Remembering - December Edit

Remembering

I remember the waves splashing up on us like tiny tsunamis
I remember when I was 9 years old playing in the bitter California water
I remember my playful friend I will always have was there; my grandma
I remember us giggling and lightheartedly splashing each other
On that frigid March day
We were all dressed in sweats and thick, fluffy jackets
But in minutes the kids were carefree and in swimsuits
The chilling air did not bother us
Neither did the water that gave your toes frostbite as soon a you stepped in
But after reaching the water, only my grandma and I loved it
The rushing water tempted you as soon as you saw it
The waves would race towards us making your stomach churn with thrill
Just as the waves were about to attack us, we sprang over them
Then SPLASH!, we were engulfed in the crashing waters
We leaped and plunged on this for hours on this sandy San Diego beach

Even though this memory was three years ago,
I remember it vividly
I am glad my grandma and I had this memory
Because this was a time to remember

Journey to the Center of the Earth first Entry revision

July 24th, 2178,

I am starting this journal to keep a record of my travels. It is the 24th of July and I am in an enclosed governmental facility located in the northern side of Canada. I traveled here from Phoenix, Arizona.

It Is extremely cold.

Several months ago, Scientists confirmed our deadly fate. As a result of a fatal attempt to remove waste, the sun was going to die. In order to survive without the sun, we will need heat. Our closest source of reliable heat is right below our feet. The Earth's core. My mission is to serve aboard the SSD Colony and serve as a boiler worker along with 200 other men. I'm not being paid in money, but in food and shelter, which has been hard to come by due to the recent surges of panic. It will be extremely hard work and many will die, maybe even me. But I am prepared to serve our planet.

Our job is to reach the core and start settlement. Using the latest technology given only to the Global Government, we should be able to stand the pressure and heat.

I am alone. I have no one but myself.  

Core colonization will not save us, but will only prolong our cursed lives.

We embark on our expedition tomorrow.

-Jonathan Smith

December post revision

Fall

When fall is here, the holidays are near!

Burning hot sun goes away

and the cool breeze comes everyday

Leaves turn bright red, yellow, and brown

through out all of the town!

It is the time for boots and sweaters

as we come into the perfect weather

Pumpkin carving, Halloween,

hot coco with warm steam

Thanksgiving, Christmas trees

than soon, snow starts to gleam!

Holidays are here

which brings me great cheer

It is definitely my favorite time of year!

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

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

Chapter 2

The Mace & Willa Library

He was standing at the door of an enormous circular room. The round walls were twenty feet high and a magnificent crystal chandelier hung from the domed top. Nailed into the walls were hundreds of shelves, each one holding a small wooden box with a letter and a number engraved in gold. The carpet was a deep scarlet and at the center there was a large crest with the letters M & W written inside. Two elderly men were piling boxes into a bag and a young woman wearing all green (Peter assumed this was what he saw earlier) talking with someone from behind a small desk. Her back was turned, blocking the person from view.

Peter’s first thought was, Impossible. The room itself was too large to fit it the building and they would have at least seen something through the cracked windows. What is this place, anyway? He took a step forward and he caught small bits of what the lady was saying.  

“...completely gone out of control. Shouting at the top of their lungs, knocking things over. Sometimes I wonder why I decided to have five children. Five! And three was bad enough…”

“I understand, Miranda. What would you like?” It was a woman’s voice.

“Well, I need something to keep them quiet…” said Miranda. “And I just got a new tea set so I’ll need to make another barrier. I think that’s it… Oh, Andrew needs a haircut so I need a trimmer.”

There was the crinkle of paper and the scribbling of a pencil, indicating that the mysterious someone had written something down. Then she folded the paper and handed it to Miranda.

“There you go. G-47, X-22 and S-95 That last one is a little high up. Would you like me to get it for you?”

“Oh. Yes please.”

Peter saw a hand holding a wooden stick appear over the green women's shoulder.

“Summone!”

Peter gasped.

Allison screamed.

The three customers whirled around.

And a box flew from its shelf and hit Miranda on the head.

“Ow!” She cried. Miranda dropped the list and touched the bump on her forehead.

“Oh! I am so sorry…” The woman stood up to help her and Peter and Allison saw her for the very first time.

The woman was a small, pale old woman that had long grey hair with streaks of silver. She was wearing a green dress with several pearls sewn into the fabric and had an emerald ring on her knobby finger. Peter thought she looked strange and beautiful but the strangest and most beautiful thing about her were her eyes. Her eyes were a piercing crimson the color of blood and her pupils deep and ancient, like the pitch black bottom of an abandoned well. And she was looking directly at him.

The chapter will be continued in Chapter 2: Part 2

My Dream Revised

I suddenly appeared at my Baker Reunion in Big Johns Flat on Beaver Mountain. I could feel a cool breeze brushing past my face and the delicious pine smell lingered! All my family was there except my mom who died a few months earlier. When we got there we set our trailer up and we sat around the fire telling funny stories and memories about my mom. Everyone was still sad about our loss. Sometimes I get sad when we talk about her. It just makes me miss her so I decided to go on a little walk around the mountain.

All of the sudden I saw a white limo drive up. I was confused for a minute. Then I saw the back door open in the limo and I saw my mom walk out! I had tears running down my face, I was so happy! I ran up to her and I gave her a hug as if I never wanted to let go! She was wearing all white as if she was an angel.

She came and sat by us and we talked for a short time until her phone rang. It wasn’t her usual phone, it was a white phone with white wings.The back of the phone was smooth and soft! When it her phone rang the wings would go up and down like they were flying. My mom answered the phone. After she had talked for about a minute she hung up and she said that she had to go.

All of the sudden I woke up from my dream laying in my usual bed. I still remember my moms voice and her laugh. When I woke I immediately went to my dad and I told him about my dream. He told me that it was my mom saying that she loved me and that she misses me. He also told me that she probably had to go visit another family member so that's why she had to leave. I don’t quite remember what we were talking about in my dream but I know that she loves me and I love her. I hope that one day I will have another dream like that one!

December Post Revision

Dear people of Scotland,

   

    You should keep searching for the Loch Ness Monster because people say that they’ve seen something and maybe they really have, if we continue the search we can finally prove if Nessie is real or not, and we want the world to be full of mythical creatures and it would be awesome if we proved some to of them really exist.

    First of all, many people say they have seen something in the Loch. Monsters attract attention and help boost the local economy. Since 1933, more than 1,000 people have said that they have seen something. Many say that people who have claimed that they’ve seen something are doing it for attention, but who knows? Maybe they really, truly saw something.

    Secondly, if we continue the search for Nessie then we can finally say for good if she is real or not. It is much easier to prove something does exist than to prove something doesn’t. Other things that people thought were fake have been proved real, such as the Kracken/Giant Squid, and the Komodo Dragon. The Loch Ness Monster may or may not be real, but if we continue searching we can finally say for good.

    Finally, we want the world to be full of mythical creatures and it would be awesome if we proved some of them really exist. The human imagination is powerful and so is our power to believe. Stephen Asma said, “We are fascinated with the strange. You think only lunatics are interested in cryptids, but then science drags something out of the depths of the ocean like the giant squid and we all stop and say, ‘Wow, there is still a lot of stuff out there that we don’t know about.” That stuff delights us.

    Is searching for the Loch Ness Monster a good choice, or is it a waste of time and money? a group of British scientists searched the Loch from top to bottom, shoreline to shoreline, and concluded there was nothing there. Now, however, we have better equipment and new technology so we can do more accurate searches.

    In conclusion, I think we should deep searching for the Loch Ness Monster because people say that they’ve seen something, if we continue to search, we can finally prove if Nessie really does exist, and we want to believe that cool mythical creatures exist. Who knows? If we keep searching, it could lead to other new discoveries.

    Sincerely, Halli VanLehn

December Post Revision

I woke up this morning to the same exact thing I always do. The sun in my face and my annoying alarm going off, but wait. I saw something new that I have yet to notice these past years. As I looked up, I saw a hole that looked like it was just carved. It was oddly placed in the center of the boring white colored ceiling. I was very confused.”Hmmmm” I whispered silently to myself. I quickly leaped up to my feet and I ran into my long hallway. There, I saw a mirror. For a while I just stood there, looking at myself. I looked at my short brown hair and my green eyes that started to water. I wondered why this had happened but then it came to me that I had been staring at myself without blinking once. I ran down the stairs as quickly as I could with curiosity frantically swirling in my head. I grabbed a ladder and ran back upstairs. I put the ladder up and began to climb. When I was up, I saw four walls and they each had a door. I remember the wallpaper being a light red color with dark red roses along the part that was closest to the floor. The corners of the walls were peeling so it was kind of obvious this place was pretty old. There were four doors to choose from but I only had time to choose one. I knew I would come back to this place and explore the rest of what is behind the mysterious doors. I chose the one that was straight ahead because I thought it would be the most exciting one, but I yet to realize what was happening.

I quickly woke up to my dog licking my face. Her name is Joy. She has never done this before. It was all a dream! It didn't seem like the craziest dream but it just seemed strange. I looked up at my ceiling just out of curiosity and to my surprise I saw a hole that looked exactly like the one in my dream. I was so confused and I couldn't think of what was happening. I grabbed a ladder exactly like I did in my dream. I climbed and got to the top, but there were no doors to be seen. There was no wallpaper or anything. All I could see was a beautiful red rose, I walked slowly, to try and pick it up. I here the floor underneath me cracking. The rose is suddenly right next to my feet. I bend down to pick it up and the tiles that were supporting me from underneath broke and I was falling. Falling non stop. It felt like I was flying, which has always been one of my dreams. In panic, I look around and just see blue. All of a sudden I hit the floor, and at that very moment, I woke up again. This time not at my house. But in a hospital.

Staying Positive-October Post (revised)

     Staying Positive
Taylor Hatch
       Lately I've had times where it's been hard for me to smile because my dad has been in the hospital for almost two months. He went in because his kidney wasn't working. Then, a few days after he went in they found fluids around his heart. While he has been in there, he's had a surgery pretty much every other day. My family almost decided to take him off of life support a while ago. They decided not to because the doctor did something and said that he could fight because he's young enough and strong enough. He's been hooked up to so many machines and it was scary when I first went in there because everything looked so big and important. When one thing isn't beeping, another thing is. I can talk to my dad but he can't talk to me because he's on the medication to keep him calm so he can't pull any tubes out or off. When I go visit him, I talk to him about what's been going on in my life lately and it's kind of weird because he's not talking back and his eyes aren't open. At home I still have my mom, stepdad, and stepbrother to comfort me and at school I have all of my friends. My grandma has been down here for almost as long as my dad has been in the hospital. If he does get better his recovery will be long and hard. Sometimes I pretend that he's not in the hospital and never was. Even though he's been in the hospital for so long and still is I still stay happy. I've stayed positive through this and I hope I will for however long this lasts. I've learned a lesson through this: Stay positive, don't worry, remember that struggles make you stronger, and you'll be alright. Some great quotes are "Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out" - John R. Wooden, "Promise me you'll always remember that you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." - A.A Milne, “We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.” - Kenji Miyazawa. "When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it." - Henry Ford, “Tough times never last, but tough people do.” - Robert H Schuller.

That was in September... Now my dad is out of the ICU and he can talk, move, and he's getting better at walking. I could've chosen to be upset and sad during that time where he was in the ICU, but instead I chose to be happy. My grandma has been in the hospital pretty much every single day visiting my dad, I like that it shows that there are other people who want to be there all the time just like me. My dad is now at the old hospital recovering. He doesn't have all the big scary machines that beep every second, he's able to use his phone, he can talk, and he can move. I'm glad I stayed positive through all the big and tough parts because I wouldn't want to be sad all the time. I really hope other people will be happy during tough times too.

Revision Post for December

Taking Time to Remember- Revised

By: Sophie Chandler

Remembering is taking the time to realize what happened in the past.

I remember the time I spent with my wonderful family last.

Thinking of good and great times gone by.

I remember these things that cause me great joy.

I remember a time this year when we had our reunion.

My relatives, family, and I were all joined in pure union.

We all reveled in each others company

as we felt each others sincere love in assembly.

I remember a time when Christmas was near.

I loved the feeling of love, happiness, and cheer.

We all exchanged gifts all so brightly colored.

I new that our family's true love had been discovered.

Family is what keeps us remembering

the great memories that just keep on happening.

December Post

(I'm re-doing my November post...)

Rina Ellis was nine when she first started wondering around the forest in her backyard, she knew it like the back of her hand, running through the trees rain and all. Slipping on wet grass and scrambling through ancient, bare trees. Many times her friend Autumn would always join her in an adventure. They both had vivid imaginations and could convert any fantasy to life.

     Which is why they loved the forest, because once their imaginations were at work, the forest was no longer a patch of trees a couple yards around, it was an on going valley for them to explore and an endless journey into somewhere, anywhere. A place where the sky was always colored with pastel purples and bright oranges like the sun was always setting. Where the sound of a waterfall in the distance was strong and the smell of a river, just a short walk away, was always in the air. A place where everything was perfect and time just... stopped.

     The two friends visited this wonderland, every day, for three years. 

     Going on adventures and saving the environment. Finding things that have never even been heard of before like the Hyrol, a large, black, lizard-type creature with wings of gold and silver, lined with coal black spikes, with its teeth sharp as daggers and claws like razors. This monster regenerated to, so they often battled it bravely, learning its weaknesses and defeating it over again.

     They cheered every time they defeated a monster, then together they would go home to celebrate with vanilla ice cream drowned in strawberry and chocolate sauce. 

     They did this everyday, for three years.

     Then one day, they came home for their usual sundae to hear some, interesting news. 

     "We'll be heading to New York in a few days." Autumn's parents said to Rina's, thinking that the girls were still off in the forest fighting hyrols' and minotaurs'. The girls walked around the corner of the room with tear-filled eyes.

     "We're leaving? In a few days?" Autumn cries, "To New York? Why is this the first I'm hearing of this..." her tear stained face was hard to ignore.

     "It's still being planned, but yes." her father confirms with a smile and a nod. "Actually, we'll be leaving in exactly three days."

     "Three days!" the girls exclaim and stare at the adults in shock.

     "Yes, three days. Don't worry, it'll be fun." Autumn's mother smiles sweetly at the girls.

     "Three days..." Autumn keeps repeating to herself quietly as if repeating it would make it no longer true, "only three more days..."

     The parents smile and Rina gets suspicious, "we're going back out, right now." she declares and marches outside.

     The girls walk into the forest, scrambling under overgrown bushes and snaking through rows of trees. In three days this could all just disappear. They marched past bunches of hyrols' and stampeded past roaring minotaurs'. The sneak past sleeping dragons and wonder through groves of trolls like trees. They walked past the waterfall and followed the river to their fort hidden by vines and bushes. A castle of tangled vines and branches, creating the perfect hideout for them.

     They planned and they plotted to make sure Autumn stays. A devious smile crossed Rina's face as she shared her greatest scheme. Autumn nods at the plan and they quickly head home, grinning the whole way there. They barge into the house and demand the parents attention, earning it right away. They say their commands and tell them the plans.

     "We aren't leaving forever." Autumn's dad explains, "just for two or three days."

     "And Rina's coming along for the trip." her mom adds.

     So they packed and they planned for three days straight until the day finally came.

     They left the magical world they had known, their first break in a while. The land where the sun is always setting and where the monsters roam free. A land where the waterfall can always be heard and the smell of the river was strong. The land, within the forest, where they slipped and they climbed. The land they created themselves.

REVISION OF THE LOCH NESS MONSTER CONTEST

Luke Bryan

Dear Scotland,

For a very long time you have searched for the loch ness monster and I think that you should keep searching for it. You should keep searching for it because other myths have proven true before, we all want to believe that there is some magic or fantasy left in this world and if you stop searching for it then it will help take away that belief.

My first reason is other myths have been proven true before so why not this one. If you stop searching and there really is something there then that would ruin a scientific discovery, but if you keep searching and find something it could be an amazing scientific discovery. Just take the giant squid for example. Sailors told stories about the legendary beast and nobody believed them. It was then proven true and now we have all heard of the giant squid. Or take the komodo dragon as an example. Some fisher men stopped on a beach and were attacked by giant lizards. When they told people when they got back everyone thought they were crazy. But once again scientist found that that myth was also true. If these myths were proven true then couldn't also loch ness.

My second reason is that all people want to or believe in magic or fantasy. If you stop the search it could ruin someones dream of finding the legendary beast. This may not apply to the loch ness monster but many peoples cultures have magic or strange creatures that help explain the creation of the world or galaxy. If you stop searching for these legendary beasts it might unravel some peoples beliefs and cultures. If we stopped searching for Bigfoot it might offend others or hurt others cultures. This exact same thing might happen if you stopped searching for the beast of loch ness. Whether or not the beast exists it would hurt people who try to prove these creatures are real.

Finally if you stop searching for the beast of loch ness it would ruin some of your countries history or story telling. I am sure that everyone is Scotland has heard of the loch ness monster and if you stop searching for it then that myth will slowly fade away. Personally I don’t think there is something there but think about your people and what they believe in. That is why you should not stop searching whether or not there is something there or not.

Skylar's revised Center of the Earth story.

Chuck Norris woke up in a deep crater. Must have been snoring again he thought as he got out of bed. Then the phone rang. When he picked it up, he heard Superman’s voice. “It’s Batman. He’s gone.” Chuck was not expecting that. “We need to assemble the team,” he replied. “It’s time.”

Minutes later, Chuck and Superman met on the corner of “Epic” and “Story”. Chuck Norris brought the magic conch shell of amazing power, that he stole from Spongebob two weeks earlier. “Blow the conch!” said Superman, clearly in a hurry. Chuck blew. Then, as if by magic, four figures appeared. The first of which was the Incredible Hulk.  Next came Dobby, Smeagol, and the Doctor with his Tardis. “Dobby came as fast as he could,” said Dobby in his annoyingly high pitched voice. “We need to save Batman,” said Chuck. “He’s been taken to the center of the earth by cavemen! Hulk, I need you to smash the earth’s crust so we can get to the mantle. “Grrr…” Hulk replied as he pulled a street lamp out of the ground. He started smashing. Huge cracks in the earths crust appeared as he beat at the sidewalk.

After about thirty minutes of smashing, Hulk finally got through 25 miles of crust, down to the mantle. “Now Dobby,” said Superman. “I need you to create a force field around all of us and float us down through the two liquid layers. It didn’t take much time before they were standing right in the center of the planet. Iron and nickel for miles. It was completely flat except for the giant iron huts that were created as homes for the cavemen. The strong metallic smell made the entire place seem that much more desolate. Then, out of one of the bigger huts came a giant t-rex. At the sight of Chuck Norris, the dinosaur began to regret coming out of the hut. But he attacked them anyways.

“Smeagol! I need you to use the ring to hide us from the giant man eating dinosaur!” Screamed Chuck Norris. Smeagol put on the ring and hid them all.  Once Chuck saw that his friends were safe, he decided to beat up that big old reptile. He punched it in the jaw. The sound of its skull shattering echoed off the walls. The giant monster fell with a defining boom as Chuck walked away like an action movie star. Oh wait, he is.  “All clear guys!” he yelled. Smeagol took off the ring and revealed the team in their hiding place. “Now we should all split up and look for Batman,” said the Doctor. They all split into teams to look for the lost super hero. But as soon as they decided who was going with who, Dobby spontaneously combusted into flame. “Dobby feels hot!” he screamed. “It must have been the heat of the iron core!” yelled the Doctor. “Just leave him, he’s done for.” So they left Dobby to die a fiery death.

After much searching, the Legendary Team of Awesomeness found Batman tied up in one of the metal huts in the most desolate part of the core, and he surrounded by a bunch of cavemen. “The time is now to save our friend,” said Superman. “Go!” Then one by one, the team picked off the cavemen in the most awesome way possible. Hulk smashed cavemen left and right while the Doctor used his Sonic Screwdriver to blow up a caveman's brain. Smeagol just sat and admired the One Ring, until his face was stabbed over and over by a caveman with a spear. After the most bloody and violent battle of all time, they had finally won. The battle was over. Batman was free. But the journey just begun. “How are we going to get back?” asked Batman. “Leave that to me,” said the Doctor as he stepped into the Tardis. “Hurry! Get in before the Tardis lights on fire--like Dobby!” They all got into the Tardis and teleported back to the crust. After much work, Chuck Norris rented a dump truck, and a shovel, and filled that hole to the center of the Earth forever.

Or so they thought…

(I might write a sequel, what do you guys think?)

December Revision

Do you Believe?

Ryan Bethers

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 other people say that they have seen it. Plus people have gotten a little bit of evidence, such as pictures. Though most of the pictures are blurry and look unreal, though overall 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 for everyone. It would change the way people thought about history,it would make people think more about the dinosaurs and change legends into facts, and you would look at the dinosaurs differently and think that possibly others could have survived.

Third, It’s possible that some dinosaurs could have somehow survived. Some dinosaurs could have not gone extinct, because when there is a disaster or extinction someone or something is likely to survive. Also sharks are known to be dinosaurs and they never went extinct. Why couldn’t another dinosaur that lives in the water survive too?

I think that Scotland 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. I hope that Scotland will keep searching for The Loch Ness monster and hopefully find it one day.

From: Ryan Bethers

The World Would Be a Better Place If Everyone Showed a Bit of Kindness Redo

(Dec. Blog Post )

By: Sierra Renstrom

Kindness is quite a simple thing

That others do for you and me.

Kindness goes a very long way

When you do it everyday.

Give someone a friendly smile,

And it might go a thousand miles.

Kindness can save someone's day;

It's not very hard in anyway.

Kindness is helping someone in need;

It's not being rude. It's doing good deeds.

The world would be a better place.

If everyone showed a warm, loving, face.

Kindness is thinking what others would wish-

Setting the table or wiping a dish.

Kindness will brighten anyone's day-

Just go up to someone and ask them to play. 

Next time you see a person in need,

Do what you can to help them succed.

Loch Ness Essay ~ Brinley Sullivan (Revision for December)

Dear Scotland,

Have you ever heard of Nessie the Loch Ness Monster? Did you ever consider it to be real? Researchers are trying to say that it doesn’t exist, but what about the giant squid they thought was a Kraken? We should continue to search for the Loch Ness Monster because tons of people have claimed to have seen it and they can’t all be fibbing, we definitely have the technology to find it so there’s no point in just ignoring it, and if other creatures exist, why shouldn’t this one be proven too.

In 1933, the Mackays drove past the Loch Ness lake and saw the monster for the first time. According to “The Beast of Loch Ness” Written by: Lauren Tarshis it says,”In the eight decades since the Mackays took their fateful drive, more than 1,000 people have claimed to have seen some kind of creature in the water or on the shores of the loch.” A few of them could have been lying, but not all of them. Over 1,000 people is quite a lot. Some people, like Robert Rines an American Loch Ness investigator, have dedicated their life to finding such creatures.

In the last 100 years have created all kinds of technology, including people traveling to the moon. If we can got people thousands of miles into outer space, then we definitely have the technology to find such a creature in the loch. It’s just a waist of technology if we don’t put it to some use. “The Beast of Loch Ness” states,”We have the tools of modern science. Satellites allow us to explore the surface of the entire planet, while high-tech telescopes are helping us probe the far corners of our galaxy.” There is no reason not to prove that Nessie does or doesn’t exist. It won’t even take that long to figure it out. Now, others might say that searching for the Loch Ness Monster is a waste of time, but as you can see from the reasons above, we should.

Lots of other creatures have been found that people were made up, so why shouldn’t we find Nessie? In the article “The Beast of Loch Ness”, it says,”In 1873, a fisherman and his son spotted one in the waters off Newfoundland, Canada. They managed to cut off a 19-foot piece of tentacle.” They were referring to the Kraken, which later we found was just a giant squid. Also, others found a meat eating lizard and later discovered the Komodo Dragon. Maybe thats where we got the mythical creature that breathes fire and flies, but maybe not. Nessie deserves at least to be looked for, for the sake of the people of Scotland.

In conclusion, we should continue the search for Nessie because more than 1,000 people have seen it, and they can’t all be lying. Also, if other creatures like giant squid and komodo dragons have been discovered, why shouldn’t we find Nessie. Lastly, if we have to technology to find it, we should. That is why we should continue the search for Nessie the Loch Ness Monster.

Yours Truly,

Brinley Sullivan

Bacon - Revised

Bacon was having a great day.

First off, the boy she liked, Frankfurter, was her Science lab partner. He was perfect! He was tall with brown hair and blue eyes. They got to sit next to each other and work on the atom assignment together. She absolutely loved it.

Second, her best friend Cheese, a red-headed bundle of fun was taking everyone to Blair-Mania for her birthday! All the cool kids hung out there on Fridays and your popularity status went up 10 points if you were even seen there. Bacon was only at 30 / 100 points, so her status would go up to 40! Then, she'd have an even better chance at having Frankfurter like her, who was at 75 / 100 points.

Lastly, she was going to pick up her newly adopted dog Pea from the pet shelter that day. He was a little chihuahua-Yorkie mix, cream colored with a soft bark and an always wiggling tail. It was going to be her first official pet, since her mom was allergic to cats and her dad was allergic to birds.

It was going to be great.

Bacon woke up that morning 30 minutes earlier so she could curl her blonde hair and actually focus on her makeup. She wasn't really a makeup kind of person, but she didn't want Frankfurter to think she was a dweeb or something. She hoped she wasn't a dweeb... But she put on her nicest blouse and comfiest jeans with her new sparkly heels and left to get on the school bus.

That's when it started.

As Bacon was skipping up to the school bus, which had arrived on time, she tripped on her heels and went sprawling into the grass.

"NO!"

Bacon's hair was now messy and she had grass stains all over her jeans. She sat in the grass and tried to rub the stains out, but they just wouldn't go. The bus driver honked, indicating that she needed to get on, so she blinked back her tears and climbed up the steps. Apparently everyone on the bus had seen her blunder, because they all looked at her and laughed.

Bacon felt horrible.

She quickly made her way to the back of the bus where she and Cheese usually sat, but when she got there, Cheese was sitting with Chicken, the cheerleading captain and prettiest girl in the school.

"...Cheese?"

Cheese looked merciful, but Chicken sure didn't. "Sorry, you're gonna have to sit somewhere else today, because I'm sitting with Cheese," Chicken snapped as she tossed her platinum blonde mane. Before Cheese could say anything, Bacon simply turned around and sadly looked for another spot on the school bus, but they all seemed to be taken.

Except for the seat next to Orange, who was the school dweeb. But... it would have to do.

She awkwardly sat on the other side of the bench. Orange peered behind his too-long black hair up from his iPod to analyze Bacon. Obviously thinking Bacon wasn't worth his time, Orange looked back out the window and turned up his music even louder. The whole bus ride to school was just plain awkward.

Could Bacon's day get any worse?

December Post (revision)

Where am I?

           I wake up, my cold breath and breathing heavy. I don’t remember going to sleep. I look around, the wall paper peeling itself off the walls. My mirror was shattered and all the drawers on my armoire are pulled open and tattered through. I look in what’s left of the mirror, my hair looks like a rat’s nest and my clothes look forever old. Where am I? Who am I? I ask myself those questions. I don’t remember the answer, and I don’t know how old I am.

         By observation, I look like I am an older teen. I’m not sure though. I am in a house, an old rickety house. I go out the door, and see pink ripped carpet down a long hallway. I hear something, a whine, a pout. I look around and I see a poor dog. He is very skinny, and I pour out my arm to let him sniff me. He sniffed me and he got closer. He was a small bony Beagle. I petted him, started walking, and he followed me. I looked at his collar, and saw the name “Duke.” I called his name, and he came to me.

     I look around, to what seems to be a house. An incredibly old house with cobwebs and creaky floors. I see paintings on the wall as I stroll down the hallway. It’s me. This is my house. I suddenly remember- this is my house, my dog, my room, my bed, me. This is all mine. But what happened? I go into my room and see “Get Well Soon” cards. I look inside them the fuchsia colored one says, “Please get well soon. I’ll be right by your side when you wake up.” When I wake up? What does that mean?

     I realize that I was in a coma. I have no idea how long I was gone but long enough to make this house fall apart. I don’t know why everything in my house is abandoned, though, so I am in full confusion. My thoughts overwhelm me. I look for water. My stomach aches for something. I go outside, and see complete blankness. Everything is white. No colors, no pretty views, no feelings. White. Blank. Empty. Where am I?