A Truck Full of Memories by Kaitlyn
I slightly hoisted my head as I sniffed the s’mores like odor in the truck. Heavenly.
It was Thanksgiving day and I was sitting by someone I was greatly thankful for. It was my grandpa. As he was driving, I watched his hands glide across the slick, leather wheel. Left and right, left and right. It was as if they were making music.
“So Kaitlyn,” he started. “I hear you are getting great at multiplication.”
I nodded and gazed out the window.
“What’s seven times seven?” he questioned.
“Forty-nine,” I stated with no hesitation what-so-ever for the first time in my life.
My grandfather’s eyes brightened as he looked at me in a way that enlightened me. His eyes sparkled like freshly washed diamonds. I loved every moment of it…
Every second that ticks by, something in the world changes. A single breath, a falling leaf, or simply, a Thanksgiving turkey.
“Did you know,” he began. “Our turkey is being stuffed at this very moment?”
“No, but did you know our turkey onced gobbled?” I asked even though it is an obvious yes
.
“Oh like this?”
At that moment, we started gobbling like turkeys and the people in the car next to us were staring but we didn’t care. They were probably just jealous.
Once again I stared out the window, the window of dreams. Three or four raindrops fell, but as soon as my grandpa smiled at me, it seemed as if the world stopped crying . I smiled back at him, trying to match the sparkle he always has in his eye. Like I suspected, I couldn’t. It was just too flawless to master.
As the clouds rolled across the sky, the truck entered my neighborhood. It was a train pulling into the station.
“I can almost smell the mashed potatoes from here,” I mentioned.
“Me too,” he replied.
“Mmm!” we both sang at the same time.
I giggled.
Soon enough, we entered the driveway. I savored the last feel of the seat cushion and the sweet, sweet smell of s’mores that filled the air. Once I stepped out of the truck and onto the pavement, the cool gravel surrounded my toes. {Yes, I was barefoot.} I turned around and all I saw was the truck. Oddly, it looked like a cake. A triple layered caramel cake to be exact. I snatched one last glance and trotted towards my front door.
There went the annual Thanksgiving day truck ride.
About a half of a year later, things went horribly wrong. My grandpa fell off a ladder and cracked his head open. He was rushed into the emergency room. I guess the injury was so bad that they couldn’t revive him. That was the last truck ride we ever went on before he died. The world seemed a little darker after that. I miss him more than anything, and since it was flu season, kids weren’t allowed in the hospital, which meant I couldn’t say goodbye. I’m thankful that the last truck ride with him ended up being my favorite. I will never forget the laughs we shared or the good times I spent with him.
New Orleans by Tommy
It was a beautiful and bright day, one of those make-you-feel-happy days. Too bad I was thinking about how I missed my old friends, or if the next chapter of my life would be good or bad. I was moving to North Carolina, a place I knew next to nothing about.
My family and I were in New Orleans, a beautiful city with what seemed like a French culture, but maybe that is just because I was in the French Quarter. I must have had a sad look on my face, because my older sister, Julianne, asked me what was wrong. I told her that I missed Texas and that I wished we could just turn the car around and go back to Austin. She reminded me that this is how I felt when we moved from New York, and that I wasn’t alone in this. This made me remember how lucky I was to have a family that cared about me.
“We’re at the hotel!” my mom exclaimed with a grin on her face.
It was around 8:00 a.m. when my family and I arrived at the hotel.
“Let’s go take a walk,” my dad suggested.
“Where?” I asked eagerly.
“It's a surprise,” my dad replied mysteriously.
I was a little disappointed that he didn’t tell me, but I was mostly excited.
Soon we set out on the streets of New Orleans. It was beautiful. There were historic apartments that had balconies with baskets of flowers hanging from them, and the sound of 1,000 saxophones flooded my ears.
“We are almost there!” my mom exclaimed as we approached a farmers market.
“Is that it?” my brother James asked while pointing at the market.
“Not quite,” my dad informed him.
The farmers market was a big one. In it were flowers of every variety, delicious looking foods that made my mouth water, and furniture of every imaginable color and model.
About five minutes later, my mom announced in a very excited tone, one that sounded like a kid on Christmas morning, “We are here!” and pointed to a building on the corner of two streets. A sign on the building said in big bold letters: CAFE DU MONDE.
Later on I would find out that this was a very famous cafe.
What’s so special about this place, and why is my mom so excited about coming here? I wondered. It looked like all of the other buildings I had seen in New Orleans so far, but then I remembered that you can’t judge a book by its cover.
I could definitely tell that it was a cafe. There were square tables that could seat four people, but we are a family of six, so the waitress put two tables together and led us over.
“How would you like to try beignets?” my mom asked me, James, and Julianne.
“What are beignets?” my brother asked in an excited tone.
“Beignets are basically square donuts with powdered sugar on top,” my mother replied. “I hear they are very good.”
Soon the waitress came back, ready to take our order.
“May we please have one dozen beignets?” my mom asked politely. Soon, the waitress came back with 12 beignets. They looked just like my mom said, like square donuts without the hole in the middle. As soon as I bit one, powdered sugar flew all over me. It was SOOOOOO delicious!!!! By the time I was finished, I looked like a snowman. Everyone polished off their beignets except my little brother. I don’t know why, but James does not like beignets! (He must be crazy.)
After we were finished, we left to go on our walk. But this time, instead of thinking of how much I missed Texas, I was excited to see what great things North Carolina had in store.
Always look on the bright side, I reminded myself, as my family and I resumed our walk.
Flying Metal Benches by Caden
I stood silently, but under my hood I felt excited, because....
I was going skiing! Snow skiing that is.
I had always admired the sport. My family and I had done it three times before, and you might not believe it, but my skis only slid down the mountain without me once! So, anyway, all skiing areas have these things called ski lifts, which are basically flying Metal benches that bring you from one part of the mountain, to a slightly higher part of the mountain!
The benches are attached to some sort of metal wire.
My family and I get on ski lifts regularly, and I did not expect this time to be any different. We had been in line for a good ten minutes, which was ten minutes of me and my sister wondering why there were baby wipes on the fence, when our ride came.
See, ski lifts don’t actually stop once they get to where the people are waiting. The people just jump on the ski lifts, pull the metal bar down, and hope for the best.
It usually worked out ok.
Usually.
Since I was the last one on, and we were not very prepared, and the safety bar wasn’t down yet, there were minor problems with the seats we had chosen. Such as I didn’t have a seat. I was sitting on the very edge of ski lift, which wasn’t that big of an issue, until I decided to move.
“This will be easy!” I thought to myself nervously. “All I have to do is slide myself back into the ride, and everything will turn out great!”
I was WRONG.
I slid off of the seat, quickly grabbing ahold of the bottom. I might of had a better grip if I wasn’t wearing mittens, but sadly, I was.
Plus, the skis I was wearing at the time felt like two elephants strapped to my feet. I did not have a very good chance of holding on until we got to the top of the mountain.
It took awhile for anyone to even notice that I wasn’t all the way on the ski lift, which shocked me a whole bunch.
6 feet…. No one sees me…. Eight feet…. No one sees me…. 10 feet….
“Yes! Mom noticed me!” I thought to myself, still dangling above the earth like Mufasa from the lion king movie.
My mom did notice me alright, but she wasn’t much help at the moment. At first, she kept yelping nervously to my step dad, “Caden is not on the ride…. Caden is not on the ride!” Then she kept screaming, “STOP! TURN IT OFF!” to the guy that made sure everyone got on the ski lift safely, who was too far away to hear my mom.
Anyway, the guy did not turn off the ski lift, and as we approached what seemed like infinity feet, I wondered if I would make it out alive.
I had heard about some pretty horrible things happening to people that fell off of ski lifts, so I knew I had a slim chance of surviving this one.
My mom still screaming, turned around, not looking in front of herself to witness my death, was about to have some pretty exciting Facebook status for the next few weeks. She just didn’t know it yet.
I said my last goodbyes in my head, closed my eyes, and awaited my death.
My eyes slowly creaked open once I realized that the ski lift had completely stopped moving.
“What was that noise?” “Had I died yet?” “What was that noise?” these thoughts ran through my head as my eyes fully opened.
It turns out that I was not dead, and the noise was the safety guy yelling at me to let go of the lift. I had a very good grip on the seat by then, and the ground was so far down! There was no way I was letting go!
He yelled louder.
I let go.
As I plummeted down all twelve feet of the sky below me, I thought of how grateful I was for my family.
That was all I was thinking right before I hit the ground, which took about zero seconds.
I wasn’t hurt or anything, because all I landed on was sweet powdery snow, and I landed on my feet, but I think the fall made me cocky.
“I had just survived falling off of a ski lift!” “I could handle anything!” these were some of the thoughts that ran through my head as the safety guy told me to come sit on a different ski lift, and me being my newly formed cocky self, I cheerfully agreed.
I was accompanied by a young couple as my new ski lift slithered up the mountain. One was a girl, and the other was a boy.
Usually I would have been pretty nervous sitting next to someone that I had never ever met once in my entire life, but I was way to happy (and cocky) to even bother with that kind of thought.
In my eyes, I was a hero, and all the sympathetic looks people were giving me were medals of honor.
I have to admit, that was a pretty fun experience, but next time I get on a ski lift, I am going to try to be more prepared.
Paintball Memoir by Jack
Whizz! Paintballs flying around me, one barely misses and hits my teammate Jake. I’m going to get shot, I think to myself. A paintball rockets towards my head. “I am going to get shot.”
5 minutes earlier.
Blee!! The whistle screeches in my ear. Paintball, why did I pick the most painful sport for my birthday? Today I turn 10 but I feel like 3, about to cry. But somehow I love this feeling, fear mixed with adrenaline. My teammates and I run to a metal tower. The gunfire rings in my ear. Pop! Pop!
My teammate Ben tells me, “The enemy team is in the castle!” I can barely make out his voice over the sound of paint balls flying around my head.
“I’m hit!” Jake yells.
“I’m next,” I think to myself. I am breathing so heavily my mask fogs up. “Calm down,” I say to myself. All I need is a plan. It’s like the ref reads my mind.
“Hey JD follow me,” he yells. We run behind cover.
“What are you planning to do?” I ask.
“Flank them,” he answers. That’s when I remember my smoke grenade.”When you get close enough, you pull the pin on the grenade and and chuck it into the castle.”
“Ok I’m ready,”I say. “3...2...1.”The ref and I sprint at our top speeds, like a cheetah chases a gazelle. One cover to another, and I am sweating so much I can taste it.
“Ok run to that flipped over car,” The ref demands.
“Alright!” Heart racing, adrenaline pumping, I run. Since I am so caught up in thinking about my grenade, and I don’t notice the short, but speedy Jack Varga shooting in my direction. Splat as the paintball struck home. The paintball was a wasp sting against my chest.
“I’m hit,” I shout.
“No, wipe it off,” the ref shouts. Thank God he is a nice ref. I run behind the car, and yank the pin off the grenade. It immediately becomes hot like burning coals. I chuck it into the castle as deep as I can. Green smoke surrounds the castle, plunging it into darkness. Carefully, I sneak behind the castle. A paintball suddenly splats in front of me. As I’m ducking behind cover I spot something out of the corner of my eye. It looked like a tall figure with shabby hair. That must be Bryan, he is behind the cover in front of me. I jump out of the cover spraying paintballs in his direction. Somehow one slips through the cover he is hiding behind.
“I’m hit,” he yells. That’s one down, and four to go. I start to look for any enemy players outside of the castle. All of a sudden the world goes slow. As I turn around Caleb rockets out of the castle yellow paintballs flying at my face. All it takes is one orange paintball to take him out.
Back to regular speed as my head spins for a second. I turn back to the castle, green smoke still looms over the castle. I can barely see, but somehow I catch Jack out of the corner of my eye. I try to shoot him with limited vision. I miss him, and he doesn't even notice. I try to shoot him again. This time it hits his leg and on impact it explodes orange paint all over his calf.
“I’m hit,” he shouts, holding his leg in pain. I am starting to like combat. Maybe I should be a marine, I think. I wait for the round to end, but the whistle never comes.
“Ooooohhhh Cam,”I say to myself. That's when I look up, Cam is squatting in the tower. I lift up my gun and fire. I hit him in the waist.
“Game end” the ref yells. I am happy that I won but I discovered something about myself. I like combat and shooting, and I think the military might be calling my name.
A DAY AT THE BEACH by Priya
The house with the door open to the deck was so stuffed with loud people, the neighbors couldn’t help but stare.
The best trip ever started with my whole family piling up in 3 cars. We drove for 3 hours straight. In my car there was me, my cousin (Ayanna), my aunt (Annu), my mom, my cousin (Caleb), and last but not least Ayanna and Caleb’s dog Boomer. Mommy turned the music up extremely loud and then everybody sang louder than the music. Finally when it came to lunchtime we had this huge argument over the phone about where to go. My cousin (Alaina) and my sister (Reyna) were riding in Uncle Rajeev’s car. They wanted McDonalds. Our car wanted Subway. After a while of trying to decide where to go everyone rode to Subway. About an hour after that, I could smell the salty sea air and immediately knew we were there. A couple minutes later my family pulled up at the huge blue beach house in a long snake of cars.
The house was GIGANTIC! When we tried to open the door from the deck, it was locked. We had the keys and we tried it for 15 minutes and it still wouldn’t budge! After that we all wandered around the back , but that was locked too. After that we rushed down to the garage. The key finally opened the door!
About an hour and a half later everybody went down to the beach. There were some boogie boards so we took them. Annu took Ayanna, Caleb, me, and my cousin (Ryan) out really deep, so deep that we found a sand bar. It was where all of the surfers were. This one guy that shouted, “ Dude, hi five for making it out here!” then he made a surfer sign. I could stand up.
“Come on guys, you can do it!” Annu yelled.
“We’re coming,” we all shouted in unison.
That was the first time I have ever been that deep, and even though I got salty ocean water in my eyes and nose I loved every bit of it. About 30 minutes later we ate lunch. As soon as I was about to take a bite of my sandwich I dropped it in the sand. “ I know why it’s called a sandwich.” “ I dropped it, and now it is covered with sand!” I giggled. The beach rang with our laughter.
2 hours later we drove to the aquarium. On the outside there was a statue that was made out of sand. Even though the sign said “ Do not touch”, I still had the urge to reach out and touch it. We took tons of pictures near it. That was really fun!
At 7:00 my mom and Annu rode to the grocery store. After that they brought the groceries home,they went to pick up seafood for us to eat for dinner. By the time they got back home it was 9:00. As soon as they walked through the door everyone in a jumble of words were asking what took so long. But when they opened the boxes of fresh, delicious food the kitchen smelled of fried and baked goodness. Suddenly I realized what took so long. They brought back a feast! There was Macaroni & Cheese, fries, shrimp, corn, Hushpuppies, baked potatoes, and fruit. It was heaven. We waited a while after we ate, then we all took a short drive to Dairy Queen for ice cream. As soon as we walked in the door I heard the soft whirring sound of the machines and the irresistible smell of ice cream. “ Can I please have a cookie dough Blizzard®?”
“Coming right up,” the man replied.
Once, I finally finished my ice cream, I was as cold as an ice cube. Then we all took a walk on the beach. Everyone was scared for some reason. “ Look at that,” I announced. It was a cruise ship! After that we came back home and told funny memories. Everyone laughed.
As I drifted off to sleep the day’s memories flashed through my head in a little slideshow of events. I could still hear the laughter that echoed through the giant, blue beach house on Atlantic Beach, NC.
Trail by Evan
I looked at the steep hill that plummeted into a valley in front of me. “Josh do you want to race?” I repeatedly badgerd my friend.
“Okay let’s race!” Josh replied enthusiastically.
“3...2...1 go,” I shouted urgh uh uh, as I was sweating like a beached whale on a summer day. “Ow, the dust is stinging my eyes like a swarm of bees,” I said in agony.
“You won’t win Evan,” yelled Josh confidently.
“No, you won't win either!” I responded.
We raced down the slope as fast as we could to the hill and down into the valley. I saw the valley below with trees, and dirt and rocks.
“Yessss!” I yelled with a gleaming smile, “I won, I won, I won,” I hollered, “Good job Josh.”
On top of the hill, I could see for miles and miles and miles. “We whirled up a dust storm dude.” I coughed unpleasantly.
“Yay,” Josh replied.
I looked from side to side, and I saw the trail below. It looked like a snake. Hisssss I imagined in my head. It almost felt like the trail was watching me. The trail went down and down liked a curved snake.
Out of nowhere I said “3…2...1...go,” . I was rushing as fast as I could, uh uh uh ahhh! The dirt on the edge of the cliff was crumbling down, and then I pushed myself against a rock dirt filled edge. Ahhh, swish, thud, swipe, ahh, I was tumbling harder and harder down the cliff. I thought the misery would never stop. I stopped myself on the dirty slope! Crying in pain, “Ow, ow, ow.”
My legs are cut up red, and nasty, and bloody. Hands are messed up, and I have a cut face.I feel a streak of blood run down my face. “World!” Why is this happening to me. Why me? I pleaded in pain. “Help!” I sobbed not trying to start another water works. “Help, help, help Josh!” I screamed frantically. My pants were wet from blood that came from my skin . I could smell a distinctive smell of dust blood and sweat roaming the air. My ears heard a noise call out, and after all hope is lost, I heard a faint noise.
“Evan,” the noise grew louder and louder.
“Josh,” I mumbled in relief.
“Dude are you okay,” Josh questioned with concern.
“No,” I muttered in pain. Suddenly, Josh hoisted me out of the dark and endless abyss.Wow, I just thought wow after I was out of the abyss. I limped to see my mom, and I started telling her what happened to me on the trail. We walked the rest of the trail, as I was still in shock about what happened to me.The sun gleamed down like a million diamonds in the fresh blue sky, as we entered into the car, and drove off into the daylight.
The memory is stuck in my mind forever, and still as vivid like it happened today. I realize that I was lucky to not get hospitalized from slipping down the steep edge. I’m much more careful when I run on trails, and also just in general I’ve learned to be more cautious.This memory will never be forget in my mind, for the rest of my life.
Great Wolf Lodge by Caroline
“Yes, finally!” I was tall enough to go on the biggest slide there. I was so thankful. I swallowed hard as I gazed up at the Howling Tornado. All I heard were faint shrieks of other people on their way down the slide.
It felt like forever carrying our heavy tube up the slippery stairs. After what felt like 30 minutes of slowly creeping up steps, we were on the 2nd flight of stairs. My hands started to cramp as we dragged our tube up the last set of steps. At last we were at the top!
All I saw in front of me was water traveling fast through the dark tunnel. Other people slid out about 6 feet, then dropped straight down and screamed. That was how an idea had emerged into my head about what was going to happen to us.
The lifeguard standing the top had a sense of humor I could see. We hopped into the tube and he joked, “Oh no! They’re stuck! HELP!” I laughed. He spun us around so that I was facing backwards, and sent us off into the treacherous tunnel of darkness. It felt to me as if everything was going in slow motion as I thought to myself,“How terrifying will this be?”
My brother in front of me was cringing with his eyes shut tightly. He was facing forwards though, I wasn’t. Just like I had seen, we rode out a little bit, then dropped …
We both shrieked!
I felt like my stomach was up in my throat for a second, then I swallowed it back down. The drop felt at least 10 feet down. The taste of blood was in my mouth because I thought I had bitten my tongue, but it happened so fast I didn’t even realize it.
Our tube slid down a little more, then rode into a huge open bowl. We traveled up one side, then back down, up the other side and back down again. My brother and I did that a couple of times then slid out to another little drop, but not near as big as the first. Finally, we floated out into the open pool.
Now that was a ride worth waiting for! After all of the waiting, to finally be tall enough to ride, it certainly lived up to the hype. Looking back, this experience helped proved to me that sometimes you have to wait for the right time in life to do something. That is why patience is important.
`“Sometimes the fastest way isn’t always the best way. Sometimes the best things in life take a while.”
-Emily Beth
Family Reunion by Jamiel
Riding in the car with my mom, I felt like an exploding bomb!'
“Are you excited to see the hotel?” mom asked.
I blurted, “ Yes!” with a huge smile! I was also thinking about my whole family being there. I couldn't wait to see my cousins, aunts, and grandma. Then the car stopped in front of a gas station and my mom and I got out of the car. ‘‘Mom can I get a drink?’’I asked.
My mom answered., “Yes” with a regular smile! We both got Gatorades and we love blue Gatorade. Soon, we got back in the car and my mom said, “We're almost here.’’
I looked out the window and I saw the hotel, and it was as tall as a skyscraper! My family was taking our suitcases out and then we went into the hotel to see the rest of my family. I saw a restaurant and a pool and I felt like I could explode!
Up on the top floor, I saw my grandma and I hugged her super hard! She hugged me the same way I hugged her, super hard. She shouted, “It’s good to see you, Jamiel!” It made me smile and feel happy. Grandma doesn’t really get to see me that much, so that’s why she hugged me super hard.
Next, I went to my room to change for the pool and when I got to the pool I saw some more of my family members. I went to a chair and took off my shoes and then I went inside the pool. The water was as cold as Antarctica! I was swimming and doing tricks and when I looked at the door I saw two of my favorite cousins. They got in the pool and played with me. After a long time, my cousins and I went into the hot tub to get warm.
My cousins always play minecraft together with me and Logan my bigger cousin, he is 13 years old and my other cousin who is a girl is 8 years old. Everybody went to their room and some of them went to my room for some pizza. I felt happy that some of them went to my room. I could smell pepperoni and cheese pizza. I could hear the TV and all the people talking. I was sitting on the couch by my cousins feeling great!
The last night, our whole family went to the bowling alley. I went inside, and I saw that it was dark. It was dark and our clothes and socks were lighting up. I saw that everybody was there. Also we were all waiting in a long line and while we were, we all heard music playing. Some of my cousins and family were doing silly dancing and I did it too.
On the last day we tried to go out to eat but we decided not to.We just took a last picture because that was the last day. After we took the picture that make me want to remember the family reunion forever.
My Brother’s Performance by Brady
As I was walking toward the stage, my brother was about to perform. I was anxious to see what would happen and I felt the vibe of the crowd. The noise surrounded me and my anxiety crept higher like the Tower of Terror.
A few minutes later the creator of the show walked out onto the stage to get the show started. Mr.Allen announced, “Thank you for coming to see these wonderful kids perform and please enjoy the show.” Everyone started to sit down in their seat and the performers started to come out on stage. Shortly after, I saw my brother walk out on the stage and I was so excited.
Will wasn’t in the first part. The first part was the dance group and it was fairly interesting. Some of the dancers could do moves like a dancer in a professional competition.
Finally my brother went onto the stage. I whispered to my dad, “I wonder what he is going to do?” Me and my dad found out a little bit after. He did a dance move where he moved his arms, and the dance director Ms.Tammy was showing everyone on stage what movement to do. At first I felt nervous and anxious, and after that I felt excited and proud. Will nailed it!
I’m pretty sure the two best dancers in the program did what people do in the Olympics and it was insane because they were stretching their legs out, doing twirls, and they did both of those moves perfectly.
That basically sums up the show. After my brother got of the stage we all were congratulating him. I told him, “ That was awesome Will!”
“Thanks!”, He replied.
We were all excited that my brother got to perform at Disney World.
Everyone set off to one of the parks the parts still flashing from the show like a movie in my head. It was the best show I’ve ever seen!
Wakeboarding by Karis
It was the last day that I was going to be at Lake Gaston with my friend, Kayla, and her family. I had been awake for hours laying in my bed, but I didn't want to wake the others up so I stayed. Mrs.Stephanie realized I was awake and told me to get out of bed. I excitedly pulled myself out of my cozy piece of heaven and changed into my bathing suit. I walked out of my room that was shared with four other people to find that everyone else was already ready. This was when I didn't know how frightening wakeboarding could be, but that changes a lot later on.
Once we climbed into the boat Kayla asked to go first, so I could know what I was about to do and get a better image of how to wakeboard. The third time she fell, it was my turn. Now I was scared because she fell hard into the water, and on her face. Kayla taught me how to get the board on (it was fairly big because it was her dad's.) I could hear my heart pounding like a drum. I was terrified.
I grabbed the rope with all my might, and took many deep breaths. I shouted out “ready” blank mindedly to signal that Mr. Adam ( Kayla’s dad) could start driving the boat. He nodded and all of a sudden I felt the water running past me. It felt like my heart was beating a hundred times a second. He started moving faster and it felt like my arms were about to rip off. I rotated my hips ever so slightly and before I knew it I was standing up.
I didn't stay up very long even though it felt like 10 hours. I popped out of the water and saw the boat speeding around coming to get me. When they reached me I asked how I did for my first time and Kayla’s dad said looking surprised , “Most people don't even stand up until their tenth try.” I was so ecstatic, because I boarded much better than expected.
I swam to put my board on and this time when I shouted ready my mind was focused only on wakeboarding. All I could hear was the roaring of the engine that sounded sounded like a monster ready to take me on. I took a big breath and like last time rotated my hips and stood up. All I could see was water everywhere. It was a world of only blue. Water was spraying into my face and mouth and it felt warm and relaxing but I couldn't focus on that now or I would fall. It felt amazing. I had no idea why I was scared before. The waves I was riding on seemed to be alive and chasing me. All of a sudden I tripped on a wave and crashed into the water! It was so unexpected that I didn't have time to hold my breath. I could feel the water stinging my eyes and pouring into my nose.
When I fell it pained me more than last time because the boat was moving a lot faster. My arms and legs burned. I bobbed out of the water because I was wearing my lifejacket. As I was gasping for breath and choking for some strange reason, I felt unstoppable. “I think i'm getting better already!” I shouted out into the lake between a choke. The boat rang with kind laughter. I swam to get the board on because when I flew into the water it came off like the last time I fell. This routine repeated itself and Kayla and her parents agreed that I stayed up longer and had better positioning every time I got up and riding.
Eventually I got tired of wakeboarding and hoisted myself onto the boat and dried off. My arms and legs were still burning from all of the times I fell. I was out of breath and exhausted.
“You did amazing!” Mrs.Stephanie exclaimed.
“Ya, you did great for your first time!” Kayla agreed.
“Wow” Mr.Adam said speechless.
While they all congratulated me I just sat there smiling joyfully not saying a word. After a while we decided that Kayla’s mom should have a turn. While she was getting her board on I was watching the waves toss and turn over and over again. While I was doing this I had a so many thoughts in my mind that my brain might as well be the gears of a clock tower. In my head there was questions like, when will I be able to go wake boarding again? Or, will one of my rides be as good as Kayla’s? But the last and most important wasn't a question but a feeling and that was that wakeboarding was a new passion of mine that I am sure to always enjoy.
The Tornado by Harrison
It is a amazing day Ryan and I just had a view of the Tornado and I exclaimed excitedly with mouth as wide as a jack o'lantern
“ We have to ride it.”
I was worried Ryan would not want to be my friend if I did not make a good impression.
Ryan looked at me with a smile and said, “What are we waiting for?”
As we speedily ran, all I could hear was the shrieks and splashes coming from the rides,I knew my fingers would be pruned. Ryan joked, “The line is as short as an elf.”
We started to laugh, I took a big whiff All I could smell was the salty water. As we jumped, on to the raft. I saw the water, and it looked like a sun made from the angels was shining down on it. Soon after Ryan exclaimed excitedly, “After this we have to go to the zipline parkour course!”
I responded anxiously, “Ok but I call back wards.” with every muscle in my body ready to go on the tornado.
Right then I started to feel the raft move, soon after we felt that it started up I was not worried about the ride I was scared if Ryan is my friend yet but, I just tried to forget it. As we were gaining speed in the tunnel I looked over and saw Ryan's eyes were wide open as well was his mouth, so I thought something was coming up, and something was! It was a ten foot drop, that landed in a huge dome! To me it was the sweetest ride ever.” The dome was as big as two mansions combine! I heard Ryan screech “This is the best ever.”
At the end there was a huge wave that when it hit all I could taste was salt water. Soon after I got the taste of salt water out of my mouth, Ryan asked “can we please go again?”
I was worried Right now but I thought I don't need to impress him because we are already friends.
I responded “no if we go now we will have more time later for rides.”
Ryan complained “I guess you are right” with a puppy dog look.
So From this day forward me and Ryan are friends.
The Beach by Kayla
Walking onto the beach, I felt sand in between my toes like a slushie in a cup and the water crashing on the rocks, making sprays of water.
I heard voices all around me especially laughter, and I could tell I was going to have fun. As we settled the blanket down on the soft dry sand I took my shoes off and jumped right into the water.
As I jumped in, I felt the cold water startle me. Finally, I got used to the water, and my sister jumped in and we started to play. We talked about how much fun we were going to have. My dad came in the water, and started to play with us. He would throw my sister and I into the water.
“Mom I am really hungry, can we get something to eat?” asked Kayla with a grumbling stomach.
“Sure sweetie! I am hungry too,” replied mom.
My family and I were all done with the water for now, so we walked up to the concession stand. I purchased french fries with cheese and ketchup. My sister had the same thing and mom and dad both ate burgers. Grandma and aunt Jenn bought a hotdog and burger. Aunt Amber bought a cheeseburger and fries and my cousin shared her fries.
My family and I started walking back to the beach with our food. We sat down on our blanket and ate our food. While we were finishing up our food, a seagull took my grandma’s hotdog and then another seagull pooped on her head. We all were laughing hysterically.
“Grandma are you okay?” I shouted.
“Oh I am fine. They say when a bird poops on your head it’s good luck!” my grandmother calmly exclaimed
Once we finished eating my sister and I wanted to go back in the water, but my mom demanded with a little tone in her voice. “ no you have to wait thirty minutes,”my mother strictly said “You guys will get a cramp if you go back in too soon,”
“Okay mom, that’s fine we will wait,” we all said impatiently.
My mom felt bad so she and my grandma took us to the park, while the others stayed at the beach.
Both my cousins and I played tag because it was our favorite game to play. I felt happy inside. I could hear the laughter of kids, the crying of the toddlers, and the talk of the adults. I knew I didn’t want to leave. After about 45 minutes at the park, we took a bathroom break. We then headed back to the beach.
The tide was coming in and the waves were getting higher, as the sun was starting to set. My aunt took me into the water, at that point I didn’t know what she was doing. So I closed my eyes and thought about happy things. I heard the water crash over the sand as she lifted me up onto her shoulders.
“Plug your nose Kayla,” my aunt screamed.
The water washed over us as that happened I felt free like I could do anything.
“Did you have fun?” as she lifted me from her shoulders.
“Yes I had an amazing time!” with a smile on my face.
We finished talking and playing in the water, my mother announced that it was time to go. We packed our beach toys and bags, grabbed our blanket and said goodbye to the beach!
2015-16
Memoirs
The Grand Feast
By: Anna
“They’re here,” my grandma shouts, through the fog of delicious smells
.
Champ jumps on the couch like a flash of white and black to bark, just as the doorbell rings. I open the door and the hot, Alabama air hits me in the face as my relatives flood into the crowded living room. Everyone hugs, and conversation fills the room. I feel like a volcano, overflowing with happiness, when I see my family all together. Champ leaps on everyone like a kangaroo as the scent of the grand feast reaches our noses. My grandma comes out of kitchen, with her hands full of delicious smelling food. Everyone crowds around her saying, “yum”.
Everybody gathers around the hard wooden table as my grandma presents the food that smells like paradise. I snatch a paper plate, and I shovel mashed potatoes, BBQ, and a roll onto my plate. I eagerly seize a plastic fork, knife and venture into the living room. The couches were overflowing with people, so I sit down in front of the fireplace by my grandpa. He looks down and smiles his warm smile at me. The BBQ fills my mouth with the wonderful taste of love mixed in by my grandma. The mashed potatoes have just the right amount of crystal, white salt, and the roll is perfectly buttered. I try to savor every bite of the delicious food.
The family has just taken their last bite and now their eyes are glued to the television. I look at my grandma, just to find her icing a pretty, pink cake. She spies me watching her, and winks through her round clear glasses. She cuts the pink, strawberry cake then gives me a slice. I sit back down in front of the fireplace. My grandpa rolls his wheelchair over beside me and smiles. The smile makes me feel like a fire has been lit inside me and spreading warmth throughout my, and is melting me piece by piece. The cake taste like a strawberry lover’s dream. Cream cheese icing glazed over the cake perfects the dessert.
“She used to make wonderful cakes for me all the time,” grandpa remembers thoughtfully, “she’s a wonderful baker. My personal favorite is her Mississippi mud pie,” he continues through a mouthful of cake.
“This is better than my mom’s cakes,” I admit quietly so my mom wouldn’t overhear.
“Can we get seconds,” my brother cries, nagging my grandma with a grin on his face.
“Sure, I made plenty,” she cheerfully replies, beaming.
Nick leaps off the couch and I race him to the kitchen.
“Beat you!” He brags as he seizes the knife and cuts a ginormous piece.
I snatch the knife out of his hands and slice myself a piece. I take a seat next to my grandpa. I think about how cheerful and joyful he looks. I glance at the score of the football game, our team was winning, but I don’t care. I’m having too much fun. I reach down for another bite of pink perfection, but it’s all gone.
The referee blows his whistle three times, and the game ends. Normally I don’t care about football, but I don’t want this game to end, because then everyone will go home. I peek at the clock and see that it’s only 10:00. Then I remember I’m in a different time zone. Everyone starts getting up to leave. I pick up my trash, and join the line of ants to throw it away. I say farewell I to my aunts, uncles, and cousins, and watch them leave. I press my nose up against the glass, careful not to fog it up. I watch as the last of the tail lights fade into the pitch black darkness. I look up at the stars and the moon, soaking in every last second that I can. I stare at the stars, trying to make out constellations when I realize I won’t see them again until next year-or ever again.
I slightly hoisted my head as I sniffed the s’mores like odor in the truck. Heavenly.
It was Thanksgiving day and I was sitting by someone I was greatly thankful for. It was my grandpa. As he was driving, I watched his hands glide across the slick, leather wheel. Left and right, left and right. It was as if they were making music.
“So Kaitlyn,” he started. “I hear you are getting great at multiplication.”
I nodded and gazed out the window.
“What’s seven times seven?” he questioned.
“Forty-nine,” I stated with no hesitation what-so-ever for the first time in my life.
My grandfather’s eyes brightened as he looked at me in a way that enlightened me. His eyes sparkled like freshly washed diamonds. I loved every moment of it…
Every second that ticks by, something in the world changes. A single breath, a falling leaf, or simply, a Thanksgiving turkey.
“Did you know,” he began. “Our turkey is being stuffed at this very moment?”
“No, but did you know our turkey onced gobbled?” I asked even though it is an obvious yes
.
“Oh like this?”
At that moment, we started gobbling like turkeys and the people in the car next to us were staring but we didn’t care. They were probably just jealous.
Once again I stared out the window, the window of dreams. Three or four raindrops fell, but as soon as my grandpa smiled at me, it seemed as if the world stopped crying . I smiled back at him, trying to match the sparkle he always has in his eye. Like I suspected, I couldn’t. It was just too flawless to master.
As the clouds rolled across the sky, the truck entered my neighborhood. It was a train pulling into the station.
“I can almost smell the mashed potatoes from here,” I mentioned.
“Me too,” he replied.
“Mmm!” we both sang at the same time.
I giggled.
Soon enough, we entered the driveway. I savored the last feel of the seat cushion and the sweet, sweet smell of s’mores that filled the air. Once I stepped out of the truck and onto the pavement, the cool gravel surrounded my toes. {Yes, I was barefoot.} I turned around and all I saw was the truck. Oddly, it looked like a cake. A triple layered caramel cake to be exact. I snatched one last glance and trotted towards my front door.
There went the annual Thanksgiving day truck ride.
About a half of a year later, things went horribly wrong. My grandpa fell off a ladder and cracked his head open. He was rushed into the emergency room. I guess the injury was so bad that they couldn’t revive him. That was the last truck ride we ever went on before he died. The world seemed a little darker after that. I miss him more than anything, and since it was flu season, kids weren’t allowed in the hospital, which meant I couldn’t say goodbye. I’m thankful that the last truck ride with him ended up being my favorite. I will never forget the laughs we shared or the good times I spent with him.
New Orleans by Tommy
It was a beautiful and bright day, one of those make-you-feel-happy days. Too bad I was thinking about how I missed my old friends, or if the next chapter of my life would be good or bad. I was moving to North Carolina, a place I knew next to nothing about.
My family and I were in New Orleans, a beautiful city with what seemed like a French culture, but maybe that is just because I was in the French Quarter. I must have had a sad look on my face, because my older sister, Julianne, asked me what was wrong. I told her that I missed Texas and that I wished we could just turn the car around and go back to Austin. She reminded me that this is how I felt when we moved from New York, and that I wasn’t alone in this. This made me remember how lucky I was to have a family that cared about me.
“We’re at the hotel!” my mom exclaimed with a grin on her face.
It was around 8:00 a.m. when my family and I arrived at the hotel.
“Let’s go take a walk,” my dad suggested.
“Where?” I asked eagerly.
“It's a surprise,” my dad replied mysteriously.
I was a little disappointed that he didn’t tell me, but I was mostly excited.
Soon we set out on the streets of New Orleans. It was beautiful. There were historic apartments that had balconies with baskets of flowers hanging from them, and the sound of 1,000 saxophones flooded my ears.
“We are almost there!” my mom exclaimed as we approached a farmers market.
“Is that it?” my brother James asked while pointing at the market.
“Not quite,” my dad informed him.
The farmers market was a big one. In it were flowers of every variety, delicious looking foods that made my mouth water, and furniture of every imaginable color and model.
About five minutes later, my mom announced in a very excited tone, one that sounded like a kid on Christmas morning, “We are here!” and pointed to a building on the corner of two streets. A sign on the building said in big bold letters: CAFE DU MONDE.
Later on I would find out that this was a very famous cafe.
What’s so special about this place, and why is my mom so excited about coming here? I wondered. It looked like all of the other buildings I had seen in New Orleans so far, but then I remembered that you can’t judge a book by its cover.
I could definitely tell that it was a cafe. There were square tables that could seat four people, but we are a family of six, so the waitress put two tables together and led us over.
“How would you like to try beignets?” my mom asked me, James, and Julianne.
“What are beignets?” my brother asked in an excited tone.
“Beignets are basically square donuts with powdered sugar on top,” my mother replied. “I hear they are very good.”
Soon the waitress came back, ready to take our order.
“May we please have one dozen beignets?” my mom asked politely. Soon, the waitress came back with 12 beignets. They looked just like my mom said, like square donuts without the hole in the middle. As soon as I bit one, powdered sugar flew all over me. It was SOOOOOO delicious!!!! By the time I was finished, I looked like a snowman. Everyone polished off their beignets except my little brother. I don’t know why, but James does not like beignets! (He must be crazy.)
After we were finished, we left to go on our walk. But this time, instead of thinking of how much I missed Texas, I was excited to see what great things North Carolina had in store.
Always look on the bright side, I reminded myself, as my family and I resumed our walk.
Flying Metal Benches by Caden
I stood silently, but under my hood I felt excited, because....
I was going skiing! Snow skiing that is.
I had always admired the sport. My family and I had done it three times before, and you might not believe it, but my skis only slid down the mountain without me once! So, anyway, all skiing areas have these things called ski lifts, which are basically flying Metal benches that bring you from one part of the mountain, to a slightly higher part of the mountain!
The benches are attached to some sort of metal wire.
My family and I get on ski lifts regularly, and I did not expect this time to be any different. We had been in line for a good ten minutes, which was ten minutes of me and my sister wondering why there were baby wipes on the fence, when our ride came.
See, ski lifts don’t actually stop once they get to where the people are waiting. The people just jump on the ski lifts, pull the metal bar down, and hope for the best.
It usually worked out ok.
Usually.
Since I was the last one on, and we were not very prepared, and the safety bar wasn’t down yet, there were minor problems with the seats we had chosen. Such as I didn’t have a seat. I was sitting on the very edge of ski lift, which wasn’t that big of an issue, until I decided to move.
“This will be easy!” I thought to myself nervously. “All I have to do is slide myself back into the ride, and everything will turn out great!”
I was WRONG.
I slid off of the seat, quickly grabbing ahold of the bottom. I might of had a better grip if I wasn’t wearing mittens, but sadly, I was.
Plus, the skis I was wearing at the time felt like two elephants strapped to my feet. I did not have a very good chance of holding on until we got to the top of the mountain.
It took awhile for anyone to even notice that I wasn’t all the way on the ski lift, which shocked me a whole bunch.
6 feet…. No one sees me…. Eight feet…. No one sees me…. 10 feet….
“Yes! Mom noticed me!” I thought to myself, still dangling above the earth like Mufasa from the lion king movie.
My mom did notice me alright, but she wasn’t much help at the moment. At first, she kept yelping nervously to my step dad, “Caden is not on the ride…. Caden is not on the ride!” Then she kept screaming, “STOP! TURN IT OFF!” to the guy that made sure everyone got on the ski lift safely, who was too far away to hear my mom.
Anyway, the guy did not turn off the ski lift, and as we approached what seemed like infinity feet, I wondered if I would make it out alive.
I had heard about some pretty horrible things happening to people that fell off of ski lifts, so I knew I had a slim chance of surviving this one.
My mom still screaming, turned around, not looking in front of herself to witness my death, was about to have some pretty exciting Facebook status for the next few weeks. She just didn’t know it yet.
I said my last goodbyes in my head, closed my eyes, and awaited my death.
My eyes slowly creaked open once I realized that the ski lift had completely stopped moving.
“What was that noise?” “Had I died yet?” “What was that noise?” these thoughts ran through my head as my eyes fully opened.
It turns out that I was not dead, and the noise was the safety guy yelling at me to let go of the lift. I had a very good grip on the seat by then, and the ground was so far down! There was no way I was letting go!
He yelled louder.
I let go.
As I plummeted down all twelve feet of the sky below me, I thought of how grateful I was for my family.
That was all I was thinking right before I hit the ground, which took about zero seconds.
I wasn’t hurt or anything, because all I landed on was sweet powdery snow, and I landed on my feet, but I think the fall made me cocky.
“I had just survived falling off of a ski lift!” “I could handle anything!” these were some of the thoughts that ran through my head as the safety guy told me to come sit on a different ski lift, and me being my newly formed cocky self, I cheerfully agreed.
I was accompanied by a young couple as my new ski lift slithered up the mountain. One was a girl, and the other was a boy.
Usually I would have been pretty nervous sitting next to someone that I had never ever met once in my entire life, but I was way to happy (and cocky) to even bother with that kind of thought.
In my eyes, I was a hero, and all the sympathetic looks people were giving me were medals of honor.
I have to admit, that was a pretty fun experience, but next time I get on a ski lift, I am going to try to be more prepared.
Paintball Memoir by Jack
Whizz! Paintballs flying around me, one barely misses and hits my teammate Jake. I’m going to get shot, I think to myself. A paintball rockets towards my head. “I am going to get shot.”
5 minutes earlier.
Blee!! The whistle screeches in my ear. Paintball, why did I pick the most painful sport for my birthday? Today I turn 10 but I feel like 3, about to cry. But somehow I love this feeling, fear mixed with adrenaline. My teammates and I run to a metal tower. The gunfire rings in my ear. Pop! Pop!
My teammate Ben tells me, “The enemy team is in the castle!” I can barely make out his voice over the sound of paint balls flying around my head.
“I’m hit!” Jake yells.
“I’m next,” I think to myself. I am breathing so heavily my mask fogs up. “Calm down,” I say to myself. All I need is a plan. It’s like the ref reads my mind.
“Hey JD follow me,” he yells. We run behind cover.
“What are you planning to do?” I ask.
“Flank them,” he answers. That’s when I remember my smoke grenade.”When you get close enough, you pull the pin on the grenade and and chuck it into the castle.”
“Ok I’m ready,”I say. “3...2...1.”The ref and I sprint at our top speeds, like a cheetah chases a gazelle. One cover to another, and I am sweating so much I can taste it.
“Ok run to that flipped over car,” The ref demands.
“Alright!” Heart racing, adrenaline pumping, I run. Since I am so caught up in thinking about my grenade, and I don’t notice the short, but speedy Jack Varga shooting in my direction. Splat as the paintball struck home. The paintball was a wasp sting against my chest.
“I’m hit,” I shout.
“No, wipe it off,” the ref shouts. Thank God he is a nice ref. I run behind the car, and yank the pin off the grenade. It immediately becomes hot like burning coals. I chuck it into the castle as deep as I can. Green smoke surrounds the castle, plunging it into darkness. Carefully, I sneak behind the castle. A paintball suddenly splats in front of me. As I’m ducking behind cover I spot something out of the corner of my eye. It looked like a tall figure with shabby hair. That must be Bryan, he is behind the cover in front of me. I jump out of the cover spraying paintballs in his direction. Somehow one slips through the cover he is hiding behind.
“I’m hit,” he yells. That’s one down, and four to go. I start to look for any enemy players outside of the castle. All of a sudden the world goes slow. As I turn around Caleb rockets out of the castle yellow paintballs flying at my face. All it takes is one orange paintball to take him out.
Back to regular speed as my head spins for a second. I turn back to the castle, green smoke still looms over the castle. I can barely see, but somehow I catch Jack out of the corner of my eye. I try to shoot him with limited vision. I miss him, and he doesn't even notice. I try to shoot him again. This time it hits his leg and on impact it explodes orange paint all over his calf.
“I’m hit,” he shouts, holding his leg in pain. I am starting to like combat. Maybe I should be a marine, I think. I wait for the round to end, but the whistle never comes.
“Ooooohhhh Cam,”I say to myself. That's when I look up, Cam is squatting in the tower. I lift up my gun and fire. I hit him in the waist.
“Game end” the ref yells. I am happy that I won but I discovered something about myself. I like combat and shooting, and I think the military might be calling my name.
A DAY AT THE BEACH by Priya
The house with the door open to the deck was so stuffed with loud people, the neighbors couldn’t help but stare.
The best trip ever started with my whole family piling up in 3 cars. We drove for 3 hours straight. In my car there was me, my cousin (Ayanna), my aunt (Annu), my mom, my cousin (Caleb), and last but not least Ayanna and Caleb’s dog Boomer. Mommy turned the music up extremely loud and then everybody sang louder than the music. Finally when it came to lunchtime we had this huge argument over the phone about where to go. My cousin (Alaina) and my sister (Reyna) were riding in Uncle Rajeev’s car. They wanted McDonalds. Our car wanted Subway. After a while of trying to decide where to go everyone rode to Subway. About an hour after that, I could smell the salty sea air and immediately knew we were there. A couple minutes later my family pulled up at the huge blue beach house in a long snake of cars.
The house was GIGANTIC! When we tried to open the door from the deck, it was locked. We had the keys and we tried it for 15 minutes and it still wouldn’t budge! After that we all wandered around the back , but that was locked too. After that we rushed down to the garage. The key finally opened the door!
About an hour and a half later everybody went down to the beach. There were some boogie boards so we took them. Annu took Ayanna, Caleb, me, and my cousin (Ryan) out really deep, so deep that we found a sand bar. It was where all of the surfers were. This one guy that shouted, “ Dude, hi five for making it out here!” then he made a surfer sign. I could stand up.
“Come on guys, you can do it!” Annu yelled.
“We’re coming,” we all shouted in unison.
That was the first time I have ever been that deep, and even though I got salty ocean water in my eyes and nose I loved every bit of it. About 30 minutes later we ate lunch. As soon as I was about to take a bite of my sandwich I dropped it in the sand. “ I know why it’s called a sandwich.” “ I dropped it, and now it is covered with sand!” I giggled. The beach rang with our laughter.
2 hours later we drove to the aquarium. On the outside there was a statue that was made out of sand. Even though the sign said “ Do not touch”, I still had the urge to reach out and touch it. We took tons of pictures near it. That was really fun!
At 7:00 my mom and Annu rode to the grocery store. After that they brought the groceries home,they went to pick up seafood for us to eat for dinner. By the time they got back home it was 9:00. As soon as they walked through the door everyone in a jumble of words were asking what took so long. But when they opened the boxes of fresh, delicious food the kitchen smelled of fried and baked goodness. Suddenly I realized what took so long. They brought back a feast! There was Macaroni & Cheese, fries, shrimp, corn, Hushpuppies, baked potatoes, and fruit. It was heaven. We waited a while after we ate, then we all took a short drive to Dairy Queen for ice cream. As soon as we walked in the door I heard the soft whirring sound of the machines and the irresistible smell of ice cream. “ Can I please have a cookie dough Blizzard®?”
“Coming right up,” the man replied.
Once, I finally finished my ice cream, I was as cold as an ice cube. Then we all took a walk on the beach. Everyone was scared for some reason. “ Look at that,” I announced. It was a cruise ship! After that we came back home and told funny memories. Everyone laughed.
As I drifted off to sleep the day’s memories flashed through my head in a little slideshow of events. I could still hear the laughter that echoed through the giant, blue beach house on Atlantic Beach, NC.
Trail by Evan
I looked at the steep hill that plummeted into a valley in front of me. “Josh do you want to race?” I repeatedly badgerd my friend.
“Okay let’s race!” Josh replied enthusiastically.
“3...2...1 go,” I shouted urgh uh uh, as I was sweating like a beached whale on a summer day. “Ow, the dust is stinging my eyes like a swarm of bees,” I said in agony.
“You won’t win Evan,” yelled Josh confidently.
“No, you won't win either!” I responded.
We raced down the slope as fast as we could to the hill and down into the valley. I saw the valley below with trees, and dirt and rocks.
“Yessss!” I yelled with a gleaming smile, “I won, I won, I won,” I hollered, “Good job Josh.”
On top of the hill, I could see for miles and miles and miles. “We whirled up a dust storm dude.” I coughed unpleasantly.
“Yay,” Josh replied.
I looked from side to side, and I saw the trail below. It looked like a snake. Hisssss I imagined in my head. It almost felt like the trail was watching me. The trail went down and down liked a curved snake.
Out of nowhere I said “3…2...1...go,” . I was rushing as fast as I could, uh uh uh ahhh! The dirt on the edge of the cliff was crumbling down, and then I pushed myself against a rock dirt filled edge. Ahhh, swish, thud, swipe, ahh, I was tumbling harder and harder down the cliff. I thought the misery would never stop. I stopped myself on the dirty slope! Crying in pain, “Ow, ow, ow.”
My legs are cut up red, and nasty, and bloody. Hands are messed up, and I have a cut face.I feel a streak of blood run down my face. “World!” Why is this happening to me. Why me? I pleaded in pain. “Help!” I sobbed not trying to start another water works. “Help, help, help Josh!” I screamed frantically. My pants were wet from blood that came from my skin . I could smell a distinctive smell of dust blood and sweat roaming the air. My ears heard a noise call out, and after all hope is lost, I heard a faint noise.
“Evan,” the noise grew louder and louder.
“Josh,” I mumbled in relief.
“Dude are you okay,” Josh questioned with concern.
“No,” I muttered in pain. Suddenly, Josh hoisted me out of the dark and endless abyss.Wow, I just thought wow after I was out of the abyss. I limped to see my mom, and I started telling her what happened to me on the trail. We walked the rest of the trail, as I was still in shock about what happened to me.The sun gleamed down like a million diamonds in the fresh blue sky, as we entered into the car, and drove off into the daylight.
The memory is stuck in my mind forever, and still as vivid like it happened today. I realize that I was lucky to not get hospitalized from slipping down the steep edge. I’m much more careful when I run on trails, and also just in general I’ve learned to be more cautious.This memory will never be forget in my mind, for the rest of my life.
Great Wolf Lodge by Caroline
“Yes, finally!” I was tall enough to go on the biggest slide there. I was so thankful. I swallowed hard as I gazed up at the Howling Tornado. All I heard were faint shrieks of other people on their way down the slide.
It felt like forever carrying our heavy tube up the slippery stairs. After what felt like 30 minutes of slowly creeping up steps, we were on the 2nd flight of stairs. My hands started to cramp as we dragged our tube up the last set of steps. At last we were at the top!
All I saw in front of me was water traveling fast through the dark tunnel. Other people slid out about 6 feet, then dropped straight down and screamed. That was how an idea had emerged into my head about what was going to happen to us.
The lifeguard standing the top had a sense of humor I could see. We hopped into the tube and he joked, “Oh no! They’re stuck! HELP!” I laughed. He spun us around so that I was facing backwards, and sent us off into the treacherous tunnel of darkness. It felt to me as if everything was going in slow motion as I thought to myself,“How terrifying will this be?”
My brother in front of me was cringing with his eyes shut tightly. He was facing forwards though, I wasn’t. Just like I had seen, we rode out a little bit, then dropped …
We both shrieked!
I felt like my stomach was up in my throat for a second, then I swallowed it back down. The drop felt at least 10 feet down. The taste of blood was in my mouth because I thought I had bitten my tongue, but it happened so fast I didn’t even realize it.
Our tube slid down a little more, then rode into a huge open bowl. We traveled up one side, then back down, up the other side and back down again. My brother and I did that a couple of times then slid out to another little drop, but not near as big as the first. Finally, we floated out into the open pool.
Now that was a ride worth waiting for! After all of the waiting, to finally be tall enough to ride, it certainly lived up to the hype. Looking back, this experience helped proved to me that sometimes you have to wait for the right time in life to do something. That is why patience is important.
`“Sometimes the fastest way isn’t always the best way. Sometimes the best things in life take a while.”
-Emily Beth
Family Reunion by Jamiel
Riding in the car with my mom, I felt like an exploding bomb!'
“Are you excited to see the hotel?” mom asked.
I blurted, “ Yes!” with a huge smile! I was also thinking about my whole family being there. I couldn't wait to see my cousins, aunts, and grandma. Then the car stopped in front of a gas station and my mom and I got out of the car. ‘‘Mom can I get a drink?’’I asked.
My mom answered., “Yes” with a regular smile! We both got Gatorades and we love blue Gatorade. Soon, we got back in the car and my mom said, “We're almost here.’’
I looked out the window and I saw the hotel, and it was as tall as a skyscraper! My family was taking our suitcases out and then we went into the hotel to see the rest of my family. I saw a restaurant and a pool and I felt like I could explode!
Up on the top floor, I saw my grandma and I hugged her super hard! She hugged me the same way I hugged her, super hard. She shouted, “It’s good to see you, Jamiel!” It made me smile and feel happy. Grandma doesn’t really get to see me that much, so that’s why she hugged me super hard.
Next, I went to my room to change for the pool and when I got to the pool I saw some more of my family members. I went to a chair and took off my shoes and then I went inside the pool. The water was as cold as Antarctica! I was swimming and doing tricks and when I looked at the door I saw two of my favorite cousins. They got in the pool and played with me. After a long time, my cousins and I went into the hot tub to get warm.
My cousins always play minecraft together with me and Logan my bigger cousin, he is 13 years old and my other cousin who is a girl is 8 years old. Everybody went to their room and some of them went to my room for some pizza. I felt happy that some of them went to my room. I could smell pepperoni and cheese pizza. I could hear the TV and all the people talking. I was sitting on the couch by my cousins feeling great!
The last night, our whole family went to the bowling alley. I went inside, and I saw that it was dark. It was dark and our clothes and socks were lighting up. I saw that everybody was there. Also we were all waiting in a long line and while we were, we all heard music playing. Some of my cousins and family were doing silly dancing and I did it too.
On the last day we tried to go out to eat but we decided not to.We just took a last picture because that was the last day. After we took the picture that make me want to remember the family reunion forever.
My Brother’s Performance by Brady
As I was walking toward the stage, my brother was about to perform. I was anxious to see what would happen and I felt the vibe of the crowd. The noise surrounded me and my anxiety crept higher like the Tower of Terror.
A few minutes later the creator of the show walked out onto the stage to get the show started. Mr.Allen announced, “Thank you for coming to see these wonderful kids perform and please enjoy the show.” Everyone started to sit down in their seat and the performers started to come out on stage. Shortly after, I saw my brother walk out on the stage and I was so excited.
Will wasn’t in the first part. The first part was the dance group and it was fairly interesting. Some of the dancers could do moves like a dancer in a professional competition.
Finally my brother went onto the stage. I whispered to my dad, “I wonder what he is going to do?” Me and my dad found out a little bit after. He did a dance move where he moved his arms, and the dance director Ms.Tammy was showing everyone on stage what movement to do. At first I felt nervous and anxious, and after that I felt excited and proud. Will nailed it!
I’m pretty sure the two best dancers in the program did what people do in the Olympics and it was insane because they were stretching their legs out, doing twirls, and they did both of those moves perfectly.
That basically sums up the show. After my brother got of the stage we all were congratulating him. I told him, “ That was awesome Will!”
“Thanks!”, He replied.
We were all excited that my brother got to perform at Disney World.
Everyone set off to one of the parks the parts still flashing from the show like a movie in my head. It was the best show I’ve ever seen!
Wakeboarding by Karis
It was the last day that I was going to be at Lake Gaston with my friend, Kayla, and her family. I had been awake for hours laying in my bed, but I didn't want to wake the others up so I stayed. Mrs.Stephanie realized I was awake and told me to get out of bed. I excitedly pulled myself out of my cozy piece of heaven and changed into my bathing suit. I walked out of my room that was shared with four other people to find that everyone else was already ready. This was when I didn't know how frightening wakeboarding could be, but that changes a lot later on.
Once we climbed into the boat Kayla asked to go first, so I could know what I was about to do and get a better image of how to wakeboard. The third time she fell, it was my turn. Now I was scared because she fell hard into the water, and on her face. Kayla taught me how to get the board on (it was fairly big because it was her dad's.) I could hear my heart pounding like a drum. I was terrified.
I grabbed the rope with all my might, and took many deep breaths. I shouted out “ready” blank mindedly to signal that Mr. Adam ( Kayla’s dad) could start driving the boat. He nodded and all of a sudden I felt the water running past me. It felt like my heart was beating a hundred times a second. He started moving faster and it felt like my arms were about to rip off. I rotated my hips ever so slightly and before I knew it I was standing up.
I didn't stay up very long even though it felt like 10 hours. I popped out of the water and saw the boat speeding around coming to get me. When they reached me I asked how I did for my first time and Kayla’s dad said looking surprised , “Most people don't even stand up until their tenth try.” I was so ecstatic, because I boarded much better than expected.
I swam to put my board on and this time when I shouted ready my mind was focused only on wakeboarding. All I could hear was the roaring of the engine that sounded sounded like a monster ready to take me on. I took a big breath and like last time rotated my hips and stood up. All I could see was water everywhere. It was a world of only blue. Water was spraying into my face and mouth and it felt warm and relaxing but I couldn't focus on that now or I would fall. It felt amazing. I had no idea why I was scared before. The waves I was riding on seemed to be alive and chasing me. All of a sudden I tripped on a wave and crashed into the water! It was so unexpected that I didn't have time to hold my breath. I could feel the water stinging my eyes and pouring into my nose.
When I fell it pained me more than last time because the boat was moving a lot faster. My arms and legs burned. I bobbed out of the water because I was wearing my lifejacket. As I was gasping for breath and choking for some strange reason, I felt unstoppable. “I think i'm getting better already!” I shouted out into the lake between a choke. The boat rang with kind laughter. I swam to get the board on because when I flew into the water it came off like the last time I fell. This routine repeated itself and Kayla and her parents agreed that I stayed up longer and had better positioning every time I got up and riding.
Eventually I got tired of wakeboarding and hoisted myself onto the boat and dried off. My arms and legs were still burning from all of the times I fell. I was out of breath and exhausted.
“You did amazing!” Mrs.Stephanie exclaimed.
“Ya, you did great for your first time!” Kayla agreed.
“Wow” Mr.Adam said speechless.
While they all congratulated me I just sat there smiling joyfully not saying a word. After a while we decided that Kayla’s mom should have a turn. While she was getting her board on I was watching the waves toss and turn over and over again. While I was doing this I had a so many thoughts in my mind that my brain might as well be the gears of a clock tower. In my head there was questions like, when will I be able to go wake boarding again? Or, will one of my rides be as good as Kayla’s? But the last and most important wasn't a question but a feeling and that was that wakeboarding was a new passion of mine that I am sure to always enjoy.
The Tornado by Harrison
It is a amazing day Ryan and I just had a view of the Tornado and I exclaimed excitedly with mouth as wide as a jack o'lantern
“ We have to ride it.”
I was worried Ryan would not want to be my friend if I did not make a good impression.
Ryan looked at me with a smile and said, “What are we waiting for?”
As we speedily ran, all I could hear was the shrieks and splashes coming from the rides,I knew my fingers would be pruned. Ryan joked, “The line is as short as an elf.”
We started to laugh, I took a big whiff All I could smell was the salty water. As we jumped, on to the raft. I saw the water, and it looked like a sun made from the angels was shining down on it. Soon after Ryan exclaimed excitedly, “After this we have to go to the zipline parkour course!”
I responded anxiously, “Ok but I call back wards.” with every muscle in my body ready to go on the tornado.
Right then I started to feel the raft move, soon after we felt that it started up I was not worried about the ride I was scared if Ryan is my friend yet but, I just tried to forget it. As we were gaining speed in the tunnel I looked over and saw Ryan's eyes were wide open as well was his mouth, so I thought something was coming up, and something was! It was a ten foot drop, that landed in a huge dome! To me it was the sweetest ride ever.” The dome was as big as two mansions combine! I heard Ryan screech “This is the best ever.”
At the end there was a huge wave that when it hit all I could taste was salt water. Soon after I got the taste of salt water out of my mouth, Ryan asked “can we please go again?”
I was worried Right now but I thought I don't need to impress him because we are already friends.
I responded “no if we go now we will have more time later for rides.”
Ryan complained “I guess you are right” with a puppy dog look.
So From this day forward me and Ryan are friends.
The Beach by Kayla
Walking onto the beach, I felt sand in between my toes like a slushie in a cup and the water crashing on the rocks, making sprays of water.
I heard voices all around me especially laughter, and I could tell I was going to have fun. As we settled the blanket down on the soft dry sand I took my shoes off and jumped right into the water.
As I jumped in, I felt the cold water startle me. Finally, I got used to the water, and my sister jumped in and we started to play. We talked about how much fun we were going to have. My dad came in the water, and started to play with us. He would throw my sister and I into the water.
“Mom I am really hungry, can we get something to eat?” asked Kayla with a grumbling stomach.
“Sure sweetie! I am hungry too,” replied mom.
My family and I were all done with the water for now, so we walked up to the concession stand. I purchased french fries with cheese and ketchup. My sister had the same thing and mom and dad both ate burgers. Grandma and aunt Jenn bought a hotdog and burger. Aunt Amber bought a cheeseburger and fries and my cousin shared her fries.
My family and I started walking back to the beach with our food. We sat down on our blanket and ate our food. While we were finishing up our food, a seagull took my grandma’s hotdog and then another seagull pooped on her head. We all were laughing hysterically.
“Grandma are you okay?” I shouted.
“Oh I am fine. They say when a bird poops on your head it’s good luck!” my grandmother calmly exclaimed
Once we finished eating my sister and I wanted to go back in the water, but my mom demanded with a little tone in her voice. “ no you have to wait thirty minutes,”my mother strictly said “You guys will get a cramp if you go back in too soon,”
“Okay mom, that’s fine we will wait,” we all said impatiently.
My mom felt bad so she and my grandma took us to the park, while the others stayed at the beach.
Both my cousins and I played tag because it was our favorite game to play. I felt happy inside. I could hear the laughter of kids, the crying of the toddlers, and the talk of the adults. I knew I didn’t want to leave. After about 45 minutes at the park, we took a bathroom break. We then headed back to the beach.
The tide was coming in and the waves were getting higher, as the sun was starting to set. My aunt took me into the water, at that point I didn’t know what she was doing. So I closed my eyes and thought about happy things. I heard the water crash over the sand as she lifted me up onto her shoulders.
“Plug your nose Kayla,” my aunt screamed.
The water washed over us as that happened I felt free like I could do anything.
“Did you have fun?” as she lifted me from her shoulders.
“Yes I had an amazing time!” with a smile on my face.
We finished talking and playing in the water, my mother announced that it was time to go. We packed our beach toys and bags, grabbed our blanket and said goodbye to the beach!
2015-16
Memoirs
The Grand Feast
By: Anna
“They’re here,” my grandma shouts, through the fog of delicious smells
.
Champ jumps on the couch like a flash of white and black to bark, just as the doorbell rings. I open the door and the hot, Alabama air hits me in the face as my relatives flood into the crowded living room. Everyone hugs, and conversation fills the room. I feel like a volcano, overflowing with happiness, when I see my family all together. Champ leaps on everyone like a kangaroo as the scent of the grand feast reaches our noses. My grandma comes out of kitchen, with her hands full of delicious smelling food. Everyone crowds around her saying, “yum”.
Everybody gathers around the hard wooden table as my grandma presents the food that smells like paradise. I snatch a paper plate, and I shovel mashed potatoes, BBQ, and a roll onto my plate. I eagerly seize a plastic fork, knife and venture into the living room. The couches were overflowing with people, so I sit down in front of the fireplace by my grandpa. He looks down and smiles his warm smile at me. The BBQ fills my mouth with the wonderful taste of love mixed in by my grandma. The mashed potatoes have just the right amount of crystal, white salt, and the roll is perfectly buttered. I try to savor every bite of the delicious food.
The family has just taken their last bite and now their eyes are glued to the television. I look at my grandma, just to find her icing a pretty, pink cake. She spies me watching her, and winks through her round clear glasses. She cuts the pink, strawberry cake then gives me a slice. I sit back down in front of the fireplace. My grandpa rolls his wheelchair over beside me and smiles. The smile makes me feel like a fire has been lit inside me and spreading warmth throughout my, and is melting me piece by piece. The cake taste like a strawberry lover’s dream. Cream cheese icing glazed over the cake perfects the dessert.
“She used to make wonderful cakes for me all the time,” grandpa remembers thoughtfully, “she’s a wonderful baker. My personal favorite is her Mississippi mud pie,” he continues through a mouthful of cake.
“This is better than my mom’s cakes,” I admit quietly so my mom wouldn’t overhear.
“Can we get seconds,” my brother cries, nagging my grandma with a grin on his face.
“Sure, I made plenty,” she cheerfully replies, beaming.
Nick leaps off the couch and I race him to the kitchen.
“Beat you!” He brags as he seizes the knife and cuts a ginormous piece.
I snatch the knife out of his hands and slice myself a piece. I take a seat next to my grandpa. I think about how cheerful and joyful he looks. I glance at the score of the football game, our team was winning, but I don’t care. I’m having too much fun. I reach down for another bite of pink perfection, but it’s all gone.
The referee blows his whistle three times, and the game ends. Normally I don’t care about football, but I don’t want this game to end, because then everyone will go home. I peek at the clock and see that it’s only 10:00. Then I remember I’m in a different time zone. Everyone starts getting up to leave. I pick up my trash, and join the line of ants to throw it away. I say farewell I to my aunts, uncles, and cousins, and watch them leave. I press my nose up against the glass, careful not to fog it up. I watch as the last of the tail lights fade into the pitch black darkness. I look up at the stars and the moon, soaking in every last second that I can. I stare at the stars, trying to make out constellations when I realize I won’t see them again until next year-or ever again.