The Pickson Island By Lucero Guzman Ashley loves to explore the ocean. She is adventurous and curious. One morning she went really deep into the ocean to find some plankton. Once she found the plankton she swam in the ocean for a little bit. When she left she made sure the plankton was in the jar. When she was on her way back she found it hard to swim back because the waves were too hard. She needed to get back to her house in thirty minutes for lunch. She kept trying but the waves pushed her even further. She swam as hard as she could but she just couldn’t make it. Then the ocean was calm, so she swam. She swam as fast as she could. When she was almost halfway there…. Splash! A big waved crashed into her and pulled her all the way back to a little island miles away from her home. When she got on the island she decided she’d better build a boat to get home. So she started working. She made a boat out of some trees growing on the island. She also needed a paddle for her boat so she cut another of the tall brown trees and made two paddles, in case one broke. She rested a little because she was exhausted from her trip. After resting she was ready and dry. So she made a basket out of thin branches and small brown twigs. She put her plankton in the basket. Then she found a coconut on one of the trees she didn’t use so she ate and drank it. She also ate a banana. She reached out and grabbed her basket and climbed a tree and grabbed many bananas and coconuts. She dumped her fresh-picked food into her basket. And she climbed down the tree with her basket. When she reached the warm, soft sand she placed her basket on the ground. She walked over to her wooden boat. She was about to sail off when she remembered that she needed a sail! Quickly she got out of her boat, put her boat on the sand, got her basket out of the boat and started making a sail. She got a piece of wood, then a big leaf. She put them together and attached it to her boat. Now she was ready to start her way back. She got on her boat and started paddling. She got tired after a while so she had a nap and ate a banana. After a little bit she woke up and started paddling again, and ate a coconut. She took her plankton out of the basket and looked at it. After a while of looking at it, she put it back in the basket and started paddling again. After thirty more minutes of paddling she could slightly see the outline of her home. Ashley knew she was almost there. Just fifteen more minutes of paddling and she would be home. She started paddling really fast. She came to a vast rock but she couldn’t stop. She hit her paddle against the rock and it broke. But luckily she had an extra; she was going to make sure she didn’t crash this one. She reached down into the bottom and got another paddle. Ashley put her paddle in the water and started rowing. She rowed and rowed and rowed and rowed. When she was almost there she figured that she was going the wrong way. She rowed towards her house. But it kept going the wrong way. When she had rowed for about five minutes it turned the right way. She got to the shore shortly before a giant wave came. She got her boat and basket and started walking home. She knew she had missed lunch and dinner, plus she was hungry, so she ate a banana. It was night and she wanted some rest. But she kept walking. When she reached her house she noticed something strange. The car wasn’t there. She turned the door knob; it was locked. She went to the backdoor; it wasn’t. She went in. There was a note on the table, it read: “Dear Ashley, I don’t know if you’re home yet, but if you are I am looking for you with your mom. I left you some food in the refrigerator in case you’re hungry. Call me, I brought my cell phone.” So she walked over to the phone and dialed the number. Ring, ring… “Hello?” “Hi,” said Ashley. “Hi Ashley! Are you okay?” “Yeah.” “You are home, right?” said her father. “Yes.” “Well I’m coming home,” said her dad. “Okay,” Ashley responded. “I’d better go, I’m on my way,” said her dad. “Bye!” Ashley said. “Bye!” her dad answered. She hung up and went to sit on the couch. Then after five minutes the door opened and her mom and dad stepped in the door. “Mom, dad!” Ashley yelled. “Ashley!” they yelled. “What happened – you were gone so long?” Then she started explaining her amazing journey. She showed them her plankton, basket filled with her food, and her boat. Her parents were amazed at how she got through all this. Her dad told her the island she was on was called Pickson Island. Ashley got her basket and took out coconuts and bananas. They ate them while talking. She put her plankton in her neat room next to her fish. I might go get a starfish tomorrow, she thought. So the next morning she ate her breakfast, and said bye to her mom and dad. She went out the door and into the deep blue ocean. This time she didn’t go that far. She got two starfish and put them in a jar; then she came back swimming. When she got home she put her starfish next to her plankton. She took her plankton and starfish and took them to the ocean, and filled their jars with salty ocean water. She went to her house and put them back on the shelf with the fish. The End

Jamie By Sadie Lipman “Mom!” yelled fifteen-year-old Jamie King. “Can I have some ice cream?” Jamie was reaching into a big refrigerator and was about to get the rocky road when her mother said, “No honey, dinner is almost ready.” Jamie replied with big stomps up the stairs. She got up to her room and jumped on her bed and called her best friend Brittney Caldwell. Jamie said, “Hey is Brittney there?” Brittney’s mom replied with big sobs. Jamie asked, “What happened, Mrs. Caldwell?” She didn’t say anything. “Don’t worry, I’ll be over there in a second!” A couple of minutes after she hung up, her cell phone rang and it was Brittney. Jamie asked her, “What happened at your house? And what’s all that noise in the background?” “What did happen at my house? And I want you to go to the airport in one hour with some luggage, and when you come don’t let anybody see you. Oh yeah, don’t tell anybody!” Jamie couldn’t think of what to say so she whispered, “Okay.” That night she went to Brittney’s house and Brittney’s mom told her that Brittney went missing right after school – she didn’t come home. Of course Jamie couldn’t say anything about the phone call because she promised that she wouldn’t tell. An hour passed and she walked to the small airport that was only twenty-four minutes away. She walked in and saw it was jam-packed and in the midst of everyone was Brittney. She shouted, “Brittney!” Brittney turned around and she looked different. Then she noticed it: Brittney’s blonde hair was cut to her shoulders. Brittney smiled a huge smile. Jamie asked, “So what am I doing here?” Brittney answered, “We’re going to New York City!” “What? Oh, yeah right.” “Jay, why do you think I said to bring your luggage?” “You did? “Yeah, I did. You heard me.” “Sorry, look at me. I don’t—” “Oh come on Jay, I know you heard me.” “I’m sorry. I’ll go home and get some, okay?” “Okay. The gate is F-34. Write it down.” “It’s okay, I’ll remember.” “Okay. Go. Oh, and the flight leaves in two hours.” “Okay.” Jamie went home and packed for the trip. An hour later, she slipped out the door and left her house. She got to the airport but forgot what the gate number was, and she went on a different plane and went to Miami. She had the best time of her life. The End

Road Trip By Taylor Shaffer “Seeing the same things all the time is getting really boring,” Emily said. Emily was the youngest of the Donaldson children. Emily was short, had dark brown hair, and light blue eyes. Emily lived in Florida with her older brother and sister. Her brother Sam was eighteen. He had dark brown hair and light blue eyes also. Her sister Kelsey was fifteen, had light brown hair and dark blue eyes. She was very different from her siblings. “You’re right, Emily,” said Sam. “It is boring just looking at the same sky, the same trees, and smelling the same air. I know just what we need!” Emily and Kelsey looked up at Sam with big smiles on their faces. “We need a ROAD TRIP!!!” Sam exclaimed. “To where?” asked Kelsey. “Hawaii? Canada? Where?” “Canada!” Emily yelled. “I’ve always wanted to go to Canada. Can we see Niagara Falls? Can we please go to Canada? Please? Please?” “I guess we’re going to Canada,” said Sam. The three kids started packing almost immediately. They planned to leave the next day. * * *  The next day finally arrived. Sam, Kelsey, and Emily packed their suitcases in the back of Sam’s red Explorer. “I’m so excited to go to Canada!” exclaimed Emily. All of the kids were excited to go to a new place but they would definitely miss their friends and family. So off they drove. It was early in the morning. The sky was still dark, and the moon still shone brightly in the sky. There were barely any cars on the road and no sounds to be heard. Kelsey and Emily were asleep in the back seat while Sam drove. A few hours later the three kids made their first stop. Emily was still asleep in the backseat when Sam and Kelsey went in to use the bathroom. While Sam and Kelsey were inside Emily woke up. She got out of the car and walked outside. The sky was finally blue and the air smelled of flowers. Emily went to look for her brother and sister. “Sam?” yelled Emily. “Kelsey?” Emily started to cry. She ran back to the car but the red Explorer was gone. Emily was scared. The only people at the rest area were homeless and scary. “Are you lost, miss?” asked a dirty man with a long black beard and blood-red eyes. Emily ran as fast as she could into one of the stalls in the girl’s bathroom. The bathroom was white, smelled like a garbage can, and had concrete floors. Emily ran into the first stall. The toilet was white and had pee on the seat. Emily sat on the hard concrete floor. Big wet tears rolled down her smooth face. She started thinking of how to get back with her brother and sister. Then she had an idea. Emily ran to the nearest telephone. She checked her pockets for change. None. She quickly searched the ground. She found nothing but a penny. Emily ran out to the grass. Twenty-five cents lay on the sidewalk by a large rose bush. She searched the area for more. Another twenty-five cents lay on the ground. She had enough to use the telephone. Emily dialed her brother’s number, being careful to dial each number correctly. Nobody answered. She quickly dialed again. Nobody answered. “Sorry but your time is up. Please insert another fifty cents to continue talking,” said the telephone. Emily started to look around for more money. She looked by the boy’s bathroom and found six quarters. “Little girl!” another homeless man said. Emily could tell this man was homeless but he looked much cleaner. He had a short black beard and a clean red hat. The weird thing was his eye. His right eye had no color, it was just pale white. Emily started to cry. “That’s my money, hand it over!” The homeless man with the weird eye grabbed Emily’s arm. “Stop!” Emily screamed. She tried to pull away but she couldn’t. “Help!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. She lifted her leg and kicked the man in the knee. She ran as fast as she could to get away from the man. She ran down the road and away from the rest area. Down the road Emily found a telephone. She inserted fifty cents and carefully dialed her brother’s cell phone number. Sam answered. “Sam, you left me at the rest area!” Emily said, crying. “Please come get me and fast. I’m really scared.” “Okay. Are you all right?” Sam asked. “Yes,” Emily cried. “But homeless scary people are asking me questions and trying to take me away. Please hurry!” “I’m on my way right now. Stay put,” Sam said. “I will!” Emily said, glad that she got a hold of Sam. “Bye!” Sam said. Emily hung up the phone. She ran back to the rest area but stayed away from the bathrooms. About an hour and a half later, Sam’s red Explorer pulled up to the rest area. Emily ran up and hugged Sam and Kelsey tightly. “I thought I’d never see you guys again,” said Emily. “We thought you were asleep still,” said Kelsey. “Let’s go.” Emily was glad to be away from the rest area. She was glad to be back with her brother and sister. The End

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