Narrative Writing

Prolouge 

My skin is as white as an arctic fox, my arms dangle to my sides, and my long black hair flows through the air when I walk.

I’ve found that the concept of, “pretty” has changed quite a bit. I was once considered pretty until I ruined myself.

I ruined my face, my eyes, my body. Everything about me is utterly ruined. I look in the mirror and all I see is a monster. A disgusting, vile monster.

—-

I walk through the empty halls of my school, and there’s this god awful ringing in my ears. I hear a faint yell of one of my teachers calling after me—but I ignore it. I’m too woozy to go back. “Scarlett!!” She yells one last time. I despise that name, Mrs. P knows that. She’s doing it to annoy me, I know she is. Scarlett in Middle English is “deep red.” Suits me, doesn’t it? 

I look back at Mrs. P, and sharply say, “what?” She looks at me, those big blue eyes pleading, “Please come back to class, Scar..” I lower my shoulders and reluctantly nod. I will never understand Mrs. P, she’s around…24 years? I honestly don’t know, but you get my point. She’s young. Mrs. P will never understand me either. She will never know what it’s like waking up and unsticking your clothes from your body, she will never know what it’s like to struggle all alone.

Mrs. P smiles, her dimples lifting as she does so. My lips curve in response to her adorable reaction—she’s ten years older than me, but she feels like my sister. 

I look around my classroom, and see a ton of random teenagers looking at me. I begin to feel incredibly aware of my surrounding, and incredibly uncomfortable. 

Mrs. P leads me to a chair next to a really pretty girl named Adelaide, (but everyone calls her Addie). Adelaide has a strong Australian accent, that I’ve always admired. Adelaide smiles at me and waves her hand. I try to smile back, but it just looks like an awkward frown.

Mrs. P continues her (ridiculous) lesson on physcology. And I drift off into a spiral of colors and shapes.

With a mistake, blooms life. 

        I didn't know that when I unbeknownst made a universe. 

       It was a burden on me, since I accidentally knocked off one of my favorite glasses with my own concoction in it. 

      Life. 

      It kept me alive, and single, for eternity. But I had made the mistake of spilling it all over the cosmos. 

      Now I wasn't alone.

      Billions upon trillions of life forms were started. Some quicker than others, some sparking up, and quickly building civilization. Others letting evolution form the universes. 

       But my favorite universe to watch grow is the race called Humans.

“Hello! Is anyone here?” a whisper slithered through the door’s crevice. When there was no reply, the figure gleefully entered. “scuffle”, “BAM”, “CRASH!”

Later that night… Derek outreached his arm to flick his light off. He nestled himself into the perfect, secure patch on his pillow. It had been an almost perfect day for him. Derek never did well with stressful situations and often found his condition kicking in at the worst moments. He had never been able to sneak around as a child and always forced himself to turn himself in. Derek used to be known at school for being a “goody-two-shoes”. But today turned out perfectly. He replayed his seldom given praise from his boss in his mind, “Derek, you have done an outstanding job today and are proving your worth as an irreplaceable colleague to this team” He sighed happily as his eyes slowly drifted in the pitch black over to the spot where he keeps his silver chest in the corner. The chest that held his future - with Jennifer. She was the only person who could act like he was normal even though she was a little spoiled. He had always wanted to marry her but never could afford it. She deserved the ring of her dreams with a diamond that sparkled infinitely. The safe was now brimming with funds and he knew that this is when his life would finally begin!

At work, the following day, all Derek could think of was Jennifer’s face when she saw his display. Just that afternoon, he had compromised with himself that he would give the relationship some more time before proposing. But that thought had flown out the window ever since he heard what Jennifer asked this morning. It almost broke his heart: “Are you sure you can support the two of us?” she had asked concernedly. He lost no time in getting back home. Derek flung the door open in a flurry of urgency and scurried over to the chest to retrieve his bills. The chest? THE CHEST? WHERE IS THE CHEST? His heart filled with confusion and uneasiness. 

“Hello! The solution to all your problems is here!” a joyful booming voice exploded as a young man in a dark overcoat whirled around the corner. He stood tall with his dark brown eyes gleaming with amusement. Although his outfit suggested elegance and professionalism, his smirk showed quite the opposite. “How are youuUUuuUuUUu my old friend?” he singsonged but his jolliness came to an abrupt halt when he saw the glum look on Derek’s face. Derek tried to match his thrill, “I’m glad to see you Jeremy… you know… well… since you are a detective I was wondering if you could help me?” The young man listened carefully as Derek filled him in, “I think whoever took my chest, doesn’t want me and Jennifer to get married!” Jeremy’s eye gleamed brightly, almost as if there was something he knew. It glinted like a diamond that sparkles infinitely. He slowly stood up, failing to calm Derek’s unease as Derek had hoped. Instead, he stretched and groaned. When he began to lean over to touch his toes, Derek heard him mumble about something even more absurd. “Well?” Derek questioned impatiently. “SHOES!!” Jeremy screeched the singular word and charged from the room. Derek stood in utter shock and disbelief. He had trusted his old buddy to help him but he turned out to be a hopeless wreck. Just then, the doorbell shook him out of his thoughts. “Sweetie PieeeEEeeEEEeEeeeeE” The doorbell rang once more. And again. And again. Then an unhappy grunt as the door swung open to reveal Jennifer’s annoyed yet flawless face.

“Ugh. Where were you?” Jennifer kicked her boots off into the corner. Her voice was thick with sass. Her long white scarf flapped around her as she hurried to fling her purse onto Derek’s forearm. “What is up with you today?” her gaze flitted across his face before quickly moving on. “I’ll run to the washroom real fast” Derek watched her dash up the stairs and into her room. “...aaaand she's gone” he muttered to himself. He thought to himself for a little while. He couldn’t give up on Jennifer. What did Jeremy mean by shoes? Was it a clue? I only have one shoe. He stopped to glance at his slightly battered sneaker. But Jennifer has a ton! Do I have to look in every shoe? Well, better start somewhere… Derek sighed and dragged his feet up the stairs. He had never really been in Jennifer’s closet before but he imagined it couldn’t be too big. He thought wrong.

He slowly looked up to see the stacks of seemingly never-ending clothes. The collection spread from showy tops all the way down to fuzzy socks. Admittedly, the intense organization was admirable. In one corner, was so much glitter, he couldn’t focus on it too long. He scanned the expanse till his eyes settled on an alcove full of just what he was looking for. Derek continued on to the intersection and peered through the stacks to size up how many shoes he would have to get through. Then he spotted something weirdly silver and WAY too big for a shoe box. Derek knew immediately that it was the chest. And just above his head, he noticed the key lying on a protruding ledge. Against his better judgment, he grabbed the key and slipped it in his pocket. As soon as the cold untouched metal was let loose from his fingers he felt the sweat beading on his forehead. He hadn’t felt the sensation of his unfortunate condition for a long time. His body felt as if it was split in half. His feet started to run because he knew he must get out of there but he also knew of the consequences. “WAIT!” footsteps came running around the corner. There he stood, frozen, his fate within centimeters of his shaky fingertips but it was just out of reach.

“What are you doing in here?” Jennifer spoke as if trying to push her emotions deep inside of herself. Her fingers twitched with frustration but Derek didn’t hardly care. He was determined to do what was right for himself and fight what has kept him away from so much for so long. “Better question - why do you have my chest!” He stared back at Jennifer. She scoffed and said, “How do you still not know? Everything was right in front of you, but you just went on thinking I truly loved you. Now that I have all the money I need, I believe it is time for us to go our separate ways.” Jennifer began to walk off, thinking she had won this game. But Derek knew it wasn’t really over, “You know I own an island? And three more houses?” he spoke softly. Jennifer nearly burst out with laughter, “You think you can convince me that easily? You’re so desperate,” she cackled. Derek kept a calm expression, “My business recently became very successful but I chose not to tell you, to see your true feelings. So, I agree with you.” “W-w-what?” Jennifer stuttered. “You may go,” Derek held the key up close to his face and dangled it there, smirking at her astonished look. It was finally his turn to flash a smile like diamonds which sparkled infinitely.

Moral of the story is that you shouldn’t fall for money and forget all that you already have.

Eliza couldn't move her arm.

Eliza couldn't move at all. 

So instead, she stayed where she was slumped, tears streaming down her face.

She was in pain. 

So much pain.

Her entire right arm was burned, and the few nerves that were still functioning sure had a tale to tell. Other than those few nerves, she couldn't feel her arm. Everything below her shoulder was numb, and when she tried to wiggle her fingers nothing happened. She could feel a warm liquid seeping through her blue shirt, turning it purple. She was positive that she'd broken at least a few bones in her leg, absolutely had a concussion, and couldn't feel the right side of her face.

Or really see for that matter.

Everything was either a blurry blob, or too bright to look at. Her other senses, however, were on hyperdrive taking in information left and right.

Eliza could taste the metallic tang of blood in her mouth.

Eliza could smell the scent of burning flesh.

Eliza could feel the white hot pain ping ponging across her body.

Eliza's hearing was weird.

It was muffled, and her ears couldn't stop ringing, but she swore she heard someone yelling.

Someone calling. 

Through her clouded mind a person popped into her head, a person that came for everyone when they died. A person that it would only make sense to appear while she was lying in pain, waiting for it to take her. "D-death? Issat you?" Eliza stumbled over her words as she called out meekly. The shouts got louder, and a tall, human-shaped blob appeared in front of her. The blob stopped in their tracks, shaking as a choking sound followed by hiccups emanated from the shape.

Crying.

The blob was crying.

The person was crying.

And for some reason, that made Eliza very sad. "Death, d-don't cry. S'okay." The person stopped crying, standing motionless in front of her. It was quiet enough that the only thing she heard was her ears ringing and her labored breath. Eliza didn't know what was worse; the person crying, or the fact that they were deathly quiet. 

So she whimpered.

Pathetically.

Very pathetically.

The wet sobs picked back up, the person's body shaking as Eliza realized that whatever she did made them feel worse. Tears rolled down the person's cheeks as they sunk down to the ground, teardrops falling on the blood-stained concrete. The person reached out, taking Eliza's left hand in theirs, closing their wet eyes and squeezing tightly. 

That one piece of contact grounded Eliza.

That one piece of contact helped Eliza's vision focus.

And oh, was it a sight to see.

The figure's shoulders wracked as tears streamed down her face, cutting paths along her dirty face. Her dirty blonde hair stuck out everywhere from the messy ponytail she had in, defeating the purpose of having a ponytail in the first place. Freckles dotted her face, but hair fell down into her eyes, hiding her teary gaze. Her clothes were torn from a nasty fight, with a gnarly gash, which was still bleeding, running down the length of her leg. The girl brushed her hair out of her face, and something clicked in Eliza's memory.

"G-gabs?" Gabby froze, her tears pausing as her grip tightened on Eliza's hand, knuckles turning white. She whispered something to herself, lifting her head to lock eyes with Eliza. 

"Eli!" Gabby cried, launching herself at Eliza. "You're alive you beautiful fool!" Eliza whined as Gabby's grip tightened, pulling her into a crushing hug. Gabby squeezed harder, "Eliza, you did an incredibly stupid thing. Brave, but incredibly stupid." She knew that it was a dumb, and she'd probably die, but there was no other way. As much as Eliza loved the relieved hug that she was getting from her twin, she couldn't quite breathe.

Or hug back.

"T-too tight," Eliza gasped, tapping Gabby's shoulder to escape her vice-like grip.

Gabby backed away quickly, apologizing fast as scared tears popped up, "Ack! I'm so sorry Eliza, I didn't mean to hurt you more. I'm calling for help, 'cause you are not getting up in the state you're in." For once she agreed with Gabby, nodding an okay to let her know she understood. Gabby pulled up the comms, shouting something into it while keeping a firm grip on Eliza's left shoulder. 

"Okay, everyone's coming to help and you just gotta stay awake for me Eli. Can you do that?" Eliza tried to nod, but grimaced as her neck protested. Gabby got the gist of it though, and nodded back, giving Eliza one of her signature smiles. 

The smile that rode by her side into battle. The smile that told her they would stick together no matter what. The smile that bandaged up her cuts when she fell. The smile that cheered her on during her volleyball tournaments. The smile that beat her every time at Mario Kart. The smile that showed her a cool new trick on the yo-yo. The smile that showed her a weird-looking frog she found in the backyard. The smile that led the way to victory cookie caper after cookie caper. The smile that comforted her after a bad nightmare.The smile that greeted her every morning, hanging upside down from the top bunk. The smile that had always been with her, since the very beginning of both their lives.

The smile that defined Gabby in all her greatness.

No. I am NOT dying, and my life is NOT flashing before my eyes. 

Yet, Eliza couldn't think that it wasn't. Eliza was always the realistic one, but being realistic now, was scary. Seeing how she couldn't form a coherent sentence without stuttering, let alone move, being realistic made it seem possible that this really could be the end of Eliza Gray. 

"Hey, hey stay with me Eli. I know sleep sounds good now, but it's like four in the afternoon. Only weird people sleep at four in the afternoon." Gabby cupped Eliza's cheek in her gentle hand, her brilliant blue gaze sparkling with humor.

But Eliza didn't feel funny.

She felt tired.

Even though Gabby had told her not to fall asleep, she was getting so tired. Plus, since when did Gabby get to tell her what to do?

Not now.

Not ever.

But since Eliza sort-of felt bad for making Gabby cry, and she was feeling nostalgic, she had a peculiar ask. 

"Gabby?

"Yes?"

"C-can you s-sing f-for me?" Eliza whispered. Gabby paused, giving her a questioning look that said, What did you just say? Eliza tried to give Gabby the puppy-dog eyes that always worked on her, but grimaced in pain in the middle of it. Gabby inched backwards to give her space as she started coughing violently. Both the girls tried to ignore the blood that Eliza coughed up. Gabby moved back to Eliza's side as she started to sing, her voice filling up the empty space. 

"You are my sunshine."

Eliza jumped in, remembering the lyrics of their favorite lullaby, "M-my o-only sunshine." 

Gabby squeezed her hand gently, "You make me happy."

Eliza squeezed back, her left hand following her orders, "When s-skies are g-gray."

Gabby leaned into Eliza, closing her eyes with content, "You'll never know dear."

"H-how m-much I l-love y-you." Eliza wished she was as happy as Gabby, but as she took a shaky breath to sing the finale line, she knew it would be her last. She knew that at that moment, she was going to die. Yet, she wouldn't have asked for anyone else to spend her last moments with, other than Gabby. Her best friend, her sister, her twin. Eliza leaned into Gabby, her eyes closing as a happy tear rolled down her cheek. She didn't have any regrets, she'd lived a short but fulfilling life and met many exciting people along the way. The only thing that she would have liked to do, would have been to beat Gabby in one final game of Mario kart. Instead, she settles for the last thing she feels being Gabby's warm embrace, and her voice calling out to her. Her mind cleared into a blank slate, but not in time for one last thought to slip through. 

Please don't take my sunshine away. 

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO

A totally lovely speech by Matthew Yi

"Good day everybody, today I have come to give an amazing speech! I will be teaching you how to do a skill that only a few here on earth can do. It is something even Harry Houdini probably couldn't pull off! Is it on how to talk to aliens? Is it on how to understand your dog, or how to teleport out of school? Is it on how to read other people's minds? My speech is on how to fly just like Batman! Actually, no! It is something better than all of that! It is on what to do when you don't know what to do for a school project!"

(Person in the audience coughs.)

"Yes, yes, I know that this is not what you expected, but this speech will be very useful in the future when you have to do gazillions of other projects. Projects, when you think about it, are very fun to do, unless the project is on how to catch an exotic condition so you can limit your entire life to your bathtub for the rest of your existence. You might be thinking that this is a very meta topic, but it will be helpful if you are like me and often have trouble finding good topics. You also might be thinking that this will be a very boring speech, but when you listen to my speech, you might get something good out of it unless you are deaf.

"'Ugh, why do you have to give this speech', you might ask. Well, actually, there are many good and fun parts to this speech, and maybe it might not be as bad when you hear it. But why should you listen to me, right? Because I have experience. Well, isn't it impossible to have experience on not knowing what to do?

"Sure, that is partly true, but then again, I couldn't make up my mind on what to write about for at least 95% of the AoPS project I did. I didn't know what I should write about for the last AoPS project I did, and the one before that, and another time before that, and before that, and so on.

"'Will you stop babbling about yourself and the intro to this 'amazing' speech of yours?', you might complain.

"Alright, alright, I'll start now.

"So, when you don't have ideas on which topic to choose, the first resource you would want to use is your parents. That's right, they might have lots of ideas from when they were your age, so they'll definitely be able to help you brainstorm. Your parents will be very useful since your parents have done many projects compared to you, they might know what to do. They will most likely start with saying 'When I was your age I did so many projects I can't remember anymore.' Another place you can go to is the web, and you can go and watch tons of YouTube videos like I did, unless you are three years old and cannot use a remote control or an electronic device quite yet. You can find billions of informative videos on YouTube. And if you are writing an essay or a speech, you might want to tap into some Ted talks.

"You can also ask one of your closest friends, they might be able to help you share ideas, like telling you about their projects and sharing about a project that they did in the past, unless they did their project on how to sabotage the U.S. government. Also think about what you're interested in, like maybe something you like to learn about, or something you don't mind researching about, maybe you could write about a country that you're familiar with, or a skill that you're very good at, like skiing, tying your shoes, and it could even be about how to organize your shelf of nuclear---I mean books.

"If you're assigned a certain topic, like events in the Revolutionary War, which is a project I did way back in 5th grade, you might want to choose an event in the war that will not be too complicated for you and is easy for you, like an event that you already know about. But if you would like to go for a challenge and choose an event that you are unfamiliar with, you can do that as well, just try not to choose an event that's too hard to tackle. If you are including data or facts, before you add them into your project, make sure that you are getting that material from a trustworthy site that is either well known or suggested by your teacher. You can find a trustworthy site by making sure that the name of the person who wrote the article is on the site. Also see if the website has a .com, a .org, or a .gov at the end, because .orgs and .govs are often more trustworthy than .coms. Please do not get your data or facts off of www.talk-to-the-aliens.com. You also have to use accurate data, and true facts as well.

"Since I don't want you to get bad grades on your project, try not to make a project on How to make your little sibling cry, or How to annoy your teacher by making a trap. Because those topics are nothing but weird. If you decide to choose one of the topics above and show your silly project on how to use laser eyes to your teacher, I'm afraid that you will be spending the rest of your rather lovely life hiding from the FBI. But I know that all of you know well enough not to do this. Also try to pick a school appropriate topic that won't be offensive or have any swears in them. If you pick a bad topic your teacher might give you a bad grade and sentence you to a maximum security jail in Siberia for writing about a ridiculous or a non-appropriate topic, so definitely make sure that your topic is school or classroom appropriate. You may choose a topic like How to bake cookies in less than an hour,  or How to make coins disappear, and How to beat your opponent in chess in less than three minutes.

"Anyways, I hope that you don't think my speech is boring anymore, and you learned something new today. Please don't think that my speech is useless anymore. Now, I hope that you have an idea on what to do when you don't know what to do. If you did not get anything out of this speech, please drop by Bill Nye the science guy's professional therapy later today. Thank you, and have a nice rest of your day, folks."

My parents sit me and my brother down. Making sure we are both listening. I’m already uncomfortable. “Now, your father and I have made a decision,” My mom whispers, “One that will be a big change for all of us.”

“We have decided that we will be moving to Massachusetts,” My father adds. 

“Wait a second, like the state?” I ask while wiggling around in my chair. My mom nods her head as my brother and I look at each other. I look at my feet and feel as if my entire world is about to fall apart. 

 I roll around and my mind won’t take a break. What am I going to do? I think to myself. How will I tell this to my class? Will I ever see my friends again? Will I ever have friends again? It feels like forever, but eventually I fall asleep.

The sun shines through my window. I don’t want to ever get out of bed but I know I’ll have to. 

“Anay, time to get up!” My mom yells from the kitchen.

“Do I have to?” I groan.

“Yes, you do and it’s the last day of school. Get done with it then you can wake up as early or late as you would like,” My mom shouts back. I somehow manage to pull my tiny little self out of bed and I get ready for my last day of school in New hampshire. 

The warm June air touches my skin as I drag myself out of the car and towards my school. I gulp and hesitantly head inside. My tiny legs carry me downstairs to the LE section of school. I trudge over to my cubby in the corner and put away my belongings. Once I’m in the classroom it’s madness, everyone is talking about summer. It's louder than the engine of a plane in there. Everyone is happy. Everyone, except me. I am the only kid who is not excited for summer. The day flies by while also taking what felt like forever but eventually it’s almost time to leave. 

“Before you guys run off to your families for the summer, let's all have our last circle of the year!” One of my teachers, Kevin, calls out. We all sit down in our spots and one by one kids start sharing what they will do over break. Some are going to their grandparents house, others are going to a different state. Some kids are even going across the world. When it’s my turn I look around at all my friends and then I softly mutter, 

“I’m moving away to Massachusetts.” The class is in silence for what feels like eternity but eventually kids start to break the silence. 

“Really?” 

“Wow, that's so cool!” kids start to yell but my teachers are able to calm them down in time. “Aw, we’re going to miss you Anay!” My other teacher Simone responds. Then the kid next to me goes and so on, until the day is over.

I walk out of my classroom to get my stuff. We all line up and get ready to leave. I don’t care that we are in line, I run out of the group of kids and over to my best friend. I hug him and start to cry a little as I whisper, “I’m moving away.”

“Actually?” He muttered surprised and sad. 

“Yeah, I’m going to miss you.” 

“I’m going to miss you too!”

“Do you promise that we will always be best friends?” I ask while trying my hardest not to cry a thunderstorm.

“For life,” he responds. 

“Will you remember me?” 

“Always.”

“Will we see each other again?” 

“I’ll try my best.” I’m sad and happy as we start walking outside, but then he whispers in my ear. “Don’t worry, I know you will make a ton of friends the first day at your new school.” 

“Thanks,” I whisper back. I realize that even though I’m moving away I’m not forgetting about my old life. I’m just beginning a new one.

We walk through the main office, out the door, and down the ramp to the benches. I feel the hard wooden bench touch my skin for the last time. Me and my friends talk until eventually I see my moms car. Before I run over to leave I turn to my best friend and give him a big hug. “Enjoy your summer!” I giggled. 

“You too!” He softly yelled back at me. 

“See you later!” I shout as I slowly walk towards my car.

“Bye!”

I get in my car and as we leave the school's property I look out the window and realize what I have. So much and I never realized it. “Bye Kareem,” I whisper to myself.

I start to imagine how he would respond.

Looking back at this moment, I have learned that moving on doesn’t mean forgetting. It means pausing and trying something new. Something that can be as good or even better than what you had before. I also learned that when one door closes, another door opens.

My truth is, I create worlds from a pencil. Entire notebooks filled to the brim with every detail of a world I have never set foot in. The worlds are created from the foundations of what I know, then tweak a certain thing, add a little pizzazz, and I have created a new world for my characters. Without any inhabitants to live in the world, there would be no story, no personality, no spice! So, I create the citizens of this world from the people I wish I knew. Superpowered creatures, animals fighting their own battles away from the eyes of humans, post-apocalyptic warriors who really just need a big hug. All the people who I wish I knew, who I wish I was. But, if I'm the one who created them, doesn't that mean they are me? Does that mean the pencil I used to create the world, actually shatters my soul into tiny fragments, and those pieces are used to create those characters? I found this metaphoric pencil during an average school day, while my train of thought was chugging along happily. Suddenly, inspiration struck, and I picked up an average pencil that had been transformed into a creation that split my soul apart to create new ones.  It's a painless trade, but I do feel something. Something that all content creators have found, and enjoy. I found the feeling of creativity, and the urge to let the previously unknown world spill out into the world. Those shards that the pencil splits from my soul get preserved in my writing, so looking back on old writing is like looking back on an old photograph or video of yourself. A snapshot of your style, and the things that made you, you. Writing is like learning a new skill, because it is one! Looking back to old stories and old writing, you find where you have improved greatly, even if it's a boring story. Comparing your modern writing to your past ones, shows you glimpses of your younger self. You see just how much you've grown as a writer, and that can be an exciting thing to find out. Whether the medium of your writing is by journal, computer, or orally, it will find its way into the world in some way or another. The people that I have created live in my head, as I give them a place for their adventures to take place, and they give me a reason to document their travels as they trek far and wide. Their adventures are the things I wish I could do, travel to the afterlife and experience how it works (metaphorically and theoretically, of course), the high-stakes adventure of fighting real supervillains with my own special powers, seeing what my dog really does while I'm away. In the rare instances I don't feel challenged in life, the only logical explanation is to create huge, world-ending problems, and special people to fix those problems. Those characters sometimes don't know when to pipe down, like at night when their adventures are at their peak, while I should be sleeping.  Their adventures are what I catalog in my writing, but when they aren't adventuring, there's no story to write. Yet when I have the time, their adventures remain dormant, until something grabs their attention. That could be a well-written book with a cliffhanger that leaves me speechless, or a movie that I relate to the characters just a little too much. Or just a random video I see on the internet. Whatever it is, it grabs the attention of the little people living rent-free in my brain, and kicks them off of the couch to start adventuring! This, in turn, funnels into the writer's inspiration, which takes out the pencil to start the enthralling process of world creation.

Eloise was like any other 13 year old girl except for one thing

This thing, took over Eloise’s life

She couldn’t eat at restaurants,

Go to school,

Live an upbeat, carefree life,

Instead,

She was homeschooled,

She was withdrawn,

She only had 2 real friends,

She couldn’t socialize that much,

Until...

Cleo had been bred for this, she had spent her whole life preparing for this moment,

She had to succeed

She knew that in order to finally meet her human she had to pass all three tests

PERFECTLY

Test 1 Obedience

As the trainer led Cleo into the fully furnished “home” that Allergen Alert Dogs used to simulate a real life

situation, Cleo started to get apprehensive, what if she missed a command or even worse, an alert!? But her

training prevailed, she sat, she lay down, she did everything the trainer asked of her, perfectly. She had passed.

Eloise stared out the window dejectedly watching as the other kids delightedly scampered to her best friend's

house, the house that she would be at right now if she hadn’t had to turn down the invitation to her bestie's

birthday party. A wave of resentment washed over her. If only she was normal, if only she didn’t have such a

stupid allergy. Her other friend Harper also had an allergy, she was allergic to gluten. But she wasn’t as

allergic as Eloise, she only had a reaction if she ate something with gluten in it, Eloise couldn’t even touch a

surface that had been touched by someone that had touched a nut. All of a sudden her mom sprinted through

her bedroom door waving her phone in the air like a maniac, “ ELOISE YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS!!!!!!” she

practically shouted. Eloise’s mom slowly and dramatically read the headline aloud “Boy with nut allergy gets

life-saving allergen detection dog after falling into a coma!”

“I could fall into a COMA!!!??” Eloise shrieked.

“Yes, but that's hardly the point,” said her mom, “The point is that there are dogs that can detect nuts, and

you're eligible for one!!!”

Then the two of them spent the rest of the night researching the best organization to apply to.

She didn’t know it then but Eloise’s life would never be the same again.

Test 2 Scent inside

Cleo knew how serious her job was, if she didn’t alert, her person could die, but she was not all that worried.

The scent of tree nuts was very distinct and easy to smell; this was why detection was her favorite part of her

job. So when test two came around she wasn’t as nervous about it as she had been about test 1. And, as usual

she aced it. Passing with flying colors.

It was time. Eloise and her mom had found the perfect place, they had filled out the application, and all they

had to do now was press the button.

“Ready?” said Eloise’s mom.

“Ready” answered Eloise.

Her mom hit the button.

The words’ application accepted appeared on the screen.

“And now we wait,” said her mom.

Test 3 Scent outside

Cleo was worried, test 3 was the hardest out of all the tests. The wind was unpredictable and uncooperative,

moving scents every which way, so she would have to work extra hard. But just like before, she passed making

her a full fledged anaphylactic alert service dog, ready to meet her person!

The day had finally come after months of waiting, this was it. Today Eloise and her mom would be making

the trip to Anaphylactic Alert Dogs, where Eloise would meet and train with her new partner. Eloise was so

excited she was vibrating.

They got into the car and started the 4-hour trip that would change Eloise’s life forever.

The Meeting

Eloise was anxious, every client at Allergen Alert Dogs was there. Today they would meet the dog that would

give them the freedom to be “normal.” To go to restaurants, to friends houses, to birthday parties, to school.

Then after a short speech from the head trainer, the life-saving, hero service dogs entered.

Cleo was so EXCITED!!! Today she would meet the person who she was going to protect for the rest of her

life! The trainer led her up to a girl with dirty-blond hair and dark-blue eyes. She smelled like Cleo’s favorite

treats and Cleo instantly loved this girl. She began performing the of icial Labrador greeting, wagging her whole

body and smiling at her new human. Cleo could tell that her girl was instantly more calm as she bent down to

pet her.

“Eloise, this is Cleo, she is a Labrador retriever” said the trainer, “I will leave you two to get acquainted”

This was the best day of Cleo’s life.

Training

For the rest of the day the trainer showed Eloise and her mom how to care for Cleo, how to feed her, how to

brush her glossy ebony coat, and much, much more. Then they were given their training schedule, and shown to

their temporary apartment.

The next day they were up bright and early, they fed, brushed, and walked Cleo, then headed to the cafe for

breakfast. Eloise marveled at how Cleo sat right next to her and ignored the food throughout the whole meal.

After breakfast Eloise and her mom met up with Cleo’s trainer who showed them Cleo’s commands and other

basic training, then they learned how Cleo alerted to tree nuts. First she sat and pointed at the allergen with

her nose, and if that didn’t work she blocked Eloise from going any farther. She also knew “get help” where

she ran to find someone in case of an emergency. Both Eloise and her mom were very impressed. After a week

of practicing, the day before graduation, Cleo truly proved her worth. Eloise and her mom were with the trainer

in the busy downtown area going to get a celebratory bite of pizza (something Eloise had never been able to do)

after a successful day of training. The trio + Cleo walked into the shop and Cleo didn’t alert, that meant that

there were no nuts! Then they headed to the park to eat, as they approached the picnic table, (another thing

Eloise couldn’t do) Cleo sat, and blocked Eloise from going any farther. Eloise was confused, so was the trainer,

they hadn’t planted any scents here, this could only mean one thing, Cleo had alerted to her first real allergen!

And she had saved Eloise from an Epipen and an unwelcome trip to the emergency room! Eloise was so excited

and showered Cleo with praise and treats.

Graduation

Later that night at graduation Eloise told the story of how Cleo had saved her, and then they collected their

certificate and Cleo got her formal vest, and both imagined the adventures to come.