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2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR

ONE OR ANOTHER

BY NEVI MILLER

“Ready, 1, 2, 3!” I was heaved up onto a dusty cart and rolled away, then loaded into a big truck. I knew that Jess and Steve were moving, but I would have never guessed it would be this much of a racket! And this is NOT the way to move something of my quality! In the front of the truck, Jess hopped into the truck and started to drive away, but I noticed that not all the furniture had been loaded into the car, and there was still plenty of room left. 

“Hey.” I hear Jess say, she must have been talking to someone on the phone. “Yes, we're almost to the furniture store.”

THE FURNITURE STORE!? What were these people thinking?! I was a 24-carrot gold, dazzling statue, and they were sending me, out of all of the stuff in their house, away?! I was deeply offended to be put in the “throw away pile” along with the smelly basement couch. Suddenly the truck came to an immediate stop. All the furniture inside slammed against the truck wall. OW! I thought! 

“Click!”, a sound came from outside. Then an enormous amount of light began to fill up the room. I could hear Jess barking orders to someone,

 “The side table is very fragile so grab it first! Oh! And the tiger statue can go right over there.” 

WOW. “Right over there”?! She didn’t even ask them to be careful with me! 

I began to inspect my -sadly- new home. The building seemed to be somewhere in downtown, I remember driving through it when I was originally purchased by those TRAITORS! Anyway, It looked quite old compared to the other buildings on the street. The front door was painted bright red with the words “Petals Furniture Store” plastered on it. 

Once inside I was placed in a corner with two other statues, then had a big red tag around my right ear to show how expensive I was. I was in the perfect position to see Jess and the truck driving away. 

That was probably the saddest night of my life. First of all, there were no heaters around like I was used to, so I felt like I had frostbite half of the time, the other half I couldn't feel anything. And my new roommates -or should I say, corner mates- were no help either. They kept commenting on my paint job and how I was too shiny! Long story short, it was a long night, but thankfully the next morning was a little better. My corner mates, apparently their names were Bob and Rob, had been moved to a separate area of the store, which meant more sleep for me! 

Then around eight, the shop employee opened up the doors. Customers started flooding in. I had no idea this place was so popular! Maybe I’ll find a home faster than I thought! People started to pass, and a few even gave me a look, but at the end of the day, I was still in my little corner of the shop. This was the routine every day, each week.

…

Today I'm going to the local furniture store, to find something to put in my room! A lot of the time my parents don’t let me go shopping like this, but I’ve been begging all week, so they finally let me!

It was a pretty short car ride but I was so excited, I could barely sit still! The whole time I was humming my favorite song: Somewhere over the Rainbow, until my Mommy told me to stop because she couldn't drive while I was singing. 

Once we got there I jumped out of the car and ran inside. After that, I had to hold Mommy's hand because she got mad that I ran inside without her watching me. 

The shop was named “Petals Furniture Store”. It was ginormous! Everywhere I looked some sort of shiny thing either resting on a table or hanging from the ceiling. This place must have had everything from a snowman lamp to a giant unicorn bathtub! I was desperate to start looking, but Mommy insisted that we get a basket for our things. She was moving like a sloth and we still had several feet before there was another basket in sight!

“Come On!” I said urgently. I was getting very upset with her. Then her phone started ringing, 

“Just a sec honey!” 

This threw me off the edge. I flopped on the floor and waved my hands wildly. Then started to cry.  At this point, everyone was staring at me and my Mommy. 

“Shh! Penny! Get up off the dirty ground!” Mommy was very disappointed in me and made me walk outside to talk with her.

“Ahhhhh!” Ugh! That Child has been whining for ages! Why must I be in this place?! 

It had been exactly two weeks since I had been abandoned, and I was not happy about it. 

Not many people come to my corner, but today there was a bit more than usual! I started to inspect the viewers, one was wearing a plaid, button-down shirt and had a big beard. Yikes! Lumberjack! I sure hope he doesn't buy me! 

To the left of the lumberjack was an old woman wearing a leather jacket, kind of strange but she might do, I thought. Then the grandma turned around, and on the back of her jacket was the face of a dead tiger! Get her away from me! My eyes darted around the crowd, to fancy, no.. not him… ah! Is that a scarecrow? Sheesh, what is everyone around me a psycho!?

Once I got back inside the store Mommy grabbed a basket and we set off. The first place we went was the kid's section, but I wanted to prove to my kindergarten class that I'm a big girl by shopping in the adult area of the store. It was a big store so by the time we got through half of it, it was almost seven! (Which was my bedtime). I wanted to look a little bit more but Mommy told me we needed to come back tomorrow.

…

Darn… I really thought that today would be it! My corner was especialy cold tonight, making it extra hard to get my beauty sleep. And I needed as much of it as possible because tomorrow… I'm getting out of here.

I woke up to a loud “thud” as two grumpy workers dropped a painting on the floor next to my stand. It looked almost as valuable as I was. 

“How do you do?” The painting spoke in a booming voice as if he was king. “I am Paris, the emperor penguin! 

This was not good, as much as I appreciate having some company here, Paris was a very nice-looking painting and had just arrived, so he had been recently dusted. He could be major competition.

“I said how do you do?!”

Oh, I got so caught up in thinking I forgot to say something!

“Chao!” I said. “I’m…. well I don't really have a name yet, but my old owners would refer to me as Paragon.”

The voice replied with an abrupt “Hm” and then went to sleep

…

The next morning I got up super early and went to go jump on Mommy and Daddy's bed. But they weren't there so I ran downstairs and poked my head into the kitchen, and surely enough they were there, cooking breakfast, and told me to go get ready. After breakfast, me and Mommy hopped in the car and and started to drive to Petals, while of course playing my favorite song!

When we got there we went straight to the back of the shop to begin our search.

Things were not looking good for operation “Get out of here”. But I still had hope. 

I began to scan the crowd around the store, and through a rattan shelf, I spotted a glimpse of sparkly shoes and light brown hair. A child? We don’t get many of them around here. I was very interested to finally have someone here who is normal! 

…

 Couches, chairs, bean bags, desks, bathtubs, lamps, tables, these were just a few things that this store carried. If there was all of that then there must be something here for me! Up ahead was a small corner with something shiny inside.

“Mommy, can we go over there?” I asked with my best puppy eyes. 

Of course, she said yes! We wandered over to the corner and I was in amazement! 

The little girl kept coming closer, and closer and eventually, we were face to face. The girl had light brown, wavy hair, with bright green eyes. But she seemed to be looking past me. Then I remembered my new neighbor had been placed behind me, and that neighbor was not like Bob and Rob, that neighbor was dusted and shining and almost brand new! My new spark of hope was now a melted candle. 

“I think I want these two, Mommy”, the little girl said.

-Wait, these two?!  Wow! I really was going to get a new home!

“No sweetie, you can only get one to take home.  Now, let’s hurry up, we need to go soon”. That must have been her mom. 

Once again, I was a melted candle dripping onto the floor.

“Why?!” whined the girl.  The little girl took a good look at both of us, back and forth, back and forth. “Okay”, she said. “I think I want…”- My heart was racing. This was probably my only chance. “That one!” her finger flew up just missing my nose, I think she was pointing at me! Then her arm slowly started to move to the left, pointing behind me at Paris. My heart was crushed. I watched the girl’s mother eagerly pick Paris up and usher her daughter away. The last thing I saw of them before they turned the corner was Paris mouthing a snarky “Too-da-loo!” and an empathetic face from Penny.

“Beep! Beep!” 

“Honey, can you put your painting on the counter, please? Sweety? Hello?” I snapped out of my trance and looked around, peeking over the counter at the lady. 

“Honey, give the nice lady your picture!”

I tried to lift my arms, I really did! But they just wouldn't move! 

“Um…Mommy, I need to use the bathroom!” I dropped my painting on the ground and started running, past the kid's section, past the shelf and jewels, and finally reaching the dark dusty corner.

“Phew!” Thankfully the tiger statue was still there, I ran up to it and gave it a big hug! “I think I’ll call you…Radish!” I told him, hoping he could hear me. 

I can’t believe it! I finally found a home! The name was a little weird, but I guess it’s just a price to pay for happiness! I was so excited that the rest was a big blur until we got into the car. I was placed in the back seat, next to the little girl, my head sticking out of it because of my size. The car started to drive and the buildings began to smush together, one after another. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw that same truck that took me away, and next to it was Jess and Steve! What a small world! I’d stick my tongue out if I could, but ya know…I couldn’t, I thought to myself. My thinking was interrupted by the girl. 

“So, Radish. If we will be living together, you’ll need to know everything about me! Let’s start with the basic things: my name is Penny, I’m 6 and a half years old, and …Oh! My favorite food is pasghetti!”.

…

 That night after mommy and daddy tucked me in, I started to think about why I chose Radish over that painting. It was because, at checkout, I heard the painting say… “Come on! Put me up there!” and it really freaked me out. Mommy won’t believe me, but…I know it was real!

…

And reader if you are wondering about Paris, he was purchased by the lady next in line as a present for her grandson, and now spends his days being polished and admired. So in the end, everyone got what they wanted.

 Into the Mix: An Almond's Tale

by Noah Igell

As M&M woke up, he found himself in a large, plastic bag, piles of bodies ten times his height surrounded him. One pile started shaking when suddenly, a little thing popped out. Its huge eyes stared at him. “Hey!” it said cutely, “Who are you?” 

“Who are you?” M&M shot back. 

“Where are my parents?” the little thing whined, on the verge of tears. 

“Hey, calm down. Tell me your name first and I’ll help you find your parents,” M&M said. 

The little thing calmed down a little and said, “My name is Almond.  What’s your name?” 

“My name is M&M.” M&M looked around.

“Do you know where we are?” asked Almond. 

“No,” M&M answered, worriedly. 

  “Hellooo?” screamed Almond, “Anybody there?” Almond started walking around and stumbled.  What is this? Almond wondered. He looked at the thing he tripped on. Almond gasped, “Dad!” The body didn’t move.

 “Come on, Almond,” M&M said, “They’re dead.” Almond looked up at M&M, then looked down at his dad, and tears rolled down his face like a river. 

“Be quiet!” Another voice boomed. 

Almond stopped crying, “Who said that?” There was no answer. Suddenly the large pile of bodies moved. 

“I am Plastic Bag!” Plastic Bag exclaimed, “And I am the snack keeper!

“Why are you keeping us here?” asked M&M. 

“That is my duty. I shall keep you here until a human opens me up and eats you all,” answered Plastic Bag.

The next couple of days, Almond and M&M spent warming themselves up with a fire. They had trouble finding something to burn, so they decided to use small bits of the Plastic Bag they managed to rip off. It smelled terrible. The only food they had found was a couple of raisins, which  (even though it was technically cannibalism) they had to eat to survive. 

On the fourth day, Almond cracked, “We must find a way to get out of here!” 

They spent the next few hours working on a plan. Almond suggested they use his pointy head to break through Plastic Bag. But that idea was quickly shot down because it was too dangerous for Almond. Then, M&M suggested they hop out when the human opened the bag. 

“Where are we going to go after we escape?” Almond asked M&M. Silence followed. “We’ll see what happens when we get there.”

A rumbling noise shook the ground. Abruptly, a bright light broke out of the darkness blinding them. A large hand broke through the light and grabbed the bag. As it tilted the bag, everything fell. They slid to the other side of the bag. Another hand grabbed the bag and ripped it open.

“Now is our chance!” M&M yelled at Almond. They started running towards the light.

Suddenly, a hand reached into the bag and grabbed M&M. 

“No!” cried Almond, “Don’t take him!” But it was too late. All he could do was watch as the hand threw M&M into the human's mouth and bit him in half. M&M’s voice echoed in his head, Keep going, worry later.  Almond remembered the plan. He jumped out of the bag and ran off. The hand grabbed at him, but he dodged it.  It was hard for him to focus as M&M’s face flashed in his mind. He sprinted  as fast as he could but tripped on a grain of rice. The hand grabbed at him but he kicked it away and quickly hid behind a salt shaker. He waited there, patiently, until the human was gone.  When the coast was clear, he escaped the kitchen through a window.

It had been 3 days since the murder of M&M and Almond’s escape from the kitchen, and he was now living in a dumpster. He felt wiser, stronger, like he could now fight the human. He could also hear a distant whispering in his head.  Plant yourself, sacrifice for the family.  Almond remembered reading a book about how an Almond’s life goal is to plant itself.  Maybe that was what they were telling him. But how was he supposed to plant himself?  Dig a hole, bury yourself, the voices said.

As he was thinking, he realized it was becoming dark. It was scary in the dark because of all the gangs; so many of them. The bananas, or as they called themselves, “Not Plantains,” seemed to be the biggest. Almond had to sleep in a large milk carton in the middle of a junkyard. The milk carton was still damp from use.  He closed his eyes and tried to block out the sound of fighting as he tried to sleep. 

Soon, it was day and he could get back to work on his plan. The first thing Almond needed to do was to find a shovel to dig the hole. Next, he needed to find a suitable spot. There were a lot of different spots but none were as sunny as the spot in the park. It was perfect. 

Almond found a shovel laying in the junkyard near a sleeping dog in a cage. 

“Get off my property!” it barked. 

The dog started chasing Almond but luckily, Almond was able to reach the milk carton in time. The dog looked up at Almond, and walked back to his cage muttering to himself. 

Almond waited until dark when the dog was sleeping. He sneakily walked to the shovel. The dog snarled. Almond jumped back in surprise. Don’t worry, he told himself.  He won’t wake up. Finally, Almond reached the shovel, but how was he going to lift it? Suddenly, he felt a strength surge through his hand that he never felt before. He lifted the shovel up and walked with it back to his milk carton. Woah, he thought to himself. How did I do that? It must’ve been the nut gods that have come to help me. Finally, incredibly tired, Almond fell asleep.

Today was the day that Almond would plant himself. But he couldn’t seem to get that surge of energy he got last night. 

“Please Great Gods, Give me your powers!” Almond pleaded. 

“As you wish,” a voice boomed from above. Suddenly, Almond felt that same surge of energy. He quickly grabbed the shovel and dug the hole before he lost his powers. Finally, he had finished. Almond sat by the hole and thought to himself about his adventures: the gangs, the dog, plastic bag, and M&M. M&M was the only reason he was alive right now. He was doing this because of M&M.  

Almond was ready. Slowly, he made his way into the hole. The dirt was cold under his feet. 

“So… what am I supposed to do now?” 

“Rest,” the voices whispered. 

Almond closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

 Wonder Ship 

By Iris Holmes

In the year 1912, a 10 year old girl named Evelynn Williams boarded the ship. She was with her mother, father, and older brother, Peter. She had blonde curly hair, and she was wearing her favorite dress, a China blue sprigged lawn dress with white lace. She felt as nervous as if there were butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. They were going to New York on holiday. As they boarded, Evelynn was amazed at the hugeness of the vessel. The hull and deck of the ship was white, and there were parts of the ship that were black and red. 

When they got onto the ship, they were greeted by a stewardess. 

“Hello there!” The stewardess said. “Welcome aboard. May I see your ticket?” Evelynn’s father handed her the ticket. 

“Thank you. It says here that you folks are in first class, so let me escort you to your rooms.” A bellman took their bags, and followed them to their room. 

“Oh goodness!” cried Evelynn. Their suite was beautiful. There was a large common room, furnished with a lovely sofa, coffee table, and a carpet. There was also a large window, in which they could enjoy a view of the open sea. Two bedrooms sprouted off of the main room. One was bigger, and that was for her parents. It had a large bed, a cabinet, and a table with a vase of flowers on it. Their bedroom also had a window. The other room was for Evelynn and her brother. Their room was smaller, and they had a bunk bed instead of regular beds. There was also a small chest of drawers, to put clothes in.

“Father, may I go explore the ship for a while before dinner?” asked Evelynn. “ Yes, you may. However, take caution to return on time,” he replied. Then she set off.

While exploring, she discovered the room where all the pets were kept. There were dogs, cats, and a few birds. She particularly liked a long-haired white terrier dog named King Arthur. She especially loved taking him on walks around the ship. 

The next morning, she was on her way to visit King Arthur when she spotted a boy who looked about her age. He appeared to be following her because every time she turned around he was there, but he was never quite looking at her. She decided to make a few turns to see if he would follow, and he did.

What could he possibly be doing? Evelynn thought. She suddenly stopped and whirled around. She had turned just in time to see him dive behind a large potted plant. 

“What on earth are you doing?” asked Evelynn. 

“Nothing that concerns you,” he replied in a haughty tone as he stood up and brushed himself off.

“Why, yes it does! You’ve been following me for the past hour!” she shrieked.

“I certainly was not!” he said.

They continued back and forth for a while, until Evelynn finally said, “This is ridiculous!”

“You’re ridiculous!” He responded with a scowl, and then he stalked off. 

Later that day, Evelynn was on her way to dinner when she ran into the boy again in a deserted hallway. She spotted him first, and she snuck up behind him and yelled, “Boo!” right into his ear. He jumped as high as a kangaroo, and screamed. 

“You!” he yelled.

“Hahaha! You jumped a mile into the air!” she happily screeched, and then she ran off to look for her family.

 She found them at a table in the ship’s dining room. “Where have you been? We’ve been waiting for fifteen minutes! You know how your brother gets when he’s hungry.” Scolded her mother. “I’m sorry, I just lost track of time,” said Evelynn. Then, a waiter came, and they gave him their orders. 

After dinner, they headed back to their rooms to sleep. She was so full she felt like throwing up. Her brother Peter actually had thrown up right after the dessert course. It had been a long day for everyone, and they were ready to go to bed. As she was drifting off to sleep, she had a sudden feeling of dread.

Sometime after midnight, they awoke to a sudden pounding on their door. Evelynn’s father opened the door, and poked his head out to investigate. Outside was a stewardess.

“I’m sorry to disturb you sir, but you and your family must head up immediately to the deck!” She cried out desperately, “The ship is going down!” 

As the door was closing, Evelynn sat up straight in bed, and processed what she had heard. Then, her mother came into their room. “Hurry, children! Put on your clothes, and get the life preservers out from under the beds. Put them on, and do it quickly!” she said, and then she dashed out of the room. Peter and Evelynn went into the living room with everything they needed, plus some personal belongings. Evelynn had brought her doll and her favorite book. Her father hurried into the room, holding the metal briefcase that held the money. He had put most of their money in the bank before they left, but the money in the case held all the vacation money - a tidy sum of 2,000 dollars. Then, they all hurried into the hall to join the mass of worried people crowding to get on deck.

As they pushed their way through the crowd, Evelynn saw that there were several lifeboats being set into the sea. Every minute or so, the boat lurched to the side a couple feet, sending screaming people to the floor. She, her mother, and her father had gone boat-to-boat looking for one that had space in it, and were just about to climb in when the man in front of them was stopped by a deckhand. “Hey you! Women and children first! Step aside.” the deckman said to the man. Evelynn’s mother, hearing this, put her feather hat and scarf on Evelynn's father, to make him look like a woman. 

“Huh…? What's this for?” Asked her father. 

“It's so you can get into the boat with us! And keep your head down.” she exclaimed. So he agreed, and they all climbed into the boat without any issues. 

They were joined in the boat by several other people. Each boat held about thirty people, and all the boats were now being lowered into the ocean. 

Suddenly, her mother let out a screech. “We forgot about your brother!” she screamed, “I must go back up there to get him!” 

“Okay, okay, let's calm down now shall we? He is a smart boy, hopefully he made his way to another boat,” her father said as the boat hit the water. 

“I suppose you’re right dear, but I would never forgive myself for leaving him if he… well.” her mother said. 

As her father began to reassure her again, Evelynn noticed that there were still many passengers still frantically running from boat to boat looking for a boat that would take them. As Evelynn looked around, she realized that there would not be enough boats for everyone. The last boat was being lowered, and she saw people diving into the sea. She knew that they would never make it, because the freezing cold water would likely kill them before they even made it to the lifeboats. She then noticed that the band was still playing. She thought that was odd, given the tumultuous uproar that was happening around them. Some people on the boat began donning makeshift life preservers made out of doors, pool toys, and other floating objects, and jumping into the ocean. Suddenly, with a huge screech of wood on metal, the ship disappeared beneath the surface of the water. Then, everything went quiet. 

Screams from the desperate people in the water pierced the crisp night air. It was the most horrific sound Evelynn had ever heard. As the sound filled her ears, she didn't know what to think. She was terrified yet numb at the same time. So, she did the only thing she could - she screamed. She screamed and yelled to drown out the sound of the dying passengers. After a while, she noticed that the only sound that could be heard was her own screaming. She stopped, and realized that the screaming had stopped. With a horrible sinking feeling, she saw that the reason the screaming had stopped was because the poor people had died. Their blue corpses floated to the surface of the water. She screwed her eyes shut tight, but she knew that the image would haunt her for as long as she lived. And with that, she fell into an uneasy sleep. 

She awoke to her mother shaking her violently, screaming, “We've been saved! Thank the Lord!” As Evelynn looked around, she noticed that there was a large cruise ship coming towards them. As she looked in the water, she still saw the bodies of the unfortunate people who could not make it to safety. As the morning progressed, the cruise ship grew steadily closer, picking up lifeboats as it went. “Oh, I do hope Peter made it to a lifeboat in time.” her mother said wistfully. Then, it was their turn to get hauled up onto the cruise. They dropped down ropes with hooks, which could be attached to the sides of the lifeboat. Then, they were pulled up. 

The passengers on the cruise were very kind, and offered up their rooms for the shivering survivors. The adults were brought steaming hot cups of coffee mixed with whiskey, and the children were given hot chocolate. Suddenly, Evelynn felt something soft and fluffy brush against her leg. 

“King Arthur! You made it!” she cried out with joy. King Arthur hopped up onto her lap and licked her happily. He made her so happy, she almost forgot the tragic night they had, and about Peter. It all came rushing back to her at once, and she was overcome by grief. 

“Mother, Father, we must go immediately to look for Peter!” She cried. 

So they set off. They circled around the bat many times, searching through the sea of people. All around them, Evelynn saw happy families reuniting, and it was like there was a knife being stuck into her body with every family she saw. They had no luck finding him, so her parents began asking the people nearby them if they had seen him. “Have you seen our son? He has blonde hair, and he’s about this tall, and he was wearing a brown and red coat when we last saw him." 

Sadly, everyone they asked said they had not seen him. With a sinking feeling, she realized that she would likely never see him again. Tears filled her eyes, and she had to blink very hard to make them go away. Then, across the room, she spotted the boy who had followed her that day. He was with his family, and he also had a tiny dog with him. He made eye contact with her, and he nodded at her with a small smile. She nodded back, and then continued on with her parents. Then, they went to the room that was given to them by a passenger, and went to sleep. Peter was never found, and it was assumed he died along with the thousands of other unfortunate people who were aboard the RMS Titanic.

                                                                        The end