# data[].attributes.headline
"Chips"                   By Liana Dolce 

# data[].attributes.subject
"Chips"                   By Liana Dolce 

# data[].attributes.body
Amara walks down the clustered halls, her head hung down. Children yell and talk around her, but she remains silent. “Keep walking,” she whispers to herself, just as she  is about to walk into her classroom she slams into a stiff body.

She slowly lifts her head up, her eyes lock with the boy in front of her. “Watch it!” he shouts and pushes past her. She walks into her classroom, trying to be unbothered.

Rows and rows of desks fill the classroom, it's almost impossible to get through. Kids start to fill up the room taking up desk, after desk. The teacher, Mrs.Felch looks around at the 80 students in front of her. She sighs before beginning to talk.

“Alright class, there are many of you kids in here so we need to stay focused.” she begins.

“Now please everyone take out your--” before she can continue, two large men enter the room. They are dressed in all black, almost like security guards.

“Hold on class, just a minute.” She says and walks out of the room everyone begins to whisper to each other, but not Amara. The pit in her stomach grows as the chatter grows louder, she begins to tap her foot trying to focus on anything but the voices in the classroom. The two men walk into the classroom, Mrs.Felch following behind.

“We need the following students.” One man begins. “John Smith, Bella Hail, Jake Johnson, Lucas Davinson and Julianna Green.” The other man finishes. Amara lets out a relieved sigh, glad that her name wasn't called, but the pit in her stomach did not leave.

Something wasn't right to her.

As the students left, their faces turned pale. They all walked together in a straight line out of the classroom. Around 20 minutes into class the students came back in, looking even more pale. Amara looked at each one of them trying to see if maybe she can find out what happened. John began to walk past her and as she glanced onto his arm she saw a very small square sitting right above his elbow. Even though she was supposed to be reading she ripped out a piece of paper from her binder and began writing.

John Smith - arm small black chip.

-Could be a robot chip? needs more investigation.

-Never noticed until after being pulled from the classroom.

“Excuse me, Amara is something more important than reading?” Mrs. Felch calls out in an annoyed tone. Her glasses rested on the edge of her nose, making her look more intimidating. Quickly Amara shoots her head up making eye contact with the irritated teacher hovering over her. “N-no. My apologies.” she stutters. Mrs. Felch nods and turns away. Before she begins to walk Amara catches a glance at her arm, noticing the same black chip, in the same spot on her arm.

What is going on? Amara whispers to herself.

“Hey!” someone whisper-yells. Amara ignores it and continues reading.

“Hey!” the voice says again.

Amara turns her head to the side to see a boy staring at her.

“What?” she whispers back.

“I heard you whispering to yourself and i saw what you were writing.” the boy says.

“Uh- okay.” she says and turns back around.

“And i'm confused too. You saw the chips too right?” He whispers.

That brings interest to Amara, she turns her head back around. “Yeah, I did.” she says, raising an eyebrow.

“Here take this.” he hands her a loose leaf paper. “On it is a list of people I saw with chips and weird things that they are doing.” he says.

“Wow, thanks.” she says. He nods and she turns back around.

Samantha- black chip right above elbow

symptoms - coughing and sneezing

Julian- black chip

symptoms - coughing , sneezing and pale skin tone.

People haven't been sick in a hundred years and now people are showing symptoms of illnesses, and all the people who are showing symptoms have a black chip. It all makes sense. Amara thinks to herself.

“Alright, class is dismissed.” Mrs. Felch calls out. All 80 students jump out of their seats, practically running out of the classroom. Amara stays back taking her time grabbing her stuff.

“Hey, Amara. DId you read the paper?” the boy asks, approaching Amara.

“Yeah, I did and I think I know what's going on. Wait how do you know my name? We’ve never spoken before?” Amara asks.

“Oh, I heard Mrs. Felch call it. Uhm my name is Theo.” He says sticking out his hand. She hesitantly reaches her hand out shaking his.

“I think i know what's going on, meet me at the town park. 3:15.” She says sternly. He nods and walks out of the classroom, Amara following behind. As she walks home, she sees sketchy black vans outside peoples homes. Slowly she hides behind a large tree peeking her head out, staring at one specific house. She rests her hands on the hard bark, feeling the small branches poking into her skin. She waits carefully until two men in black leave the people's house.

They look just like the people from school. Amara thinks.

Amara waits for the large van to pass before she continues walking home. She scrambles through her bag trying to find her house key, until her hand finally grasps it. She unlocks her door and steps inside, she kicks off her shoes and throws her backpack onto her sofa.

“Amara?” a soft voice calls out.

“Yes mom?” she asks, approaching her moms door.

“No, don't come in. Somethings wrong with me.” She shouts. Amara removes her hand from the door knob, placing her hands at her sides.

“What do you mean?” Amara asks, furrowing her eyebrows.

“I-i think I'm sick.” Her mother says letting out a hoarse cough.

“Oh my gosh, they chipped you too-- I'll be right back. I'm going to the park.” She shouts and runs to the front door. She slips on her vans, grabs her jacket and runs out the door.

They are chipping people to make them sick! But why? Amara asks herself.

Finally she arrives at the park, trying to catch her breath. She clenches her stomach with her right hand, leaning forward.

“Did you run.. All the way here?” Theo asks approaching her, she puts her hand up still breathing heavy. Finally she inhales, then exhales one more time before standing up straight.

“Okay. I think I know what's happening.” She begins.

“Well, go on.” Theo says, raising his eyebrows.

“On the paper you wrote the people who we believe are chipped, all are showing symptoms of being sick. Right?” She asks.

“Yes…” He says squinting his eyes at her.

“No one has been sick in 100 years but suddenly they are, AND! When i got home my mom said she was sick, but it was sudden.” She finishes letting out a huff.

“So you're saying they’re chipping people with illnesses?” Theo asks, crossing his arms.

“That is exactly what i'm saying. Recently i saw on the news that there was a rumor that the world was becoming overpopulated, maybe they’re trying to find a way to fix it.” She says.

“Mhm.”

KNOCK KNOCK! Amara peels open her eyes slowly stumbling off of her bed and over to her window. She reaches her hand out moving her coral sheer curtains to the side. She looks around her eyes hitting two men dressed in black, standing at her front door. “No..no no!” She whispers under her breath. KNOCK! KNOCK! She hears again, hestitaly she walks down stairs and to her front door. She slightly opens it only showing her head.

“Are you Amara Kline?” The man asks in a deep tone.

She fiddles with the door knob, her palms filling with sweat.

“U-um yes.” she says her mouth going dry.

“There's an illness going around, we would like to give you something to help protect you.” The man lies.

“Um, sure just give me one second.”

Quickly Amara slams the door in the mens face. She shuffles around her house trying to think of a way to avoid them. Quickly she runs upstairs packing a small bag of clothes and random things around her room. She slips on a pair of shoes and runs out her back door. She runs and runs until she reaches the woods, quickly she runs to the tree. She sighs before climbing up the wooden ladder, her hands gripping so tight making her knuckles to go white. Finally she reaches the top, stepping on the creaky wood.

My childhood treehouse. Amara thinks before skimming her fingers over the small desk that sits against one of the walls. She flys her head towards the entrance of the tree house when she hears quiet mutters.

“We lost the girl.”

“You did what?!”

“We can't find her!”

“We need 50 people with the illness then it will spread globally, and she is one of the fifty!”

“I understand that but almost 100,000 people have died. Do we really need her too?”
“Yes. If after 48 hours you can’t find her, give up.”

Before she can get caught she climbs halfway down the ladder, jumping down the rest. Once her feet hit the floor she runs to a back road. No cars are around giving it an eerie feeling, only the sounds of cracking in the woods behind her. She approaches a sewer and uncovers the lid, throwing it to the side. She takes a deep breath before falling down into it. Nasty smells run through the entire sewer making her cringe. She walks a little farther until she approaches two paths, like a fork in the road. She switches her eyes between the two of them, trying to decide.

“Just pick one Amara.” she whispers

Skeptically she walks over to the left tunnel, her breathing quickens making her feel light-headed. Once she reaches the middle of the tunnel she falls down the wall. She places a hand on her fore-head trying to cool down her body, but there's no luck. Her head begins to pound and her vision feels like it's going dark.

BOOM BOOM! Footsteps bang around her. She's too weak to stand up; she clenches her fists, her fingernails digging into her palms.

¨There she is!¨ she hears. Someone picks her up off the ground guiding her out of the sewer. With all the power she has she holds her eyes open seeing Theo and a friendly-looking man carrying her out.

¨Its okay Amara, we’re here to save you.¨

She hears and then closes her eyes, passing out.

# data[].attributes.body
By Lucas Walsh

“Closing at .10 decimal meters!”, Captain Samantha Bargins yelled. The monstrous hunk of dead-white space rock made the astronauts look like ants, scurrying to get the precious materials to survive. Suddenly, a screeching sound broke through the air, and a sleek, black, guided missile slammed into the asteroid. A force of more than 8 nuclear weapons chopped through the gleaming rock as if it wasn’t there. After the wreckage was found, the missile read, “Soviet Class 76-b Guided Missile''.

10 Years Later

Tim stared down at the barren land, wondering what ballistic “thing” had caused it. Hot, steamy pours oozed out of the crusted, dirty topsoil. He wondered if this was a dream, because it sure looked like his dad’s famous “Atom Oreos”. He squinted, and a name popped up in the peripherals of his eyes. “Addison P.”, the dark blue text read. He willed up the courage to message her, saying “Cya at the launch.” GRRR. A sound rumbled on, and as he tried to locate it, he realized it was his very own, empty stomach, waiting for the fuel that would satisfy his every want and need. On the other side of town, Addison woke up, rolled over, and suddenly her eyes lit up with blinking notifications from all of the apps that tried to wake her falling slumber last night. She slugged up, and tapped on her dull brown dresser. In a whir, she was cleaned, clothed, and ready to go. Both kids walked towards the big launchpad being fueled from a large pipe connected to a space elevator. Tim was fascinated with the Dyson Sphere fueling their rocket, while Addison just thought it was some “nerd device”. Tim walked over to his dad, who was inspecting the rocket and some wires.

“Hey dad!” he said, with an eager tone shown through his widened eyes.

“Hey bud, ready to go?” Tim’s dad questioned.

“More ready than I’ll ever be.” Tim lifted his shoulders and tilted his head.

“Few more minutes and we’re off.” Tim’s dad blankly stated.

“Ok!” Tim yapped.

He walked over to Addison and said, “Hello!”. She shyly waved and walked away to her mom. He shrugged and walked into the rocket.

“Ready!”, He yelled. The engines fired up. He strapped in and they took off. Flying at near light speed, he dozed off to a soft, pillowy cryosleep, his whole body encapsulated in the peanut-like shell. When the dull, tainted hull crashed into the lush, green planet, Tim jostled up, his trembling nerves hiding his droopy eyes, a reminder that people aren’t always what they seem.

He sloshed up, tapped the peripheral region of his eyes and saw that he had one new message. He instantaneously opened the message, and saw that it was from Addison.

“Welcome to your new home!”, The message read. Tim eagerly got up and peered out the window. What he saw shocked his miniscule eyes. A dark hazel deeper than the Johnson Caves, a light red tainting the air, a coating over the lushious land. As he walked out of the ship, he met up with Addison, and as she looked out at the land, she saw what this land was, but also what it would become. Only after 5 sharp minutes, titanium mining drills and other heavy-duty life-saving equipment was being unloaded and set up. Though they both loved science, there was a strange presence inside of both of them, an empty feeling of content. Then, like stars aligning, a group of civilian adults chosen randomly to come on the flight were huddled up, like an unbreakable bond, conspiring about how ruining science has been for their morals, and how they had to do something.

“Hey!”, Tim’s dad exclaims, his eyes straight like a pole, a sense of hope in his little round face. Tim and Addison turn around to see him standing there, holding two weird electric calibrators that confused the kids. Tim, however, had used one of these before, so he grabbed it eagerly and bounded off, the low gravity giving him boosts of height and speed. Meanwhile, Addison just stood there, her face blanker than a sheet of paper.

Tim’s dad, face blank as well, thrusted the strange device into Addison’s hands, saying,

“My son will know what to do. Follow him.”

Addison bounded off as well, but this time she slipped, and fell slowly in the low-g. After many attempts, she made it to the mining plant, where they were instructed to plug the small pieces into a port down at the bottom of the tunnel. They tentatively slunk around corners, being careful not to touch the machines that mined their precious metals. When they got near the bottom, they saw the same adults from earlier, crowding around some device that was making a shrilling, beeping noise.

BOOOOOM! A wave of light and force carried Addison and Tim up the hole, as if they could fly. As Tim stared down, he saw pieces of scrappy metal, plastic, and minerals being hurled out of the bottom of the pit. While he was flying through the air, he had a white moment. He was only focused on why that would have happened. Then, almost simultaneously, a piece of shrapnel hit his back, and even though his head was fine, something must have clanked up there. It all made sense now. The adults at the end of the tunnel, they were the ones who- suddenly the blast stops and Tim and Addison begin to fall. He grabs on to her as they plummet to the ground, the screeching noise of the wind rupturing their ears. As they are about to hit the ground, Tim swings up, and pulls right, forming a swiveling motion that allows them to glide down safely.

“THUD!”, They come to a somewhat abrupt stop and brush the red, crumbling rocks off of their matte blue suits.

“How did you do that?”, Addison immediately ponders.

“Do what?”, Tim says as he does his daily mental math, the problems flooding his brain.

“Slow us down before we almost died because of those guys back in the tunnel!”, Addison says with passion.

“Oh that?”, Tim realizes,

“That's the Magnus effect. Using comprehensive aerodynamics and Newton’s third law, I figured a way to spin us so that we would fall slower.”

“I never thought I would be saying this, but science saved my life.”, Addison's eyes widened as she shook her head in disbelief. Then, as they were laughing about the whole situation, Tim’s dad rushed over to them.

“Are you okay?”, He said with both a sense of caring but also with a sense of “I’ve got stuff to do come on”.

“We’re fine”, They both said, a blank expression on both of their faces. All three of them knew though, that this would be settled at the upcoming board meeting.

“Order!”, A man yelled. All of the eyes in the room instantly snapped onto the large, plaid desk, like an instant click controlling a whole army. The man stood up, and began to say in a reasonable, assertive voice,

“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the 1st court case of the New Republic of Keplar-452b, attacking side, “The Destineers”, defending side, “John Libertson, Tom Greadtay, and Paul Yortington.” Attackers, what do you have to say?” Tim waited for his dad’s response, but also questioned his own actions. Was all that science really worth it? Did he really have a strong personality or was he too drawn to science?

Tim’s father and his assistant valiantly stood up, staring into oblivion, running calculations in his head, deciding how he would tackle this tough argument. He cleared his throat, and then started to plead,

“These people have corrupted our new society, the only chance our species may have. The amount of work and sacrifice that was made to get you here should not be approached with disrespect and tyranny. That mining plant was our only hope for the precious minerals that would have allowed us to further establish this colony, and you have diminished that chance, rendering billions of dollars useless, injuring countless workers only trying to make a better life for themselves, and leaving a large crater in the planet, lowering our chances of setting up a more permanent colony.”

The whole room went silent, people scratching their heads, tilting their eyes, and flopping their heads on their fists. The judge looked left, and then right, and then over to the group of adults, and with the same tone that he had used on Tim’s father, he said, “Defendants, what do you have to say for yourselves?”.

The shortest and quietest-looking man of the group popped up, straightened his tie, and articulated with clear pronunciation,

“Yes. While all this science has given us prosperity, wealth, strength, and power, it has not given us heart and soul. We have all these boring robots to do our work, yet we are turning into them ourselves. We only blew up that plant to show that we actually won’t need it. So while yeah, we need science to survive, we don’t need it to be happy.”

Then, like clockwork, the room did the exact same thing they did for Tim’s father, staring, pondering, and squinting. The judge sat patiently for a long minute, and finally, after what felt like eons, he stood up and said, “We’re gonna settle this with a two-way civic conversation. You two need to come to a compromise.” Tim and Addison both sat still as statues, eyes widened, listening to what the groups had to say. Then, Tim’s father, like a literal machine, spat the words out,

“You know what, I like this idea. Let’s see what we can do about this.”

The men looked back and smiled. They walked over to each other and started conversing. Tim and Addison both show a look of suspicion as well as a hint of happiness. As they walk outside staring into the beautiful, glazed, quad sunrise. Addison leaned over, rested her head on Tim’s shoulder, and gave a lofty sigh.

30 YEARS LATER

“Daddy!” Billy yelled.

“What?” Tim asked with a confused yet rushed look.

“Why is there a big crater over there?”

“That’s a long story for another day” he truthfully admitted.“Just look at the suns for now, Billy, and don’t make your mother mad.”

“Oh Tim, when are you ever going to get back into science?” Addison questioned.

“Eh”.

THE END.

# data[].attributes.body
Uhke:2075

Ava was sitting on a hill looking over her home, all she could think about was what happened? For miles it was a murky mud pile filled with sorrow, the only thing that came to mind for Ava when she looked over what she called home was a valley of broken dreams. People everywhere growling with hunger, trying to find a place to sleep without broken glass under. Miles away was what looked like a dream for many people out here was the world famous city, Uhke. An angelic city that only the finest could live at, many of the people here at this dump would be right up there with them if the robots didn take all of their jobs. After that, everything went downhill for many of the lower class. As she was thinking about her life she felt a stone on the back of her head as she snapped out of her thoughts, as she turned around she saw her best friend Falon.

“Time for work Ava,” yelled Falon smiling.

“Yeah, yeah, okay,” Ava says as she smiled back.

Work. Well we call it work but the people in the city call it stealing, and I must say I agree with them. Everyday we go into the city and take food so we can eat, but when my parents died many people thought no one had custody over me so they threw me out here. I have relatives that are still alive though, my grandmother is one of the wealthiest in the city so she built me an underground kind of house so that I can have food and water for myself. But I love the people in the caves because they are like family to me so I thought it would be a good idea to bring them back food and water. After we all go out for work I go straight to the underground storage but what I didn’t know was that I was being followed.

*A few minutes before they went of to work*

Two girls named Sofie and Julia who hate Ava because everyone likes her more than them meet up and discuss.

“Don’t you think that it’s weird that Ava goes to the same area everyday and comes back with some sort of food?” Asked Sofie.

“Maybe she knows someone there or something,” said Julia.

“I say we follow her and if we can get anything on her we confront her infront of everyone in our town,” Sofie said, smirking.

“Ok, but how do we get everyone if taken together,” Julia asked.

“You idiot we have a town meeting tonight almost everyone will be there including that mayor of his 1dump,” Sofie said rolling her eyes.

“That makes sense,” Julia said with excitement. She didn't really hate Ava, she just didn’t want her only friend to think that she's a traitor.

A few minutes later the two girls set out and started to follow Ava to wherever she was going, they were walking and Ava turned a corner for a second the girls followed a minute later but she was gone. Ava was already in the little bunker underground, The girls waited around the corner for her to come out and after she came with a bag of food and water Sofie and Julia started to look around.

Sofie I think I found something interesting,” Julia said squinting into a light coming from under a dumpster.

Sofie spun around and pushed Julia out of the way “Wow let's go inside,” she whispered as she started to go inside.

Julia hesitated but went in as well “Wow,” she almost breathed as she looked around at all the resources.

Sofie fuming with anger she couldn’t even speak, she was determined to ruin Avas life and she was going to make sure it happened, and soon.

Julia checked the time and her eyes widened “we have to go if we want to make it back for the town meeting,”

Sofie had an evil gleam in her eyes when she said, “won’t want to miss this will we.”

As they made their way back across the disgusting muck Sofie couldn’t stop thinking about what happened if Ava had all this food and water. Why was she living in a dump like this. When the meeting began everything was fine but then at the end the mayor asked if anyone wanted to speak. Sofie immediately stood up and walked up to their front and spook.

“I am just here to inform you that Ava is a lie, I followed her today a found out that she has stacks of food and water for all of us and she still lives here,” as she finished gasps came from across the people looking at Ava as a monster. But Sofie continued to talk, “I am here to propose that we kick Ava from our town area because she is a liar and a cheat.” As we put it to a vote almost everyone voted to kick Ava out without even letting her explain.

As Ava was walking out of the she thought about going to her grandma and telling her what happened because Avas grandma was the one providing the food and Ava was the one bringing it back because they both thought that they shouldn’t steal. Ava could have gone to live with her grandma or she could have bought a house for herself after her parents died because of the money they left her but she wanted to go and see what it was like living in the caves. She came to her grandmother's house and knocked on the door waiting for the butler to open it, as he did she went straight into the living room to talk to her grandmother.

“Hello,” Ava almost whispered, she never liked talking in the building.

“Oh hello dear what are you doing here?” asked Avas grandmother but you could tell she got kicked out of the caves

“I got kicked out of caves and I thought it would be a good idea to come out and say that I was the Adams kid,” My parents were like royalty so when everyone thought I died and my grandma sent me to the caves to tell her what it was like there.

“Are you sure dear, you will be the center of attention,” she said as she finally looked at me.

“I think if we wait any longer people will start getting angry,”

“Alright but let's start with something simple like saying that you're alive and we can work up from there,” She smiled down at me and I could tell she was remembering my mom.

“Ok,” I exclaimed smiling up at her.

So for the past month Ava and her grandmother were putting hints over the internet and telling people trying to get the word out. Then one month later they announced that Ava was the Adams kid on national television.

“Welcome to TV42 and today we are going to see Mrs.Adams and her grandchild leave her house in just a few moments now. People have been waiting for this for years, oh and here they come,” The news reporter looked as though he was going to past out.

Ava and Mrs.Adams walked out together to find people talk photos and asking all sorts of questions, Mrs.Adams raised her hand to silence them and then as she spoke you could feel the happiness inside of her that she could say “Everyone this is my granddaughter Ava Adams”

A few weeks later Ava and Mrs.Adams went back to the caves to see everyone again. Fallon can running towards them

“Ava!!” she screamed, throwing her arms around her.

Ava just laughed and smiled “Fallon!” as much as she didn’t want to admit it but she missed the caves, Fallon, and even the townspeople.

“What are you doing with Mrs.Adams?” she whispered looking at Avas grandmother.

“She's my grandmother,” Ava almost forgot that they didn’t have any technology so they had no idea.

Fallon's eyes widened as she said “really? That's so cool,” She squealed in excitement

“I came to visit and say thank you to Sofie and Julia, do you know where they are?” Ava asked looking at all the people

Fallon just nodded “Ya follow me,”

As they walked people where looking at them as if they were from a different planet but they finally reached the other girls

“Hello Sofie and Julia,” Ava said nicely as they turned around

Sofie almost smirked at her before she saw Mrs.Adams with her “Mrs.Adams what brings you here and  with...her” she then looked me up and down

“She wanted to visit and who would I be if I didn't let my granddaughter see her friends?” Mrs.Adams said sweetly, she wouldn’t admit it but she was liking this girl less and less.

“Granddaughter?!” Julia finally spoke up but to everyone's surprise she was smiling at them.

“I just wanted to say thank you because if it wasn't for you I wouldn’t of gone and lived with my grandma,” Ava said

“Please excuse us, we have an announcement to make,” Mrs.Adams said walking away with Ava and Fallon. After everyone was together Mrs.Adams finally spoke “Thank you all for coming so Ava and I had this idea that we could extend the city to make room for everyone to live and we will find jobs for you to support your families.” Cheers exploded from everyone and that's when Ava knew that these people who have lived in a dump are going to have a fair life like others and all she could do was smile.

# data[].attributes.body
By Ethan Villa

It was a sunny morning when a group of birds were trying to find a fleeting home and the birds approached a tree. ¨Oh, great tall oak tree, would you know a place where we could stay for just one night?” the birds requested.

The oak tree responded, ¨I apologize, for I do not have the whereabouts of any sort of shelter but why not make one?¨

“What do you mean?¨ the birds questioned.

“You can build one out of me by pecking a hole in me.¨

¨Won't that hurt you?¨ the other birds asked.

¨No, of course not!¨ the tree reassured them.

So then the birds proceeded to peck out a hole and it was a success so the trees talked and talked and they finally started having birdmade holes in them for the birds to temporarily live in.

LA FIN

# data[].attributes.headline
“Black Book”                              (By: Mia Matute Barahona)

# data[].attributes.subject
“Black Book”                              (By: Mia Matute Barahona)

# data[].attributes.body
“They are here, let's go” a girl said from downstairs, Knock, Knock, knock. There was someone at the door, someone in black, a black sweater, black boots, black pants, and a black book in his hand. “I know you're in there, open up, we need to have a friendly talk just one question, where is it… “

2 years after…

“Hey! They have escaped, caught them!” A man said  “ Hurry, go! Go! “ Hinata said while getting  everyone out  “Hinata...wh...wha….what about you ...w...w...we can't leave you here the pla - the plan was to get out safely that did  not mean everyone” Hinata told Eijiro. “Well it won't be really nice of me if we leave you so - No, hurry go - well to bad c'mon we have to go now! They are catching up to us,  hurry!” Eijiro yelled at Hinata.

They left the awful prison, they all got out Hinata, Kenma, Eijiro, Mina, Yuno, Venessa, Loki, and Lucy. The man that was holding the black book took them hostage. They were allies to Japan, well they are Japanese after all which means they had a lot of info on the real Black Book. The men in this Guild called the Book hunters, they do in fact want the book to hold the most secrets of Japan's ultimate gold and more secrets.

“Alright, we will rest here for the night, those book looking people won't find us in a cave like this, now get settled in I will start a fire to warm up, Mina and Lucy get some stones to light a fire, Yuno and Kenma can you get some fish or any food you can find, Eijiro can you get water you can go with Yuno and Kenma.” Hinata said “Hey who put you in charge” Yuno answered “Yuno, don't be rude and she is the on who the captain chose, he made her in charge, DO NOT DISRESPECT THE CAPTAINS WISHES ALRIGHT” Eijiro said. The captain that they are talking about is a master or leader to another guild, a good guild the government doesn't know about any guilds, The dark guilds like the Book hunters are looking for trouble, the Lightened guilds are the ones that stop dark guilds, This specific one is called The Red Demons one of the top 10 guilds.

Deep in the forest..

“Yuno I found a river over here, you think we’ll get something?” Kenma said. “Hopefully, I don't want to be doing this right now. Who died and put him in chap-OWCH, what was that for” He responded, just when Kenma slapped him in the back of the head. “That person that died was the best captain or master that the Red Demons have ever had, Hinata is trying to do everything to calm herself down for what happened to captain that day, we have to stop them, we have to stop the Book Hunters they are the guilds biggest enemies right now so, PLEASE RESPECT THE CAPTAINS WISHES HE IS GONE AND WE CAN'T JUST ABANDON HIM FOR OUR OWN REASONS, understand that Hinata was the one that captain choose not you, not me, not anyone else he saw something in her so let it go okay! Promise me that you will do this for our guild, for our last Captain, that is what Captain Gildarts would want” Kenma said with tears in her eyes then yuno told her that he was sorry and meet up with Eijiro to get some food and some water for the rest of the guild.

“Hey over here Eijiro, we found a river over there c’mon” Kenma said, running to catch up with him. “ Yep, we might catch something, now hurry it is getting dark. We do not want to be here for long, those guys could track us down,” Yuno said while guiding them to the river.

“I got something, okay that should be enough for one day we got 10 fishes that should be good. RIght?” Eijiro said “ Yep, just get water and then we should go, I have a bad feeling about this forest.” Yuno told him.

Walking back to the cave...

“Finely, I was getting worried, you guys were gone for so long, we got everything set up. Catch anything good!” Hinata said meeting them in the cave. “ Yeah! We got fish and some fresh water, we also got some berries and plants to make tea” they all said. “Okay, set it back there, we will get it cooked, and Yuno can I talk to you for a sec?” Hinata said with a wired type of worried look  on her face. “So what’d you want to talk about?” Yuno said as soon as Hinata started to cry “ Promise me that if anything happens you’ll take care of our guild, I haven't told anyone, but I never wanted to become the next Maste I wanted to take care of everyone else that is why I wanted to stay, so that I could find our captain, I this is something really weird to say, but I know that the captain is still out there looking for a way out, so tomorrow i'm gonna go back to their prison place, that is why im asking to take care of everyone else, cuz it was my fault I couldn't save the captain from vanishment!” Hinata said while sobbing. “If you didn't want to be a master then why did you accept” Yuno told her “ I..I..I did it because my… my...master is….I..I…did it for the guild a- CUT IT, WE ALL KNOW IT WAS FOR ANOTHER REASON, AM I WRONG?” Yuno yelled, interrupting her. “ I DIDN'T GET TO FINISH. I did it because The Master was my only family left alright, and now my only family is gone. He was my brother ALRIGHT SO DON'T COME AT ME LIKE THAT” she said while tearing up again. “ HEY, HEY! What is all the yelling out here, Hinata are you okay, what did you do Yuno!?” Kenma said as she hugged Hinata. “ I..I..I did nothing,” Yuno said with a black look on his face from what Hinata told him. “Yeah, sure c’mon Hinata it's time for dinner” Kenma told him.

In the cave during dinner...

“Mina, can you pass me two bowls?” Kenma asked, “Sure, coming right up,” Mina answered. “What did Yuno tell you? Are you okay Hinata? Why were you guys yelling at each other?” Kenma asked. “It... it was nothing, just something I wanted to tell him,” Hinata said. It was foggy outside, everyone was falling asleep to the sound of rain and thunder. “Well the weather is one for the night. We will go 2 days from now in the afternoon, they won't suspect that so they will look for us in the morning, so we are going to the back of the cave so we won't get caught in here, but for now goodnight.” Hinata said while everyone was getting ready to sleep. “I guess there was always a resemblance. They look a lot alike, they always went on trips together and came back laughing, I guess we all knew that she was gonna be the next Master, right? I wonder if anyone elses knows” Yuno thought to himself as he also fell asleep. After all, it was a long day. Every strong warrior of the sun should have good rest. (warrior of the sun meaning the People of the Sun or people of Japan).

The next morning…

“I guess no one else is awake right now, we should let them rest. The new captain should also rest, she was in a bad or sad mood yesterday, now c’mon we need to collect some food for the guild, that is our job, right?” Kenma told Ejiro “Right!” Ejiro said “Shhh you're already going to wake them up, just don't say anything, hurry come on” Kenma whispered. They went to look for something to eat that was light enough to eat for breakfast nimewhile Hinata was making sure everyone got to the back of the cave safely and quietly so that no one could hear them. “Alright, if you are still sleepy you can rest, but when I tell you to wake up we have to move out. Alright?” Hinata said “Yes ma'am” they all answered.

With Kenma and Ejiro in the woods…

“I got one!” Ejiro yelled “We should go back, they might get really worried about us,” he said. “Alright fine let's go, it is time for lunch they might get really mad, we were gone for way too long” Kenma responded.

Back at the cave…

“Hey you guys are you here, hello” Kenma whispered into the darkness that there was no one there. Kenma started to think that they left or that they had been captured. “HEY! IS ANYONE IN HERE IT’S EJIRO AND KEN-'' Ejiro yelled but before he could finish, Kenma cut him off, saying “ hey Ejiro hold on maybe they're not here, did they leave without us?” They heard a tiny mumble from the end of the cave “ Hey i-is someone there” Kenma said very quietly “BOO!!” Hinata yelled jumping from the roof right in front of them. “OH MY GOD! You scared me, how'd you get up there?” Kenma yelled “Well we thought that the end of the cave was too easy they would find us in no time plus we still have our Tishatsu right!” Hinata replied “Oh yeah that is true” , Kenma said. Tohatsu is energy or power flowing through your body. It keeps all of the guilds safe and you can use this power in battle. It can also be used in many ways depending on the person. Each person gets a special type of Tishatsu depending on their birth.

Later on…

“Thanks! This is a really good kenma” Hinata said while eating the fish that Kenma handed to him. “Thank you, captain,” he answered. “Captain? Yeah I think I'm not ready for the master/captain thing. I don't think I'll ever be a master for a long time. It's not for me” Hinata answered with the fish halfway in his mouth. “I'm not sure if I can even be considered a master a-nevermind, just call everyone over to eat.” He said as he finished up the fish  and started at the rise.  “Alright, just know that he is very proud of you. Even if he's gone. Master will always be proud of you.” Kenma said

Near the end of the cave

"Hey Lucy, Loki, Vanessa, Yuno, Ejiro! Hurry, the fish is getting cold! '' Kenma yelled “finally it took you long enough” Vanessa said. “I'm so tired! So where's our dear captain?” Lucy said as she slowly sat down and ate the fish. “HEY DON'T START EATING WHEN OUR CAPTAIN IS LOST” Loki yelled “CALM DOWN LOKI” Lucy yelled  “Can you all just be silent for like 3 seconds! Your dear  captain is fine, now sit down, eat before I explode the whole cave!” Hinata yelled as he got up and turned around to face Yuno. “Now sit and eat!” Hinata said as he walked away further into the cave. “We leave tomorrow in the morning right before sunrise!” He said as his voice fades away in the cave. “Okay! Well go on, sit down eat and get rest before Hinata comes out of the darkness again!” Lucy said as she served everyone.

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How Giraffes Got Their Spots: A Pourquoi Tale

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How Giraffes Got Their Spots: A Pourquoi Tale

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By: Diana Leovin

Once there was a kid named Bob and he was a very adventurous kid. One day he went to the zoo with his whole family and decided to adventure off and try to get into one of the cages. He tried every single cage but none would open until……… he realized that he was missing one cage, one single cage and that was the where the giraffes were. He tried and tried and tried and he was just going to give up when he saw a worker coming out of the cage and he decided to sneak in… After a long time of trying to get into cages he finally got into one, not even thinking about how worried his family would be because he wasn’t with them. He thought that drawing on a giraffe would make the day even better. Out of nowhere he pulled out some black paint and paintbrushes from his bag and started to color some spots on the giraffe. And if you were wondering, well, the giraffe was asleep and didn’t feel anything until Bob decided to tickle the Giraffe’s nose a little bit and the Giraffe suddenly woke up.

After a while the giraffe said, “What are you doing in this giraffe enclosure?”.

Surprisingly and nervously Bob said, “Well I love to adventure around so I decided to try to get into an enclosure.”

Slowly the Giraffe stood up and realized she was covered in spots and asked why she had spots on her body. She went to the small pond and tried to wipe off the paint but the little boy told her that he had painted her body with permanent paint and it would never come off.

And ever since that day all giraffes have had spots.

The End...

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2020 Silver Linings      By Elizabeth Walsh 

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2020 Silver Linings      By Elizabeth Walsh 

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-4th grade chorus- LALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALA

Me and the 4th grade Miss Hesari kids: “Hey. This is so boring. I know! Sooooo boring. Have you heard about Coronavirus? Yeah a bit. It’s like so deadly. I heard a girl got it in China and she had to have her heart pumped and she was crying and it must've hurt soooo badly. Wow and I heard that if you get it you suffocate and your skin turns blue and you die. Um… Ok… I guess I’m gonna die soon…

1 week later sitting on the carpet in our classroom-

“Look guys, whoever is talking about this coronavirus- you’re not gonna die. The virus is in China and you are in America. Ok? You are not gonna die. If I hear anyone talk about it they are in trouble and will have to sit out from recess. Ok? YOU ARE NOT GONNA DIE.” My teacher said

Somebody whispered- Maybe we will.

The class: Hysterical laughing

_____________________________________________________

Date: March 13th, 2020

Time: 2:49pm

I was super excited to see this movie. I had been waiting for a few weeks. Finally, on our off day for superintendent meetings with our teachers, we were heading to the cinema! Except when we got there it said “CLOSED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE” In big red letters. I was like, “Is this the wrong place? I HAD WAITED SO LONG AND IT’S CANCELED!” “Yeah. I guess we better head home. Actually I need to get a few things from the store.” Ok. Something to do. When we got to the store- it was completely wiped out! And I mean COMPLETELY. There was no more soap, toilet paper, (which at the time I thought was very weird because usually when I go shopping, I get lost in the toilet paper aisle because there are so many different types of toilet paper) and no more bottled water. We only got popcorn, chips, and cookies. So, we drove home and one by one we read store signs saying: CLOSED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. When we got home, I put on a movie since we couldn’t watch the one at the theater. I ate the popcorn and the chips pretty fast and  then my mom came home. I had to get ready for softball training with the Pawling Pickles, because at that point we weren’t exactly the top team. And then I got the news- closed for 2 weeks because of you guessed it! Coronavirus. Who would have thought I would be out for 2 weeks in March 2020 because of this new deadly virus. The next week I was completely clueless of how or what we’d be doing for the rest of our “quarantine”. But, I did have a friend. I facetimed Ethan every day and we did our work together. It was ok until we were quarantined for another 2 weeks. And another 2 weeks. We got to spring break and we did not have off until Friday. I had a bunch of science experiments with my sister to do since she was bored out of her mind. I kept calling Ethan, and started calling one of my other friends Emily to play online games. I found a really catchy song called “Everything Is Cancelled”. My sister had this big drive up 3rd birthday and my cousins came, and our friends drove up and we had a great time.  Then in late April, we got the news that we would not be going back to school in person until middle school. I kept a journal and wrote in it once a week. I used my dad’s 2nd chromebook since he was a principal. He had brought home 4 chromebooks, but only one was a touch screen. My brother had his school chromebook, and my mom had her laptop which she had bought since she was working from home, but me and my little brothers did not have any to use. I woke up pretty early so I could get the touch screen, and I forced myself to not eat breakfast until I finished all my work. (Which was around 9:00 depending on the day and how much work I have) Then I played outside a lot. The rest of my day was usually spent bike riding in Deerfield. That was what my day was like. Oh and also, I had special classes every day at 3:00. Art was really fun, and we usually did something with a theme, like a jungle theme, or a city theme, or something like that. I joined a book club for the Library which was fun and we got to do kahoots a lot. And once when I was typing my name in, I accidently typed “Elzard.” So that is what my name is on every kahoot. Then we had gym, which was fun and we usually did stuff like a workout video, or like a game. Then there was PLTW. (Project Lead The Way) We did cool experiments like Egg Drops, and even made a virtual Hide and Seek game. On Easter, we drove around my dad’s old neighborhood and town. I kind of liked virtual, but not really. I couldn’t see my teacher a lot, since we had 1 google meet a day (not including a small group with Sophia Ethan and me and Emma and Miss Hesari) I did get to eat earlier than usual. My normal lunch in 4th grade is 1:32, and since we have google meets at 10:00, I could eat whenever. I worked in my room, which did not have a desk but I just sat on my bed because right above my bed is my whiteboard. Since we were home and not doing much, we were watching a lot of movies and having lots of microwave popcorn. Literally! We had 170 bags of popcorn and we finished them by September. We bought them in May. My little sister moved into my room and we got bunk beds. I had to move my whiteboard, and now I can’t work on my bed. I work on the floor and use my whiteboard sometimes. I found a whiteboard app, so I can do virtual whiteboard. I stopped taking Piano Lessons at the beginning of march since school shut down, but now I have virtual lessons. My piano teacher is really nice. We did a lot of new songs, and I got really good. I also got magazines that were called “The Week Junior”. Anyways, I continued to do what I did and did good in school. The last day of virtual school we had ice cream (well I did) and we had a party. The teacher made a countdown for how many days until the last day of school, and we made it! A few days before the last day I had a drive up graduation from elementary school and it was nice. Then, Covid Summer began. I went to the lake every day. I did not know how this would work, but it ended up being the best part of my summer. The lake was the only normal thing in my life at that time. Yes, we did have to wear masks until we got to the beach, and yes we did not have a swim team, but it felt fun and refreshing. A few days in, I saw one of my best friends at the lake. I thought I was going to have to spend my summer at the lake just being hit with sand balls by my brothers and doing swing team workouts that they had postes, but instead I had a friend. She came almost every day, except days that were dreary or rainy. We got a lot of pancake mix, and we ended up eating them almost 3 times a week! Then, one of my other best friends whose mom is the lake director started coming. I was going to have a Triathlon, but like everything else, it was canceled. I called my friend and we did online gaming, and it was fun. I watched the entire STAR WARS series by October, and man, I see why so many people watch it. STAR WARS is now my favorite movie series, and Kindergarten Cop is number 2 now. I also watched Hamilton because it was released on disney plus in July. I loved it! SO GOOD! I met up with friends at the lake everyday, and in the middle of July, my friend asked to have a “Virtual Sleepover”. So obviously I said YEAH THAT WOULD BE FUN. We called it a “Virch”. We did Hamilton stuff, we looked on pinterest for this or that, we watched cringy youtube videos and other stuff that 9 year old girls do on a sleepover. My brothers had their birthday, and their birthday is exactly one month from mine. I had to wait just one more month. I knew exactly what I wanted for my birthday: A chromebook of my own. I knew we might have virtual school in September, and I did not want to be stuck with the school chromebooks that my dad brought home, and that is why I wanted one. Also my kindle is 6 years old. In early August, we went to the Adirondacks for a week. That was our vacation for the summer. We would usually go to Ocean City, New Jersey, or the Outer Banks, but this was great. We went swimming in the lake, and went paddleboarding (which we weren't supposed to because they were reserved for private access) . We had a little house called a Tupa that was really cool. We got cool mountain bikes and did a lot of biking. There was a little trail from our Tupa to the lake. It was about a half mile long. I loved it so much. We lost power for a day, but that was fine. We had s’mores every night. I loved it. I took walks with my little sister and younger brother to the lake and back before pancakes or waffles. There was a little swing set by the sand, and I went on every morning. We ate pancakes every day. We swam out to the diving block, and did a bunch of cool jumps on it. We had a Baby Yoda puzzle that we worked on every night since there was no tv or wifi. On the last day, we swam a little bit, and we took our last walk. On our way home, we stopped about an hour in to get reservations at Howe Caverns. Our reservation was later in the day, and we had a few hours. So, we stopped by the local pool and swam for 2 hours. Then, we ate and got ready for the cave. It was really cool, and I saw stuff I have never seen before. We took a lot of pictures, and we took a boat tour to the end of the cave. We went souvenir shopping at the gift shop, and I got a sweatshirt that had a camouflage pattern. Then we drove home. 2 weeks went by, and then it was my birthday. A few days before my birthday, softball started. And honestly, nothing changed except the fact we didn’t have to shake the other team's hands before and after the games. We practiced a lot, but we didn’t win any games. On my birthday, my grandparents came over and my grandma made my favorite: Death By Chocolate. I do not like cake, or pasta, or icing, or anything that is very sweet. So, we had hot dogs and hamburgers for lunch/dinner since we ate around 2:00. Then, I opened presents. I got a chromebook like I asked for! And this thing was nice. I also got cool storage bins that were shaped like animals, and some new clothes, and a lot of socks. (I did need socks though so that was good). Later that day we went to the lake and had a birthday party there. I had muffins, goldfish, m and m’s and candies. I loved the lake. They started doing Bonfires every Saturday and Sunday night. We brought marshmallows and graham crackers and chocolate to the lake, and at 7:00, they started the fire. On my older brother's birthday, we went to the lake and he got presents and stuff. His birthday meant that the last day at the lake was close. On the last day, I swam in the lake for the entire time. That was from 2:00 to 7:40. I didn’t want to leave. Me and my friends were the last ones out. The first day of middle school. I was in Mrs.Martin's class, and I had a bunch of new classes that I had never had before. Like I had CTE, Study Skills, and Music Appreciation. I thought we would be virtual at the start of school, but were all in person! I am on the same bus as one of my best friends. Unfortunately, we can not sit together because of coronavirus. But, I call her a lot, and we see each other at the park when we meet up. At the beginning of the year, I did not have a lot of homework, and I still don’t have a lot. I just have the reading log, and to finish up any work that is unfinished. We take “Mask Breaks'', which is where we go outside and go 6 or more feet apart and get to take off our masks. I like mask breaks, but we get them like 10 times a day. Sometimes it’s a little much. Good news about the start of school is that our babysitter is back. She does a lot. She makes our lunches, usually makes dinner, cleans, and watches us. We didn’t have her in the spring because of corona. In September, I started soccer. So everything was basically fine until 2 weeks before Halloween or so. I didn’t feel good one day, and my friend had been out the past 2 days, so not a good sign. I came home, and went to piano lessons, and then around 7:00 I went to the doctors. At first it was fine because they only did a strep test which did not hurt at all, but then they had to give me a covid test. It goes up your nose and basically tickles your brain. (not really) It just goes into your sinuses. I was out for a week and had to stay in my brother’s room while he slept with my sister. It came out negative so that was great and relieving. I went back to school the next week and everything was fine. Softball ended at the end of October. We won 2 games out of 10 or something. Halloween was pretty similar but a bit different. We had to wear masks, and most houses had bags pre put out. We only went trick-or-treating for a little while since it was VERY COLD. I was a STAR WARS character. I got like 40 something pieces of candy, but my older brother got 315! Maybe that was because I only took chocolates. At the beginning of November, we had our first remote day. Well, me and my older brother did since we are both in middle school, and middle school got closed down. I used my home chromebook and my school one, and I worked in the basement. We were remote for one day. We went back to school on Monday, and everything was normal for a bit. Then, we went remote for a week before Thanksgiving. I had a nice break, and we made Thanksgiving foods like pie, and turkey. Every year we alternate between my mom's family, and my dad’s family. This year was supposed to be my dad’s family, but we did not go. After break we got back to in person school. On December 6th, Lakeside had a “Polar Plunge” where we jumped into freezing cold water for a fundraiser. We couldn’t jump because there were no docks since they took them down after it closed. So, we ran in instead. I bobbed under really quickly and ran back out.VERY COLD.For a bit we were in person, and then the middle school shut down for 2 more days. Then we got back in, and went back out. This time it was for 2 weeks. After one week, the elementary and high school were remote too. We were remote until Christmas and New Years. On Christmas, I got a bunch of STAR WARS stuff. On New Years, I stayed up until midnight, and watched a ton of movies. We ran outside in the freezing cold in socks and pajamas. It was fun. Then, we went back to school in person, and I just have to say- I hate waking up after breaks. My mom wakes me up at 6:30, and then I take 30 seconds to get up, 1 minute to get dressed, 2 minutes to do my hair, and 8 minutes to eat. I usually eat 2 frozen waffles, vitamins, and strawberries. Then I get on the bus. I got really into Hamilton, and I showed it to my friend. And now she is obsessed with it. A week later, we went remote for a week again. My little brother got quarantined, luckily he did not have the virus. I worked in the basement, and had the usual microwave popcorn and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch. I guess it’s not much, but I like it. The classes are a bit shortened because of virtual, but they are fine. I do prefer in person. Then winter storm Covid came. That’s what I called it since it happened in covid. It snowed for 3 days straight. We had 2 snow days but on the third one we had school. I went outside most of the day on Monday and Tuesday. My dad snow plowed the pond so we could ice skate on it. I got really good at ice skating since the lake has a few sessions. My brothers learned how to from me, and they are pretty good. Wednesday I was really tired because we did not have anything- no delay-no snow day- no nothing. I mean we did have 2 snow days in a row, so I guess it was fair. Then we had spring break. We went to my grandparents house in NJ. They had gotten their vaccines, which are out so it's good. And we played with my cousins. We dyed eggs, made pancakes, and went on hikes. I slept over for 4 nights. I didn’t have to wear a mask, which was relieving. Then, my brother and I got sick. Well he was sicker than me so he got a covid test. I was really nervous because I had a sore throat. We stayed home for one day, and did home stuff. It was negative, so I was back in school Tuesday.  I guess all in all it wasn’t that bad. I mean I could be lying in a trench blind with no food/water.

That was 2020/2021. More to come