Exposé

Explosion of Emotions

Jets

by _____ '__

Every Sunday we go sit on the couch

bowls of glorious food by the telly

the gamblers take money out of their pouch

and the eaters go fill up their belly

We watch as the QB’s arm gets ready

straining our eyes to catch sight of the toss

our eyes move across the screen unsteady

and the ball is thrown up and blocked by Sauce

We jump with joy as we point at the screen

we thank G Wilson and Elijah Moore

they help strengthen the receivers in green

especially if they’re able to score

And come next season Breece Hall will be back

So beware, rivals, the Jets will attack!

“I am . . . but”

By ____ '__

In my LA class we had to write a poem about a character in chapter five of Of Mice and Men. My personal favorite character is Curley's wife, so I wrote about her story and how lonely she was.

I am beautiful, but I am lost 

I wonder if they miss me, but do they know how I really feel

I hear the men working, but I’m not there 

I see the haystack, but I can’t move

I want them to notice me, but they won’t

I am beautiful, but I am lost

.

I pretend to be someone, but I’m not that person

I feel alone, but I can’t go should I just end it

I touch the hay, but it stabs me like sharp needles, it knows my secret

I worry It’ll never get better, but should I just give up now

I cry I never followed my dreams, but now I don’t know where I am 

I am beautiful, but I am lost

.

I understand what my life is supposed to be, but what if I don’t want this 

I say to myself it’s going to be ok, but is it

I try and be someone, but really I’m just misunderstood

I hope things will change, but I know they won’t so should I be happy it’s over 

I am beautiful, but I am lost

A to Z

By Talia Rosen '26

I wish I could say I knew what I was doing. I wish I could say that I had a plan. But the truth is, I didn’t. I didn’t know what I was doing and I definitely didn’t have a plan.

“A?”

“Here, ma’am”

“B?”

“...”

“B?”

“...”

“A, where is B?”

“I don’t know.”

“C?”

“...”

“A, what is going on?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is no one else here?”

“...”

“A! Respond or else I will find your siblings, and they will pay.”

“No one else is here ma’am.”

“Then where are they?”

“I don’t know.”

“Fine.”

* * *

I should have known something was wrong when she said that. Dr. Sanders never says “fine” especially when her “experiments” don’t behave. And the 26 of us are her most prized experiment. Legally, we’re her children, but to her we’re letters. We’re labels. We’re rats running through a maze that’s constantly moving. 

* * *

“A!” calls B. I frown. They were supposed to be out of here by now, but my little sister stands in the doorway, her face full of fear.

“What happened?”

“It’s Z. She’s only ten, she doesn’t get it and she won’t keep quiet. C said he saw Dr. Sanders on her way.”

I take a deep breath. I’m A. I’m the oldest, the first letter. I have to take charge. “Get Z in here,” I say, proud at how steady my voice is while my brain is a mess.

“Z, we’re trying to help you, but you need to be really, really quiet,” I tell her, but she just screams louder. She hasn’t seen the horrors of this place yet, and I don’t want her to ever know what Dr. Sanders has done. There are 26 of us. One of us should have a childhood without trauma. 

I hear heavy footsteps from the hall. The clip-clop of Dr. Sanders' high heels focuses me. “Dr. Sanders is coming, but…we’re playing a game, okay? And we can’t let her see us,” I say with a slight quiver in my voice, hoping to death Z doesn’t notice. She nods, but it’s too late. 

The door opens and the stout face of our captor fills the frame.

“A,” I brace myself, expecting to be called down for ‘reform’.

Instead, she says, “go back to your room. Z, with me.” 

Z doesn’t know what's happening. She’s never been called down before.

“Do whatever she says, okay? Don’t talk back, don’t do anything she doesn’t say is ok, alright?”

Z nods again, confusion clear on her bright, happy face.

“I love you, okay Z?”

I hug her as tight as I can, hoping to death that when she comes back, some of that happiness will still be there. 

She leaves the room, and I have the worst feeling that the innocent little girl who could smile through anything is not going to be the girl coming back. 

Sandwich Side Scandal!

By _____ '__

You may be led to believe that the side you eat your sandwich from doesn’t matter, but a recent study has just revealed the shocking ridiculement that happens behind the scenes to those who eat their subway sandwiches from the supposed “wrong side”. This new study on sandwich biters followed 100 individuals' lives before and after taking a bite. Half were told to eat the sandwich from the left, the other from the right. The results left all of our jaws hanging wide open. 13% of those who ate the sandwich from the right faced some but almost no changes from their usual daily lives, while 100% of those who ate sandwiches from the left became the victim of hate crimes.

Falisca Fellowits experienced this discrimination first hand after ordering a subway sandwich filled with eggs, pickles, cheese, and unsuspectingly taking a bite from the left side. A mistake so vile, it would lead to a world of hurt for the young waitress. This is Falisca’s account: “So I ordered a subway sandwich and was just eating as normal y'know and all of a sudden these people began shouting and throwing stuff at me, so I got scared so I left and got a ride home on the bus. I sit down but I’m still hungry so I continue to eat my sandwich but while I’m eating the bus stops moving and the bus driver tells me he won’t continue driving unless I go to the back of the bus. I got no choice so everyone’s just eyeing me while I move to the back. I didn’t feel safe anymore y'know. All I did was eat a sandwich from the left side. Why are we hating on people all of a sudden for something as trivial as eating the wrong side of a sandwich, when has there ever been a correct side?”

People like Falisca can’t avoid the targeted discrimination, but others like Dr. Daryl Durrs are speaking out against what they call an “attack on food” Daryl explains the situation to us: “This type of behavior isn’t rare, and tends to come in cycles. Soon the craze will be over, and people won’t have to fear what side they eat their sandwich from. Though this will come back, with the expectation a different food is targeted. All we can do while waiting for the drama to calm down is to treat people based on their qualities, and not on how they eat a sandwich.”

Q

by Talia Rosen

“Based on the poem ‘59’ by Harry Baker, ‘Q’ is a love story between the letters ‘Q’ and ‘U.’”

Q

Quiet Q

Sits alone

No words for miles

Nothing inside

Quizzical Q

Wishes for someone

Someone like U

Unfortunate U

So many words

And yet so few

Wishing for someone new

Utterly Unsupported is U

Quantifiably Quiet is Q

Together they tether

U brings Q out of his shell

And Q brings U up and excels

Alone

Q and U have no fun

Together, they’re lively and joyful for one

Quite Unique, Q and U felt they were

Letters are always better together they concur

Barely a word can be spelled on its own

Alone, letters can’t make words as shown

Q needs U

And U needs Q

To bring light to life

To escape from despair

Q and U will be forever a pair