~ Short Stories ~

“Wiggle Your Pencil”

By Julianna Cadiz

Onyx crumpled their paper and looked out the window. It was almost sunset. They had been sitting there for hours trying to write their story, but they still couldn’t think of anything. They opened the door and started to the exit.

“Bye Onyx!” The librarian, or Ms. Saffron, waved goodbye to Onyx as they walked out the door. 

“Bye Ms. Saf! Have a good night!” Onyx replied before leaving to go to the corner store. 

The corner store was run by Mr. Lou. He ran the store for as long as anyone could remember, and you could tell he loved it. Mr. Lou was the person you knew you could talk to if you had a problem. He was the best person to go to for advice. 

Onyx opened the door to the corner store and walked in. Mr. Lou waved to them and went back to ringing up his other customer. They grabbed a can of soup for later and went to check out.

“Hi, Mr. Lou,” they greeted him.

“Ah, Onyx,” he replied, “What have you been up to?”

“Oh, I’ve been working on my project for the story competition at the flower festival!”

“Really? What are you writing for it?” He asked.

“Um, I haven’t been able to come up with anything to write. I have so many ideas but they’re just a bunch of half-baked messes,” they awkwardly explained.

“Did you know that when I was your age I used to compete every year?” He chuckled, “I never won but I just loved to write. I would fill up notebooks of story upon story.”

With clear surprise on their face, they asked, “How did you write that much?” 

“I just wiggled my pencil,” he told them with a small smile.

“What? What does that mean?” They asked.

“I learned it from my old English teacher, ‘If you have nothing to write, then just write that.’” He quoted. “He would tell us to just write ‘I have nothing to write. I have nothing to write…’  over and over again until we made a story. It didn’t matter if it was good because we could always change it later. What mattered was that we were making progress.” 

“Wow, it’s crazy what a difference just starting can make.” They said towards no one in particular.

“It really makes a difference if you know where to start” He replied anyways. Changing the subject he said, “Welp! That’ll be $5.89 please.” 

“Oh!” They replied handing over the money, “Thanks for the advice!” They quickly left, still reeling from the conversation cut short.

The walk home wasn’t long, but still long enough for them to reflect on their conversation. The more they thought the more determined they were to finish their story. It was odd. They didn’t know why they were so motivated to do it just from one conversation, but they guessed that motivation is just weird like that sometimes. 

That night, they couldn’t fall asleep thinking about the festival competition, excited to write their story and hopefully win.

In the morning, they ate breakfast and walked to the library to work. They wrote for hours, while still taking breaks of course, and followed Mr. Lou’s advice. Onyx was surprised by how much they could write when they weren’t holding themselves up to unrealistic expectations. They realized that this was so much better than before. Small ideas turned into full blown stories, and mistakes were just fuel for more. 

They finished their favorite story the day before the festival and went to bed ready for the competition, hoping for a little extra luck for the next day.

The day of the competition, they were ready. They were determined to put in their best effort and win. 

They walked into the festival and were amazed by the decorations. There were flowers everywhere, and there were so many people. They decided to go drop their story off at the competition grounds before they got too distracted. 

At the competition grounds, they handed in their story and their name to the counter. They walked around the stalls while waiting for the voting on the stories to start. When they went back to the competition, the voting had already begun. They weren’t going to vote, but they wanted to read everybody else's. They loved reading all the stories, and by the time they were finished, the voting period was over. They were excited to see the results, but that didn’t stop them from being nervous. 

The judge caught everyone’s attention at the mic, “Hello, Pelican Town! Welcome to the 16th annual Flower Festival Writing Competition! She said, “We are proud to present the wonderful stories crafted by the amazing writers in our town! This year we had 23 contestants, and we can assure you that you will be wowed by every single one.

           Separation              

     Olivia Cono

She was racing along the roots and trees. The dirt taunting her as she stumbled away. She glanced behind her and saw a blur of a gray fox. It took a great leap and came closer to her tail.  She noticed that her pursuer was much bigger than her, so she took a chance and went for a nearby hole in a tree. It seemed to be a raccoon's nest, and they quickly scattered away. She dove for it and slipped inside. When he wasn't looking, she bolted out, and swerved around him. She then threw her head up and let out a horrific sound that mimicked a crow, hoping this would throw off her pursuer. “Wait, come back! You're too fast” her brother whined. Seeing that play was over, June stopped and allowed her brother to catch up. 

“That was really good. I thought there were crows everywhere, then you stopped and I realized it was you.”  Her brother stuttered from lack of breath. The two foxes walked back to the den together. They met up with  Ma and Fa on the way. Suddenly,  June saw a vole, so  she decided that she would try to catch vole and make Ma and Fa proud that she found dinner. As she slunk off to the place she had seen it, she heard yelping from the den. Seeing smoke and ash, she quickly realized that she should stay hidden. June lept into a bush and cautiously peeked out from behind. There were about six strange foxes huddled around her den. One large vixen, who was obviously the leader, was commanding them in inaudible nonsense. Suddenly the vixen whipped her head around and spotted June. She hissed and ran over to her.

 The rest was a blur. Getting picked up, beaten around, and getting taken through the woods. Only once when she was put down did everything come back into focus. She was lying on her side. Was  she in a burrow? Was she in the Dirtwood? Where is her family? A million questions were circling through her head, and she didn't know where to start. And to make matters worse, horrible smells were assaulting her nose. She even thought she was going to go deaf with all the noise, honking and growling. There were two strange foxes guarding her, or maybe keeping her there. June sat up and tried to slink away past them, surprisingly they didn't move, or even notice her. She noticed on both of the still foxes that there was a tattoo on their forearm. A broken rose.

 Once she was out of the alley, with a deafening shock, she realized where she was. The Dirtwood. She’d only heard of the Dirtwood from her Fa. It was a dangerous place; it almost guaranteed certain death for any fox, let alone a foxling. Mangelers (Cars) roamed the scorching hot streets, even the trees were huge, metallic, and shiny. Two-legged hairless foxes ran around abusing any other beings they could find. To put it short, the Dirtwood was the worst place to be.

June was very confused and scared and just didn't know what to do or where to go. All she knew was that she needed to find her family, and get home.

It was easy to maneuver through the deserted ways of the Dirtwood. The moonlight reflected off the pavement, enough to guide June's way. She soon stopped at another alley and crawled underneath a dumpster to stay for the night. When she awoke it was still night. She smelled the familiar scents of the suspicious fox group, just up ahead. June jumped up suddenly fully alert of her surroundings. She ran away from the scent and was thrown out into the walkway.

 She had to stay focused on the task at hand. Finding her family. Suddenly a black ash paw slipped out of a neighboring bush and grabbed June, pulling her inside. She flailed and struggled against it. Once she was inside she saw that the bush was hollow and that there was another fox in front of her. He was much taller than her and much older. He said, “June, I have been informed about your grave situation. I am here to help you learn the magic you have and get your family back.” 

June simply stated with bland confidence “Well for one, you are a stranger, and magic does not exist. Thank you for the gracious offer, but I will be finding my family on my own.” With that she started to leave. Suddenly the stranger stopped her and said desperately, “I know where your family is, but unfortunately they are across the Dirtwood.”  June stopped dead in her tracks and shouted out, “Deal! You can teach me magic but please help me find them.”

So they set off to start training. June already knew Screeching (Mimicking animals).

Although she needed to learn hiding, which was going invisible by holding her breath and counting.

June had tried this once, when she tried to catch a mouse, she tried to hold her breath and she just couldn't do it. This time it will be different, she thought. Soon she learned that the foxe’s name was Bjørn and he was really good at magic. 

In the span of a few months June had learned to Screech and Hide very well. They had been making good distance too, traveling by night and sleeping by day. She could even catch mice! One cold night, everything had been going peacefully when she smelled a familiar scent. It was the foxes she had seen just a few months ago!

“Quinns skulk,” Bjørn fearfully stated “there watching.”

“Those are the ones that took my family!” June exclaimed.

“We have to run!”

“Come on, let's go then!”

After a few narrow misses with the skulk it seemed they were safe. June and Bjørn had made it to the edge of the Dirtwood near Junes den. Suddenly They saw two little ears poking out of a bush near the den. June ran over with no fear, for she knew magic. Wilder (Her brother) leaped out and greeted her and they all reunited together as a family. Bjørn? He disappeared before June could thank him.

 A Dark Christmas in Chicago

By Jake Sullivan

On a dark and stormy night in Chicago, the police had arrived at the scene. Only one man dared to step out and investigate. Detective Sullivan went to look at the body, the man had appeared to be shot, but it was hard to tell from the dim, Chicago streets. Then, he saw it. A dark, shadowy silhouette seemed to copy Detective Sullivan’s exact movement. 

Detective Sullivan chuckled , he yelled out,  “Who are you, kid?”

 The silhouette said nothing and moved closer. Detective Sullivan’s chuckle quickly faded.

It was December 24th, 1927.

A man by the name of Al Capone has been terrorizing the city of Chicago. With prohibition, police corruption, Capone was one of the most wanted men on planet earth in the roaring twenties. He was just about to be wanted for another crime, Murder. 

Al Capone saw that he was getting followed by a strange man, he couldn’t tell if it was a 

cop or a pedestrian with the snow. He took a guess and fired 3 bullets, all hitting the man straight in the chest. He had just shot an innocent man, surprising his family on Christmas Eve. As His family watched in horror,  they dialed 9-1-1. 

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?” The operator questioned. 

In tears the wife cried, “My husband has just been shot! I think he’s dead!”

 The operator sent police over immediately, but only one man was available at the time . His name was Detective Jake Sullivan, he had been working in the police department for 15 years, and has dealt with Capone before. But, he has not met him face-to-face, and hadn’t expected it to happen this way. When he arrived at the scene, he could see the family around the body, crying over him. He told the family to go back inside to be safe, they agreed and watched from the windows. Detective Sullivan walked over to the body, he could see the bullet wounds in his chest, The snow around him was a dark red. When he looked up, he saw him. A shady silhouette of a tall, wide man, staring right at him. 

Detective Sullivan yelled out, “Who are you, kid?”

  The silhouette said nothing, and started moving closer. 

Detective Sullivan’s chuckle quickly faded to a scared frown. They raised their guns at the same time, but Capone was first to fire. Detective Sullivan jumped out the way and hid behind a wooden crate, he changed his walkie talkie and changed it to channel 8. He yelled, “I’m in a shootout, I need back-up immediately. I repeat, I need backup immediately!” 

25 minutes later, he was still in a standoff with Capone. The clock struck midnight, It was officially Christmas. Suddenly, he could hear the police sirens getting louder, and louder, and soon they were right behind him.

 Four officers came out and yelled, “Drop your weapon and put your hands above your head!” 

All of a sudden, it went quiet. The shady silhouette was nowhere to be seen.

 Detective Sullivan whispered over the walkie talkie, “Capone is nowhere to be found, I am returning back to the precinct.” 

As they were getting in the car, they could hear footsteps behind them. It was Capone and his mob. They opened fire. Shooting all of the officers, hoping to kill them all. 

Two officers were shot and killed and died on the scene. Detective Sullivan and Officer Pailla were shot, but they did survive. Officer Pailla locked themselves in the car and stepped on the gas. He drove through the mob, running over multiple people. If it wasn't for Officer Pailla, Detective Sullivan wouldn't have been home for Christmas. 

Although Capone got away, He was found and sent to Alcatraz ten years later. Officer Pailla was a hero to Detective Sullivan, and he soon was promoted to Detective. Fast forward to today, Detective Sullivan and Detective Pailla both have a mural painted in their precinct. That day Detective Pailla and Detective Sullivan showed their bravery, and pride to serve their community. They are true American heroes.

“The Magic Creature”

By Emily Siciliano

It was a dark and stormy night.  The dark, gray clouds were swirling above the forest.  Giant drops of water splashed onto the moist dirt. Amber raced through the forest and sprinted as fast as she could.  She stopped and leaned on a thin tree after she thought she ran forever.

  She was shocked when she saw a mythical creature hiding behind a huge tree that was covered in bright moss.  Amber quivered in fear.  She knew that nothing she had ever seen in her life looked like it.  The creature was glowing and staring at her.  “What are you?”  Amber shouted, “Why are you following me?”  The creature did not answer.  It was as frozen as a deer in front of a bright light.  Amber slowly took a small step away and was about to run, when the creature came out from behind the tree.  It was glowing bright white, and it made Amber shake.  Amber immediately knew that this creature was unusual and knew this creature was dangerous.  Amber ran as fast as she could deeper into the eerie woods.   Later, when Amber could not run any longer, she climbed a tall, sturdy tree and drifted asleep.

  The next day,  Amber awoke to the sound of graceful chirping birds, dancing in the sky.  The sky was clear and did not have any clouds floating around.  Amber stretched and leaped off of the tree.  She looked at her surroundings and ventured off deeper into the woods.  Then, Amber found a group of men, who looked like they were fishing.  Amber yelled, “Hey!”  But, the men were distracted by the splashing in the water.  The men were having a conversation.  “Hey, look what I caught!”  exclaimed one of them.  “That one is not as big as mine!” bragged the other.  “Well, we will see which one is better once we taste them!” shouted one of the men.  Amber felt the tears push behind her eyes.  She knew they would not pay attention to her.  She knew it would take forever to find her destination.   As she walked with her head down, thinking of something to do, she saw a sandwich.  It looked very old, but she was desperate and she could not find anything to eat for many days.  She ate it quickly and walked around the trees.  

Soon, it was very dark outside and Amber did not know what to do.  She discovered a source of light, not far from her.  When she was about to reach the area where the light was, it disappeared into the darkness.  She still wanted to go there even though the light vanished.  When she did, she met the same creature again.  This time, Amber was not afraid.  She decided to face her fears and attempt to see what this creature really was.  She started to tremble as she took her first step.  “There is no going back.  I have to see what this is!” thought Amber.  She finally was close enough to see the creature’s small, but sparkly eyes.  The creature’s eyes looked like the dark sky filled with stars.  She felt it’s fluffy and soft fur.  She immediately realized that the creature was scared of her too.  Amber wanted the creature to trust her, so she did everything she could to make the creature like her. 

 Once the sun rose, Amber was best friends with the creature.  Soon, Amber named the creature, Dusk.  Dusk found the place Amber was longing to go to after an exciting adventure in the forest.  The place she had been trying to get to since forever.  She squealed with excitement and hugged Dusk.  It was her home.  The place where she can stay with Dusk forever.  Later, she realized that she should not judge anything by it’s appearance.  She should always give them a chance, even though they might look scary.   Amber and Dusk were by each other's side until the end.

 → Off Track ←

By: Addison Lasher

        The date was September 18th,1991. Everyone had their new Walkman and laced up jean jackets. A new school year had just happened upon the adolescent population of New York. Four of these teenage abominations, so called the ‘nerds’, were sick of the same thing since 9th grade. After school they all met up in the forest for a hike.

“Wild, I can see your purple hair from a mile away!” Bea declared. Wild started playing the top hits of the nineties, but it suddenly stopped. 

“Awhhhhhhh, my Walkman died!” He whined. His flashlight lit up the crunchy trail. Wendell spotted an abandoned cottage, 

“Ooooooooo, something to explore!” she proclaimed. They all gave her a stare as if she were crazy, 

“You really wanna go in that broken old thing?”

Asked Atlas.

“Sure!” Wendell said excitedly. They walked in and the door shut behind them, 

“BAM!” They all looked at each other as Wild’s flashlight flickered off. 

“BOO” The jocks popped out of the corner.

“Wow, I'm so scared,” said Bea sarcastically.

The Jocks left and the nerds explored the cottage. Wendell was looking at a case of books and pulled one off, but it wouldn't budge. Suddenly, the book case moved and revealed a small room. Wendell took a book as a souvenir and stuffed it in her bag when nobody was looking. They all went to the small room finding a bed and a rocking chair. 

“C’mon guys it's creepy here, can we go home now?” Bea said. 

“I guess,” Wendell replied. They said goodnight and went home. At home she took out the book and started reading, “Written in red ink, wow this is old.”  She kept reading until she fell asleep. When she woke up, her room was a mess, 

“Wow, I really don't remember making this mess.” When she got dressed none of her new clothes were there, just her hand me downs. Wendell made do with what she had and started walking to the kitchen. 

“Did you sleep well my love?” her mom asked.

“I mean, I got some sleep?”. 

“What did I say about reading ‘till 12?” 

“It won't happen again” she replied. 

When Wendell went to school everyone was there as usual. 

“Oh look, where'd you get your clothes, Goodwill?” The head cheerleader asked. The jocks laughed and Wendell ran into her first class annoyed by the cheerleader. The rest of the day was the same thing. Just like yesterday and the day before that.

The nerds met up at Wendell's house and listened to Fleetwood Mac on her mom’s record player. Wendell pulled out the book and started reading the first page. 

“If lost please return to Edith Rose Carmine” It stated.

Suddenly the room started to spin and the colors started flying. They all woke up on a beige carpet. 

“Where are we?” Bea said.

“I don't think we're in my room anymore,” Wendell said, shaking. They were in a completely different place, beige carpeting, and orange walls. They walk outside to find a girl running from a man in a teal 1953 Buick Skylark. The girl had a book in her arms, the same book Wendell had in her bag. 

“WAIT IS THAT EDITH?!” Wendell screamed. “We have to follow her!” She proclaimed. The nerds chased after her but soon lost her. Night came and they had nowhere to go besides the place where they woke up but they were miles from there now. 

“Ugh it's hopeless now!” Wild whined. 

There was a big tree with towels hang-drying. They took the towels and found a nice leafy tree to sleep under. Day came and they woke up, put the towels back on the big tree, and discussed what to do next.

“Were obviously not in 1991 anymore, I'll say that” said Atlas, 

“Well I think we should get food,” complained Bea, 

“No, we’re gonna find Edith.” whispered Wendell  They went asking around for Edith Rose carmine but nobody had heard of her. They searched and searched until they were starved, so they went to a pub in search of food and a drink, instead they found ‘Her’. 

“EDITH!” Wendell screamed. “Finally I found you!” she proclaimed.

“I'm terribly sorry, but I'm not Edith.” she replied,

”Of course you are?” Wendell was starting to worry. 

“How about we talk outside? The bartender, Mr. O’Sullivan, doesn't like kids, so we best take this outside.” They went outside and the woman said, 

“I'm Edith”, 

“But you said-” 

“Hush, I am Edith, no one knows and I'd like to keep it that way.” Wendell felt all weird inside and took a closer look. She thought Edith was this super cool teen in the 50’s who wrote about her amazing life, but she was just a middle aged woman with an amazing, magical book. Wendell stormed off with nothing left to say to Edith. The rest of the nerds caught up with her and they went back to the place it all started. 

They open the book but nothing happens. Wendell asked,

“Are we stuck?”, 

“No, I’m sure we're just doing something wrong” As Bea said that, he laughed nervously, “we’re just off track.”