi, she being the only girl

among us at the moment It took my eyes to adjust a little,

as it was pitch black I saw Max rummage through his bag

and took out a ashlight He icked it on and light ooded

the hall I thought I saw something scurry across the oor,as the light hit it I shuddered as some cold air swept passed

me Lexi was very pale, and Max was the same, although he

looked a little more in control of his emotions

I dont feel so good about this Lexi murmured

We have to nd Ingrid I said, but frowned Maybe she

wasnt even in the house; maybe she had bailed, and was

just relaxing at home I took out my cell phone to call her,

but there was no service

We should look around, Max suggested Lexi and I

agreed and started searching the houseAn hour later, Lexi sighed All weve found are some

spider webs, rats, bugs, and dust! she complained I

couldnt say anything in return because she was right

We should at least nd a room and settle down for the

night Max said, apparently still in on the bet I couldnt

back out; I wasnt that kind of person; and come to think of

it, Ingrid wasnt either

As we walked through a corridor, I heard a few mufed

sounds from a room

Somethings in there I whispered, as chills went down

my spine Lexis face went completely white and she shook

violently Max stepped closer and tried to open the door

The mufed sound came again and this time, I faintly heard

Help, in the mufe It was Ingrid

Weve got to get in there! Max conducted, through

clenched teeth, as he shoved against the door He broke

the lock and ung the door open He stared at the room

interminably until he ran to Ingrids side She was tied up in


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a corner, with a gag over her mouth He pulled the gag off

and started to untie her

Weve got to get out of here! Ingrid almost hissed, as

soon as her lips could move She quickly jumped upWe started to move, but the door was blocked by a

man He held a knife in his hand and wore the smile of a

sociopath Not so fast he grinned We all stared at him,

horried

Lexi looked earnestly from right to left before she ran

to the side of the room, seeing a door She ung it open, and

ran through, the rest of us close behind her We ran to the

door that lead to the corridor, and pushed it open, hurtling

through the house and to the main entrance The man was

still close behind usIngrid lagged behind us a little, as she appeared to be

injured I tried to go back for her, but the man grabbed her

arm and put the knife to her throat Ingrid stood completely

still

If you dont want your friend to die, I suggest you

give me the money you have, he demanded I had a plan

I took the money that I had in my pocket out and held it

out to him As he reached for it, I held on to my ashlight

He slowly removed the knife and dropped it As it dropped,

I swung the ashlight at his head and we ran to the doorHe wasnt dead, but as I looked back at him, his head was

injured grotesquely He walked to the door and barged out,

slamming the door behind us, sending vibrations through

the house It rumbled The man came to the entrance, but

as he got to there, the house fell in He was buried in the

rubble None of us ever won the bet, but we all never walked

into an old house again


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Rebecca Brownsword, House 2Dress Code

Many schools have rules that students just dont

agree with I am, for the most part, a strong believer in

many rules Dress code rules, however, never make me

happy These rules are ridiculous Schools think thatthe image of students is appropriate and classy Thats

completely opposite of the image Whenever people

dress up as schoolgirls, for Halloween lets just say, they

never look too appropriate Some rules are also enforced

due to distraction Take the rule that girls cant show

their shoulders for example I dont know if Im crazy or

anything, but Ive never heard of someone being distracted

by the seduction of a shoulder Or even the rule that your

ngertips cant pass the length of your shorts Im almost

positive that if a girl or a boy were to wear shorts thatshow a little leg that wouldnt stop a whole math class from

learning multiplication

I mean can you imagine a teacher asking a student,

Why didnt you pay attention today?

And the student replied, I was staring at Lizzies legs

for the entire 80-minute class That would never happen

The worst rule of all is the rule that we cant wear open-

toed shoes because they might be a re hazard Do they

think our shoes are ammable or something? Maybe they

think that someone will step on our toes and break themThe funny thing is that teachers expect us to follow stupid

rules like the No Open-toed Shoes rule when they dont

One day in class, I informed my teacher that she was

wearing ip-ops and therefore breaking the dress code

She responded with, You cant see them These ip-ops

are magical You think you see them, but its just your eyes

playing tricks on you

Due to my love of the subject, I decided to try this out

as an experiment I used the If-Then-Because method she

had taught us It went like this: If I wear ip-ops to school,

then no one will see them because my teacher told me that

The next day at school, I tried out my experiment It

wasnt too successful when my math teacher saw me with

the ip-ops and freaked out

Rebecca, are you aware that you cant wear ip ops

to school? She asked

You cant really see them, you are imagining

something! I responded

No, I most certainly am not! She replied

She then took me to see the principal

Ms Brownsword, he said Are you aware of the

safety violation you have on? No I lied

Im writing you up for having a re hazard on your

foot and the disrespectful tone of voice

What tone? I was just talking

Thats it, young lady! Would you speak to your parents

like that? Were not on the street where you hooligans hang

out and crazily wear re hazards!

That was the end of that; I was written up and had

to serve a detention for basically wearing a lighter on my

foot, or at least thats what my detention slip said Thepunishment wasnt that hard, but it goes to show that

if your teacher ever tells you that youre imagining her

wearing ip-ops, shes lying

The most popular dress code rule boys break in school

is the sagging rule Sagging, for those of you that have

never seen a teenage boy in their whole life, is when a boy

pulls his pants down to reveal his boxers When I looked

up sagging on Urban Dictionary, they referenced that

people in jail started the trend I know all sorts of kids that

compare school to jail due to the harsh rules Just like whenpeople wear black to express their sadness, teenage boys

wear their pants low to express the feeling that they are in

jail instead of Spanish class Maybe if we got a little more

freedom, this epidemic of sagging pants would never have

happened

The worst part about all of this so-called-dress-code

that teachers love enforcing is that we dont even have

written copy of it, not on the district website or in our

planners Maybe this is why no one listens to the dress code

Its hard to follow the rules when they dont actually exist


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P C, House 4Past the Gloom

You stare down and I wonder Do

you see the true me? Will you see past

the deep gloom? The fake gloom that will

try to ll you But you have the power toresist; you wont be obliged to follow

Resist the power that can contaminate

your heart and many others There wont be a

compromise because you can resist

In the beginning it can be sweet and fun

just like cotton candy Then

you begin to see past the rigorous fake gloom

Its like turning over a chessboard and all you

see is black A deep meticulous, concerning black

I know that you have the power to resistYoure fortunate to have the ability to see

past the gloom To differentiate the true

from the fake


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I C, House 3The Beautiful Bahamas

The sun warms my sun-kissed skin The cool island

breeze ows through my hair making it a silky river I look

up and smile as the large green palm trees dance in the

wind I see the crystal clear water Running on the sandcareful not to stand too long in one spot, the sand like re

I catapult myself into the water SPLASH! The small silver

sh swim around me Try to catch oneit slips through my

hands, like grains of rice I race the sh, come out of the

water and lay on the wet sand I look up, sigh and say, The

Beautiful Bahamas


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J C, House 5Ode to Paradise

An escape from yesterday,

A passage before tomorrow,

Paradise awaits our worries

Where the clouds have lifted, and all the skies have been left blue,The bright sun seeming as irrevocable as the day to come

The sandy shore an entrance to the cooling waves;

Calming as everything else becomes irrelevant

Paradise is the sanctuary to a fretting mind,

And the refuge to an aching body

A short ideation of a perfect world


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17

T E, House 1From Potatoes to Disasters

It was a sunny, Tuesday morning when Patrick

OFlannery landed at an airport in San Francisco,

California He was called next in line to review his

immigration papersNext! Called the lady behind the counter Patrick

moved up in line Name please, asked the lady

Patrick Patrick OFlannery from Ireland Patrick

explained everything else needed He received his card,

grabbed his bags and left the airport

Once Patrick was outside, he found his family waiting

for him by a car His wife and two kids had come a few

months ago to buy a new house, car, and to start their

new life in America

Patrick, His wife calledDaddy! His two kids exclaimed

They all exchanged hugs and got in the car

They were a nice family and their new life had begun

well Patrick was assigned a job for when he got to

America Soon he would start his new job as head chef at

Mr Bakers Sweets and Treats Bakery

Dont forget that your job starts in two days,

Patrick, said his wife at dinner

I will be ne I have known Mr Baker forever, said

PatrickWill we get free cakes and stuff? Asked his son

Yeah, will we daddy? Asked his daughter

I dont know It is up to Mr Baker, I guess Patrick

told his two kids

That night everyone went to bed, except Patrick He

had to do a little work before bed He opened his laptop

and opened the Internet On the news section he saw

that for the past three days there had been earthquakes

on the north and south poles Patrick didnt worry and

went to bed

Briiing! Briiing! It was 7:45 when Patricks alarm

sounded He quickly got up and threw on his cargo

shorts and his work shirt Everyone else was up having

eggs and bacon for breakfast, but he just grabbed a cup

of coffee and ran out the door He got in the car and

drove off It took Patrick about fteen to twenty minutes

to get to Mr Bakers place He slowly walked inside The

bakery opened at nine, so the only people there were Mr

Baker and his son

Ah, Patrick Youre here, said Mr Baker This is my

son, Eric You two will be working together

Great Lets get going! Exclaimed PatrickIt was his rst job in America and it was great He

always loved to bake and cook, especially for a good

cause After work, he received permission to take home a

few treats, so he did He brought it home and the family

ate some for dessert Everyone slept long and hard

with full stomachs and the taste still spreading in their

mouths

The next morning was Friday, the day Patrick didnt

have to work Everything was calm The kids were

watching cartoons and the parents were on computersworking Then all of a sudden the power went out and

then immediately came back on The television was

playing an emergency broadcast

This is not a test If you are on or near the coast,

you must evacuate immediately to the nearest safe

house WARNING! WARNING! This is not a test! Evacuate!

Evacuate! Said the robotic voice

Get the kids in the car, said Patrick

Lets go kids, his wife said calmly

Within minutes, there was a large crashing noiseand everything started to shakehard The car zoomed

off into town Then a huge rock hit the safe house about

three miles away The sky grew dark and gloomy as it

started to rain, sleet, snow, and hail This was one of the

worst sights Patrick had ever seen Then he thought,

why had I come here? It was only two months ago when

every potato had died off in Ireland, ruining his chances

of survival, the same as the rst potato famine did all

those years ago to his ancestors

* * *

It was 6:45 pm when Patrick went to get some

potatoes for dinner Once he got into the garden, he

pulled up a potato and it was rotten He tried another

rotten; and anotherrotten He called next door to his

neighbor, Christopher Patrick asked about the potatoes

and Chris said his were rotten too He tried his other

neighbor, Kathy Her potatoes were no better Patrick

realized that his family should move America was always


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an idea for the family They discussed the idea at dinner

He decided to let his family leave rst so that he could

clean out the house, then he would join them

* * *Now what was he to do? He turned the wheel

quickly, spinning the car away from San Francisco

I have an idea of where to go, Patrick announced

Where? Asked his wife

My parents house in Nevada, Patrick answered,

but rst we save the Bakers

Patrick hit the gas towards Virginia Avenue In

minutes, he had the Bakers in the car He headed for

Nevada The car was shaking while being pelted by ice

and ying debrisThe road in front of them was pulled up forming a

ramp Patrick made the jump Hours later they reached

Nevada He drove towards New Street Up ahead was his

parents house The disasters of the earthquakes hadnt

reached Nevada

Now Patrick and his family could really start their

new life in America

THE END


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Charlotte Fall, House 4Spring Time

Spring is a time of serenity and peace

Spring begins at the end of winter

Snow melts with the shining sun

Sunshine beams down in millions of raysShining down beauty all through the day

Singing birds chirp aloud

Singing songs of happiness and love

Stings of bees on your feet

Surroundings of blossoms blooming into leaves

Standing tall, trees grow green

Spring then turns into summer

Summer starts and the heat builds

Swimming pools begin to ll

Sandy shores are as crowded as everSunlight grows brighter and brighter

Shrinking and drying the grass till its lighter

Sunny days begin to die

Sending cooler days on the y

Summer ends and turns into fall

Sadly, ending the heat and

Sadly, having to end this warm poem


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S F, House 3Untitled

A cold, night wind rushed through Fred Snoopers

short blonde hair The young boy stood in his place, not

moving an inch He stayed still as if something was going

to happen He felt in his heart that an important eventwas meant to take place that night At rst he thought

that he was crazy, but then he remembered a dream he

had a few months ago

* * *

At the start of the dream, everything was normal

Fred nished his walk from school and approached his

red front door He opened the door, hung up his coat,

and briey greeted his mother before going out into the

backyard to play with his new puppy He went back into

his house to get the dogs bone As he turned aroundto get the toy from a nearby table, he caught a glimpse

of the window He saw plumes of smoke rising into the

air He ran out into the yard Quickly, the smoke cleared

and Fred was eager to see what was behind the mask of

smoke At rst Fred didnt see anything, then he heard

a soft rumble, as a spark appeared out of thin air and a

piece of paper uttered to the ground He imagined that

whatever had released the smoke was an invisible shield

He picked the paper up and tried to read it The message

seemed to decode itself in some places At rst, Fredthought that it was weird, but later he remembered it

was a dream and anything could happen in dreams

ComeEarthJune 15WillowBrick

was all that was in the note

* * *

That was the dream that stuck with him He

wondered now what it could have meant Could he

have decoded more if he actually had time to study the

message? Not just in a dream Now it was June fteenth

and he was standing at the corner of Willow Avenue and

Brick Street He suddenly understood The person who

wrote the note was coming to Earth on June 15th to the

corner of Willow Avenue and Brick Street

Wait, coming to Earth? Wouldnt a person already

be on Earth? Fred thought, Its an alien!

Fred was very excited, imagining what this creature

could look like, what its voice would sound like, and what

its language would be like His thoughts were interrupted

by a loud rumbling noise that rattled Freds eardrums

The same plumes of smoke like in the dream poured

out and then drifted away, but this time, under the

smoke was a compact car The car had no extraordinaryfeatures and looked like any other small car that could

be parked on the street The driver came out of the car,

came around to the back, and opened the trunk It was a

few minutes before the alien noticed Fred When he did,

he rst jumped back in surprise The alien named Bob

had lime green skin, was about ve feet tall, with mostly

human-like features and structure

Hello My name is Bob I am so sorry I didnt

notice you when I was getting out of my car and

getting settled, said the alien I work for the Yenziliangovernment I am the English professor for the country

of Yenzil It is really an honor to meet you He shook

Freds hand

Bob said he was emigrating here from his country

to achieve his lifelong goal, to live like and with the

American humans

Fred brought Bob home and Bob was brought

in by the Snooper family Bob and Fred became very

good friends, as well as classmates, teammates,

and workmates Bob went to American schools andgraduated college Fred and Bob created bonds between

Yenzil and the United States More citizens in Yenzil

moved to the United States People in the US also

moved to Yenzil Fred and Bob brought together two

nations on two different planets and helped both planets

by doing it


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E G, House 3Recycle

Dont think youre cool

Cause you dont recycle in school

Its bad for the environment,

Bad for the earthIs there a purpose?

Ill say it with rmness--

Its just worthless

Not to

RECYCLE!!

Do you benet

From not having etiquette?

As people might say,

If you dont recycleI think its crude, as well as rude,

To toss a clean can

In the garbage can

Im just saying,

Its time to start playing

Do your part

And we can start

A revolution

To

RECYCLE!!


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23

M H, House 3Alien Earth

Something in the distance seemed oddly familiar to

Carl and Eric They were space explorers It was nally

the New Year, 2500, and theyd been traveling since the

year 2475 on a mission to nd life on distant planetsThey saw a blue and green blur in the distance It looked

as if it had some plant life and water on it but they

couldnt be sure They would have to go down and take a

peek Carl eased the Explorer 45, their home for the last

twenty-ve years, into the eerily familiar atmosphere

Looks kind of like Earth, huh, Carl? said Eric

Oh man, wouldnt that be horrible, if weve made

one big twenty-ve year u-turn?! joked Carl But he

wasnt laughing

Eric looked on in disbelief It really did look likeEarth There was water all around and a few giant

landmasses that looked like continents

Carl was concentrated on those continents because

that was where he needed to land He pulled back

on the throttle as they zoomed through the planets

atmosphere Up ahead he saw what he was looking fora

at, plateau-like spread of what looked like black dirt

Carl slowed the ship down until it seemed like they were

just hovering now

Kicking up a lot of dust Feels like were in a blackcloud, said Eric

Youre telling me! Cant see a thing! Yelled Carl,

over the enormous sound of the engines Carl couldnt

help but think they sounded like they needed a tune-up

All of a sudden, there was a tremendous jolt and

everything went dark for what seemed like an eternity

As the lights ickered back on, the thick dust outside

the windows began to settle Eric and Carl crept up

to a portal window and peeked out There was bright

sunshine beaming through the window, making the

particles of dust oating in the air look diamond-like

Carl was thinking, I hope its warm sunshine out

there cause its getting freezing in here He checked the

temperature gage on the instrument panel It showed 22

degrees Fahrenheit in the ship Something must have

happened to the heating system when they landed He

was afraid to push the button that would show them the

temperature outside What if it was 20 below! Theyd be

doomed!

As they stepped out of the ship, they were greeted

by warm sunshine Carl sighed in relief As they began

to look around, they found themselves in a weird metalcomplex No, not a metal complex A playground

It looks just like the one my kids played on,

said Eric Do you think that we actually did make a

mistake? Then Eric remembered something

It was back when they had accepted the challenge

Their boss wanted to look for other planets as the

aliens that had come in the twenty-fourth century had

suggested They had left directions to another planet,

although left no description of what it was like Carl and

Eric had both loved astro-travel, as it was their job tosupervise the shipping of food, water, and oxygen to

alpha-centuri Most said they were crazy to make this

trip, but they had thought it was a great idea The day

before they were to leave, Erics child had given him

an organized list of every playground on Earth as a

present An odd one but still, a present just the same

There had been a lot of time to spare on the trip, so Eric

had memorized a picture of every one This playground

denitely was not on the list, and he saw a sign saying

that it was the playgrounds 50th anniversaryEric said slowly, I dont think we are on Earth, Carl

What?!

Well, you know about the playground list my son

gave me before we left? This wasnt on it

Eric and Carl were confused They gured they had

landed on the new planet and decided to explore They

came across a neighborhood with houses and then heard

a sudden bark

Get back here, Spot! You are having a bath whether

you like it or not! yelled a lady Then she saw them

Hello, Sirs We get many aliens around here, but we

have never gotten people before!

Eric and Carl were amazed The lady took them in

for a few weeks, and they learned much about the planet

they were on It turned out to be a version of Earth

but in the year 4000! They learned all about how the

environment had been xed, and economic problems

solved Eric and Carl found out about many future


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24

inventions and even became US citizens again They

were amazed by how free they were to become a citizen,

as there were no tests; they just had to sign up

The New Year occurred on January 1st just likeEarths, and they decided to make a long distance call

home A VERY long distance call indeed! This was one of

their inventions that they were very excited to try out

Their boss picked up

Hello?You are coming home?Okay, you can tell

us everything when youre back10 years, I presume

No?OK, but be careful

They had told their boss about the teleportation

methods that had been invented on the new planet They

were purposefully vague though because they wantedto show everything to Earth personally They stepped

up to the teleporter stand, said goodbye to all of their

newfound friends, and clicked the Earth button on the

controller They waved as they moved up and then began

moving at 300x the speed of light Within three hours

they were home

What happened? said their boss

Well they said in unison, Here is our story


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25

Stephanie Hayes, House 1Push

Push is the word

Its how I feel

You wouldnt understand unless youre like me

Sometimes I wanna give upI want to take a break,

But I cant and you know that

You cause the problem,

You are the problem

But why cant you be the solution?

My life revolves around the square root of x

I know helium, hydrogen, and beryllium

I can do a geometry proof without a blink of an eye

Ive been pushed so far Ive had to lie

I can spell Bureaucratic

Dramatic

Climactic

Problematic

A squared plus B squared equals C squared

What about lmnop squared?

I know the structure of an atom,

The protons, the neutrons, the electrons

Sometimes I wish the world would stop around me,

But I have to bear on

Dont push

What about me?

What matters to me?

Does anyone care?

Its everyone

My parents,

My friends,

My teachers,

And everyone I know

They all want to push me

They want to take me up one level

Too far,

But sometimes I want to scream to the world

And say,

Stop

Dont push,

The door says pull


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26

S H, House 4Not Alone

Sophie, Sophie! Wake up sweetie! Mommy has to

go to the hospital, my mom said in an urgent voice

She kept on inching I could tell she was in pain, then I

realized: she must be having her baby soon! I sat up inbed and grabbed my stuffed animals She waddled out

of my room and went down the stairs as fast as possible

I followed her and tried to get the blur out of my tired

eyes As my dad helped my mom get out the front door,

I slipped my shoes on Make sure you close the door,

Soph! My dad shouted back at me

As I stepped outside into the late-night air, I looked

back at my house, smiling When I get back, Im going to

be a big sister, I whispered to myself proudly as the car

backed out of the drivewayWe pulled into the Goldbergers driveway and I kissed

my mom goodbye The Goldbergers are close family

friends and one of their daughters, Katie, is my best

friend Aunt Trish welcomed me at the door and blew a

kiss to our car, which was already pulling back out of the

driveway

Uncle Peter was in his robe drinking tea Are you

excited for your new sibling, Sophie? he asked

I was about to say, Yes, but Aunt Trish told me I had

to go back to bed because it was so late She broughtme up to Maggies room because Maggie was sleeping

in their bed Katie and Claire were in the next room over

and I could hear lullaby music coming from their room

How could that help them sleep?I thought The music

made me think of Jesus and him being all bloody on the

cross I shivered With Teddy in my hand, I climbed into

bed with thoughts of Jesus

It seemed like hours passed, but I was still staring

at the ceiling wondering if I was a big sister yet At last,

Aunt Trish came to check on me Having a hard time

sleeping, Soph-a-loaf? You must have lots going on in

your mind right now, she said

Aunt Trish, can you read me a story please?

She nodded her head and pointed over to a small

bookshelf I picked a Barbie Rapunzel book and a

book called Welcome To The World, which I thought

was perfect for the occasion Barbie Rapunzel was

like the movie that I have of Barbie Rapunzel, what a

coincidence! The other book was just as I thought it

would beabout new babies Aunt Trishs voice made me

tired and I nally drifted off to sleep

I woke up the next morning to the familiar soundof my dads voice I ran downstairs to the kitchen Aunt

Trish, Uncle Peter, and Daddy were all standing around

the table smiling at me Do you want to see a picture of

your new baby brother? Daddy said smiling I HAVE

A LITTLE BROTHER! I screamed with excitement He

brought me downstairs to Uncle Peters ofce On the

computer, he showed me the cutest creature I have ever

seen in my life I was so happy I thought I might burst

Even though something amazing happened to me,that day I had to go to school, like any other day My dad

dropped me off as I sang, I have a new baby brother I

have a new baby brother, the whole way there

With two pictures of the newest edition to our family,

Daniel, I walked into the school building When I got to

my classroom I ran to my kindergarten teacher, Mrs

Vascimini, and said, I have a little brother I am a big

sister now! She was happy for me and gave my dad a

hug

I was jittery all day and couldnt wait to go visit mymom at the hospital I didnt even say goodbye to Mrs

Vascimini when my dad came and picked me up I ran to

the car, picturing holding a baby, and not just any baby,

but my baby When we got to Lenox Hill Hospital in New

York City, I tried to take in everything, from the sick to

the healthy and the doctors to the patients When we got

to my moms room the only thing I saw at rst was her

Then I saw little arms jerk up so I ran over and looked

down at my new baby brother I smiled at him, then at my

mom and my dad I was so happy! After so many years

of being an only child, I actually had a sibling! I spent the

rest of the day at the hospital holding Daniel, snuggling

with my mom, looking at Daniel, and watching PBS on

the TV

When it came time to leave I started crying I dont

want to leave, I pouted My mom had to stay overnight

to recover but I just looked at it as having a sleepover for

no reason To make me more comfortable, my mom had


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27

my dad bring Daniel over to her bed With me on one side

and Daniel in her arms she sang me our special night-

night song Mommy loves Sophie Daddy loves Sophie

Daniel too Ebby too Mommy loves her Sophie Daddyloves his Sophie Yes we do Daniel too Ebby too That

was the rst time Daniels name had been in the night-

night song It was also the rst time I got a sibling And

lastly, it was the rst time in my life I was not alone


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28

L H, House 1My Failure Mission

Right now, I am sitting in jail, thinking of all the things

I want to do when I am released That is, if Im released

The glass wall of my 12x8 inch terrarium reminds me of

the plane window I am talking about the plane I ew onto get here to the US I stowed myself away in a little

girls uffy, pink jacket hood If you are confused, allow

me to explain

I am a phootu bug My homeland is in Japan, very far

from where I am now I was sent here by the FIBI (Federal

Insect Bureau of Investigation) to complete a mission Yes,

it was a dangerous mission and I knew it from the start

* * *

Srg Pluto, we have chosen you as head of this

troop to go on a mission You must bring back a palmtree seed We also want you to do research over a course

of a few months on the palm tree to see if it will thrive

in Japan You will y on Air Japan to Florida Good luck

and dont get caught, said the chief executive of the FIBI

stify with no expression in his bulging eyes

I packed up my expensive, miniature, leather Roach

briefcase, spray painted my wings and exoskeleton black,

and was on my way

At the airport I found my gate by walking on the

ceiling since it would be hard to navigate through all thehuman feet After scanning the waiting area for the right

hideout, I decided on a little girls uffy coat I could hear

the lush uff calling my name

Quickly, I got comfortable and waited to board the

plane The plane had personal TVs, so during the ight I

watched Elmo with the little girl The grumpy guy in the

trashcan reminded me of the chief executive

Finally, after hours of Elmo and trips to the

disgusting bathroom, the little girl and I arrived in the

land they call Florida A quick y away from the airport,

I saw my rst palm tree I didnt see anyone around

so I ew over to the tree, which was just outside a

restaurant called Burts Burgers I took a bite of the palm

Wow! It was delicious! I kept eating more and more

Unfortunately, when I am happy an unpleasant smell

comes from me It is what happens with all phootu bugs

Ahhh! Someone screamed Look what is on my

burger! At the time it sounded like bergaa So I didnt

understand It turns out, what I thought was a palm tree

was actually a burger A person trapped me in a box and Istayed in the box for a long time

* * *

So here I am, in a terrarium I want to get out but

I dont know how I think I am in a lab being tested and

observed There are other bugs and reptiles around me

I keep hearing things like, What bug is this? I think it is

from the Middle East I havent seen it before

At night, the great escape occurred A snake had

somehow opened up her tank and got us all free With

much stealth we crept out of the lab Some insects choseto stay in the US I, on the other hand, said, I am out of

here!

I hid in another hood on the way back This time

I ew Continental and watched Dr Phil Back home in

Japan everyone wanted to know where the palm seed

was I said, I dont have it If you want it so bad, you can

get it yourself Even if I got demoted down to a desk job

because I didnt complete my mission, I still learned what

a burger is and that there is a nice little burger place

around the corner from my ofce!


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Priya Kaushik, House 2The Signs of Summer

The sun shining bright,

The birds take great ight

These are the signs, the signs of summer

Plants start the season safe in their beds,Making others turn their heads


Spectators marvel at the beautiful, the wondrous, and the fruitful


Its so very hot

And mosquitoes, theres a lot


The dewdrops, they all gleam,

The children, they all beam

These are the signs, the signs of summerAnd it will never be a bummer


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T K, House 4My True Self

Will I ever know or grow accustomed to who I am to be?

When I look into the mirror,

I ask, What purpose have I here?

And truthfully and solemnly, I tell you here and now,I dont know who my true self is, or what life holds for me

Will I ever know the reason for my birth?

When I think of my tomorrows,

I ask, What path am I to search?

And peering at my image, in the mirror staring back,

The answers to these questions seem to tantalize the task

Will there ever be a time when things are crystal clear?

When I look into the mirror,Will I know the person there?

My life an empty canvas, waiting to be sketched,

I only hope my days are lived with love and not contempt

Will I ever realize there is no need to know?

When life is but a traverse,

A journey to be told

And just to be remembered by friend and foe alike,

As the girl who left the mirror,

In search of her own life


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Nicolette Levy, House 1Lookin like a fool if your pants arent on the ground!

Do you follow the dress code? Because if you do, and

you are a guy, that means you dont sag And if you dont

sag, and you are a guy, than you are not cool

If you are a guy, you must sag You must! Theres noavoiding it The only way you can truly achieve coolness

is if your pants are hanging about halfway down your

butt Dont worry, youll get used to the breeze

And if you sag, this means you really have to pay

attention to what you wear underneath those pants

No more tightie-whities for you! (And no more going

commando, either No one wants to see your crack of

dawn Trust me on that one) No, if you really want to get

the full effect, you have to get boxers, and wear them up

to your belly button And not just any boxers You haveto get brightly colored or patterned boxers that draw

attention to yourself Anything yellow with blue whales

on them should be ne Or blue with red polka dots on

them Both are perfectly acceptable

But the only problem with sagging is that instead

of buying big, baggy jeans, you must buy slim leg jeans

about three sizes too small, so that while wearing them,

they do not completely slide right off your butt They

have to t enough so that they cling to the areas where

your butt is actually covered by your pants, but notcompletely wrinkle at the bottom, where they are met

with basketball sneakers that will never actually see a

basketball court (they might get dirty if they are actually

used)

Unfortunately, some teachers dont agree that

sagging is cool Some say its icky Others say its

disrespectful Some are so offended that they may even

force you to pull up your super cool pants and tie them

with an impromptu belt made of string Look out fashion

industry: strings arent just for bikinis anymore!

Sagging is a form of expression Another form of

expression is how you walk Most people walk with their

feet forward, taking evenly sized steps But once you

sag, you learn that this way of walking is completely

impossible Because the crotch of your pants are down

by your knees, you are forced to walk like you are

competing in a three-legged race with yourself And now,

you can walk down the hallway in all of your gangsta

coolness while waddling around like a penguin And then

youll join up with all of your other sagging friends and

look like penguins that seriously need to get on the nextight to Antarctica How cool is that? Its a major chick

magnet

Now what does this mean for the rest of the school

(AKA the girls)? Are they supposed to sag? Should they

be saving up for pants that just dont t right? I hope

not Because if they are, look out Gap clearance section

Youre about to be sold out of boxers


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G L, House 5Untitled

You know what I love so much about middle school?

The dress code The dress code is the rule that makes

the most sense in middle school In fact, it makes so

much sense that the administration makes us come toschool every day in what feels like boxes that cover up

our entire body, from head to toe The dress code is the

most fun thing about middle school because if you poke

even a millimeter of a nger out of your box, you will get

suspended for disrespecting the teachers Isnt getting

suspended fun?

Another great thing about the dress code is that

we can learn so much at school while the dress code

controls our lives, because we have these cool hearing

aids attached to our boxes so that we can actually hearwhat the teacher is saying outside of the thick box

So on a typical day at school, my cute outt consists

of lab pants that are so long on me they cover my feet

and a long-sleeve shirt with a turtle neck that goes all

the way up my head, completely covering my hair Its

cool because I cant even have eyeholes to at least see

the people around me That means I have an excuse for

bumping into people, which can be dangerous But even

if ve kids go to the hospital each day, its okay because

we still have the dress code to look forward to every dayThat reminds me about the shoes we get to wear

We can wear these really stylish sneaker-boots that

cover our whole calf and our toes To make them even

more comfortable, the teachers give us extensions

to put on them so that they go all the way up to our

chests and sometimes even our necks That will make

us warm in the winter when we sit in the over-heated

classrooms The best part about the shoes is that we can

feel comfortable in our own skin, because those are the

only shoes we are allowed to wear, and everyone wears

them Any other shoes that we wear will be taken off and

thrown into a nice, happy re burning in the ofce

So even if my shoes are covered up by my long

pants, what really makes me feel condent is my

collection of shirts that are three sizes too big for me

and three sizes too long on me, making the perfect

enormous shirt, covering my whole upper body This

makes it extremely easy to write and type, because my

shirt helps my ngers grip the pen or keyboard keys

Sometimes I feel that I dont have to wear pants with my

shirt, because it is so long But of course, that is out of

the question because I have to wear pants that at leastcover my feet Another great thing about the pants we

wear is that we get to wear them all the way up to our

waists Sometimes, if we wear our pants up to our chests

or our necks, we get extra credit from the teachers who

congratulate us for taking such a risky fashion step

Writing this makes me love the dress code even

more I forgot the icing on the cake Teachers dont have

to follow the dress code Of course, this is really fair

because teachers work the hardest and deserve a reward

for their work On a typical day, some of my teacherscome to school in mini-skirts and belly shirts, and the

ofce waves at them as they walk by Sometimes, they

are really daring and they wear meat dresses like Lady

Gaga, only to get looks from the kids and high ves from

the other teachers The funny thing is that when they

wear shirts that cover three quarters of their arm, they

get looks from the other teachers and high ves from

the kids So yes, the students and the teachers dress very

differently After all, the whole point of middle school is

to be different and have your own independent soul thatisnt controlled by others, right?


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John Macksoud, House 1Bread for All

Our story begins in Worcester, Massachusetts It

was the early 1930s and the Great Depression had just

broken out One neighborhood was hit especially hard by

the economic downfall All businesses in the area had toclose down All businesses except for the bakeries that is

People needed bread just as they always had and

the Depression did not change that Those who had

any money at all would limit themselves to only the

necessities, and bread was one of them If one was

looking to buy bread in this neighborhood there were

two places you could go; you could go to Gold Crown

Bakery or you could go to City Chat Bakery The bakeries

were very different

Gold Crown was a massive, well-oiled machine Theowner, John Macksoud, had scores of workers produce

loaf after loaf of delicious high quality bread Not only

was it popular amongst the neighborhood folk but also

amongst the people in the rest of the city Every food

store in Worcester seemed to buy their bread from Gold

Crown It was an extremely successful and prosperous

business and owner, John Macksoud, was rolling in

money

City Chat Bakery, odd as it may seem, was actually

right across the street from Gold Crown It was a small,unassuming little store Despite this, it had a warm

comfortable feeling and was run by an Italian immigrant

who had come over in the 1920s; his name was Francesco

Papale Francesco had been a baker back in the old

country and his bread was just as good, if not actually

better, than the bread made by Gold Crown - and a bit

cheaper too It was almost exclusively immigrants that

came to his bakery to buy his products and listen to the

Italian opera music that echoed through his shop as he

worked along with his few employees Francesco was a

genuinely nice man and always put others, especially

his family, rst He took great pride in owning his bakery,

which brought him and his loved ones enough income to

get by, but not much else Francesco and his family found

joy in simply spending time together and didnt mind that

money was sometimes scarce City Chat Bakery was an

undiscovered jewel living in the shadow of Gold Crown

Both bakeries, even though they were not put out of

business, suffered from a decrease in customers Almost

everyone in the neighborhood had lost his job The bread

they used to buy from Gold Crown had simply becometoo expensive Even City Chats bread was over the price

range of many

Often, hungry former customers would gather

outside of Gold Crown and beg John for just a small bit

of bread for themselves or for their loved ones John

would look them in the eye and ask a single question

Have you any money? The people would shake their

heads How can you expect me to give you bread if you

havent got any money? How do I make a prot off of

this? John would say Go! Leave my store! Stop takingup space so the real customers can come in!

Some people just left Some protested and said that

they had been Johns customers for years and deserved

a little in return for their support Others simply broke

down and started to cry John couldnt care less about

these people; all he cared about was money

After a while, Francesco started to notice what John

was doing He felt sorry for the hungry people, and one

day he could not stand it any longer He exited his shop

and approached the group of people John had justdenied bread He invited them over to his bakery, and

gave them something to eat The people were grateful

and found Franciscos bread to be the best they had ever

tasted They insisted on repaying him in some way, but

he insisted they did not

Doing a good deed needs no reward Francisco

would tell them in his thick Italian accent

When John saw what Francesco was doing he was so

amused that he decided to confront Francesco about it

How will you make any money? John asked

between bursts of laughter

I wont, but its the right thing to do, replied

Francesco

John walked back to his store laughing hysterically,

and wondering how anyone could be so foolish

Francescos acts of kindness became a common

event and the news spread People started to love his


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bread, and him

When the depression nally began to come to an

end, and everybody could afford bread again, John

expected everyone to buy Gold Crown bread as they hadin the past He was shocked to nd that Francesco, who

had nearly gone out of business from all of his kindness,

had taken all of his clientele

John was shocked He wondered how this had

happened The reason should have been clear to him

John had ignored all of these people and Francesco had

taken them in They were repaying his kindness Soon

City Chat Bakery replaced Gold Crown as the number

one bakery in Worcester Francesco continued to be

generous and kind but his family never had moneyproblems ever again


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M M, House 3Giovannis Journey

Wake up, Giovanni! Were in America, mother

yelled He could barely hear anything over the boats

engine, as his mother yelled at him to get on deck

Giovanni was glad to escape the intense heat of thelower decks in July He pushed his long brown hair out

of his eyes, straightened his shirt, rubbed his tired eyes,

and ran up the stairs to get on deck Mother was already

there holding his baby brother, Marco, and pointing

frantically at the Statue of Liberty

She saw Giovanni and said, Look, look Its the

Statue of Liberty! She went on to explain how great

their lives in America would be, but Giovanni wasnt

listening He was still staring out in awe at the big green

lady, fascinated by its size and statureWow, Giovanni said Thats amazing! He stayed

on deck as the boat passed through part of Manhattan

and he was swallowed up by the huge buildings One by

one they passed by, buildings higher than they had ever

seen before Giovanni was blinded by the sun shining in

through the cracks in the buildings

It took about an hour for them to dock at Ellis

Island The whole time, his mother and Giovanni were

talking nervously about whether or not they would get

in to America Also, they wondered where they wouldgo Finally they got off the ship and Giovanni fell to

the ground, his legs weak from not being used in two

months His mother led the way as they walked towards

the giant reception area

They waited for an hour or so and then they started

getting scared Giovanni tried to calm his mother, but he

was just as nervous What would happen if they didnt

get into America? Where would they go? Back to Italy?

Those were some of the questions oating around in his

head as their name was called

Mrs Bonuchi, the clerk called and Giovanni led

the way to the desk His heart was pounding so fast he

thought it might leap out of his chest

Are you going to enter the country? The clerk

asked and Mother replied, Yes, with her Italian

accent Then came a ood of questions that my mother

answered either Yes or No to Finally we were passed on

to the examination and after an hour of rigorous testing,

we were passed on out of Ellis Island and into America

The family spent the next few weeks settling intoa small, poor Italian neighborhood on the east side of

Manhattan They were the hardest weeks of Giovannis

life He had no friends and barely spoke any English

Then on the seventh day, a Tuesday night, it happened

He was in a dream Back in Italy at his house They

were enjoying dinner and all of a sudden there was

gunre bursting through the windows His father, tall and

strong, rushed them out the back door and told them to

ee to the woods and use their money to go to AmericaThey started running and Giovanni realized that his

father was further back trying to protect them Then,

as if out of nowhere, a bullet sliced through the air and

landed in his fathers chest His last words to Giovanni

were, Go while you still can

Giovanni woke up in a sweat, screaming for his

father, but he quickly realized that his father was gone

He felt alone in America, abandoned by his country,

father, and mother

A month after his breakdown Giovanni started

school He walked in shy and unsure of himself The

stares that he got from being the new kid were almost

unbearable The disgust being directed at him for being a

greenhorn was shown by everybody, except one boy

Hi, the boy said

Hi, Giovanni replied, surprised by the boys Italian

accent

You seem like you are new here and I just wanted

to say welcome to a fellow Italian immigrant My name is

Joey Whats yours? The boy asked

Giovanni, he replied

Nice name, the boy said and instantly they were

friends

He was from Italy and had arrived one year earlier

than Giovanni This was very helpful for Giovanni


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because they could speak Italian instead of Giovannis

broken English Although the other children were

mean, he had a friend and Giovanni was very grateful

for that They would talk about futbol, or soccer (as theAmericans called it), and they would play outside Joey

even introduced him to other boys in school No longer

did Giovanni feel abandoned Finally, he felt at home


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C O, House 2The Perfect Classroom

Ah, I can see it nowthe perfect classroom Teachers

and administrators have dreamt of this for years The

students are doing exactly what they should be and

following the rules Here is my Utopian Classroom:Today is a big review day at school The students are

reviewing for their nal exams that are coming up and

the teacher is getting ready for a big day The students

come in Wow, every kid looks amazing Pants belong

below the waste, exposing pink and purple polka-dotted

underwear Everybody knows you need these to learn

How are you going to learn about the Pythagorean

theorem if your pants arent where they are supposed

to be? Its impossible When learning, it is necessary to

give your butt a little fresh air The current generationof authority needs to teach these kids to be civilized

Everybody knows that unless you see pink underwear

sticking out of somebodys pants, you cant learn

Teachers banned sagging so that the students would

start sagging and start learning Everybody knows that!

The students each sit down in their seats Half

of the students pull out their cell phones So far, so

good, the teacher whispers to herself She knows that

now that the students have their phones out, they will

start sending answers to a test to their friends whoare currently taking it That is why cell phones are an

important part in the learning experience If kids are

allowed to cheat, they do well If you cheat, you win That

is the motto of this classroom and also the motto of

the countrys government If students do well because

of cheating, only good things are happy Students who

would normally fail get much better grades Isnt that

what learning is all about? If you learn to cheat, you will

be more successful Everybody knows that the people

who do well are the ones that learned to cheat from

the beginning How do you think George Bush won the

election in 2000? If he hadnt learned these valuable

skills in the wonderful Texas public school system, we

wouldve had someone reasonable as our president Just

another regular honest, uncorrupt president Who wants

that? The teachers of today need to raise people that will

lie, kick, and punch to succeed

The last important ingredient to this utopian

classroom is chewing gum It goes without saying that

everybody in the classroom walked in with gum in his

or her mouth Later on, the teacher looks over andnds little Johnny rolling on the oor with both hands

on his neck This is nothing unusual The teacher walks

over and nds four empty packs of gum in Johnnys

desk He is such a dedicated learner He chews pack

after pack of gum so he can concentrate on his

studies As hes being loaded into the ambulance, the

teacher thinks about the glorious things this country

will accomplish with this distinguished student as the

next great president She then looks over at the child

not chewing gum, texting, or sagging, and knows thatits okay; not everybodys perfect


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Katie OBrien-Smith, House 2Life Lessons

I believe that everyday should be lived as your last

That you should never forget your past

That you should always look ahead

And never leave anything unsaid

Always stand up for whats right

Always stand up for yourself in a ght

Always believe what you say

And enjoy every single day

Because today could be your last

And all you leave with are your memories of the past

You leave everything else here

Even your loved ones that you hold so dear

You dont know when your life will cease

So live everyday in peace

Never settle for less than your best

Because life is the ultimate test

Never say never

Make every moment last forever

Dont take for granted all that you gotAnd forever teach the life lessons you were taught

Dont throw away what you know is good

Never not do what you know you should

Give everything all you can

Always shoot for a ten

Make whats wrong right

Sleep soundly every night

Try not to doubt

Instead, try and venture out

You are you

You get to choose what you do

No one can make your choices for you

Cause you cannot undo

Dont be afraid to sing

Dont be afraid to do anything

Be proud of who you are

Because you are everyones superstar

Tell everyone how much you care

Live isnt fair, and they might not always be there

Make new friends, and keep the old

Dont repeat something personal you were told

Be brave, stay strong

Keep calm and always carry on

You have the right to be alive

And you always have the strength to survive

These are life lessons to learn

To you, they most denitely concern

Life is a work of art

And you play a very big part

Knowing these lessons will get you far

They make up who you are

Teach these to your friends and family

These lessons are of universality

So again I say to live everyday as your last

To never forget your past

To live by these life lessons that make up who you are

Because you are your very own superstar


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Katie OBrien-Smith, House 2Life Without Warning

Life, its unexpected Its not something you know

is going to happen before it actually happens Its a

surprise

When youre in your mothers womb, do you actuallyknow that one day you are going to leave that place? The

only place youve ever been? Ever known? No, of course

you dont In fact, you most likely dont know much of

anything

Then, all of that changes

One day, you feel yourself being pushed Then, soon

enough, youre crying and a doctor is holding you and

cleaning you off You were perfectly happy inside your

mothers stomach, but now you feel air for the rst time

as it lls your lungs Such a sudden change must feel soweird

Of course, we dont know

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Mt Hebron Literary Review 2011