Words from Our Young Authors at Chabot Elementary

This Winter at Chabot our students concocted suspenseful stories in our Mystery curriculum. Check out some of our favorite excerpts below!

From Settings: Students picked a setting and mood for a story and focused on describing it.

In the Forest

It sounded like someone talking, but then the sound hit a wall. It looked like beautiful nature that moved like people move. The trees felt like oil that does not move, that has hardened. There are no birds, nor any animals, because of one little girl. She scares them away. It smells like dust mixed with perfume. She was a bad little girl, an evil little girl. The birds went away because she always killed their families. She was evil because a spell had been cast upon her.

-Amy

From hooks and story-starters: Students had to write stories that started with a hook or right in the middle of the action, based on a series of one-liner story-starters that were handed out.

The door was ajar. I could hear voices yelling about something. I crept inside the broken-down studio. I peeked around the corner and I saw a little boy crying with two men standing over him. They were arguing over what to do with him. “We should punish him,” one man said.

“Why? Because he was curious I say we let him go,” the other said. They finally came to an agreement. “We will hide him for one night, then let him out in the morning.”

“OK.”

I got a quick glimpse of the boy’s face before they took him away. It was my brother.

-Arielle

From “It was missing!”: Students listed some story “ingredients” for who, what, when, where, why, and how, and then wrote a story based around a case of something missing filling in the details from their lists.

He Was Missing

“Eek!” cried a panicked voice from the top of the building. Bob Williams quickly ran up the stairs to a shocking surprise. His son, Tommy, was missing. Bob quickly informed the authorities, who sent a guy named Al Davis, who had only solved missing eraser cases in his 25-year career.

“What’s the problem?” said Al.

“My son, Tommy, is missing,” said Bob.

“Oh,” said Al. “I’m used to solving cases like missing erasers.”

“Well, my son isn’t an eraser, so get to work!” exclaimed Bob with a hint of impatience.

* * *

“Get up,” shouted an angry voice.

Tommy blinked, “Where am I?” he said nervously.

“I’m not sure I’m the guy to tell you that,” said the voice.

Tommy was rolled down a pitch-black hall with no end. When he tried to get up, he found he was tied to the chair.

-Connor

From hooks and story-starters: Students had to write stories that started with a hook or right in the middle of the action, based on a series of one-liner story-starters that were handed out.

1) I thought it was just a glitch in my computer, but that was yesterday…. Today, I realized that it was a secret message sent by Aclue, whoever that was supposed to be. The message had a map in it, so I printed it and decided to find the end.

2) The stranger came to the village just as the first season’s snows began. I was having a dream about riding a friendly crayfish named Flash. He was just about to make me a chocolate cake, when suddenly I felt a chill and bolted upwards in bed.

-Dabney

From “It was missing!”: Students listed some story “ingredients” for who, what, when, where, why, and how, and then wrote a story based around a case of something missing filling in the details from their lists.

Bobby Joe was Missing

Joe Smith and his sidekick Mick Whale woke up to a ringing phone. The police said that Bobby Joe had been kidnapped. They went to Bobby Joe’s house right away. Joe Smith and Mick Whale were professional spies.

They got to Bobby Joe’s house and looked for clues. They found a knife with blood all over it. They thought Bobby Joe had been murdered, but they stayed on the case. Then, a rock hit the window of the house. They looked out the window and saw a car driving away. In the car was Bobby Joe. He threw the rock at the window to get their attention. They got in their car and drove after him.

The people who stole Bobby Joe parked at the church. Joe Smith walked into the church and someone threw a cover over his head.

-Diego

From “It was missing!”: Students listed some story “ingredients” for who, what, when, where, why, and how, and then wrote a story based around a case of something missing filling in the details from their lists.

He was Missing

I woke up with the sun glaring in my eyes, and I jumped out of bed.

“Mathew! Get up! It’s 12:05”

“Yes, mom,” I mumbled as I slowly walked to the kitchen and fell into my chair. After a filling breakfast of eggs and toast, I got ready for my new school.

When I got to KPU, I went to the office to find out where to find my class. When I found P3, I went inside.

“Welcome to KPU, you must be Mathew. I’m Professor P,” said the long-haired, blonde, short man. “Please sit down.”

I sat next to a very short girl with long, dirty blonde hair. She smiled at me, then started to fiddle with her pencil.

“So, shall we get started?” Professor P said.

After a long day of weird tests, it was finally time to go to our rooms in the school. When I was about to leave, Professor P said, “Can Billy, Lucy, and Mathew please stay a second.” I turned around and sat down next to the short girl who must have been Lucy, and a plump boy who must have been Billy.

“After all of my tests you three are my willders of 7^th grade.”

“What are willders?” I asked.

“Willders are people of all ages , in kindergarten through 12^th grade, and they all train every day in magic.”

-Elias

From Hook Your Reader: Students had to write stories that started with a hook to get the reader’s attention.

The second time I saw it, I didn’t realize what it was. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The last of its kind! Oh my, it’s on sale, almost for free. Only $200. I got out my money. Then, I ran at it as fast as I could. I carefully took it out and paid for it. I rushed home not believing what I had gotten. My parent’s would be amazed, I thought.

When they came home, they took it away from me. They said, “That’s not for you.” I didn’t understand. I had gotten it from a store, with my own money!

-Ella

From “It was missing!”: Students listed some story “ingredients” for who, what, when, where, why, and how, and then wrote a story based around a case of something missing filling in the details from their lists.

It was missing!

I woke up and heard my alarm going, “Beep! Beep! Beep!” I rolled over and smacked the stinkin’ alarm’s off button. I got out of bed and trudged downstairs. I wiped the sleep from my eyes. As I buttered my toast, I turned on the TV. It was the news, and they were talking about some theft from a museum. I looked up to see what it was. They showed a picture of a gold ring in a case that said, “14 karat gold engraved with platinum.” The man on the screen said, “All of the security cameras were broken and all of the guards were gone in the morning. There was no evidence, not even fingerprints.”

My sister, Lucy, came into the room with my mom. She said, “You’re up early.”

I turned and said, “Yeah, take a look at the news.”

She came over and looked at the screen and said, “Wow, I wonder how they managed that.”

“I know,” I said. “That must have been worth about $20,000.”

“More,” said mom. “More like $50,000.”

I took a big bite of my toast and sat down on my chair, but my sister pulled it out from under me and I landed on my butt. “Lucy!” I shouted. “What did you do that for?”

“It was funny,” she said.

-Joey

From an activity where students listed story “ingredients” for who, what, when, where, why, and how, and then wrote a story by filling in the details from their lists.

The Wand of Secrets

Once upon a time in Switzerland, there lived a princess called Miss Angeline Vermont. Her father, the king, was named Mr. S. R. Titanic. Then, he died suddenly, so suddenly that everyone was in shock. Then the battle for the throne began.

She tried to win, but it was hard. She had to win the vote. She did win the vote, though, finally, and ruled for 66 years. Her castle was built entirely out of marble and stone, and it had one thousand rooms!

-Josette

From “What Matters:” Students list things that matter, and it turns into a kind of litany poem, or could become details to fill a story.

What Matters

I matter My hamster matters Books matter Christmas matters Family matters Friends matter The world matters School matters Brushing my hair matters Being nice matters My bed matters Crayons matter Seeing matters Sweets matter Pictures matter

-Jessie

From Beginning, Middle, End: Students start a story and then pass their story to a neighbor to write the next section. Each student writes a beginning, middle, and an end, with a chance to develop more than one story together.

Everyone avoided the big old mansion. It was believed to have a mystery to it. You saw every person who went in, and they never came out. The house was built in 1448 and owned by Mr E. Us. In 1960, he had it remodeled to be dark and gloomy. The day after it was finished, he disappeared. Now everyone who goes in never comes out. Until the day me and my dog went to check it out.

It was very dark and I couldn’t see a thing until I turned on my flashlight. Suddenly, my dog barked and my flashlight went dead! “What happened?” I cried.

-Max

From Settings: Students picked a setting and mood for a story and focused on describing it.

In the basement.

It was cold and dark. It was the place where everyone put their junk. There was a horrible stench. It came from the stuff that was rotting, disintegrating, dissolving, and worse. It was all black, but when you turned on the lights—let’s just say think of all the colors imaginable and that still doesn’t explain what it looked like down there. It sounded like birds, music, squeaking, and scratching…

-Molly

From “It was missing!”: Students listed some story “ingredients” for who, what, when, where, why, and how, and then wrote a story based around a case of something missing filling in the details from their lists.

It Was Missing

The golden skull was missing! Joe, the banker who owned it, confided in Igor Jenkins, Private Eye. Igor went to the scene, a house in Rome. He saw size 20 shoes. “Hmmm,” he muttered. “This must be a tall man.” They were Zapatos, very expensive. He traced the shoes to Alex of Lorland. Alex was hanged and the treasure was restored to Joe.

After examining it, Igor exclaimed “It’s a fake!”

“Vaht!?” Joe said, owing to his heavy accent. “Eet eez paler zan zee ariginal!”

“Wait,” said Dr. Jenkins, “This seems to be cracked.” Opening it, he fell into the void.

Joe jumped in. He found the actual skull. Igor was never seen again.

-Owen

From “It was missing!”: Students listed some story “ingredients” for who, what, when, where, why, and how, and then wrote a story based around a case of something missing filling in the details from their lists.

It Was Missing

I woke up with my answering machine saying, “Please leave a message after the beep. BEEEEEP.”

“Please (sob), please help me, Detective Math. You’re my only hope (sob). My pet poodle, Sam, is missing. I live on College Avenue in the house 1119. Please (sob), help me.”

When I heard that, I fully awoke. A mystery! I got out of bed and got dressed. Then I immediately drove to College Avenue. I got there and rang the doorbell. A voice that sounded sore from crying hollered, “Coming!” I waited for five minutes until a woman answered the door.

“Hello,” I said. “you have a pet poodle missing?”

-Robert

From “It was missing!”: Students listed some story “ingredients” for who, what, when, where, why, and how, and then wrote a story based around a case of something missing filling in the details from their lists.

He Was Missing

One night as I was coming home from work, I saw some strange men on my neighbor’s porch. One was holding a gun and a crowbar, and the other one had a club. I watched as they broke down the door and went inside. I pulled over and parked the car. As I was getting out, the men ran out of the house with a body between them, and then they hopped into a white MDX and took off.

-Wyatt

Words from Our Young Authors at The Booksmith

From bedtime stories to beliefs, check out the poems and tales concocted by our class at The Booksmith in San Francisco this Fall! From her Bedtime Story:

Kings, queens, princes, princesses, emperors and empresses came from playgrounds far and wide, from playground Calldia to playground Zngwillia. It was amazing. Even Princess Ellsia from the park of Blaziall, the playground of playgrounds, was there.

-Lainey

From “This I Used To Believe”:

I used to believe that… tooth fairies were real. I grew up. Now I think that it is my mom, dad or grandparents. I used to tell my mom and dad in the morning that I got money from the Tooth Fairy! My mom and dad just congratulated me. Now I think that the Tooth Fairy is fake. My sister still believes that the Tooth Fairy is real, but I can understand that because she is only 5 years old.

-Sequoia

From "My Name Is":

My name is made from something that disappears easily.

I found him in a brain and named him Bob

My name can hide away from people, hatred, want and life.

If I lost my name he would flinch, cry and weaken. I will find him again and he will renew.

-Sabrina

From "My Name Is":

My name came from mischief. My mom and dad got the name from a movie. The movie is Milo and Otis.

-Milo

From "This I believe":

I believe that ghosts exist. I believe that spirits exist. I don’t believe that when there’s darkness it’s harmless.

-Alex

Words from Our Young Authors at Thornhill (2nd & 3rd Grade)

Lend an eye to some of the work our 2nd and 3rd graders came up with for our "Poetry Palooza" session this Fall! From an exercise on alliteration poetry:

Adriana went to the airport, she ate an apple at the airplane, and had an ant with an aunt, the ant was in a box.”

- Adriana, age 7

From a dialogue-themed free write. Students were given one word on which to build their dialogues. Aidan’s word was “leave”:

"Your name is weird...you’re not my friend at all" "Well, you’re not my friend either, you’re so rude." "No you are...You’re my last friend in the world."

- Aidan, age 7 

From a Halloween exercise in which the kids were asked to write poems about facing their fears:

Shots that leave dots, Stage fright, Bee bite, Life doesn’t frighten me at all.

- Amanda, age 8

From a free-form poetry excercise in which the students were asked to reflect on how it feels to get older:

When I was four I believed I was a fairy princess, who danced, and skipped, and played, and would be four for the rest of her life, But now I don’t care about staying the same age, I don’t care how old I am, I am me, and I like me.

- Ava D., age 8

From an exercise in which students were asked to make a list of items, and then write a poem using those items:

Red sauce lots of cheese with sprinkles and marshmallows All of these things are in my pizza tonight. Strawberries and apples and chips, All of these things are in my pizza tonight.

- Ava S., age 7

From an exercise on alliteration:

Lauren eats lolly pops Lauren eats lunch Lauren leaps Lauren likes laughing Lauren likes loop de loops Lauren likes lizards.

- Lauren, age 7

From an exercise on personification. Sophia wrote her poem from the perspective of a soccer ball:

The life of a soccer ball is not very easy I get rolled in the grass I get kicked in a net I’m getting bored of my color black and white I wish I was colorful!

- Sophia, age 7

Words from our young authors at Oakton Elementary

This fall, we asked our students at Oakton Elementary to come up with a list of Halloween monsters and to write a short spooky story where the monster was either the protagonist or the villain. See some excerpts from the eerie tales they concocted! From Bayan's piece, "Night of the Zombie Candies":

"...Hi, my name is Jimmy. On my most recent Halloween, I went with my brother, Billy, to go trick-or-treating. When we got back it was too late to eat anything, so we went to bed. The next day, I saw a lot of people dressed as zombies. Then, when someone completely fell apart, me and Billy ran home! Our parents saw what happened so they believed us. We locked ourselves inside the house and then I saw my dog, Sausage, eating some candy. Suddenly, he became green and his eyes were completely white. He was a zombie!"

From Aaron's piece, "The Machine":

"Once, a man named Fred walked straight to a haunted church and ate some blood -- he was a zombie. He had friends named Ted, Ned, Bob, and Ben who were also zombies and were rich (zombie money is blood). A gallon of blood or more means you are rich. Fred was poor because he only had a cup of blood...The next day, a machine appeared out of nowhere, but nothing happened - yet. Fred went out to get some blood, but no one seemed to have any. When he got back the machine was moving and killing zombies! Fred threw all the meat from his house at the machine and it exploded blood. He now has 1000 gallons. Fred is rich and has a happy ending."

From Wesley's piece, "The Halloween Night":

"'Twas the night before Halloween and everything was dark. There was a monster getting ready for Halloween - he was a ghost named Klober. But Klober wasn't a full ghost: he could also change into a human. He was a cop, but on Halloween, he would change into a ghost so that he could trick people. He had a ghost dog named Scare. This year, they were going to steal candy from babies and from everybody else (but mostly from babies). Klober loved Halloween..."

From Charlie's story, "The Monster Behind the Door":

"Once upon a time, there was a kid named Jason. He was graduating from wizard school. When he graduated, he received a magical staff with a crystal on the top. When he got home from wizard school, he heard a creaking and a growling from his closet at the top of the stairs. He slowly opened the door and there was a giant monster standing in his closet! The monster swung at Jason, but he ducked. Jason grabbed his staff and shot five plasma bolts at the monster. The monster was defeated. Suddenly, another monster came up behind him, but he was prepared this time. He summoned lightning to the crystal on the staff and sent it into the monster's chest. He had won. He had defeated all the monsters."

From Dillan's untitled story:

"One night, a couple of teenagers were having a party. Some of them were drunk, but not Jack. They heard strange noises, like footsteps, but when they looked out the window, they didn't hear a single thing. Jack, who paid more attention, heard the noises ten times, and they kept getting closer and closer. Then he saw Jason in his hockey mask with a bloody machete. Jack ran to his car and drove as fast as he could - somehow he knew that all his friends had died...Today, Jason is still alive and is coming for you."

From Erin's untitled story:

"The night was beautiful, with many stars in the sky. It was cool outside. Every child was asleep -- except for one. He lurked in the shadows all night. He slept in an old abandoned house all day. He was unknown to almost all, except for his grandfather. This boy had a scar doing down his face, from the middle of his forehead to his right cheek. He had brown hair and bangs, and a skin-tone darker than pale, but not very tan at all. He was tall and wore a black jacket and navy blue pants. He was a very mysterious boy. He never came out of the shadows until one day, when his grandfather found him and brought him home on Halloween..." To Be Continued...

From Emily's story, "Grandma's Haunted House" :

"Many years ago, during the Silver War, many people were killed in a forest and were turned into zombies. When they woke up, they went looking for a place to live and they found a haunted house. They went inside, and there was Grandma. They decided to kick her out of her house, and attacked her. Luckily, Grandma knew karate and could defend herself. Grandma still lives there today, but the zombies were never seen again."

Words from Our Young Authors at Havens Elementary

This Fall at Havens Elementary we concocted bedtime stories, faced our old fears of monsters, and more! See some of the excerpts we have to share with you below!

From “My Name Is"... prompt – students inserted an emotion or personality trait for “Name”:

My creativity is giant and growing. Every day. My creativity is made from dreams and everything around me. My creativity can be sad, happy, gory, awesome, shiny, gross and lots more.

-Jack

Excerpt from bedtime story:

One upon a time Pooh Bear, Christopher Robin, Owl, Rabbit, Eeyore, and Tigger were all standing on a cliff, watching the foamy waves crash against the shore. Pooh (that’s what everyone called him when he was silly) took a couple steps forward. When he was three steps away, a rock tripped him. “Poooooh!” everyone  screamed. “My life is ending!” Pooh called back.

-Sara

Excerpt from bedtime story:

Strike wondered where Luna had gone. She hadn’t told him a thing or left a note. Luna was in Braindude’s hideout. She was very scared. She thought that Braindude would eat her. She was in a dark structure that was old and covered from wall to wall and ceiling to floor with all sorts of gross things like webs, mice, rats and mold.

-Hannah

Excerpt from bedtime story:

Once Bo got to Dr. Mammoths’  house/lab/life he figured he shouldn’t use the doorbell so he just kicked the door open! “Aww Bo, hmmm, how did I know you were coming?” cackled Dr. Mammoth. “Because I have a brain.” Then, unexpectedly, a cage dropped right over Bo. Bad Luck!

1. Bo was trapped. 2. He really needed to use the bathroom. 3. He was bored and 4. well… nothing for #4.

-Jihae

From "This I used to believe":

I used to believe in the toilet monster. Whenever you flushed the toilet, a monster would jump out! It was very scary. One night I had a dream about the toilet monster. It had a toilet head, a water body, toilet fingers and toilet paper eyes! It was the scariest thing I’d ever seen. I was so scared of it that the next morning, I almost never went to the bathroom!

-Sophia

Excerpt from bedtime story:

Once upon a time there was a peanut named Paul the Peanut. Paul was not like ordinary peanuts. Paul could talk. When he was born, he never wanted to be eaten. He had nightmares about being eaten.

One day a little girl came up and got the peanut jar down from the shelf. Slowly, she twisted the jar. It popped open. She picked up a peanut. “Noooo!” cried Paul the Peanut. “Not Aunt Susan! Goodbye! I love you!”

-Harper

Excerpt from bedtime story:

The ground began to rumble and blackness surrounded the house. My mouth opened. The house had red blocks holding the roof up with glass windows next to every red block. Right in front was a small waterfall leading to a pond with Chinese fish. A rocky cement pathway led to the house’s red door. We entered the house.

-Eleanor

Excerpt from bedtime story:

Gloria is a flamingo. She has a great-great-great grandfather who is very old. He is a turtle and is 9,999. She hopes that he does not die. Her great-great-great grandfather’s name is Bob. Gloria’s great-great-great grandfather gave her a turtle shell as a gift. Ever since, she wears it as a hat. It is very fashionable. All the girls at school want one.

-Elizabeth

Words from Our 4th & 5th Grade Writers at Sunset Elementary

Our young writers had a blast letting their imaginations run away with free-writes, Amelia Earhart theories, and more at Thornhill Elementary this Fall. Take a look at some of our favorite excerpts from the class below!

A Fun Rainy Day!

(From a freewrite where the students were asked to describe the last night's rain.)

The rain came down hard in school! It sounds like thunder or probably like fishes flopping on the land’s ground. In the rain, it smells like dirt and muddy puddles everywhere. It felt like somebody was tapping on me a thousand times! It had no scent. Then I ran back to the class and started on my homework. Then I told one of my friends “It’s raining cats and dogs out there!”

-Tiffany

The Pops Comedy

(From a freewrite where the students were asked to list a bunch of common household objects, then use personification to bring them alive.)

One day I was eating my cereal, “Pops.” It was a sunny day just to tell you, too. When the sunlight reached the Pops, they turned alive. I was about to take my spoon and eat until the Pops said “Stop!” I looked at my cereal. What? The Pops said, “Don’t eat us because we are alive! The sun turned us alive. I know it’s weird, but it’s true.” I turned my face and saw one Pop named Jack was dancing. Wow! “My God what are you doing, it’s time for school,” my grandmother said. I was hungry at school, sadly. After school I came back to the Pops. They all were not alive. Only one of the Pops was alive. I ate him because he was as annoying as a frog. I went to sleep. The End.

-Joshua

What Happened to Amelia Earhart

(From our Amelia Earhart exercise, Take Flight Curriculum. The prompt was "What do you think happened to Amelia Earhart?")

What happened to Amelia Earhart is that she was flying for 33 days but one day she fell asleep near an island. Her plane dived for the island and she crashed her plane but was never found. She had enough food for years. She lived on that island but no one ever found her. No one knew she was stranded. Her copilot got dropped off at another island. Amelia Earhart built herself a shelter. She used wood to build a raft and tried to find fish. She was smart - she knew that the small raft could not go through the giant ocean. So she stayed there and used the few resources she had to make a big difference.

-Jonah

Friends

(From a freewrite prompt - "What's your favorite thing about being you?")

I have a lot of friends and they live across the world. One of my favorites is Alex. He lives in Australia, does home school, and surfs real good. One time I was surfing with him and we got in a water tube! My other friend lives in Saint Petersburg and knows everything about the city. His name is Dan. He took me across the whole city without me even having to pay. And last but not least Fred. He lives in Brazil and is great at soccer. He even knows how to do a bicycle kick! But most of my friends are here in America.

-Pasha

The Rain

(From a freewrite where the students were asked to describe the last night's rain.)

The rain came down hard. I could hear the rain plip plop plip plop. So I woke up but then I saw there was a flood. I was so wet. I saw people swimming in it. It was funny but then I saw thunder. But then I felt hungry. I smelled pancakes and syrup - it smelled yummy. So I opened my blinds and ran to the kitchen and I ate some pancakes. Then I watched some TV. Then I went downstairs to play the computer. Then it was time for lunch. When I finished it I drew a picture. Then I looked outside again and the people were still swimming. Then I found out they were really walking to get to their cars. Then I started watching TV again. Then we went to the car so we could drive to Costco, but when we opened the garage door and water came pouring in and then we drove through the rain. We finally got to Costco but it was flooded so we had to go home. Then it was time for bed.

-Sydnie

Puffy the Bumblebee

(From our prompt, Flight of the Bumblebee. The students listened to "Flight of the Bumblebee" and wrote a story based on what they imagined.)

Hi! I’m Puffy! I’m a bumblebee and I’m owned by Nectar, a honey and insect fairy. Today I’m flying home from a successful day of nectar gathering. Let me tell you about how Nectar and I work together. I collect nectar then Nectar makes honey. Unfortunately the flower and garden fairies live away from Fairy Garden, so Fairy Garden has no real flowers. Today I visited Snapdragon’s garden. Her flowers have lots of nectar and pollen. I like to mix the two together. Now I’m flying home to Fairy Garden. I’ll bet Nectar has made an excellent honeycomb by now. I hope she makes beeswax dumplings and honey cake. Yumm! I’m glad that nectar has given me many good foods, like Hot Frogs, and I think I’ve tried the most foods of all the bumblebees.

-Helena

The Diary of Frank, Amelia Earhart’s Copilot

(From our Amelia Earhart exercise, Take Flight Curriculum. The prompt was "What do you think happened to Amelia Earhart?")

Dear Diary, Thirty days ago Amelia and I left for our around the world trip. I got this diary from New Guinea and wanted to start using it today. Everything has been going smoothly so far. I’ve had the best time on this trip than I’ve had for awhile. Oh! Gotta go.

Dear Diary, The strangest thing happened, but luckily we’re safe. Amelia and I were flying through the night sky when a portal opened out of nowhere. We tried to turn right, but out plane just wouldn’t let us. Right when we got to the world, two unknown creatures which we soon called Lanzas took us into a room which looked a bit like a science lab. The Lanzas took our blood and put it in test tubes. We’ve actually been treated well in the world of other captured humans and Lanzas. Everything is fine except the food is made of green goo.

Dear Diary, Weep, weep. Something terrible has happened. Just as we were getting settled in, Amelia fell down a stairwell and went into a coma. Her sickness was so bad she has never woken up. I can only see her on the weekends. Ugh, I can’t write anymore. My paper is too wet.

-Illysa

The Tale of the House

(From a Halloween freewrite, inspired by a picture of a spooky-looking house.)

Hi, I’m Kip. There’s this house of an old man and there’s a rumor he’s a wizard. We hear that it’s true, me and my friends Tyse, Zack, and Carl. “Come on,” said Tyse. “Ok,” said Zack and Carl. We went in. “This is weird,” I said. “A bone!” said Zack. “That’s just a dog bone, he has two dogs and ten cats,” said Tyse. “Oh yeah,” said Zach. “Grrrrrr,” said a dog. “Rarrrwr,” said a cat. “Hello,” said a voice. Aaah, who’s there? To be continued....

-Niall