Journey To The Center Of The Earth

Part 2

(I highly recommend you read part 1 right now or else this will be even more confusing, and that's saying something.)

“So how are we going to do this if we can only eat 72 faucets a day.” asked Mr. Dude as they went to the bottom of the hole.

“Well you could let me have some faucets.”

“No, I am not letting you have any of my faucets.”

“There is that new thing that came out that makes it so days go by as soon as you eat 72 faucets.”

“…Uh, what? Seriously?”

“No! Of course not! How stupid are you?”

Mr. Dude’s pencil showed an alert. “New device that makes days go by as soon as you eat 72 faucets.”

“…What? Did that just happen? That has to be the most-“

“Oh that, I invented that last night when you were dead.”

“I am not falling for another of your-“

“It was invented by the genius inventor named Mr. Eraser.” said the pencil.

“So you’re saying I can eat 3888 faucets nonstop.”

“Yep.”

So Mr. Dude ate tons and tons of faucets and finally passed the mantle layer. They then entered the outer core. Only 2200 miles to go.

“And now it’s boring again.” said Mr. Eraser.

“One more mile to go before it’s fun again.”

“You can make some homemade faucets right here and now because we are surrounded by nickel and iron.”

So they made homemade faucets.

“These faucets are officially the more terribleness faucets I have ever eaten.”

“They are super terribleness, and so is the properest grammar in the engrish ranguage.”

The pencil showed another alert. “The faucet company has made a new law that says you can only use the new faucet eating invention 54 times max.”

“NOOOOOOOOO! That stupid faucet company.”

“And if I were you,” the pencil said, “I would use that 55 times if I got a Klondike bar, and good news, they have faucet flavor Klondike bars now.And then Mr. Dude realized something. They forgot to use their homemade faucets to go further, but they still counted as eating faucets.

“Oh no, we ate eight faucets, hopefully we can still make it.”

So they ate more and more faucets, and found the inner core. Everything was solid except the hole they are in.

“800 miles to go.” Exclaimed Mr. Dude.

They ate more and more faucets until they are eight tenths a mile from the center, but they ate exactly all the faucets they could eat that day.

“So close…” said Mr. Dude.

“I can’t wait another day. I just can’t.”

Then a bunch of police with pickle hats came down.

“You are under arrest because the faucet company says so.”

“You’ll never take us alive!” yelled Mr. Dude while he ate .8th a faucet. The center of the Earth opened up and revealed a half-eaten pretzel. The police were sent to Oblivion because the pretzel said so.

“Welcome to the center of the Earth. I will now summon The Resisty.” And The Resisty was enlarged and unexploded, the reversed version of the shrink self-destruct. “Now Resisty, this is your chance to escape. Also, Mr. Dude now possesses the power to take over the faucet company.”

“Alright I’ve been thinking,” said the captain of the Resisty. “When life gives you lemons, don’t make lemonade, make life, take the lemons back! Get mad! I don’t want your dang lemons! What am I supposed to with these? Demand to see life’s manager! Make life rue the day, it thought it could give The Resisty lemons! Do you know who I am? I’m the man who’s gonna burn your house down! With the Lemons! I’m gonna get my engineers to invent a combustible lemon that burns your house down! Also I want The Resisty to be called The Pirate Monkeys for now on.”

The Pirate Monkeys boarded their spaceship and flew out, followed by Mr. Dude and Mr. Eraser.

The Pirate Monkeys exited the hole in the grocery store and started shooting lasers at the new atmosphere. It started breaking and falling down on the Earth like a chain reaction. The molten iron and nickel fell everywhere on North America, except Canada, which didn't get harmed at all. The Earth had been ruined by all the rocks, metals, lava, and molten metals. Mr. Dude went to the destroyed faucet company and claimed his rightful place as owner. Sadly Mr. Eraser got put back into the Monopoly box. But in the distance you can see the Pirate Monkeys flying off into space. This was the news on Rockvember 1, 4200.

“Yesterday was a great day for all, as the faucet company was made good again. Mr. Dude, head of the faucet company got rid of the old stupid rules, and is letting anyone eat any amount of faucets they want. He is also going to cause the world to reach absolute zero, causing candy wrappers to fall down on everyone.”

Loch Ness Research Paper

Dear Scotland,

I have read a debate about whether or not researchers should continue their search for the Loch Ness monster. I would like to convince to stop the search, researchers have already proven the fact that there is no Loch Ness monster, it is only a silly lie. You have searched and found nothing for the past 82 years! You are wasting money that can be used for others things, you are also wasting your time when you could be studying something more important. I brought to you today a few reasons why I believe you should stop the search for the Loch Ness monster.

According to the article, “The Beast of Loch Ness” written by Lauren Tarshis, there is no real proof of the Loch Ness monster. The water of Loch Ness is in no living condition for a creature, such as Nessie. The water is freezing and dark, dark enough that only a few plants live there. How would this creature survive? There is also the fact that the Loch Ness monster would have to have a family, and be able to breed. Wouldn’t that mean there would be many Loch Ness monsters? Is it likely to have a full family of Nessies in the waters of Loch Ness?

Researchers have proven that all the proof of Nessie is fake. In 1934, someone took a photo of the supposedly Nessie, but later researchers have said that the photo was a fake. Also in 2003, scientists went to Loch Ness and studied the water with sonar and satellites. They investigated every part of Loch Ness. “Shoreline to shoreline, top or bottom,” said Ian Florence, who was part of the research for Nessie. They have found no living proof of a large creature that could be the Loch Ness monster.

Most scientist have come to the conclusion that Nessie is a mythical creature. Shouldn’t we agree with the people who have the living facts, we all agreed with the scientist who found that there is gravity, and we agreed with the researcher that said that a number can’t be divided by zero. Why now do you think we should go against the facts, when we have real, and proven facts that Nessie is a mythical creature. Why should we believe the people who took fake pictures, or the ones who wanted attention for business or for better local economy? The facts are all laid out for you to understand.

In conclusion, I believe you should stop the search for the Loch Ness monster. There is no living proof that Nessie is a real creature, only the proof that Nessie is a mythical creature. Researchers have proven that there is no Nessie, they have searched for 82 years, and they have found nothing. Loch Ness is in no living condition for a sea creature to live in, there is barely any food, and there would have to be a family of Nessies in order to survive. I hope you take time to read, and consider to stop the search for the Loch Ness monster. Thank you for your time, and consideration.

Sincerly,

Emily Blair

Korean Spirit

Korean Spirit

By: Braden Christensen

Age:12 Phone:(435)-628-7261 email: 20chrisbra@washk12.org Mail: 2261 Julie dr. Santa Clara, UT

School: Lava Ridge Intermediate 7th grade

Four stories from Chung Hyo Ye that I read were: A Visit to Seoul, Hyangdok’s Devotion, The Boy Who Saved His Father’s Life, and Under the Burning Sun. These stories impressed my for lots of reasons. One of which that I caught the most in these stories was family devotion and caring for your family. I was very impressed by these stories because they were entertaining and always kept me reading to find out what would happen next. I really enjoyed reading these stories for lots of reasons.

The thing that I thought was impressive was that the families set standards for each other. In one of the stories the father told his kid to never visit Seoul because of what his father told him what would happen. He got married and decided he would finally go visit Seoul. Every day he would climb up a hill to a gate but remembered what his father told him about going and would climb down the hill right as he got to the top. He kept on doing this until one of the guards arrested him because he kept on going up and down. He then was sent to Seoul for a trial and found innocent and was able to see the city. I thought that this one was impressive because it was showing how much he trusted his father in following rules and what would happen if you stuck to the rules.

I was very impressed about the care that they had for each of the family members and how they risked their life for each other just to keep the other people safe. in The Boy who Saved his Father’s Life, they were being robbed and the dad stayed out to protect the other family members hiding under the floorboards. As the dad was about to be killed because he wouldn't tell them where his family was, his son came out to protect him. Because of this caring action, the burglar could not get himself to kill the family. Because of the son, his fathers and his own life were saved instead of being taken by the burglar.

In Under the Burning Sun, a boy who didn't have the best living conditions was at recess at school. Most kids would read under the shade of a big tree to keep cool in the heat. But one boy, sat reading under the burning sun. When someone came around to watch them, the man saw the boy reading in the heat and asked him “Why do read in the heat when you could be reading in the shade of a tree?” The young boy responded saying that it wasn't fair that he got to be in the shade when his father was out working hard to support his family in the hot weather the town had been getting. The man going around left amazed at the devotion the boy had for his family.

In these stories I am still impressed at everything that happened in them, whether it was family devotion or setting rules to be followed I am very impressed. They impressed me because they were basically telling you that family is more important than anything and you should sacrifice big and small things for them. I hope to apply this message in my everyday life and I hope it can make me a better person.

Do you Believe?

Dear Scotland,

Do you think that the beast of Loch Ness is real, or even worth searching for? I think that there could be a possibility that there could a unknown creature living in the Loch Ness. I have three reasons why I think that you should keep searching, first, Many times people have said that they have supposedly seen it, Second, This could be a huge discovery to find an unknown water creature, Third, It’s possible that some dinosaurs could have possibly survived.

First, Many times people have said that they have supposedly seen it. There has been numerous witnesses that say that they have encountered the creature, and others say that they have seen it. Plus people have gotten a little bit of evidence, like pictures. Though most of the pictures are blurry and look unreal it could be possible.

Second, This could be a huge discovery to find an unknown water creature. It would be completely mind blowing if scientist kept looking and found the creature, it would be a huge discovery. It would change the way we thought about history, and change Legends into facts, and you would look at the dinosaurs differently and think that others could have survived.

Third, It’s possible that some dinosaurs could have possibly survived. Some dinosaurs could have survived, because when there is a disaster or extinction someone or something is likely to survive. Also sharks are dinosaurs and they survived, so why couldn’t another water dinosaur survive too?

I think that you should keep searching for The Loch Ness Monster, because once again, Many times people have said that they have see it, and It could be a huge discovery, and It’s possible that some dinosaurs could have survived. Though its a lot easier to keep trying to prove that something is real rather than to try and prove that it’s not real. So I hope that you will keep searching for The Loch Ness Monster and hopefully find it one day.

From: Ryan Bethers

November-LochNess Monster

Loch Ness Monster Essay

by: Shayli Habibian

Dear Scotland,

In my opinion I believe that they should stop trying to find the Loch Ness Monster, because searchers have been trying to find one but they haven’t had any proof, so it’s taking up a lot of time. There has also been many myths, and stories about the Loch Ness Monster.

Many theories about Loch Ness have been proposed. One myth is that it is an enormous, unknown water species, or an enormous fish. Many long necked species have lived along with dinosaurs and died out 65 million years ago. They are also thinking that a few of them have continued to survive. I also don’t agree with this idea either because if they existed all the way when dinosaurs were living I think that they would have found it by now!

Secondly, if there was a living creature that lives at the bottom of the ocean what would it eat, and how would it survive? There are no plants, food for it to live. According to the story there has been a picture taken in 1934 and in 2014. The 2014 picture doesn’t necessarily look like thee other picture in 1934. I think that the Loch Ness Monster is just a myth, also because I don’t understand why they would look for something that is taking all this time and money when it could be to something else.

People also started to claim they saw it. In the story it says how 1,000 people have “seen a creature” at the Loch Ness lake in Scotland. This creature could have been anything!

Last but not least, I think that we should stop looking for the Loch Ness Monster. Because if it exists they have been living over 65 million years ago according to their studies. I think it would also be cool to see what it eventually looks like, but I also think it is wasting time and money.

Sincerely,

Shayli Habibian

Peter Collins and the Secret Library: Chapter 1: Part 2

For the beginning of Peter Collins and the Secret Library, please go to the Prologue. 

Chapter 1: Part 1 has been updated.

By the time Peter Collins had crawled out bed, found his clothes, jammed them onto his body, and stumbled down the stairs, most of the orphans of the Oakville Orphanage had finished breakfast and were playing in the garden. This Peter was thankful for. He would rather dye his hair pink than face them pale and eyes still wet from crying. And then the teasing would begin.

A few days after Peter’s parents had died, a bald man with a fuzzy beard and a black suit who looked very important said that he had two options. He could go live in an orphanage in Weston, a town nearby, or Oakville, which was on the other side of the country. For some reason, he chose Oakville. He didn’t know why but he just had the feeling that was where he had to go.

As soon as he stepped through the large oak doors and looked into the eyes of the rest of the orphans, he realised his mistake.

“We don’t have any more clean ones,” Said Ms. Tenney, the cook, when he asked for a bowl. “You're gonna have to use one of these.” She pointed to sink full of dishes that looked like they had grey mold all over them. Peter went to the sink, chose a bowl he thought was less moldier than the others, and rinsed it with water from the tap. He scraped the harder pieces off with his fingernail.

After getting his breakfast, a bowl full of what looked like grey mud and water, Peter was looking for a spot to sit when he spotted her, a girl with curly brown hair, green eyes, and a pink t-shirt. Like Peter, she was also eleven. She pointed at him and then at the seat next to her. He nodded and walked over to her.

“Hey Peter…” she began but stopped when she saw his pale face.

“Nightmare?” she whispered when he sat down.

“Yeah.” he muttered, shoving a spoonful of cereal into his mouth and grimacing at the taste.  

Allison Brown was Peter Collins’s best and only friend. He met her on his second day there and she gave him a tour of the town. They liked to think themselves as twins, not only because they looked alike, but they were also born on the same day, month, and year. They might of well have been twins if it weren't for the fact that Peter’s parents were british and Allison’s american.

After breakfast, Peter didn’t feel like playing in the garden so he and Allison grabbed their coats and hats and left the orphanage.

It was a chilly day. Wet mist dampened their clothes and grey clouds covered the sky like a big wooly blanket. It was the time of year that the green oak leaves turned yellow and crispy and fell to the ground, leaving the trees empty and bare.

That was how Peter Collins felt. Empty and bare.

The two of them were silent as they walked down Millard Street, turned into Ord Street, and then took a shortcut into Berwick Avenue.

Berwick Avenue were Peter’s and Allison’s favorite place. It was the strangest and most mysterious street in Oakville. It’s overgrown lawns and cracked brick houses gave it the appearance of a ghost town. Holes that were up to eighteen feet deep covered the cracked, uneven road and almost all of Oakville’s scary stories and legends took place under the shadows of Berwick Avenue’s large, skeleton like Oak trees.

In history class, Peter Collins and Allison Brown learned that Berwick Avenue used to be the main street of Oakville. It had a supermarket, a theater, a library, and even a swimming pool. But then, on April 13, 1982, the road collapsed and a car fell into a twelve foot deep sinkhole. When it happened a second time, the mayor was forced to shut the street down and block it off from the rest of the town. However, Allison discovered while on the orphanage rooftop that you could enter if you climbed over the Ord Street wall. Ever since, Berwick Avenue has become Allison’s and Peter’s secret hideout that only they knew how to enter.

Peter Collins had just jumped off the wall when he heard it: a small jingle, like a bell, coming from down the street. His heart stopped cold and he fell onto the muddy ground, forgetting to catch himself in his shock. Spitting out mud, he looked up just in time to see a flash of blue and a door closing before something heavy and alive fell on top of him.

“AAAARGH!” Peter screamed before he realised it was Allison who had fallen on him.

“Ow! Dang it, Peter, why didn’t you move?” said Allison but Peter wasn’t listening. He had just scrambled to his feet and was running towards the door. When she shouted for him to stop, he ignored her and he didn’t stop running until found himself in front of it. A moment later, he heard Allison breathing heavily behind him. He turned around and faced her.

“I… I heard something. A jingle, like a bell. And then I saw someone… someone go into that door.” He pointed to the door and Allison’s eyes followed.

The door that Peter was pointing at was an old, weathered one. It was made of white oak and had a red brick stairs leading up to it. A dusty red doormat lay at the foot and a sign was at its head that was too faded to read. A padlock had been nailed to a hinge in the center of the door so it worked like a doorknocker.

The rest of the building was just like any building in Oakville but slightly larger. It appeared to be abandoned.

For a minute they stood there, but no other noise came from inside. Allison suddenly grabbed Peter’s arm.

“We better go. Come on.”

“Who was that, though?”

“Who cares? We’ve got to go before somebody finds us and we get in trouble.”

“I just want to see…”

“No!” But it was too late. Peter had tugged free and grabbed the golden doorknob. Under his fingers, it felt slightly grubby, like it had been touched recently. Before he could wonder why, he turned it with a slight squeak and pulled.

A small bell rang as the door opened to reveal a fantastic sight.

Da Loch Ness Monsta - Seth

Dear Scotland,

For many generations a large majority of your people have believed that a gigantic monster existed and lived in your most famous lake, the lake, of the Loch Ness.  While the story of the Loch Ness monster has been going around for decades, is there really a need to keep looking for it?  Think about it, no one has found any real evidence of its existence for more than 80 years, you’ve also done sonar scans of the entire lake and found nothing of any tremendous size living in it, and how could it live in it, the lake is too cold for almost any plants to grow, let alone giant fish.

Just because the Loch Ness monster is interesting and scary, how does that mean that it is actually real?  More than 1,000 people have claimed to have seen the monster come out of the lake, and what evidence did they bring back? NONE!  What I’m saying is that shouldn’t one of these many people have taken a photo!  Whether it had been with a camera or a cell phone, how did each of these people see the monster without thinking,”Hey, I should probably bring some evidence back with me so people don’t think I’m crazy,”.  I believe that this is respectable evidence that almost all of these people are attention seekers or otherwise people that just want to freak out the locals.

Another question that could pose a problem to the existence of the Loch Ness monster is how could it live so long?  Just think, no creature can live forever, so it would have to reproduce, but that poses another question, how can there be more than one monster of extraordinary size living in the same lake, and very people can see them?  Also, the sonar scans that you have already attempted haven’t shown any large creatures in the lake, surely one of these creatures should have been out and about trying to find food or something else. I mean, they can’t all be hiding in some random under water cave the is so gigantic that it can hold the entire family of them.

Even more questions that go against its existence is how could it even live in there in the first place?  The lake is cold enough that hardly anything can live in it, so how would it be able to get enough food to support the entire family? As mentioned earlier, there would have to be more than one monster so it could reproduce, because there is more than one then the monster would have to be eating massive amounts of food daily, but has anyone noticed anything unusually disappearing, nope.

This is my opinion that you should not continue the search for the monster of the Loch Ness.  No one has found any proof of its existence, there must be more than one monster in the lake, increasing the chances of someone finding proof, and the living environment in the lake is so harsh that it couldn’t possibly survive.

Sincerely yours,

Seth Millward

Rebekah: Majestica: Chapter 2

                I have moved all across the country, even the world. From New York, to Brazil, to Italy, then Africa, then Germany, back to NY, to Montana, then California, then finally to Nebraska, to stay. I have dozens of friends from around the world that I have left.

                Every time we’d move, we’d need a week to pack. That meant an entire week away from friends, the outside, and a week without my bed. It was always the first thing packed. Sleeping on the floor with one blanket in my cold room was not a picnic. No time for goodbyes when boarding the plane. It was all ‘grab the suitcases and let’s go before we’re late’ kind of a thing. It was nice to get a new house once in a while, but I loved our house in Nebraska. I was able to get my own room for once.

                After a long hug, their mom came to pick her up, followed by Saige’s and the twins’ mom. A few minutes later, my mom came and I walked slowly to her black minivan.

                “How was it?” she asked, a hint of sadness in her voice, but I didn’t seem to notice it.

                “Nadili and Linda are moving!” I suddenly blurted, trying to hold back tears. Justin, who was a year older than me and had a huge crush on Nadili, gasped and then sputtered, “Oh yea! SHE IS!!”

                “Sweetie, speaking of moving-,” my mom started, but I continued to spill, “They’re moving next week and I won’t see them again and their mom has a Gmail account but she uses it for work and they have no house phone and-.”

                “Sweetie, we’re moving too!” my mom shouted, her eyes fixed on the road ahead. I was left there, my mouth hanging open, about to complain even more about the sorrows of Nadili moving.

                “W-w-where?” I stammered my voice so quiet I thought she couldn’t hear.

                “We’re moving to a small island just off the coast of Florida. It’s called…Molinia…something like that…?”

                “It’s called Milonia mom,” my older sister Cathy corrected, looking at a small pamphlet, “and it’s a special island for MLC’s where they are able to do magic freely without anyone else knowing. They’re cabins, a small town, and even a large zip line.” She handed the pamphlet back and I stared at the picture on the front: a small island about the size of two large cities with a large tree covered mountain with lots of fun looking trails. Just barely hidden in a patch of trees were ancient ruins, obviously from the middle ages. With a few sideways glances and close examination, a destroyed watch tower seemed to be there, and even a small part of the entryway. A flag that looked like it was supposed to be yellow was brown from mold and dirt.

                Beside the ruins was a very tall oak tree that looked at least five stories high. The tree looked very old and had leaves many different shades of green. The trunk must have been at least four stories high, and the leaves added an extra story. The trunk was a very dark brown color, unlike the trees surrounding it, which was a tan color.

                A large waterfall that splashed into a small lake that opened up into a river flowed beside of the castle. The water of the waterfall came from the bluest lagoon I had ever seen and looked perfect for canoeing and kayaking. 

November Post-LochNess Monster

Sophie Chandler

Period 2

Dear Scotland,

I have heard many great and amazing tales of your country's great Loch Ness Monster. You have provided us with some evidence that there is great beast in your lake but it is not enough. This is why I have come to believe that continuing searches for it are just a waste of money and time. Reasons that may support me are Today many people seek public attention and most peoples so called ‘sightings’ could just be little stories to add to Aldie and John Makay’s story of their sighting of the great beast. Also, the water in Loch Ness is way too cold to support such a life form. Lastly, with todays new and more advanced technology we should have been able to find the monster. Its kind of hard to believe that something is real without good evidence that it is.

First, many people today are looking to impress the public and saying that you have seen a monster in a spooky lake is the kind of thing that would satisfy. In the article “The Beast of Loch Ness” it tells the story of the Makays, who were driving past the Loch when Aldie Makay spotted something  that appeared to be rising out of the Loch and then yelled for her husband saying, “Stop! The beast!” The both looking motionlessly at the creature that appeared to be, as Aldie says, “Rolling and plunging.” After that there were many other sightings that people claimed were of the monster. But how do we know if they really saw anything at all and that their imaginations didn’t get the best of them?

Second, the Loch Ness is a great lake in scotland that is very very cold and its water is very dark and murky in the article it states, “The water of Loch Ness is freezing and so dark that few plants survive, let alone fish.” So basically how would the creature survive and what would it  eat. The law of nature is that every living organism has to metabolize or eat, reproduce, and grow. According to this law the monster has to have come from a monster before that and why isn’t there more like it? Also with the limited amount of food how could a creature so big survive in such conditions?

Lastly, our technology has advanced so much through the past few centuries that we should have been able to find the monster by now. In 2003 there was a search done using sonar and satellites to find the monster. The british scientists that studied the loch said that they were unable to find anything in the dark murky waters. They called it disappointing but I find it as though they wasted time and resources to look for something that doesn’t exist. My basic opinion is that it just isn’t worth it.

In conclusion to my argument, I believe that due to not enough evidence that continuing a search for Nessie won’t help anything. The stories told about the great beast could be fake. Also, the water that is considered freezing and too dark could not support the monster. Lastly, with our technology today we should have found Nessie by now. Continuing a search would just prove that nothing is there. Keep looking if you want but to me it just isn’t worth it.

Sincerely, Sophie Chandler

For Your December Post

You have until December 31st to post on the blog to receive credit for your December Blog Post. Remember to do your three comments too. I've decided NOT to require a writing contest in December because of the holidays.

For your December post, I want you to re-post one of your previous posts, take everyone's advice and do a solid revision that is different than the original and better!  This will help you grow as an author and get a nice piece ready for publication.

Talk to me if you have any questions:)
Thanks!!

Letter Contest Revision

        Letter writing and cursive writing being lost arts, I have mixed feelings for. First of all, cursive writing has no value in today's society. Why? Because in society, people like using technology because it’s faster and more convenient. Sure we need cursive to sign papers, but really, that’s the only thing we have to use it for. Also, people could learn just their name in cursive and nothing more. In addition, people never wanted to use symbols for communication like the Aztecs, because we created a better, easier way for communication. That’s kind of the same thing as cursive and our society. Although, I do think that we should preserve cursive because it is part of our history.

        Letter writing, I think does have a value in today's society. Like the article said, "Letters provide a bridge to the people from our past. They are much more meaningful and they are also part of our history. If we never had letters, we would just get texts from people, and that does not give you a feel for someone's mood and how they write". But, a letter does. It is important that they are preserved, because they remind us of our relatives and what life was like back then. Those are my thoughts on letter and cursive writing being lost arts.

Accidents Pt#3

Accidents Pt#3

        Breathing heavily, I walked through the door.  I had never been good in hospitals, I practically hated them.  I remember when I was nine and had to visit my grandpa who was in the hospital.  When we walked in the first thing I saw was the tube in his chest.  I wanted to get out of there fast, because I hated thinking about how someone would have to go through that in order to live.  Why would anyone want to go through that to live?  After my mom finished visiting with him,  we walked out the door and I asked her “What was wrong with grandpa?”  With a gentle glance, she looked me straight in the eye and said.  “He’s just a little sick, honey don’t worry you will see him again real soon.”  Two months later he ended up dying in his sleep and grandma was crushed it took seven boxes of chocolates, three meals at her favorite restaurant, and a ton of cookies for her to force a smile.  It also took her three more years for her to get over grandpa’s death.  

My expectations were set at what I wanted to see.  Closing my eyes I took a few steps into the room.  “Hun are you sure you don’t need to sit down?”  Nurse Kay asked concern ringing in her voice.  

“No, I will be fine.”  I said to reassure myself rather than her.   

“O.C.  is that you baby girl?”  my mother’s voice usually strong sounded worn down with pain and fear said.  

“It’s me mom don’t worry, it’s me.”  I said turning towards her voice.  

“Open your eyes girly, you are going to run into the wall and we wouldn't want you in the hospital because this room is only made for two.”  

Laughing, I opened my eyes and stared at her.  Her usual ponytail was undone and in a rats nest, her mouth had blood coming from the corner, and her body seemed limp.  However, when I looked in her eye I saw a glimmer I always saw when she looked at me.  It was a glimmer that let me know that no matter what I would always be her favorite child even if I was the only child.  “Will, I’m guessing I look awful.”  she said laughing then wincing as if it hurt.  “No actually you look better than I thought.”  I said “I thought you would look like a bloody old troll.”  

I hated seeing my mother in pain and I hadn't even seen my father yet.  She didn't look like the strong woman she was.  Even when I looked away from my mother all I saw was her laying in the hospital bed and all I could think was that she might not make it.  

“Don’t give me that look O.C.”  my mom said through gritted teeth.

“What look?”  I responded stupidly knowing that all I would get was grounded.

“You know what look, the look that makes it obvious you think I am in too much pain for me to handle,”  she said getting worked up about the look I gave her.  “I will have you know that when they asked me to rate my pain it was only a six out of ten.”  I seriously could not handle her sarcastic side sometimes.  It was ten minutes after I arrived did I notice something incredibly strange.  “Where’s dad?”  I asked thinking the worst.  My mom noticing my shoulders lock up said,  “Doll, you might want to come sit down for a second.”

“He’s gone isn't he.”

“No he’s”

“He won’t be coming back.”

“Hun come sit”

“He promised to”

“For heaven’s sake just sit down on the bed and stop jumping to conclusions!”  she yelled

“But is he”

“Will you stop with the buts, you’re giving me a headache!”  

Quietly, I sit down at the foot of her bed, tears streaming down my face.  “Now, your father is still in the E.R., but the doctors say he will live just might need help taking care of himself.”   she said, sensing the relief in me.  I couldn't help but smile.  I was getting worked up about my father who was in the same place as me.  “Miss,”  nurse Kay said, “we will need you to go home in five minutes for private reasons.”  My smiling instantly turned into frowning.  I couldn't believe that I had to leave when I just barely got here.  “Earth to Ocean do you read me?”  my mother said not trying to hide her annoyance.  “Sorry what did you say?”  I said knowing that I was almost definitely grounded   “Go call uncle Sean and aunt Rose and spend the night with them, go to school tomorrow and please try to make it through the day, but if you have to call them then you can, and then after school you can come see me, okay.”  she said not caring if I responded or not.  I couldn't believe her, she was practically agreeing with what nurse Kay said, she was not fighting to keep me here.  “Okay,”  I said reluctantly feeling completely heartbroken, “bye mommy I will be here as soon as the bell rings and not a second later.”  

Walking out the door, I saw nurse Kay waiting for me.  She had started to say something when we heard a squeaky wheel roll along the clean floor.  Before I could turn to see what it was nurse Kay grabbed my hand and dragged me, practically running towards the elevator.  “Nurse Kay, please stop I want to know who that was.”  

“Not so sure you do sweet pea.”

“Why?”  I asked.

“Because you know who it is and might not want to see.”

Realization dawned on me, it was my father being rolled into the same room as my mother.  Tugging as hard as I could I tried to run back and see my father, “Let me see him Kay, please let me see him.”  Tears were streaming down my face as she tugged me with her steely grip into the elevator.  Opening it she tried to drag me in, but had an incredibly hard time.  Finally, when she got me into the elevator I sat down on next to wall and burst out crying.  I couldn't stand holding it together anymore.  "Geez, you are stubborn at times aren't you?"  nurse Kay whispered under her breathing.  I didn't care about what she said because she was the only thing that kept me from seeing my father at the moment.  It seemed like for forever, but when we got down to the lobby I saw three TV reporters waiting for someone who I guessed was me.