Sea Change

(n) sea change (a profound transformation)

Studio 145 Presents

Sea Change

Created by the Students ofRoom 145 2010-2011

(n) sea change (a profound transformation)

Table of ContentsSleep Away Camp, Indira.........................................................................................................08

The Last Night Together, Hanna..............................................................................................24

Mrs. McDavitt, Conor................................................................................................................26

A Short Goodbye, Emma.........................................................................................................28

Slip nʼ Slide, Amanda...............................................................................................................30

On The Move, Lizzy...................................................................................................................32

No More Bull Sharks, Lindsey.................................................................................................14

Getting My Dog, Jared.............................................................................................................12

The Never Ending Ride, Ellie...................................................................................................10

Ready, Set, Hike, Caroline........................................................................................................22

The Girl Who Gets Bullied, Anna............................................................................................20

Greasy Skies, Torey..................................................................................................................18

Moving Away From Friends, Elise..........................................................................................16

Horsepower, Mity......................................................................................................................35

A Bike Ride to the Emergency Room, Ben.............................................................................38

Erin & Charlotte, Charlotte.......................................................................................................40

A Party to Remember, Marcus.................................................................................................42

Ultimate Fighting, Joe..............................................................................................................44

The School Day, Dean..............................................................................................................46

The Need for Speed, Alec........................................................................................................48

The Dare, TJ..............................................................................................................................50

The ATV, Bella...........................................................................................................................52

The Best Cousin in the World, Hannah..................................................................................54

The First Day of School, Hailey...............................................................................................56

Lost Friends, Samantha...........................................................................................................58

Sleep Away Camp

"Why do I have to go to camp?"  I said sadly, sitting on the bed.  My mom was putting my stuff in my black suitcase.  "You have to go." "Why? I don't want to go to camp.  I don't want to leave you guys."  "You do want to leave us.  You can scream anytime, and jump and fight and argue with your sister and I won't have to listen to you."  "Why are you yelling at me?  I'm scared to go to overnight camp."  "I'm sorry, 'Dra." She said, zipping the suitcase and walking over to the bed.  She put her arms around me and gave me a big hug.  "I'm sorry, I was just playing around with you.  You'll meet lots of nice people and make a bunch of friends."  "I'm going to miss you."We gave each other a hug and a kiss.  "I'm going to miss you too but you'll be fine, we'll see you in two weeks."  

"Get on the bus first India." I said with my mouth down. "No, you get on first." She pushed me closer to the steps. I walked up the steps with my head down.I Thought the kids where going to mess with me.Then I sat down.After I sat down I wondered what my mom was doing.Then the girl behind me said,"Is it your first time?"And I said yes it is my first time"Then I said I miss my mom"Then she said why. I said I miss my mom Because I never left her so long. The first time I went to camp was really fun but I still missed my mom at first too. Once I got to know everybody I liked it a lot and I made a lot of friends. Don't worry you will be fine. Then she offered to unpack my bag when we got to camp.

I Dedicate this story too Justin Bieber because he has the best songs in the world. I like his songs because they are cool and they make me fell great.

In!ra

Indira was born in Boston MA. She still lives in Boston and she goes to school in Cohasset, MA and she has two sisters and one brother she loves Justin Bieber. She thinks he is sooooo pretty.

The wooden steps to the cabin looked like they came from a tree. Most of the steps I see aren't made out of polished wood they're made out of concrete or tile. I walk inside the cabin and saw 4 bunk beds and 3 with stuff already piled up on them, those must the counselors. I was the first one in door and I picked the bed closest to the window. "Aren't I supposed to be helping?" I heard Brielle, the girl from the bus, say. "Yes you are supposed to be helping me." I said while I smiled at her. I hadn't thought about missing my mom and seeing Brielle helped me feel even better. "Could you help me with my sheets?" "Yeah, sure I'll help you." She said pulling the sheets over the bed. "Have you ever been to overnight camp before?" "No, I was really sad about leaving my family but now I'm okay." "That's good, there's dances, pool parties, fishing, boating, basketball and a whole lot of other stuff." "That sounds really fun, thanks for making me happier." "You're welcome, Indira."

My sister and my two friends walked up to the lunch room. "Come on, I want to see how they decorated the place." We walked to an empty spot on the dance floor. "I can't believe that camp is about to end tomorrow." Jada said as we danced. "Me either, I'll miss you guys." "I hope you feel better when you see your mom again." Thank you Brielle will. I will always remember my camp time and look forward to going there again.

The Never Ending RideI dedicate this to my family; but of course, not my siblings because they never helped me one bit. Without my mom and dad, this story wouldn’t be here. So I pretty much dedicate this to my parents.

My dad hollered to me from down stairs " come on we’re heading up to the playground and you know why?" “I just woke up, can I take a few more minutes?” I said tiredly at 7:00 a.m. I threw on my clothes, then slumped downstairs and gobbled down my breakfast because I had to get out of the house with my dad. The nerve...I just woke up! Then I headed out the door. Dad kept trying to cheer me up by saying “we will go for soft-serve ice cream afterward”, but nothing was going to change my grumpy, lousy attitude. As we got out the bikes, dusting off the seats, I had flashbacks of crashing into a tree from the last time we went. You could tell from looking at my face, I was ready to run back inside and lock all the doors. My concern was that this time would be no different from all the other times I tried. Will I ever learn how to ride my bike?

When we arrived, I wanted to get on my hands and knees and beg to go home, but my father already had the bike out of the car. My heart was beating as loud as a drum. Dressed in knee pads, elbow pads and helmet, I walked with my bike slowly up the hill. I knew I was going to regret this. I climbed on the seat slowly. Dad was right behind me saying “ready Ellie?”. I knew deep down I wasn’t ready but I thought I had to learn how to ride my bike some day, so I took a deep breath and said “I’m ready ,I’m ready”. While giving me a pat on the back, my dad started counting backwards 3............ 2.......... 1!! My dad pushed me off giving me a head start. I had no control of the bike because I was going so fast. All of the sudden, there was a large rock in front of me so I quickly turned the other way! Thud! I hit the ground not knowing what happened. I got up covered in scratches and dirt spots, feeling like a bunch of broken sticks. I wanted to burst into tears! Once again, failed attempt! Dad took me home.

I woke up the next day by my dad’s voice calling me down stairs again. I hoped it would just end, but I tried to take a few extra minutes before my dad dragged me to the playground. I slumped out of bed yawning then walked down stairs trying to go as slowly as possible. As my dad turned the doorknob to leave, my mom decided to join us. I was shocked! My mom never came so I was joyful. My mom didn't have a bike so she would just have to watch us. Dad and I once again got out the bikes, my little purple bike and my dad’s big brown bike. Even though I wasn’t ready, my mom and dad could not wait to go and cheer me on!

Ellie

Ellie Arnold is a fun loving person.She loves animals and hopes to work at a zoo some day.She enjoys the sports tennis,soccer,and lacrosse and in the summer sailing.Ellie has two brothers, Matt and Sam .Right now she is practicing to be a artist when she’s older.Her favorite subjects in school are social studies, science and reading.Ellie is easy going and happyIn the narrative, she struggles when she was learning how to ride her bike.It is full of excitement and thrills, but don’t forget tragedy.

Getting My DogI dedicate this story to my dog Tug and my very annoying sister Maggie and brother Nolan.

As I swiftly leaped out of the car the gravel crunched under my feet.then I ran to the front door. My family was trudging up the stairs.I rung the doorbell and I heard many yips and yaps.As a women opened the door we all filed inside.

As we entered there was a grand room to our right and to are left there was a living room in the the room there where several older dogs who was barking in a deep When I looked to my right I could just make out his fury little tail. "Hay, I said "there he is"! "Tuggey"! we all said with glee.

As he heard smelled and caught a glimpse us he got all hyper and excited.we all stepped toward him with me in front. My sister stepped in front of me and Tug backed away.ha! I said. you're mean. she said back. Ya I'm mean, I said sarcastically. Let’s go see Tug Nolan I said suddenly quiet. I said. then I turned around and stuck my tongue out at Maggie and smiled.

What was that all about? My mom asked. o just a little argument. i looked away and saw another furry little body. Hay who is that little guy over there? I asked as i said it he got up and waged his tail at us. is that green boy a.k.a Phineas T. Barnum? I asked my mom. yep she exclaimed. Well i guess that it's not as weird as her dogs Harriet Potter, Willis McCarty and Rumple Sticks. Your right but her dog names are pretty strange.

After a couple of insane minutes of puppy love the woman came back and asked, “Do you want to take him home now?” “Yeah!” We all exclaimed at once, all but Nolan who jumped up and down yelling yes! yes! yes! All righty then my dad said lets move out. We where leaving but the woman stopped us and gave us a huge gift basket with toys and a leash. You can keep the basket she said to us. Thanks my mom and dad said.

Jared

Jared is a 4th grade student who loves reading and lacrosse. He has one dog named Tug, a brother and sister. He also has his first quality writing I give him five stars on it and have to give him props too.

As we loaded are selves into the car my mom said, “We need someone to sit with tug in the back. ooo me me. I said jumping up and down. All right buddy you can. after getting settled my dad said where off as we drove down that bumpy road.As I woke up I felt like yesterday was only a dream. So I went down stairs to prove to myself that it wasn't a dream that I had got a dog and his name is Tug.As I descended I heard a little whimper of a dog. My dog. My little labradoodle. I drifted over I hugged him and patted him until he fell asleep in my lap. I slowly slipped away and put him back in his bed. Then slowly tip-toed up the steps and back into my bed and fell back asleep feeling safe and thankful to cause I used to whine alot I didn’t get what I wanted. But now I have every thing I could ask for.

No More Bull Sharks

Lindsey wanted me to dedicate this book to her but there’s no way I'm doing that. I would dedicate it to her sister but Lindsey told me not to. I really would dedicate it to her dog but I didn’t. her neighbor wanted me to dedicate it to her and lots of other people like her dad her mom her other neighbor and more of her neighbors and then 2 of her Friends but I said no to all of them they weren't patient enough. So I chose you, ya that's right you. So I bet you have never had a story dedicated to you so your welcome.

"Bull sharks?! No way, am I going to knee-board with bull sharks under me? I am going to be in a beach in South Carolina with sharks surrounding me.It's like picturing me in the water as a cheese just floating there in the middle of a deep and very wide ocean with crackers on my stomach and my back. You could also picture me as a shark kabob, so no way are you sticking me on a boogie board surrounded by one of the most dangerous sharks in the world!I don't even think that you’re going in the water, you probably are just going to watch while I'm there stuck in the ocean with a possibility of being eaten alive by a shark.I could also be attacked like in the movies when you have your leg just hanging there in the ocean and the shark bites on your leg and pulls you down and the next thing you know your dead!

My mom in a voice that was exciting and just a tad bad at the same time said, “Get ready”. In my head I was thinking, is she talking to me?But I new she wasn't talking to me.So I ignored it,but then all of a sudden I heard a shout of my name. My mom actually was talking to me.In a calm voice, I said, what what is it? My mom said ,”Are you ready? “Why do I need to be ready? I'm not going first.”Yes you are, so go get ready,”said mom.OK, OK, I'll go get ready.Then once again as I was walking I heard a scream that was my name.What what is it? “Where are you going?”my sister said in a sort of mean voice. Mom said for me to go get ready.”We don't have time for that,now come on, she said. I'm coming, I'm coming! This is the worst part of the vacation. It was all perfect till mom told me were going knee-boarding with one of the most dangerous sharks in the world.But know I guess it's all going to start again.

Hey Allison, is that the nice boat we are going on?"No", Allison said. If that's not the boat were going on,then where is our boat?I saw the boat I was going on and Captain Weird was the name of it! In my head I'm saying, what a name!."Lindsey", my mom and sister are both yelling at me, but this time I absolutely know that they’re talking to me because they have their arms crossed like they were the FBI agents in a movie and they’re trying to get an answer out of you but you refuse and and they look like they are in court with that serious face. They just stare at the person who's not on their team but in this case I'm not on their team and they’re so mad and serious at the same time!Then all of a sudden, my sister taps me on the shoulder and says, “hurry up, we have to go to the boat.I walk with her towards the boat and I feel like I almost someone is going to shoot me once I step onto the boat. I really think it's a bad idea to do this sort of thing.The boat started to get a little bit wobbly at first but it's not like I haven't been on a boat before. When I sat down I looked at the seat and the seat was almost as if I had peeled off all the paint and glued it back on with the paint turned over. When I first sit in it the seat it splits off a piece of wood and then I went Kaboom!

When we got to the area were we are knee-boarding, the driver said, “Who's going first?” Every body pointed at me. And I said in a small little voice I am I'm going first.

The board was a cool rich deep red with a shade of rich creamy yellow on the top of the board. As I took the knee-board I stared at the water, I didn't stop thinking about the sharks. I knew I could do it and I also knew that once I fell off of the knee-board my sister would laugh so hard. I turned my head and stared at her and she looked like I was crazy. I thought about how fun it would be to do this sort of thing.As i saw the driver fiddle with his hat, I looked back and dove into the water. It felt like jello as I went straight through the water.My heart raced and I could feel my heart racing without even feeling my chest. I swam and swam and swam and then looked at my sister. I thought I saw a fly go in her mouth but i wasn't going to tell her that.

My head felt like it was going to explode.I snapped back and waved my hand again. The boat started and I screamed louder than an airplane launching 5 feet away and louder than 50 jets at full speed! I looked to the side and saw a big marsh and then I looked to the other side and a marsh was 5 feet away from me. Then I smashed into the marsh and flipped backwards and started to sink in the water. I let go of the rope and I felt my heart racing. I started floating up and I took a breath and thought to myself,am I alive? I couldn’t feel my legs and I couldn’t feel my arms. I saw my mom coming closer and closer and she lifted me out of the water. I looked up and dropped and said, “That was life changing!”

I went back to my board and giggled at my sister because I saw the fly go in her mouth. She didn’t notice! I snagged the handle and waved to the driver. He started the boat and I thought I was going to die. I couldn’t get the thought of bull-sharks attacking me out of my mind.

Lindsey is a fourth grader in Mr.Lewis’s class at deer hill elementary school she got the Idea to write about knee-boarding with bull sharks from what she acts like she is loves adventure so she wanted to it to be adventures and emotional so she thought and thought and then it popped she remembered when she went to south Carolina and knee-boarded.Lindsey lives in Cohasset, Massachusetts. Lindsey wrote the story at age 9 it was tough but I think she would get a 10 out of 10. Lindsey has a dog named Harold who was so cold he made my mom look at him and say we should go to north Carolina to get out of the bad weather so the story wouldn't be here if it wasn’t for him.

Lindsey

sadness, party, Abby and  goodbye.

It was a humid, rainy, blurry and windy day -- the perfect tone for sadness. We stayed at our good friend’s house the night before we moved from Kansas to Massachusetts. I remember thinking, ''I never want this night to end." It was so fun. We did a miniature version of the Olympics, or more like the kooky Olympics, for our going-away party. We did contests like who could eat the most pudding with a straw and many other crazy things that night.

But the night had ended, and I was standing on my friend’s front steps by her bright blue freshly painted door. I hugged Abby saying, "Bye. Come to our new house soon.” Abby said,"I hope I can come soon.'' And a tear dripped down her cheek. I was all fidgety that morning. I was feeling full of sadness and nervousness mixed together with some clumsiness which made me fidgety. It was an odd feeling.

games, bye neighbors, and neighborhood.We drove to our old neighborhood. First my family and I said goodbye to our next door neighbors. One was named Kate, the other Elizabeth. Both of them were really nice and creative. They always wore brightly colored bows that matched their outfits. Our moms hugged each other goodbye with tears coming down their checks. I had some too.

Then on to my neighbor Isabelle's house. I had known her since before I could walk. I said, ''Goodbye. I will miss you so so much.'' We were standing there on the front steps, rain pouring down through the gutters. While I was standing there I remembered very fun and unique games of hide and seek, capture the flag and much more. Isabelle, her brother and sister, Kate and Elizabeth and our other neighbors would all get together and fight the rules out, then get started. There would be a few stops in between because someone had gotten hurt or they bent the rules. But overall they were very fun and creative games!

Moving Away From Friends

I  dedicate  this  story  to  all  my  Kansas  City  friends  and  mom  and  dad  for  all  of  there  support.

Melodee, smell and bye Caroline.

It was time for one more goodbye. It was to my friend who lived up the street. I slowly walked up the steps to Caroline's warm, cozy home. Her house always had a candle burning and the candles usually smelled like cinnamon or vanilla. She was smiling at me, but not a happy smile, a sad smile. I could tell by the way her eyes looked at me. I walked over to hug her and tell her how much I would miss her, but she was too quick. Caroline said, “How about we play our favorite song on the piano." "Okay," I said. We played that beautiful song and while I was playing I thought how I was not just going to be able to run up to her house every day and practice. A tear strolled down my check. Everybody clapped for our song, and then I hugged her and her sister Annabelle goodbye.

When we got in the car it was silent for a second, then tears started rolling down everybody's checks, and we all started to cry. The first voice I heard was my little brother Garrett saying, "Are we moving out of America?'' "No, luckily," I said.

Bye home and K.C.

Finally we pulled up to our red brick house for the last time. There was no wreath on the door or blooming flowers in the pots like usual. I went through every room crying trying to remember every little detail of each room so my head would have a mini photo album of my house and what it looked like. The house looked so empty and lonely with all the furniture gone. I didn't like the way it looked.

We pulled out of our garage for the last time down High Drive and off to Cohasset, Massachusetts. I said, ''I will miss Kansas City and all my friends,'' sniffing as a tear dripped down my cheek. My mom said, ''I will too. But remember we will come back for Christmas and hopefully some of our friends will visit us even before we go there." We drove over a big puddle as my dad said, ''Get ready for the twenty three hour drive.''

For the first time since I found out I was moving I thought how at least I have my family's comfort. That made me feel a little bit better I said in my mind. I looked out the window as we passed the Plaza and thought, it will be an adventure and hopefully I will make some new friends but keep my old friends. One is silver and the other gold.

El#e

Elise  moved  across  he  country  when  she  was  nine  years  old.  She  moved  from  Kansas  to  Massachusetts.  She  remembers  fun  games  with  her  neighborhood  friends  on  High  Drive  and  now  plays  games  with  her  neighbors  in  Cohasset.  It  was  hard  and  sad  moving  but  Elise  now  lives  with  her  two  brothers  and  Mom  and  Dad  in  Cohasset    Massechusetts.

Greasy SkiesTo my mom and dad who work so hard because if they didn’t i would not be talking right now

"Okay ladles and jelly spoons. Make sure your bar is all set and ready to go,"" my ski instructor said. My brother snickered because I had two different kinds of gloves on. My heart pounded as my skis scratched against the metal of my other ski. All of a sudden the chair stopped I was dangling in the air . “Oh great,” I said to myself. This is going to take forever my brother said. “Copier!” I said to him. Luckily, I was stuck up on the chair for three minutes. When I was off the chair lift, I looked at my skies as they were just about to cross...

The ouch and the boom when I fell down sailed through my head. II saw fuzzy pictures of my ski instructor and my siblings. “Are you okay?” my brother said. “Yeah, I’m okay.” Idid manage to get up, but my knee cracked. Ouch! i said.

“Do you think i can do this?” I said to my dad. “Sure you can do any thing, if you put your mind to it,” my dad said. I looked over at my dull skis and my hands where so cold that they felt like ice cubes. I swallowed hard. I bolted down like my hair was on fire ,Torey Do your turns my sister hollered. Do it i said to my self do it Do it....

It’s too icy, it’s just too icy and I had to hit the edge of the slope to get to the snow. I ended up side slipping the whole way down. Wow! That was easy, even more like cheating. ‘’Son, now let’s get you home,” my dad mumbled from underneath his ski mask. I was extremely happy for myself because it was my first time on a double black diamond ski slope. “Ready to go, son.” Yes, dad,” I said quietly. “Did you remember your face warmer?” “Yes.” “Your skis?” “Yep.” “Good.” Hey dad i said did you remember your face warmer and skis. Yes i did son yes i did. Hey, Dad? Have you ever done something you didn’t think you could do? Not anything as nerve-racking as that.

A big tear slipped down my cheek when i saw the hotel get smaller and smaller." Why are you cranky," my brother asked . "You know," I muttered, "don't you get it, jack. I really never had so much fun in my life." There goes motor mouth again, I said to myself. “What?” jack said. “Why are you so mad, Torey." "Just leave me alone." That was it, the car blasted up onto the highway. I had to wait another three hundred sixty - five days until next year.

Torey

Torey grew up in a town called Cohasset. He is a triplet and has a brother and a sister. He has no pets because his parents wont let him get one. His favorite color is yellow he has two loving parents... but, the best part is that he always has somebody to get help from.

I was walking around the playground at school. I was bored, and I was looking for something to do. I saw four girls playing tag. One of the girls was the tagger, and the other girls were running away from her. They were laughing and screaming. I said, "That looks fun to play. Can I play?” “No, you can't play with us because you are weird," the girl said in her mean voice. Her face was scrunched up and her voice was loud. The girls then ran away from me and started to laugh at me. I was walking slowly with my face down. I ran to the rock, but nobody was there. Then I was sitting for a moment in peace and quiet. I said to myself, “I really wish those girls would let me play.” I was both mad and sad at the same time. I wanted to scream and cry.

I told the recess teacher that the girls were excluding me, and the teacher said to the girls, “Girls, that is mean to exclude people.” They still did not let me play. Then I ran off to play with my other friends, and they let me play with them. It made me feel happy to be included by my friends. I said to myself, "Man, I really wish it could always be that easy to make friends." I was sad all that day because it seemed that they did not like me at all. Then in my head I was thinking that not everyone is going to like me.

Here's an idea for Mr Lewis’ class. If you are getting bullied stick up for yourself. Or if you can't do that then I can help you or a teacher could help. It is not fun to get bullied at all and my family and friends helped me get over bullying easily.

Then we got back to our classroom and the girl said in an angry voice,”' Anna why did you tell on me?" I said, '' because it's mean to exclude people.’ ’Then she told the teacher about what happened. The teacher said,’’Anna come over here and tell me the story ''. So, I told her the story . Then I was feeling sad and felt like I was about to cry. " I just wanted to play with the girls!’’ I cried. The teacher then helped us work it out. I learned a lot from this experience. Now I try to play with people who like to play with me. I also learned to ignore people who are mean to me.

The Girl Who Gets BulliedThis is dedicated to my friends because they helped so much and their names are Lucie, Grace, Ellie , Amanda , Charlotte , Caroline , Emma , Annie , Lindsey, Jessica , Bella,Lizzie,and my family because they help so much. I love my friends because they help me get over mean people.

Anna

Anna’s story was about being bulled in second grade and her friends sticking up for her. The author’s name is Anna and she lives in Cohasset, MA. and she’s in 4th grade. She goes to Deer hill school and she is 10 years old.

"Incoming" Charlie yells. I'm charging over while he's standing on the grass. I know that Charlie knows that I can tackle him. But I know that he can also tackle me and that's very unlikely. Heʼs also running over. I start to tackle him by grabbing his shirt and whipping him down to the ground. He falls and hits the grass. He comes up from the ground covered in grass stains. I laugh a little.

Next, Brendan runs up, I tackle him also. That's how I got into the whole football thing. I really wanted to play football because I love tackling people. My Dad didn't care if I played or not but he had to teach me the rules so I wouldn't break my neck or anything.My dad told me one of the major rules is when you go to tackle someone you have to tackle from the side and you can't put your head into that persons stomach because you'll break your neck.b My Mom was a little nervous. My Dad also explained too me that football practice is every day of the week. It starts at 5:00 and ends at 7:30 so I would come home, take a shower, finish my homework, and eat dinner.

I decided to play football. Now my brother had to play football too. Well he didn't have to play but if I played he thought that he could maybe teach me what your supposed to already know because,I'm two years behind. So I had to practice a lot!

Ready, Set, Hike

Coach Sully, My Dad, and the whole football team because they helped me get through it.

Today I'm at football practice. This kid said from Scituate, "Are you actually here to play football?" "No I'm here for ballet,” I responded in a sarcastic way. Most of the boys are worried because they don't want me taking their position. When everyone was on the field the coach yelled, "Three laps around the field”. After we came back from charging around the field in a herd everyone got a five minute water break. Then we got into five lines. "Fifteen push ups" the coach says loud "twenty mountain climbers,” the coach said louder. Then we have to do this thing where you run in place and your chest has to touch the ground, without landing on your knees. I stood in line and I lean over the guy in front of me.  I watch as the offense gets by the defenders.  I was really nervous, everyone was eyeballing me.  I heard other boys from offensive line say, "I didn't even know that girls are allowed to play in this league, You're going to get hurt out there.”  My brother is standing behind me just smiling.   When the coach blows the whistle I sprint over.  Wow, he's really big.  I reach over remembering to tackle from the waste.  As we collide, I see the other boys staring. The big kid dropped to the ground with a thud.  "She can tackle," some of the boys said in surprise.  My brother was still smiling and said,  "I told you."  Most of the coaches are blown away.But for some reason I think the head coach  knew I could tackle.

The first game comes after practice,practice,practice. I'm in the kickoff on the right end. The kicker kicks the ball. A guy from the other team gets the ball and starts running with it. I come up right on him and tackle him. That was the opening tackle! The crowd raises and they cheer me on especially my Mom and Dad. All the coaches are so shocked. I'm also right end on defense and right end on offense. And I'm back up for the running back.

Today is the last practice. After game, after game, after game. I wasn't happy but I wasn't sad. I knew I would definitely miss this sport.Today we just did a lot of relays, when someone would run with the ball and you would chase them and tackle them. After 2 hours and a half, practice was over. "Caroline, are you going to play next year?" the coach asked me. "I don't know, probably" I responded. After that question I thought so much about it but I didn't have to make a decision until next year. For now, onward to lacrosse!

Caroline

Caroline was the second girl to play on Sci-coh football. Her favorite foods are watermelon and pomegranates. She was the only girl on the football team. Her favorite animals are dogs, giraffes, monkeys and pigs. She has a dog, four frogs, a bunny and a hamster.

The Ride Home      It all happened on a day we were returning home from camp and Martha said "Guys? I need to tell you something" Now right then I thought Martha was going to tell us something like " Remember it's Disney day tomorrow at camp" because that's something she would usually say, But then I found out I was wrong because then she says it "Well I'm moving next Wednesday to Leesburg,Virgina." "Seriously! You told us that you weren't moving for another year. I don't want you to move. You were perfectly happy here and you didn't even live here in Cohasset that long." "Well, we just sold our house so my mom told me we're definitely moving before the school year starts. But don't worry, my mom told me I could come visit. I promise." “ Okay, but you better promise” I said "Oh! I just got the greatest idea, what about if we plan a go away party?" Gabriella asked. "Yeah!!" Martha said. She thought it was a great idea.

The Go Away Party When the night of the go away party arrived, we all had so much fun. We had pizza, ate ice-cream sundaes, and watched a movie. After all the sugar wore off, Martha ran over to her bag in the kitchen and pulled three scrapbooks out and ran right back to the family room. She gave one small red book to me, one small red book to Lily, and a blue and brown flowered book to Gabriella. Martha said, "Sorry the scrapbooks aren’t all the same on the outside, but on the inside its still the same. So I want you to keep the scrapbooks so you can put our memories in them. As you can see, I’ve already started them for you. When Lily was about half way through hers, she started to cry. So to cheer her up we put on a song she really liked so all of us could dance. It seemed to help lift her spirits, but not me. As Martha was dancing around and having fun, I started to think how lonely it will be around the neighborhood without her. So to cheer me up they made funny faces and funny poses. Then I started to laugh, but suddenly Gabriella started to cry for no apparent reason, so we had to do it all over again. When we finished the crying scene of the night, we watched the movie and played some game. Luckily, we forgot that Martha was even moving.

The Last Night Together

This story is for my friend, my good friend

The Good-Byes When it was 10:00 at night, just when we finished our movie, which was good timing, the moms came and Martha and Gabriella had to go. We said good-bye over and over again. Then the moms said good-bye for a while too. It felt like forever! I thought they were never going to stop saying good-bye. Even my mom thought the good-byes would never end. It’s never easy leaving people you really care about. When we were watching Martha and her mom pull out of the driveway, me, Lily, and my mom started to cry. I could even see Martha crying too in her car. When the three of us stopped crying, I heard my mom say, " Don't cry anymore girls, she'll be back to visit. Now go up to bed, its been a late night. I’ll be up in a second." And I stomped up to bed.

When my mom and dad came up to say goodnight I had a little conversation with my mom “ Mom are you going to miss Mrs. Miskanic as much as I will miss Martha?” “ Yeah I will but I know what it feels like but you don’t so that’s why you might miss Martha more than I will miss Mrs. Miskanic because when I moved from Norway to...” “ I know mom you already told me this story earlier.” “ Okay then, goodnight, love you Hanna.” “ Love you too mom, goodnight.” When my mom walked out of the room, I thought to myself that I really might not miss Martha so much like my mom said but I think I will, maybe. And before I knew it I was a sleep.

Hanna

Hanna is a 4th grader in Cohasset, Massachusetts. She lives with her mom, dad, her twin sister Lily, and her two dogs Bailey and Lucy. She loves to participate on the swim team in the summer. She got her passion for swimming from her dad,because he is a swimmer too. . This story was one of the best moments of Hanna’s life, especially the good parts. Her friend Martha still lives in Leesburg, Virginia and she did get to see her again, like Martha promised.

Mrs. McDavitt I dedicate this story to three very special teachers. Number one, Mrs McDavitt for being like a mom to me being so kind and nice to me, and for doing everything with such excitement. Then

Mr Lewis for being just like her, but being just like a dad to me. Last, but not least, Mrs. Shannon because she is so helpful to me and for being just like Mr. Lewis and Mrs McDavitt.

Thank you three for doing so much good stuff for me

The LetterI scampered outside to the mailman. "Have you been waiting for this envelope?" he says. Affirmative sir, and for a very long time I say. When the mailman gave me the white envelope, I run to my mom and tell her "I got my teacher" while she was in the kitchen doing what ladies do. I think she was making chocolate chip cookies. I gave her the envelope. She wiped off her hands and gave me her full attention and says “that is awesome!” Then, she took the envelope from me and haltingly, she slipped open the white letter from the envelope. I was gaping at the envelope while my mom carefully and slowly pulled up the letter. There it was looking right at me. The letter said Mrs McDavitt and we both say at the same time "who is this?" I got a touch of disappointment because she was a new teacher and know no one knew anything about her.

Later on that day, I was in the kitchen eating a snack. I was still contemplating my predicament about my new teacher and was worried about what she would be like. Would she be congenial or grumpy? Was she charming or cantankerous? Was she youthful or elderly? Was she married? Does she have kids? My mom walked into the room at that moment and said "guess what I just found out. You and I can meet her tomorrow when kids and parents are allowed to meet the teacher." I thought that was really special. Mom said she couldn't wait to meet my new teacher and neither could I!

The meetingWe walk into the building and headed up the hard blue stairs at the Joseph Osgood School. I said to my mom, "What if she is mean?" I thought to myself my mom will have to deal with it if she is. I thought her first words were going to be vicious. Will she have a mean face? Will her smile be face down? Will her eyes be all squinty like slits? What will her hair be like? Will it be jet black like a witch? Will she have a mean voice? Just as I was thinking these awful thoughts, I walked into Room 216 and she greeted me with a smile that was as big as a half moon lighting up the sky at night. She had blond hair and blue eyes. She was just so happy and friendly.

"I am so excited to meet you and I have been waiting for you for the longest time!" she said with a grin. Then, she started telling me about her husband. For example, first she asked me what I like to do. I said I like to play hockey. I play on the Boston Junior Terriers, then she said that her husband used to play on that team when he was younger with loud excitement. Next, she told me we had the same name and we both spell it the same way which is Conor with only one N. She then asked if she could come to one of my hockey games. I just couldn't believe my ears. She actually wanted to come to one of my hockey games! How special is that! My mom and I both said ABSOLUTELY at the same time. I just knew she was going to be unbelievable. I walked out of that classroom thinking I am the luckiest kid in the world because that I have Mrs. McDavitt in my life.

Our year togetherOur year together was just simply amazing and it was because she made everything we did so much fun! We worked on many incredible projects in her class and she always did everything with a big smile on her face and such excitement! Every time she said a word I laughed that was how funny she was. For example, when we were learning about math facts, she would do karate kicks and yell "Fact Power." One time during Halloween, we made bats out of socks. We also made this really special quilt. We each had our own square. In that square, it told about where you were from and all about our favorite things. We each got to take it home for a night. We also studied about someone famous. I did Abraham Lincoln. We all had to write an article about our famous person and make a design. We also did one on the United States. Finally, we took field trips to a cool farm and went on nature walks.

The most special thing of all was that Mrs McDavitt and her husband came to my hockey game like she said against the Bay State Breakers who are one of my biggest enemies. We should have won the game but I got tripped on a breakaway. I should have had a penalty shot but the referee wasn't very good. Then, a little later they scored and won 3-2. I was so mad because I really wanted to score for her. I went home feeling sad but of course the next day in school she made me feel so good and special just like she always did. Mrs. McDavitt is like a ray of sunshine who lights up the sky and keeps everyone warm and happy. Her blond hair glistens and her eyes are just so bright with happiness. She is so kind nice, caring, loving, thoughtful, intelligent, kind-hearted, scholar, funny, generous and any character trait you could think of. Whenever I don't feel comfortable with something, I walk into her classroom and I see her smile then I automatically feel better than I usually do.

Party DayOn the last day of school, I walk into my classroom feeling so thankful and happy for the year I have had. I have a smile on my face that is as bright as the sun. Yet a part of me feels a twinge of sadness that it has to come to an end and I need to move onto the next grade and a new school. On this day, we first watched a video that Mrs. McDavitt worked so hard on and put a lot of thought into making it special for all of us. After that video, I thought there was a storm cloud right above me pouring rain. I had to find a place for me to cry because I didn't want people looking at me with tears flying down my eyes all the way down to my toes. I would be so embarrassed. So I power walked to a brown wooden table and sat under it and it was there that I started to cry. I just couldn't control it anymore. I just couldn't believe how sad I felt over a school year that was just so great! I realized I just didn't want it to come to an end. Would I ever have a year like this again? How can school ever be better than this? I had to go find my mom because I was just so upset. I found her outside at my brother Cam’s party. I raced down the hill and bellowed at my mom to get to the classroom in two minutes like I was her dad. Of course she took about ten more minutes to get to the classroom. She is always late. Finally and sadly, when the party was over and it was time to go home, I went up to Mrs. McDavitt to say goodbye. My mom took a picture of me and her. Then, her eyes began to fill with tears at the same exact time that mine did. I couldn't believe that I was going to cry again. What was wrong with me? She gave me a big hug and told me that she was going to miss me so much and that I would always be special to her. I felt the same way about her. On that June day, I left the Joseph Osgood School for the last time but in my heart all I could think about was leaving behind one of the most important and unforgettable person in my life Mrs McDavitt.

Conor

Conor goes to the Deer Hill School in Cohasset, Massachusetts He loves to play sports like lacrosse, baseball, soccer, and hockey. He has two brothers one sister and a mom and dad his oldest brother is Cole he is 12, his youngest brother cam is 8, the youngest one in the family is Cassidy she is 7 and Conor is 10.

I looked at the ground, then up again to see 10 pairs of eyes staring at me. “Hi,” I said in a soft voice. No one moved. Then I screamed, “hello.” Everyone jumped. “My name is Emma,” I said awkwardly. No one answered. I said, “my name is Emma.” “We heard what you said will you at least let us introduce ourselves,” one of the girls interrupted. I was to shocked to respond. Well she said, “I am waiting.” Oh I mean “were waiting for an answer”. “Sure,” I said. Now she said, “my name is Leah.” These peoples names are … “Hey,” said another girl, “let us introduce ourselves.” “Hi” she said to me, my name is Fiona. “Hi I said. So want to ride bikes said Leah.” “Sure me and Fiona said.

Our bikes hit all the cracks in the road. But we did not mind. Leah and Fiona rode faster than me so I had to speed up. So Leah called over, “do you like bates lane” “I guess” I yelled back. “Watch out” Leah yelled. I swerved out of her path and hit the ground hard. I looked over and saw Leah on the ground. “Are you OK” I asked her. “Yeah” she said in a small voice, “happens all the time.” “I am going inside” she whispered. Than ran off with out another word. “Will she be OK” I asked nervously? “Yes” said Fiona that does happen a lot. “ Well I'd better get going” said Fiona.” Good bye.” “Bye” I said back. Then we walked to our houses alone.

Time passed we grew older and had more and more adventures together. I thought my life was great. I was wrong I did not no what was coming.

I slowly walked up the paved side walk with Leah bumping my side. “Well Leah” said I will see you tomorrow. “You to” I yelled over my shoulder than I started to run home. Painting I slowly walked over to my couch and plopped down on it and turned the TV on. “Hey Emma “my mom yelled, “I need to tell you something.” “What” I yell over the TV. “Were moving.” What I said. ‘I thought you” said - “were moving’ she answered. “What” I yelled. We ... “I know what you said”. I burst into tears and ran to my room.

A Short GoodbyeTo Leah, who taught me to aways go forward in life.

The next day I ran around my neighborhood and told everyone to come outside. When everyone was outside I told them the news. “Were moving.” None said anything then in the silence broke when Leah yelled out “WHY!” She ran away from us, leaving us, staring at her tracks.

In a blink of an eye, it was moving day. I was trying to put a box in the trunk when a voice said “need some help” . Leah I asked. “Yeah” she said. “I am so sorry about what happened” she said. “That is okay,” I said back lets just enjoy the time we have now I said. “Yes she said. A few hours went by but to us it felt like seconds. Mom called to tell us it was time to leave. I looked around for Leah but she was gone. “Come on Emma” yelled my Dad. “Coming I yelled” back.

Before I got in the car I looked around and thought I had just seen Leah`s hair whip around the corner. I shook that memory off and hopped in the car. But then I saw Leah waving at me. By she yelled. “Bye” I yelled back. Soon Bates lane was out of sight. Then a thought came to me. The one I had been trying to avoid thinking about. Will Leah remember me? Will Fiona or any body else remember me? That was the thought that keeps coming to me. Then I remembered something she had said to me. I will never forget you. That made me relax a little.

Emma

Yelling screaming and kicking is all Emma did when she was told to move. She now lives in a small house by the sea with her Mom, Dad and sister. She likes the house much better than her old one. I guess she did all that screaming for nothing. Emma Stephens loves all kinds of sports but can always fit in some reading.

Slip nʼ SlideTo my cousin Kirstin V. the one who pushed me in front of my fears.

"Amanda!" my cousin said surprised, "look how high we are! "Whoa!" I said muttering under my voice breathless. I stiffly glanced down to the ground. My heart pounded so hard I thought it was going to break out of my skin. I wanted to just leap off the edge and fly away. We were like 40 feet in the air and we were close to the opening of the slide. A floor away from the top, my cousin pushed me in front of her "you go first" she said in a nervous voice. She looked as scared as I was. "But I um..." I said looking like I was about to get closer and fall in a pot of hot, burning lava. My feet froze and I made a fist with my hands then slowly opened my hands then calmed down. I had a sick feeling inside that would grow as we got closer to the slide.Then the line started to move up the stairs to the next floor. When I was almost to the top, I looked down for a split second and shivered then looked up to the top of the slide. I didn't know what to do. My mom looked like a little ant waving at me and giving me the thumbs up. She didn't know that I was scared to go on this slide. Without any further delays, I was stiffly standing with a icy stare at the darkest black slide I've ever seen. I tried to push off but I hesitated for a moment. I knew there was no turning back now so I closed my eyes really,really, really tight and in no time I was off.

My heart raced as water splashed in my face. I was going straight down, then flat and then straight down again. I opened my eyes a tad to see the top of the dark, damp black slide. It didn't look as dark or scary as it did at the opening. A smile started to grow on my face. It was pretty fun. It felt like I was drifting along a shallow river very fast. Everything was going well until my heart sank. In the final stretch,I started to go straight down, down, down, down, down. Water splashed in my face even harder. My heart is thumping so hard I thought it had already jumped out and ran away.Then, I slowly lifted my head and heard the cheering turn into silence. I could almost hear a pin drop. Next,I bolted out of the slide and splashed all the people who were watching me. They started cheering again and jumping up and down. I looked up at the bridge I had just slid under. It was soaking wet.

I leaped up off the slide and saw my cousin bolt by. Then my cousin’s grandfather and my friend went by. "That was so fun! I squealed."Yea!" my cousin said as she squeezed water out of her long, dark, brown hair. "That was cool!" said my friend and my cousin's grandfather in unison."We have to do it again!" my cousin said excitedly."Yea! "I have to do the ending all over again cause I was scared stiff when I did it " I said laughing as we walked to find the next big slide. I didn't think I could do it. I mean who would have thought a girl who spent her days at the water park watching all her other friends and family go on big water slides and I would just sit and watch. But look at me now, I just came off the biggest slide I've ever been on. Actually, the only slide I've ever been on. I was so deep in thought I missed most of my cousin’s babbling about her experience on the slide. I just acted like I was listening and said "Yea I thought it was fun too and I loved that part too" with the biggest smile on my face.

Amanda

Amanda V. is in 4th grade at Deer Hill Elementary School. Her favorite color is blue and she loves playing basketball and soccer.Her and her family love to go to Naples, Florida on school vacations. She lives in Cohasset, MA with her parents, her brother Scotty and her dog Hogan.

Tonight was the worst night of my life!My mom was setting up dinner and then she called out,"Girls, dinners ready!" Then Ellen, Bridget and I [Bridget and Ellen are my older sisters] ran from our play room and went into the kitchen. We got our dinner and sat at the table. My dad got his dinner after us and sat down at the table too. He looked sad and then Ellen said, "Why do you look so sad,dad?" My dad paused for a second and then said, "Girls, this is a hard thing to tell you but...... we are moving to Massachusetts." Everybody glared at my dad and then Ellen, Bridget and I went to tears. "What?!, I screamed,Why?!" I screamed louder trying not to cry."We are moving because my job is now transferring to Boston,"my dad said. I was so mad that I screamed out of the top of my lungs! " I lost my appetite and I'm going to my bed and staying there for the rest of my life!!" I ran up to my room, threw myself on my bed, and bursted into tears.I heard my sisters saying"ugh,why do we have to move!!??" They cried really hard while saying it. After I stopped crying a little bit, I walked over to the railing and I heard my sisters footsteps running up the stairs to their rooms and I ran back in my room so nobody would notice me.

On The MoveI am dedicating this book to my family and my friends Amanda, Bella and Charlotte and my

class in my new home. But I also really want to dedicate this to all of my friends in Bernardsville, New Jersey. (my old home)

My mom came upstairs to see me. She knocked on my door and said "Can I come in please?'' I glared at the door and then said "fine.'' My mom opened the door and sat next to me on my bed and looked at my eyes and she saw that they were all red because of all of the crying. "Why do we have to move to Massachusetts,why cant dad just move there or quit his job?!" I said starting to cry again but my mom wiped my tears away."We have to move to Massachusetts because if we don't move, dad will loose his job and jobs are really hard to find so he might not find a job that is good and that means he wont have a job." my mom said. I looked shocked when she said that about my dad quitting his job. Then my mom went out of my room and when she closed the door I started to think of all of my friends crying when we move and then I stopped thinking about it as fast as I could and then I fell asleep dreaming of moving.

The next day Bridget and I had friends over to play with and their names are Julia and Emily. Emily and I went to go play with Julia and Bridget. "We need to tell you guys something," Bridget moaned."What?" Julia said. "We need to tell you something." Bridget moaned again. "What?!" Julia said again trying to think of what Bridget was saying. "We need to tell you guys something,!!'' Bridget screamed. "Ooh,well you could of said that louder before." Julia said in a loud voice too.

"We are ---" Bridget stopped saying it because she knew I was going to say something "We do not have anything to say right Bridget!!??" I said in a mean groaning voice. After I said that Emily paused for a second and then glared at me "You guys are moving!!??" Emily cried. "Ugh Bridget!!" I screamed. Everybody started to yell. I ran out of the room when nobody was looking at me. I ran into the bathroom to calm myself down, and then when I calmed down, they all paused for a moment and then I heard someone say, "Where did Lizzie go?" Then I ran out of the bathroom and speeded down the stairs. Emily, Julia and Bridget were all looking for me. They looked everywhere but they just couldn't find me. Every time they were downstairs, I would go upstairs when they were not looking and when ever they went upstairs, I would go downstairs. That was the trick. But then they all finally found me because I gave up. Then we all went back to normal and started to play again. We all had a snack just to stop being hungry from all of the running and talking.

We were all sad about moving but we just didn't tell anybody until it was almost the day to leave. After Emily and Julia left , I walked into the play room and started to watch some TV. Then it was time for bed so I went upstairs and looked straight up at the ceiling and then turned over to the side of my bed and tried to fall asleep, but I couldn't. I was still thinking about the move. I couldn't stop thinking about it and I tried to but I still couldn't. It was a very hard night for me. Today it was time for school. I was so tired so I asked my mom if I could stay home today "No." that is what my mom always says "No." I always wonder why she always says that. But I have to go to school anyway but I think today is going to be good. Today I am going to wear my "Note To Self... Today Is Going To Be Awesome" shirt so I wont have a bad day. When I was walking over to the bus stop, Emily walked over to me and said "When are you moving?" "Please don't talk about this today, I really want to have a good day." I said. I was walked away from her so I could get some peace and quiet. " But it wont be a good day for me if you don't tell me,because I will be thinking about it all day." Emily said. I knew Emily was lying but I told her anyway "I don't know yet, but today after school I can ask my mom when we are moving, but I don't think she is going to know either. I think my dad knows when --" ''BUS!!" everybody at the bus stop screamed. When I got on the bus I started to think of if it’s going to be a bad day or a good day. My friend just got on the bus and sat right next to me. "Whats the matter?" my friend said."Nothing and I really don't want to talk right now," I groaned. "Ok." my friend excitedly said. Everyone got off the bus when the bell rang and we all went into class.

Lizzie

Lizzie is a cool kid who loves sports. Her favorite color is green. She loves to play with any people she doesn’t know and she makes a lot of friends. Her favorite food is grilled cheese or pizza. She loves ice cream (any kind) but her favorite is chocolate. Her favorite animal is a dolphin or a seal. She hopes you really like the book and she hopes you go on an adventure just like her.

After school I got off the bus, ran to my house, bolted up to my room, and tried to go to sleep really quickly. I needed to call Emily, then do my homework, then I’ll be good to go. "Hello?" "Hi Emily, it’s Lizzie, didn't you want me to call you?" "Yes, so can you come over so we can talk?" "Sure." "how about at 4:00 okay?'' "Okay. Thanks, bye." Bye." Then I went over to Emily's and then at just the right time, I also did my homework. The next day it was time for me to tell everyone I know I was moving cause tomorrow I am moving! I got on the bus and told everyone, then I went to school and told everyone I knew. When I went out to recess I told one of my friends, and then she grabbed my hand and ran over to my other friend and told her too.Soon there were thousands of my friends running around screaming "Lizzie's moving!!" It was a cool recess that day. I came back from school and ran to my mom and told her all about today at school. Now I am trying to take a rest from all of the running at recess. Now today was the day I went to school and everybody was so sad and all the girls in my class were hugging me like crazy. They couldn't stop! Then at recess all of my friends were playing with me. Now I really didn't want to leave!! Now it is time for me to leave my school forever. I went on the bus and started to wave at the school saying "Good bye school." When I was getting off the bus everyone said, "Bye Lizzie!" and then I walked home and said "This the saddest day of my life." I called Emily to see if she can play for the last time. Then I went over to her house and we had a fun time together. When it was almost time for me to go, Julia ran over to Emily's house to give me something to keep to remember her."This is for you Lizzie,just to remember me." "I'll always remember you no matter what happens to me," I said."Well here you go, and now I'm going to go play with Bridget.'' Julia said. "Okay," Emily and I said at the same time. Now it is time for me to leave. My family and I all said goodbye to everyone and then we were off. I really didn’t want to leave but I had to.

HorsepowerI’d like to thank the Town Of Cohasset for not cleaning up the oil-polluted dock to make this story writable, readable, and enjoyable...and oil-filled( and thanks to my family for encouraging me to write).

Chapter 1: The Cold A flood of relief fled throughout my body. The relief felt cold. The brown dock in a clear blue sky looked like black mud. For some reason we had a unusual spurt of freezing-ness. I donʼt know if anyone else noticed it but I was the only one shaking.  I scooted my finger across the soft rubbery fabric that for some reason calmed me down about the sun not coming out, the dial on my thermometer turning to one side... the cold side. The shaking was a combination of temperature... and a little fear... and a little more temperature... and fear of the temperature. Chapter 2: FallingWe loaded the tube into the water. The dock is totally polluted so everyone was trying to be as surefooted as possible. If you fall in you could swallow oil and swallowing that much oil is like swallowing a whole pocket of oil. I didn't even want to think about lugging it back on the boat . Or having to drag it onto the dock with it being oil covered and gross. It didn't even look like a tube. Half of it being covered in felt. The other half didnʼt even feel like rubber. It felt like gelatin. I think it was filled with water from the last trip. That would make sense, right?

It was the size of about four big tubes mashed together with a fabric on it. They put the felt on so that you would not slip... I think... I hope. If it does, that is a very nice feature. ''Hey, anyone know how we're going get the Godzilla-tube-thing out?" I said as if I just saw a horror movie.

It was a horror movie just thinking about it. I wondered if anyone else thought if it like that. I threw a huge rock into the dock. "Magic," said Bradley nervously looking as though he had just seen one too. He tried to cover up his nervous smile and he giggled a bit.  I hadn't realized it but he almost got hit from the splash of the rock I threw. He jerked back. The second he did his fake smile got ripped from his face, tripping and falling on the rope used to secure the boat in the process. Lucky for him he had tied a rope to the boat for the tube, but just saved him from getting Mad-Oil-Disease.

He was hanging onto the rope with one hand. His face was inches from the water. He was in that position for about three seconds before we heard the sound. Kind of like a really small leak and you are on a floor above. You can just hear the small leak, or rope. I knew what the sound was right away and so did Bradley. It reminded me of a zipper going down ever so slightly. Then it snapped. His eyes were taking up his whole face. But the rope was still hanging by a thread. "Wow," I said "no more rock-throwing." "Oh go watch I Am Legend you scared chihuahua," He shot back, facing the water. Honestly I hadnʼt noticed that I was shaking. He threw a handful of rocks in the water that were in his hand the whole time-which is very impressive concerting his face was inches from the water. Still dangling from the rope. Half hit the dock, a quarter hit a boat, scratching it in the process. Only one hit the water. "Uh,oh." "Let's get outta here," he said just as we heard the faint noise of what sounded like a baby catʼs meow after a nap. We both thought of it at the same time. We heard  the rope snapping for the last time and saw the- what looked like a stunt dummy fall into the  shiny-rainbow-water. "Karma." "Next time maybe you can warn me that the rope that I tied wasn't hanging by a thread," He said with a with a straight face, even though we both know that that was the most excitement we were going to have all day. "Hey, it's your rope, and you thought of it the same moment I did.

Mity

 Mity Hill is a 4th grade student at Deer Hill Elementary in Mr.Lewisʼs class. He lives in Cohasset Massachusetts with his mom, dad, and his two brothers. When he was a grade younger he had went for his first tubing trip. He was with his neighbor not his cousins at the time. He was so nervous so he thought about the worst. The first thing that came too mind while he was writing this was his first thought: What if his sister tied the rope wrong and it snapped as he flew of and hit the metal hook on a buoy having a close to drowning experience. And it turned out that the fear was a great story idea for Mity. Mity loves to read, write and hopefully he will continue doing what he loves throughout his long life.  

Chapter 3: Preparation            We deposited the tube-thing into the water as we strapped our life jackets on and put on sunscreen. Since the dock is polluted it looks like a rainbow thatʼs inside the rainbow. Like in there it was a whole separate world. It was sad to think that the huge tube would be skipping over it, or gliding, it depends on how agile the tube is. "You look like a chihuahua, stop shaking." "Sorry, it's like forty degrees." "Yeah, you'll  get hypothermia if you touch a toe in the ocean." I entered the boat and threw another rock into the the water. Bradley growled. "Oh, forgot... sorry," I said cautiously but couldnʼt contain a smile. "It looks like a mini the Gulf disaster." “Exon Atlantic. "Yeah, I know," Bradly agreed as tied the rope sturdily to the boat.  So we all hopped on and the engine roared like a 7-47.

Chapter 4: Leaving

I watched the sun get farther into the sky. Warmer each minute. Yet, at some periods it seemed like it instantly dropped twenty degrees and didn't get warmer for about an hour. This happened very frequently. I couldnʼt tell if it was just me walking into shadows or just, well, cold. I thought about this as we glided out down the the cold, non-living, gross place that fish call home... or a shiny cemetery. We fled from the dock as we passed Minot's Light, the local light house. I climbed on the tube and ran my finger across the soft rubbery fabric in which I will be-by the look at the waves-bumbing across the what looked like mud, cold, somewhat  blue water that for some reason calmed me down about the dial on my watch that was staying, again, closer to one side. My flood of relief was gone faster then it appeared when a drop of water from the wave hit my nose. I screamed. Everyone was screaming at me to calm down but I wouldn't, couldn't... shouldn't. The boat started to go forward again.

Chapter 3: Preparation            We deposited the tube-thing into the water as we strapped our life jackets on and put on sunscreen. Since the dock is polluted it looks like a rainbow thatʼs inside the rainbow. Like in there it was a whole separate world. It was sad to think that the huge tube would be skipping over it, or gliding, it depends on how agile the tube is. "You look like a chihuahua, stop shaking." "Sorry, it's like forty degrees." "Yeah, you'll  get hypothermia if you touch a toe in the ocean." I entered the boat and threw another rock into the the water. Bradley growled. "Oh, forgot... sorry," I said cautiously but couldnʼt contain a smile. "It looks like a mini the Gulf disaster." “Exon Atlantic. "Yeah, I know," Bradly agreed as tied the rope sturdily to the boat.  So we all hopped on and the engine roared like a 7-47.

Chapter 4: Leaving

I watched the sun get farther into the sky. Warmer each minute. Yet, at some periods it seemed like it instantly dropped twenty degrees and didn't get warmer for about an hour. This happened very frequently. I couldnʼt tell if it was just me walking into shadows or just, well, cold. I thought about this as we glided out down the the cold, non-living, gross place that fish call home... or a shiny cemetery. We fled from the dock as we passed Minot's Light, the local light house. I climbed on the tube and ran my finger across the soft rubbery fabric in which I will be-by the look at the waves-bumbing across the what looked like mud, cold, somewhat  blue water that for some reason calmed me down about the dial on my watch that was staying, again, closer to one side. My flood of relief was gone faster then it appeared when a drop of water from the wave hit my nose. I screamed. Everyone was screaming at me to calm down but I wouldn't, couldn't... shouldn't. The boat started to go forward again. Chapter 5: F.A.S.T.

I could not bear the temperature. It is worse then being trapped in a clump of ice while there is a 100 mph wind in Antarctica... while a polar bear is cuddled up in a igloo by a fire... while a blow torch is keeping the fire extremely hot... while a hydro superpower air conditioner blows on the ice to keep us freezing. The boat flew faster and faster like a super-cheetah after having a 48 hour nap... two Pepsi's... dual turbo jet engines... with another cheetah going just as fast next to it... having dual turbo jet engines too... making it twice as fast. (while crashing into waves like they are paper and pulling the what seems like a dual 10,000,000,000 horse power engines with magnetic, 4 ton piece of metal going one billion mph chasing another 4 ton magnet on the back of the boat so it goes around the world in under a millisecond) In other words, it was fast.   But, this was not how fast we were traveling... it was faster. I can't count that high but let me ensure you, it was fast, really fast. So fast in fact that I got dizzy and it felt like it was slow. I let out a sound between a grunt and a choke. I was all messed up about my feelings: Slow; fast; scared; exited, I don't know. My toe touched the water and I yelped out again.

Chapter 6: Flyʼn High nʼ Rideʼn Fast

If I had known(for the third time) that every time you  lean just the slightest forward you start to sink. Then the rope can not hold up very well and it snaps. It snapped. I was starting to sink.  SuperBradely had to the rescue in the frrrr-e-e-ezzi=ing water and retie the rope. And just as I gave the spot the signal I remembered that Bradley is not the best rope tier. I decided to just shrug it off. The boat lunged like fencer. But it hit a wave...and for a nanosecond... it went vertical. It was as if we were driving into a inclined, gooshy, fifteen foot wave of hair gel only we didn't stick. Woah, it's like a brick wall... only it's not, I thought as I tried to make myself laugh... it didnʼt work.

As the boat hit the ground all of the air got sucked out of the sky as everybody gasped.... because I was the Applesauce-Shampoo-Caramel-Tomato Sauce-Superwetsluchball-Toothpaste-Melted Plastic-Brownie/Pancake Batter-Paint-Gooblic-Wave's next victim.

Before I could rid the Earth of it's oxygen I was interrupted by a big BOOM! It sounded kind of like what it would sound like if Andy Rodick or David Ortiz were to attach a microphone to there racket or bat as the microphone sound blasted out of five-hundred or so of those kind of speakers you would see at Celtic's games or Slash concerts. To sum it up it was like the kind of boom you would here at a Kiss concert multiplied by two. It was loud.

When I hit the ground the tube did a belly-flop while I was lying on my stomach. It felt like when your engine fails on a plane on your way to Hawaii from China. and you have to jump into the ocean. As you slide down the yellow slide that they have on planes you slip from your dive formation and you do a thirty-five-thousand-foot belly-flop. Well, they didn't slow down as they all yelled "OooooooHHHHHHHHhhhhhh".Kind of like the kind you hear when a batter gets hit by a pitch, or when a interception is just about to happen and all the air gets sucked out of the stadium and no one can breathe for like three seconds. Well I think the spot was ignoring my cut throat stop signal, or he didn't see it, or he's enjoying this. He was saying speed up! What?! I thought as I kept cutting my throat. I'm not sure but I think it's number three. He is enjoying this. The words finely came out of my mouth. "Whcjkg." I tried to scream but just came out as a choke. I can't let go. I can't stop, I thought as my body put up a good fight. My only motivation at this point was dying from getting sick from drinking oil or inhaling too much oil-air from falling in. Or even worse; drowning. I did something extremely risky. Like sneaking out of those max-security jails, or like betting your house on online poker, or the Super Bowl, or like choosing C on every question on the SATs, or like robbing a bank kind of risky, or like when you think you know the answer to a test so you cross out the one that you are not sure of when itʼs the right answer: 6,988,776 .  I started to climb the rope to the boat. I felt like I was on Man Vs. Wild. Bear Grills throwing a grappling hook into what looks like the other side of a safe, clean river but he and the cameraman find out that it was filled with bull sharks. That's how it is for me and the not-quite-ice  that currently is nipping cold drops on my back. Like piranhas trying to pull me down as Bear slides across the thin wire rope.

My weight was pulling the tube in the further I went, causing me and Bear to have less slack. I only had a foot of rope left and one more reach when the piranha got me. I drip landed on my back and I screamed. Just as my mouth was about to open and let out more the scream...the rope that Bradley poorly tied snapped and I went down into The Gulf. But there was another problem: the tube kept going.

Now usually, they stop the boat but I knew from the second I fell in that they were going to do something totally stupid. The tube hit me. It wasn't your stereotypical snow tube that people used because they didn't have anything else. This was a huge, three person tube with felt on it. It weighed a lot. I got a hold on the handle. I was tugged as I fought for air. I'd gone about forty seconds in BP's nightmare. Then the boat stopped. I came up for air. The first voice I heard was Bradley's. Well kind of. I was still bobbing in the oil-spill so it was all blur. Apparently I had some type of injury that everybody was wailing about. I felt fine. Unfortunately, they thought it was too serious when it was not. They had too take me back to the dock. Then I looked at my leg. Sort of bruised. "Is that what you think is so serious?" "No." "Your head hit the tube and the tube popped." "The tube is injured?'' "Yup." "I didn't even get to go." Then I shut my eyes as the engine roared-for the second time-and when I opened them we were at the smudgey brown

Chapter 7: Zero-For-Three

I jolted up as I helped to hoist the popped tube (with 4 other people) onto a wet boat that was getting more and more gross-water and seaweed onto the thing that just flung me out of the cold seawater and into an unforgiving buoy. I kind of belly-flop dived onto the dock. As I hit the dock I lie there and then Bradley tripped and fell in the water! He came up and screamed. "Uh oh, looks like like you'll grow a third arm and second head!" Said Josh. Then I said, “Hey Bradley your one-for-two.” “Yeah, not as bad as you getting run over and almost drowning.” I got up and went to the car. "Way to use your head Bradly, now you can be twice as smart with your second head," I said over my shoulder. "Very punny." I stumbled into the trunk of the car. The last thing I saw before I closed the door was Bradly tripping on a oar and falling into the water. Oh-for-three, I thought.

I was in the family room watching TV and my Dad asked me "How about a bike ride?" he said as he took off his tie. "All right," I said. I bolted over to the door, leaped off my porch, and hopped on my bike. My Dad did the same. I peddled out of the driveway and rode onto the street. I rode up the hill and stopped to take a break. Then, I zoomed down the other side. I took a left, then a sharp right, and rode into Wampatuck State Park. I had a feeling that something bad was going to happen, but I kept pushing the thought away. I started to pick up speed. I took a right, a left, then all of a sudden, it happened. I fell off my bike. "Oww" I screamed in pain. I could see droplets of blood. Thoughts were racing through my mind. Was my hand broken? Would I still be able to ride my bike? My dad pedaled over. He got off his bike and ran to me. He saw my hand and called my mom to come get us.

Next, my mom picked us up then drove out of Wampatuck. I didn't know where we were going, but I thought we might go to the hospital.The next thing I knew, we were in the waiting room at the South Shore Hospital. What a long wait we had! Some people in the waiting room were worse off than me so we had to wait a very long time. "Can you bend your finger?" asked the doctor. "How about your thumb?" "Looks like you'll need an x-ray” said the doctor.  I was nervous. I hoped it wasn't broken. I put on a heavy lead vest and they took lots of pictures of my hand. After the x-ray was taken, we waited some more. My hand was still killing me! Finally, the doctor called us into a room and showed us the x-rays. Were those really my hands I thought to myself. They looked like they belonged to a skeleton. The doctor said I was lucky this time. Nothing was broken. They cleaned up my hand and wrapped it up like a mummy. My mother thought it looked like I was wearing an oven mitt. I didn't care. I was just glad we were leaving the hospital. It was dark when we got home. We were all exhausted. "I think I'm going to give bike riding a break for now," I said as I was going to sleep.

Bike Ride to the Emergency Room I dedicate my story to my parents.

Ben

Ben is a fourth grader at Deer Hill.His favorite sports are soccer and lacrosse.He lives in Cohasset, Massachusetts with his brother and parents.

“Thomas is here!” my mom says. I jump up and run down stairs. I open the door. He is wearing a helmet and has his bike. He peddles over and asks me if I want to go bike riding. “I don’t know“ I say.” Come on” he urges me. ”Fine!” I say. I put on my helmet and hop on my bike. I start peddling. I am a little shaky but I stayed on. ”See, you’re not going to fall” he said. He is right, I’m not falling down.

Erin and CharlotteI  dedicate  my  story  to  my  best  best  friend  Erin.  She  had  to  move  away.    I  have  known  her  since  we  were  

in  preschool.

I jump  in  the  water  with  Erin...  with  our    boogie  board!    We  said  to  each  other,  “The  water  was  so  warm.”    I  yelled  out,  "Big  wave  "!!    We  got  ready  to  ride  the  wave  and  then  we  rode  the  wave  into  shore.    We  had  seaweed  in  our  hair.    Then  we  dried  off  we  were  so  cold.  I  said  to  myself  that  was  really  fun.    I  love  going  on  big  waves!

Then  we  lay  down  in  the  sun  on  a  big  rock.  I  burned  my  back.I  said,  "Ouch!"  I  ran  in  the  water  because  that  really  hurt.    Erin  said,  “I  want  to  go  in  the  water  again  because  I'm  so  warm.”    I  said  okay  because  I  got  warm  too.    Now  we  are  in  the  water  and  we  brought  our  boggie  boards  .The  boggie  boards  are  nice  and  warm  from  the  sun  but  in  the  water  they  got  cold.  We  hopped  on  our  boards  and  and  found  a  big  wave  and  road  it  in  with  a  smile  on  our  face.    We  went  fast  on  the  wave.  I  thought  it  felt  like  I  was  running  so  fast  I  couldn’t  stop!

Charlo$e

Charlotte is funny!  She love rabbits so much and like dogs and all other animals. She have a Mom, Dad, brother, one dog and a rabbit, SANDY!  Charlotte loves to go shopping because she thinks it is really fun.  If Charlotte could be anything she would want to be a mermaid even though she knows they’re not real.  She also likes to watch SpongeBob Squarepants.

After  Erin  and  I  climbed  the    rocks,  we  went  looking  for  some  starNish!I  found  a  really  big  one.  Erin  and  I  found  a  lot  but  we  didn't  want  to  kill  them  so  we  put  them  back.    I  yelled  out  to  Erin  starNish!  I  put  my  hand  down  to  get  the  starNish.  I  found  a  really  big  crab.  the  crab  was  really  big  IT  was  all  bright  red!It  was  so  close  of  pinching  me!    After  that  I  heard  the  waves  crashing  agents  the  big  rock.    I  thought  to  myself  that  sounds  so  peaceful.  I  don't  know  why  but  I  love  the  sound  of  the  ocean.    It  reminds  me  when  me  and  my  family  are  on  the  boat.    And  I'm  in  the  bed  room  and  I  hear  the  wave  crashing  against  the  boat  underneath  me.

We  had  to  say  goodbye.and  I  told  Erin  that  you  are  a  vary  good  best  friend  to  me.    To  me  it  was  the  best    time  I  ever  had  with  Erin.And  I  can't  wait  until  I  see  Erin  again.    

A Party to RememberFor my parents who Helped make the birthday party possible.

I was lighting a candle but it kept flickering when I was outside in the wind. The cape I was wearing kept blowing back, to look like Harry Potter. I was about to tell my friends to go to the back yard. One by one I saw headlights appear, but Joe my friend didn't step out of his parents car. I was sad because I had planned so much and he was ill, but I still was excited! "He's sick or something, or maybe just a migraine. If he feels better he might come in," said Ailey, Joe's sister. He did get migraines a lot back then but it still would be a lot more fun with him. "Yo Marcus, happy birthday!" shouted Tyler. "Good to make it to 9 uh," I joked. We all laughed and I told them to go into the back yard.

We all went into the back yard where the Quidditch field was. My mom said "you snatch the snitch and you get an extra 50 points. All right, what house are you in?" We all say "Gryffindor". But Alie says "Ravenclaw". "You get hit by a bludger, you drop the quaffle, all right let's play," said my mom wearing a huge wig. It was a blur of colors! I was about to score whoosh the ball went through the hoop. I caught the quaffle then threw it to Tyler. Then my mom yelled, "The snitch is out." I caught it and returned it to my mom. Afterwards, we all decorated our brooms which they would take home.There was tape, and markers, paint and glitter. I had the fire bolt.

I took off my shoes and walked inside. We were having pizza when Joe came in and had some pizza. Then we talked about the Quidditch match and how the game was won and lost. Then we went to the fat lady and I said, "Fortuna Major.” My mom opened the door we walked in to the Gryffindor common room. We started to pop the balloons Tyler picked up the first balloon and it had the key so basically the game was pointless but we still popped the balloons. Then we sent my friends home with cake. I said goodbye.Then they all left.

Marcus

Marcus R lives in Cohasset, MA a 4th grade student at Deer Hill. on his 9th birthday he got one of the best birthday party a Harry Potter. Planning and playing was a part of it.

"why don't you open your presents." said my mom. "oh ya." I said. I unrated my presents I stared to build my Lego plan when I was done I put it in Joe and My's Lego city.That Joe and I had work on for a year. Tyler gave me a Lego star police set and 2 nanobugs.

The next morning I asked "I want to do a party company because I really liked the party last night." My dream was filled with me making party's making phone calls and having fun. It had really been the first I had helped with my own birthday party. I really disigned what went into my birthday party. I really felt for the first time I was creative.

It is over one year and I still think about it.

Ultimate Fighting

Ultimate Fighting is a tough and painful sport that combines wrestling, boxing, and karate.

Some special equipment are more gripable boxing gloves, water for round brakes, a mouthguard, and a

cage to do it in.The gloves help you to punch without hurting your wrist and has open fingers so you can grab

the other person more easily. If I get punched, it doesn't hurt since I'm used to it. The cage is just like a

fence at a park. It is shaped like a hexagon.

On the first day you train you work on some moves, take downs and wrestling. A take down is when you get

someone on the ground. When that happens you could win the round. You first begin wrestling in the ultimate

fighting classes. Sometimes you get to wrestle with the coach.

Later, when you're old enough, you'll do ultimate fighting. To be old enough you have to be 18 or older.

Some different moves are arm bars, paint brushes, choke holds, the triangle and many more. An arm bar is such a painful move that you'll have to tap out before it happens. If you don't tap out in time then you will most likely brake your arm. A paint brush is when your on your opponent, you slide their arm down and pull their elbow. A choke hold is when you wrap your arm around the opponent's neck and lock your wrist underneath your elbow and squeeze. A triangle is the same thing as a choke but with your legs.

Joe I do my ultimate fighting at South Shore Sport

Fighting in Rockland and Sports Specific Fitness in

Cohasset. (try these places) Maybe you might think it's

not fitting for you but if you at least try it you might like

it. This happened to me.

Did you know that I've been to two Ultimate Fighting

tournaments? A tournament is the kind when you win a

reward. If you are a beginner or an intermediate come

in first place then you win a sumeris sword (don't worry

it's not sharp). If you be a expert come in first place you

win the big belt (which is made out of gold). When I did

my first tournament I beat the heck out of that kid in ten

seconds with a gility (which is another type of choke)

and won a sumeris sword in Connecticut! The second

time I did a ultimate fighting tournament was

in Roadiland and came in second place (did you know

that some people don't move on just to win again). The

other kid I beat in 38 seconds. Some times you have to

go to a different state to get to the tournament. There's

another type of ultimate fighting. You ware this type of

clothing that can choke you. Now that you heard this

you can't say no to ultimate fighting.

The School DayI would like to dedicate this story

to my friends and family.

Today started out normal, like it always did. I ate breakfast, got dressed and went to school. My mom dropped me off at the entrance of the school. I was so run-down that my face looked like I hadn't slept for days. I paced down the hallway saying "Hi" to my friends. They said "Whats-up" back. I placed my bag in my locker and yanked out my books and home work. I closed my locker and started to make my way toward my classroom.

I walked in the classroom and passed in my homework. My teacher, Ms.Hanson saw me and said with a smile,"Hello Dean, welcome back." like she always did. We started out the day with math. We were looking at double digit multiplication. It was so hard to understand the problems. Then we moved on to social studies, learning about the Revolutionary War. After social studies, the whole third grade had lunch. I had a mouth-watering turkey sandwich that I couldn't wait to eat.

I took my first bite of the sandwich and juicy goodness spilled out. My taste buds tingled with delight! I wolfed down my sandwich and raced outside to play. I usually play soccer, so we divided into teams and started to play. The goalie kicked the ball in the air. I tried to head-butt it into the goal, but I missed. Then I tried again...GOAL!!! Then a kid from the other team got the ball. I saw that my watch was unstrapped so I went to strap it.

DeanDean Spicer is a kid that lives in Cohasset, MA He has a Motherand Father and two sisters that are really annoying and a dog named Blue. His favorite sport is swimming and he loves dogs. His favorite food is Mexican food.One day he gets more than he expects for a regular school when everything goes wrong.

When the doctor said I could leave, I slowly made my way off the bed. I thought about how long had I been in the hospital. I started to make my way toward the hospital exit. I was dizzy and tired. I couldn't believe how fast everything had happened. I had my Mom and Dad on either side of me trying to hold me up so I didn't fall over. We hopped in the car and drove away from the hospital. I saw it getting smaller and smaller and smaller. I had a headache and felt sick and the bumps on the roads didn't help. We drove up my huge hill and I was relieved to be home. I had trouble getting out of the car so my Mom and my sister helped me. When I got inside I laid down on the couch, and before I fell asleep, I strapped my watch.

The Need for SpeedTo my mom and dad who took me to Florida, and to my brother who taught me the alphabet.

My legs so fatigued I felt like I was going to fall on the wet soggy grass of the cross country course as the crowd was roaring. My parents screaming. All my friends cheering me on.And my shoes filled with dirt and gravel from the cross country course. Then I bolted toward the finish line with the last little bit of energy I had left inside me. I could hear my eyelids opening and closing the way my door opens and closes when I walk in and out of my room. I could hear the sweat pouring down my face and splashing on the ground but I could not hear the crowd screaming at me or anybody else. I was thinking to myself "Do not let anybody pass you, just pass other people in front of you”. And I did exactly as I thought. I could barely see the crowd, my parents, and my friends because I was focused on the finish line right ahead of me.

In early December, my family and I traveled to Florida because I had qualified for the AAU Cross Country National Championships at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. On the day of the race it was sunny and hot. There were thousands of people gathered for all of the races that were going on. We got to the stadium with no time to waste and I did my stretches and warmed up four times. I checked in at the clerk’s tent, got my spot on the line and waited for the instructions. An old man walked out onto the cross country course holding a gun and a red flag. The old man bellowed "Gentlemen, here are the commands for the start of the race. I will raise the flag and blow my whistle. You will lunge to the line. I will raise the gun, and you will wait to hear the gun go off.” He raised the flag over his head and blew the whistle and every kid put one hand out in front of them and the other behind them. He raised the gun, and it blew with a big cloud of smoke. Arms were pumping. Feet and legs, one in front of the other, went sprinting away, leaving me close to last place. I thought I would stay that way for the whole race but I advanced a little bit before heading into the woods but not by much.

Alec

Alec Durkin likes to run and hang out with his friends and he loves to go poolside in the summer. He loves adventure stories and fiction stories and movies. He loves animals and his favorite animal is a boongary also known as a tree kangaroo. He loves to read but his big passion right now is writing.

Throughout my experiences with cross country, I thought there would be more than ten feet of elevation. Here, the hill went up very gradually. The hill was called Mount Mickey and right under Mount Mickey it said in tiny letters: Elevation 10 ft. The sign made me laugh and stumble a little bit and drop back two places even though I had seen the sign yesterday on the course walk. As I was running out of the woods, I saw the finish line and I thought to myself "It's time to turn it on Alec. This is your time to shine. Make your move quickly!” I sprinted like I was being chased by a giant gorilla. I scrunched my nose and gritted my teeth the way I always do when I turn on my mad face. From the time I took my first step to the time the race was over, I passed about 25 kids. I had saved just enough energy for the end of the race. I sprinted toward the finish line thinking I was going to die even though I wasn't.

When I was finished with the race, a tall teenager with a goatee came around with scissors and cut the timing chip off my shoe. The chip had my race number on it and recorded my finish time. I was so excited that when I found out my place, I jumped around and flailed my arms. I had come in 38th place and got a huge bronze medal that read in big bold letters 2010 National Cross Country Championships and on the other side it read: ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. The medal was in the shape of a hexagon. As we were leaving the the ESPN Complex, I got a little bit sad because I thought maybe I would never make it there again. If I did make it to Nationals again, I would want to run an even better race than I had run this year.

The Dangerous DareFor My 4th Grade Teacher. Obviously.

Here's my story: I took a dare and got injured from my bike. But you don't want just that.You want the whole painful never-forgetting story... so heres the story told right from the beginning."Hey, you." A stranger yelled. The stranger walked slowly toward the top of the street. I thought I recognized him but it was probably a mistake. But still I thought this stranger was my friend Ethan.Answer him my conscience was saying. You know what they say : follow your conscience. "What do you want?"I felt so dazed that I didn't know that he was a strange "On Saturday, I triple dog dare you to ride down that hill on Berkly Road." At I was feeling like I was paralyzed with fear. But I guess my body had to do something because my eyes went big and my mouth dropped as he said that. "But......" I stutter."Unless your to chicken!" the stranger said. I could not believe this guy just randomly walked up to me and called me a chicken.."I'm not a chicken! You watch and learn. This bet is on!"

"Don't do it." My sister called. She had a worried face on."I just hate being called chicken!" My voice croaked. Beads of sweat fell down my forehead. My heart pumping like a pen clicking over and over. Its like this pen just wont write. It ran out of ink and courage.I hoped on my bike. Urgently and slowly, I kicked up my feet.I didn't want to do this but I just want to be a dare devil once in my life.For a good part of my life I was a big chicken and I just don't want to be one anymore. I look down.I see all the little organized houses tilted one way because of the hill.There are no cars. This street is abandoned so I wouldn't expect any cars The wind is making my eyesight non clear. Cautiously and very much nervous I rode down the hill."Wait I have your helmet!" I turned around and then SNAP! My kickstand broke and I flew down the hill backwards without my helmet.

TJ

Tj hopes to become a baseball player. In 2010 he got a step closer to Major League Baseball. His hometown has a great baseball league. I'm sure no one would ever call it little league. And the worst part of all is that you had to try out. You didn't just sign up and your in. He thought he did good at the tryouts. He smacked a bomber to center field. And then there was the letter. He had made it! He lives with his family in Cohasset, MA

As I was walking my eye felt like it was burning in a fire. I just wanted to dump it in a pool of water.My eye was so hurt my eyelid was shut closed.Its kinda hard to see with only one eye. I just kept walking, but after ten minutes I collapse. I cant walk.But I have to keep moving on. Slowly, bit by bit, I got up. But my eye was not in the mood to cooperate because it kept on bleeding.The sky was turning dark. I just kept thinking that I'm gonna pass out for the night.Then I remember something. I have a bottle of water in my bag! I use it to clear the cuts and blood. Just then I feel a burst of energy. I'm on top of the world! I start sprinting to my friends house. I've gotta feeling.

On my way to my friends house I kept on tripping on the way there. Finally I managed to get stronger and get there. My friend was rich and his name was Ethan. I don't think hes ever experienced living in a run down house like mine. I walk up to the door and ring the doorbell. Ethan answered it. He had a blue shirt and his jeans were ripped at the knees. "Hey, sorry about the hole dare thing. I just wanted to get back at you for that silly string accident." He did not at all have any sorry in his voice. "So you put a rock on the road and set me up? Why didn't you just buy a can of silly string and get me? Your sooooooo mean!!!!" I run away from his house.

Later at my house my mom was so worried. She got me fixed up in a jiffy. "You know you are not aloud to go down that hill! What were you thinking?!" "Ethan dared me." I say softly.

The ATV

I was on the deck eating a hot dog while gazing at the trees and bushes just starting to change colors in the beautiful state of Vermont. There were many paths to the farms and giant mud ponds . My dad and my brother Joey were fighting about who would drive the 300 or the 400 ATV. Then at the same time my dad and Joey said, "Bella, do you want to ride the 300 ATV?" I thought to myself and said that it was now or never. So I screamed with excitement, "Yes!!"

My dad handed me the helmet and said, "Be careful." I asked him if I could ride in the woods and he said

that I just had to watch out for roaming bears and moose. They can be very fast and hungry. I got onto the

ATV and turned the key sideways. My dad said, "Good luck." I replied, "Thank you." I began to feel

nauseus, but I felt that this would be the best time of my life. I gripped the handle bars tightly and turned

them to the left as I swerved out onto the gravel road. I was planning on traveling to a house that has a

circular trail. As I began my journey I heard something I never wanted to hear.

BellaSuddenly, I heard rumbling and growling

noises coming from the dense forest. I was

frightened that the ATV would shut off if I didn't

hit the throttle. My heart was pounding as I hit

the throttle so forcefully sending the ATV

careening straight down the hill and onto the

gravel road leaving huge tire marks. I zoomed

up the hill and excitedly shouted to my mom, "I

wasn't alone in the woods, and whatever was

lurking behind the trees wasn't friendly.

My mom said, "Are you still going to ride?" I

said, "All right, but I think I'd feel safer just

riding around the pond. I know that if I hear

any rumbling noises that I can always turn to

you." So I was riding around the pond but after

a while my thumb started to hurt. It was 10:00

pm at night, so my mom and dad, my two older

brothers, Joey and Dom, and I all went back to

the hotel.

I raced across the woods as the sound in the

bushes kept getting lower. The flew up behind

me, looking like a giant could of dust. I

stopped and looked back, all I could see was

mud. I couldn't wait to get back to the house

and tell my parents all about the journey.

Earlier I was so nervous to ride an ATV 300.

The butterflies escaped from my stomach. I

never felt so confident, riding the ATV by

myself.

As I looked out the car window I saw the perfect little houses all in a row.But I had a thought, which one is ours? Me and Colby wailed to my mom, “When are we going to get there? I'm bored, Colby hissed at me”. I though she was being a jerk to me. I hissed back at her.As my mom picked up her cell-phone and call my aunt where's the house Beth she said the girls are getting rest-less. We wiggled around in the backseat.

About a minute later …

When we finally found the house [ with a little help ] me and Colby ran to the door as [ not looking were we were going ] we ran into the door OW!! we screamed when we opened the door to the house we ran up stairs to the hall way we said eeny mini mini moy that door we opened the door to the room that was the best room ever we screamed we get this room or okay the adults said back then we heard the door shut we knew that they were going to the pool .

[ I know I know go to the pool without us well listen to this ] When we were done putting are clothes away we ran to the door with the barbies out of our suitcase.When we closed the door I had the key and lock I heard the lock beep [ that meant it closed ].Then we ran and ran and ran to the pool.When we finally got to the pool we wiped our bangs out of our eyes and opened the door trying not to let the hot air out we walked to the deep end and said dive barbies dive and trough them up in the air as acrobats on the high wire at the circus and then we went in after them AHHHHHH we screamed IT'S COLD as the parents talked to each other as we jump and jump off the diving bored the parents said time to go we ran out the door and to the house in a minute when we got to the house I took out the key and and shoved it in the door hole when we got in lock the door the parents had the other key and crept up the stairs to the bedroom.

The Best Cousin in the WorldMy dedication is to Colby because she is one of the main characters in my story and she is the best cousin in the world.

HannahAs we crept up the stairs to the room we heard the

door open and close and my aunt came up the stairs and to our bedroom and she said girls you can't have this room so we fell to the floor and kick and screamed and hit the ground and screamed till our lungs hurt so bad we couldn't talked when we got our last scream out.and she said OK you can the room yes we tried to shout and the she said lets get you some water so we ran down the stairs and into the kitchen opened the fridge and got the fancy little bottles of water we went up stair we found another door and opened it as we about turned the lights the door opened and we turned off the lights and shut the door as fast as we can we ran over to the door and grabbed the door knob and open the door and said hello to Jenna and lock the door good thing the door was sound proof and ran over to the door and flipped on the lights as we finally got to the door what we saw was amazing it was a mini fridge and a cabinet as we went over and opened it and we saw something amazing 15 boxes of creamy yummy OREO'S we said let close the door and wait till after dinner to have them.After dinner we went back up stairs and ran to the door to the room as we got in we closed the door and locked it. We ran to the door and grabbed the door handle to the secret door and carefully opened it we sat down on the floor and grabbed the Oreo's and ripped open the package and we each ate three and ran over to the door and back again to close an lock the door we ran to open it.

The next day we knew it was the day we left we packed are bags we went back to the closet to get the bottles of water for the way back home we didn’t want to go I though why did we have to go.

First Day of School

I heard my dad's alarm clock going beep, beep, beep, beep.After I felt my dad poke me and I opened my eyes and looked up at him. "What do you want for breakfast?" he said as I grabbed my Etch-A-Sketch and wrote the answer--OATMEAL! He said, "What flavor?" he asked as I grabbed my Etch-A-Sketch and wrote the answer again--STRAWBERRY! I gobbled down my oatmeal while watching TV. Then I got my back pack and my dad drove me to school.

Hailey

We started to have friendship, but that didn't last. They moved with out telling me, but that was that .  So I sat there on the porch waiting there but no one came out to play. not one single kid.  I sat there on the gray porch, alone , no friends.  I couldn't believe  it. The next day I had school and I was still sad and a little bit nervous.  Who was I going to play with at recess?   

I remember how i found out it was so painful i

asked my mom if they could come over."

She said, "oh I'm sorry."

"For what I say I had no idea what she was talking

about.

"They moved."

"What How come no one told me i said as i jumped

back.

"No one told you?" mom looked so surprised .

"No, "

"Not even josh?"

"no!

i told him to tell you.

but he didn't!" my body was starting to

slouch"When will we get to see them? as my eyes

were getting watery

"Next summer."

"What! Next summer?!" One tear came dawn onto

my check. I opened my mouth and said, "That's

ok I'll make new one friends another tear came

down my check i was trying to keep my tears in.

Lost Friends

Saman%a

Samantha is in the fourth grade. She

plays basketball. She has one sister and

one brother. Most of the time she

Rollerblades. She plays with her younger

brother more then once a day. Samantha

also enjoys playing monopoly with her

sister and they have lots of fun.

I stomped in my room and stared to cry then my

sister came in the room and said whats wrong with you

we can't see them again i know why don't you care we

can make new friends i know well do something i think

i know exactly what to do.

So, my plan was i make friends and the perfect day to do that was a school day and the next day i had school and i made some new friends well only one but one is better then none.

So you see its not really bad for a friend to move but then again its not good ether anyway Jacob and josh still visit us so its not all bad well I think so. Jacob, Josh how are you guys do you what to come over and play?