Mystery Writing, by Anna and Sydney

"Hello there, what's up?" bubbled Crumbly.

 "Nothing much, just feeling a little sweetened out," laughed Purple Silk.    

    

"It's getting hot outside and what's that noise?" said Crumbly.

   

"I think I'm flying and getting a little dizzy, but I'm not sure what that noise is. How about you?" wined Purple Silk.    

  

 "Nope I'm not dizzy, but I am flaming hot while flying," babbled Crumbly.

"Where are we? I'm getting dropped and smoothed out on you. Do you feel me?" said Purple Silk.

" Yes, I feel you. Sorry to get you dirty because I have mud on myself. I know you like that purple shirt your wearing," Crumbly said sadly.

" I know I love it, its my favorite shirt. Wait, NO were getting sucked into something, do you feel it?" Purple Silk screamed.

" Yes, I do feel that. I'm getting bitten by huge white walls, wait Purple Silk are you there?"

" Yes, I'm there, but i think I'm sliding down a water slide of green slimy stuff," spoke Purple Silk nervously.

" Same. What's that white liquid chasing us?" whipped Crumbly    

" I think its something called Leche as it says on the bottle that was next to me earlier," pointed out Purple Silk.

"Whatever, I just hope it won't drowned me like it did to my sister, Sweetie Pie," jeered Crumbly.

" Oh yea, I forgot about her. No offence but she was kind of a brat," snickered Purple Silk.

"Yea, I know but let's get back on topic to the fact that we possibly could drown," popped out Crumbly.

" Sorry, I forgot. Um, Crumbly do you know where we are going?" questioned Purple Silk.

" Not sure I mean you are the smart one in body parts so how should I know?" melted Crumbly.

" Wait were in a body? You could of told me that earlier. Maybe your the smart one today," explained Purple Silk.

"Look there's a exit sign. Lets go through," spoke Crumbly

" Yeah, let's go through, but I wonder were it leads too? Do you know because your the smart one today. Oh and by the way I hope we get out of here soon."

" Wow, I See light. Oh yea, were out of here! " Crumbly said excitedly.

" Oh yeah, I'm so happy we're out, but why are we wet? Oh, who cares," Purple Silk exclaimed. 

               

 "Wait,where are we?" they both screamed.

 

Who are we?

 

The Unexpected Experience of Mr. Crunch and Ms. Stink, by Eva and Audrey

                                                                   

     "Howdy, y'all! What's doing?" joked Mr. Crumble in an Australian accent. 

     ''Nothing much, just chillin' with my new job at the Spreader Co. How are you doing?'' announced Ms. Stink.

    "Well, I'm doing fine, except the fact that your kind of sitting on me," complained Mr. Crumble.

    "Well I'm sorry it's not my fault. Just a second ago, I was resting on the big flying saucer minding my own stink, and the next thing I new I was siting on your scratchy behind!" Ms. Stink cried very loudly.

    "Harrumph," puffed Mr. Crumble.

    ''Harrumph,'' copied Ms. Stink. ''So, what should we do now?'' She asked breaking the silence. 

    "How am I supposed to know? Its hard to think when I'm being sat on. I mean there is that strange thing coming at us at a very high speed," cried Mr. Crumble, now very impatient.

   ''That's not a strange thing, that is a super strange thing! It's got five carrots sticking out of it!" yelled Ms. Stink, a little confused. 

   "Okay it's no time to argue, but I think we better do something!"whispered Mr. Crumble in a dramatic tone.

   Mr.Crumble tried to jump out of the way with Ms.Stink still on his back. But it was no hope, the strange monster thing had already trapped them in its carrot like cage.

   "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah," they screamed together.     

   Three seconds later they entered the tunnel of doom and they were never seen again. Well they were seen, but not till the end. They looked different. They felt different. They were in a different place. They were not the same.   

    

   Who are we?

The Tale Of Stitch And Woodie, by Cole and Henry

  "Ouch!", blurted Woodie.

     "You got it easy,why don't you stop hitting me", hissed Stitch.

    "Take that! I'm gone! Now you've got to face Splinter! Ha!", yelled Woodie.  "He's the toughest one you'll face!"

    Stitch rored in anger "OH NO!",  Boom. "AHHHHHHHHH!" ,oh wait, I can see my house from here. OMG. Here comes the drop",!

    "Haha! Got you Stitch!", chuckled Web triumphently.

    "He got lucky that Web was there", mumbled Woodie.

     Stitch wondered as he was back inside Pocket.

    "Don't be so sure Stitch, it's Splinters  again. Haha.", laughed Woodie.

    "The same roller coaster over and over again", Stitch choaked.

    "I'm a guru at this Stitch, so be ready", bragged Splinter

RIPPPP! ,"OOOOOWWWW! My skin! It came off! I'm naked, oh my god!", screamed Stitch in terror. 

"I'm so cold! Oh, come on! Now my strings are coming apart.",

    "Haha, look at him fly", said Woodie in excitment.

    "NO! DON"T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT! NOOOOOO!", screamed Stitch as he took another flight.

    "Geez. Now it's my turn. Oh well. It can't get much worse then Stitch. Ooooo nice soft gloves and leather on my skin. So cozy. Could this get any better?", asked Woodie in happiness.

    Crack. Woodie split in half.  "Stitch where are you? I'm in a pile of string. Can you  help?", Woodie said helplessly as a giant came over to pick him up in different pieces as the giant carried Woodie away. Woodie cried out in help "NOOOO! KEEP ME!".   Soon enough Woodie was in the town dump, and that was it for Woodie and Stitch.

Who are we?

The Mysterious Story of Freckles and Bright Guy, by Riley and Max

    "Yo, Freckles! Why don't the humans ever see you? I can't see you!," Bright Guy bellowed.

    "Yo, Bright Guy, I almost never let myself be seen during the summer!  It's embarrassing!," exclaimed Freckles.

    "Still, they're wondering where you are!," cried Bright Guy.

    "Not applicable, Bro, not applicable," announced Freckles sleepily. 

    "Well, at least, try a little harder!," pleaded Bright Guy.

    "Leave me alone! I'm Snoozing! S-N-O-O-Z-I-N-G! SNOOZING!!!!!!," screamed Freckles.

    "You aren't S-N-O-O-Z-I-N-G! You're screaming your head off!," corrected Bright Guy.

    "I would be sleeping, but someone named Bright Guy is screaming in my ear!,"Freckles pointed out.

    "Well you started this quarrel, and, guess what? I DON'T CARE! OKAY? I HAVE THE BIGGER JOB!," objected Bright Guy.

    "You may have a bigger job, but all the ladies like me. Not you.....Me. Comprende vous?," Freckles chimed in.

    "Come on, say something appropriate, kids are gonna read this you know!," cautioned Bright Guy.

    "'Kids are gonna' be reading this?  Then I won't mention your inappropriate use of language!," mocked Freckles.

    "What I said wasn't inappropriate, it's what you said was inappropriate!!!!!!," noted Bright Guy.

    "That makes me sad! whaaaaaa haaaaaaaa!!!!!!!," Addressed Freckles sarcastically. "Very sad!  You meanie!"

    "I'm not mean, you pathetic little twerp. Nice try! I'M ABOUT TO CUSS, OKAY!?," roared Bright Guy.

    "What happened to ' I AM SLEEPING!?',"  Freckles reminded him in a loud tone.

    "And what happened to ' WHY THE HECK ARE WE FIGHTING!?," requested Bright Guy.

    "You started it when you asked about the stupid humans and how they can't see me. Dang it!  I'm trying to sleep!," grunted Freckles.

    "Well they really can't see you and they really are wondering where you are. Don't call them stupid," hissed Bright Guy.

    "I am the President of the United States of America and I VETO that bill,  Brightster,"  theorized Freckles jokingly.

    "I am honored to meet the President of the United States of America. (Who by the way, is very stinky)," insulted Bright Guy.

    "You should be arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrested for insulting the President.  I am the Big Cheese you will do whatever I say,"  Freckles approved.

    "Oh, now you made me feel scared. But here's one thing. If humans can't see you, how can you call the cops.? 

  You really do look like a big cheese, though," laughed Bright Guy.

    "Awwwwww, that's so kind of you," Freckles cooed.

    "And thank you for complimenting me by calling me President of the United States of America," responded Bright Guy.

    "Any time. I can do it any time," Freckles commented.

    "Well thank you Freckles. Now may I have a compliment, dear Mr. President of the United States of America?," insisted Bright Guy.

    "Uh, you're a big smelly sock and you don't deserve gratitude from the President," suggested Freckles.

    "Well here's a compliment for you. You're a phony President and I'm the most loved planet who you don't deserve gratitude from me either," crowed Bright Guy

    "Security!  Security!  This man is harassing me!," Freckles joked.  

    "Who are we? Can you guess?," Freckles and Bright guy rasped together. 

Where do all those words come from?

or, a brief History of the English Language:

The Mixing Starts

When Julius Caesar, later to be Roman Emperor, invaded Britain in BC 54-5, the Celtic tribes lived in the British Isles. The Celtic languages still survive today as Gaelic in Scotland and Ireland, and as Welsh, in Wales.

The Romans brought Latin to Britain, which was part of the Roman Empire for over 400 years. But early English did not develop mainly from Latin, so it is unlike French, Spanish and Italian, which did come directly from Latin. Early English was the language of tribes who invaded from the East, from what is now Germany. They spoke different dialects of a Germanic language, from which modern German developed. This explains why German and English are often similar, as many of their words developed from the same original language.

In 878 AD, the Vikings invaded Britain from Scandinavia, bringing with them the Norse language, though this was similar to the old English or Anglo-Saxon language already used.  

The dramatic arrival of the Norman army from France, led by King William the Conqueror in 1066, and the defeat of the English King Harold at the Battle of Hastings, brought very big changes to English life. The Normans brought with them the Old French language, which then became the language of the Royal Court and of the ruling and business class.  

No More Invasions

By about 1200, the Kingdoms of England and France had ceased to be one unit. The use of Old English came back, but with many French words added. This language is called Middle English, the language of the poet Chaucer (about 1340-1400). He has been called the greatest English poet before Shakespeare. It is difficult today for English-speakers to read and understand his writings well. 


Can you understand these lines:

"Whan that Aprille with his shoures swote

The droghte of Marche hath perced to the rote..."

In modern English this is:

"When April with his sweet showers has struck to the roots the dryness of March.."

Or, in other words, …when the April showers of rain have gone right down to the roots of plants which have been dried up during March!

This 'Middle English' was very different in different parts of the country, and of course travel was limited in those days.

But another big revolution was coming - the printing press. Just as radio, television, video, and computers, have changed communication in our time, so did printing after about 1500 AD. Now there was a common language in print, as well as access to the old languages of Latin and Greek.

Shakespeare

Now came the Renaissance in Europe - a time of great learning and cultural advances. By this time, English was not very different from the English we use today. The most famous person to write in English during this period was William Shakespeare (1564-1616). He is probably the most famous playwright of all time!

Shakespeare gave the English language many phrases and sayings, which English speakers still use every day. Often, they do not realize these words came from Shakespeare's plays and poems! 


Do you know these?

'A rose by any other name would smell as sweet'

"To be or not to be......"

The Best seller of all time

At almost the same time as Shakespeare, came the printing of a book that has had an even greater effect on society and culture - the King James translation of the Bible in 1611. For almost the first time, anyone who could read had access to the Bible in his or her own language, and in words which were easily understood.

Today, because language has changed, it is difficult in places to understand the King James Bible, but many people still use it. And, like Shakespeare, many phrases and quotations from it have become part of the English language. People often use them without knowing they come from the Bible. 


Have you ever heard:

'turn the other cheek'

'go a second mile'

'Straight and narrow'

'the love of money is the root of all evil'

Modern English

Since the time of Shakespeare, English has continued to change. Settlers from Britain moved across the world - to the USA, Australia, New Zealand, India, Asia and Africa, and in each place, the language changed and developed, and took in words from other local languages. For example, 'kangaroo' and 'boomerang' are native Australian Aborigine words, and the word 'turban' came from India.

With the increase in communication via travel, Internet, and television, all these different types of English have mixed. So in Britain now, many parts of Australian and American English are used. Words from many other languages, such as French, German, Spanish, Arabic, and even Nepali, have been borrowed, as well.

So English continues to change and develop, with hundreds of new words arriving every year. It has truly become the world's international language. It is the language of science, air traffic control, computers, and most of the Internet. In many countries where there are other competing languages and people groups, English has been chosen as a common second language. This has happened in Nigeria and Ghana.

Immigrants Made America And Me

      Without immigrants, America would be boring. It would be like there was a copy of a person over and over again for all of America. Immigrants bring new traditions and feelings. If people hear or see a tradition, and they like it, then they can do it. This makes America a richer and more interesting country. If it weren’t for the immigrants, no one would have different traditions. For example, in San Francisco, Chinese New Year is a big celebration even for people who are not Chinese. Without immigrants people wouldn't know what other countries did. They bring their life experiences and parts of their culture like their music. So I am glad America is a nation of immigrants.
      When immigrants come to America, they want to make a better life for themselves so they are very hardworking. They will often take jobs that need a hardworking person for but they don't get paid much money. If the immigrants work hard enough, they will earn enough money to go to a good college or be able to pay for a good college for their children. It is a whole new life that they have to work and work for until they finally get what they want, a good life in America. In working hard they contribute to the country and help make America a better place to live.
      Immigrants also bring their ideas and thoughts. Without their thoughts, America would not be as well off. Their different life experiences give them a different way of looking at situations that can help give better solutions. Some people think that it is better to keep the immigrants out, but I am glad immigrants are here and help us make America the country that we see before us.
      Immigrants bring their minds and a different perspective to things. Their brains start thinking up interesting ways to dress. People might think that anyone could do that, but the immigrants might think of their style and add it to some of America's style and, before you know it, their fashion is in all the shops. Their personalities add flavor and imagination to clothes, crafts and skills. I have friends who are immigrants and without them in my life I would be a different person. Without immigrants, America would not be the country it is today and people would not want to come here. Right now America is interesting and I hope it stays that way.

Melting Pot

Last year, I went to American school for the first time. I barely knew English. I couldn't understand anything the teacher said. It was very hard that day. I got used to school here eventually, but then I had a hard time.

The first day I was very nervous. But I was also excited. "My first day at American school!" I thought.
That was just the beginning! I got to school and my teacher introduced me to the class. No one was paying attention! At recess only one person came up to me. Later I found out she was playing truth or dare and she got dared to ask me to go on the monkey bars. This made me cry.
After that, I was called on and it didn't turn out right. My words were not like they should have been. Every one started laughing. By the end of the day, the whole school knew about it.
That was just the start. At lunch, no one sat with me. When I sat next to some one, they scooted away. I was so sad.
When we got to class I looked at someone and they were whispering, pointing, and laughing. I put my head on my desk. This made them laugh even harder. By the end of the day, I was totally humiliated! 

When I got home, I went straight to my room and didn't come out until the next morning.
The next day I still didn't have any friends but I did better school wise. I was called on and the answer was almost correct. I was proud of myself. But later I got a laugh when I asked what parallel meant. I don't know why that was funny. We were in fourth grade and I didn't know.
This wasn't the best day, but it was a start.
Days for me got better and better. By the end of the year, I made lots of friends, spoke fluent English, and was very happy.
I'm glad that America is a melting pot because I wouldn't be here, a citizen of The United States of America.
That is what happened to me when I moved to the United States and now I'm as happy as can be.
America is my home now even though I still go back to Germany every summer. I am staying happy in America!

THE "HIC"ups by Matteo

Last year I got the hiccups. It was on a Sunday. I was just reading a book when I felt a sort of burping feeling, it went away and I waited for a minute, then I started reading again. Five minutes later, the feeling came back and I made a loud "HIC" noise. I knew I had the Hiccups and that they would last for a while like they usually do. I kept reading until it started really getting on my nerves. I got up and got a glass and filled it up with water, I leaned down and drank some water from the far side of the glass, I waited a while but I still had the hiccups, so I tried again but it still didn't work. I told my mom and my sister (who had been listening) started teasing me (don't ask me why). I tried everything to get rid of them, I drank water upside down, (again) I ate sugar, my sister tried scaring me but that just made them worse. A few hours later, my dad got home and I told him about the hiccups and he made me try everything again, but, you guessed it, it didn't work. I went to bed hoping that I wouldn't have them in the morning. When I woke up in the morning I didn't feel them, so I yelled, YAY I DON'T HAVE THE "HIC!"ups anymore, shoot. I was really mad and it made me want to not go out side because it was so frustrating. I had to try everything again but it still didn't work. It was the longest time any hiccups had lasted. I tried every thing again, and again, and again but it still didn't work, at that moment I thought "SOS I have the Hiccups". I had to go school that day, it was very frustrating because whenever the teacher called on me I would hiccup in the middle of the answer. When I got home and my mom asked me how my day was I replied "terrHIble"

"Why?" she asked.

"Because of my hiccups" I replied sullenly.

"Well try everything again" my mom replied. So that's exactly what I did. It didn't work so I went to bed hoping that I wouldn't have the hiccups in the morning. 

That morning when I woke up I got out of bed and got ready for school. I was eating breakfast when my sister said
"Matteo you don't have the hiccups anymore!"

King of Coincidence

Of all the things that have been a coincidence, there is probably none more than the following that happens to me. 1) On eight-day intervals, something unlucky happens to me. 2) On four-month intervals, something unlucky also happens to me. 3) On Mondays, something lucky happens to me. Mix any of the preceding together, and you get mega mayhem. Mix the first two together (which happens every two and two-thirds years) and someone will probably get injured. Before I start my explanation for that, I have to tell you my first story.
In my original SOS, I get amnesia, and drown in a pool four feet deep when I was just under two years old. It is definitely a coincidence that the following happened: It started on a perfect summer day, at baseball practice. I was taking my warm-ups in left field. It sounded simple; Sam Emblidge threw the ball to me, I threw it to him, he threw it to Hayden, Hayden threw it back, and everything repeated. This day happened to be the one at my four-month and eight-day intervals, so I was scared out of my wits. But, nothing odd happened. Finally, coach Nick called us in. He told us all our positions for practice. Then he started hitting balls. On a screaming grounder that had raced past Tommy, our third baseman, I ran after the ball. I missed it and ran into the fence.

No big deal. I just shook it off. That had happened to me many times. Right after that, he hit a low line drive just to my right. I ran after it, and dove but somehow my glove fell off of my hand! What could I do? While I was still in the air, I somehow managed to dodge the flying ball, but I wasn't over yet. I hit the ground hard, and I got the wind knocked out of me as I went skidding along the grass. I rammed into the fence and that was how I stopped.

Yes, I was the "crash-test dummy" for the team. I'd been hit by 10 pitches all for the team. I'd gotten popped five times, just for the team. I'd taken 23 hard dives into second base, just for the team. So after taking that hit, I should have felt absolutely normal. But something still stung. The pinky finger on my right hand, to be exact. That stinging is why I had to go to the hospital the following day and get and x-ray. The test looked like I was all fine, but the doctor said that I'd broken the pinky finger on my right hand.

Exactly four months after the day, I was playing fall ball. Everything was going fine. Garrett, our leadoff hitter, stepped into the batter's box for the first pitch of the game. "Play ball," the ump said, and the game was officially underway. Garrett struck out on five pitches. I took my warm up swings and stepped into the righty's batter's box to face Harrison Brewer, the lefty from my soccer team. The first pitch was high and I laid off. "Ball one," the ump. The second pitch was right down the middle. I took a mighty, home run swing and just barely made contact. Well, made contact is the wrong word. The ball hit off the handle of my bat and, in a blur, bounced off my helmet and hit me in the privates. I was wearing a cup, but that only dampened the impact. I blacked out for the first time since I was two, and a wail of pain came out of my mouth as I fell to the ground.

When I woke up, I spat the dirt out of my mouth. Everyone was helping me. "I wish I had called, 'S.O.S.'," I said. Everyone except me laughed. I got back in the box and just spat everything out of my mouth and later, walked. In that "coincidental" game, by the way, I went 1-for-3 with a walk, two Ks(strikeouts), and a triple. So I learned a big lesson: even the worst of S.O.S.s are just purely coincidental.

SOS!

SOS. Sometimes I just want to yell that out so the whole entire world can here me. One of those times would be when I was skiing with my dad and brother in Lake Tahoe. We were skiing down a run called the mountain run. It was called that because it went all the way down one of the mountains where there were a bunch of other runs. But there was one problem. there were two ways to go. Why was that a problem? Well because, on accident, I went a different way than my dad and brother. At first I thought they were following me, but realized they weren't when they called my name. I looked around and saw them going down the other way. I quickly thought about any way I might be able to get to where they were, but found out that it was a dumb idea because there were two fences between me and them. They told me to meet them at the bottom. I wasn't so sure about the idea, but I decided to give it a shot. It was going to be challenging though because there were some parts of the run that were difficult for me. And I was worried about getting stuck, or even possibly injured. That would be a drag. Luckily, I was pretty good at doing most of it though. Anyway, I was doing surprisingly well at the start. When I finally got too the challenging part, I stopped to catch my breath. I then realized that I didn't have time to catch my breath and decided to get it over with. Though it was probably equivalent to a black diamond, I ended up getting past it with no problems at all. But it was no time to give myself a pat on the back. I quickly went down the rest of the run.
When I got to the bottom I looked around for my dad and brother. They were nowhere to be seen. I was getting desperate. I looked harder. It was hard to look for him though, because there were so many other people. Eventually, after a lot of bad luck searching, I predicted that they were still going down the run. I hoped my prediction was right. If it wasn't... I wouldn't want to think about what would happen then. Right when I was about to give up all hope of finding him, I saw him expertly skiing towards me. Any doubts I had of finding him before hand were gone. I ran over and hugged him. Then I asked him why it took him so long to get to the bottom. He said that when he was in the middle of the run, a snow boarder ran into him and he fell over. He also said that since my brother was on a snow board, and snow boards don't go very fast on flat parts, it took them a while because there were lots of flat parts on the run. Overall, I was very thankful to be back with my dad and brother.

I AlMOST HAD TO GO TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM! SOS!

"I'm so excited!" I said. Today was the day if one of my High School Musical plays! You see, I had been doing this play, High School Musical, and today was the day of one of the REAL shows! "This is so intense! I thought, "Let's double check my costumes." 

"Audrey! You need to have lunch before the show!” My mom shouted from upstairs.

"Coming!" I shouted back. I ran up the stairs. "What should I have?" I asked.

"Anything. Lyndsey and Jason are having bagels, why don't you cut yourself one?" my mom replied.

Jason is my brother and Lyndsey's my obnoxious older sister. "Okay," I shrugged. "But what if I cut my-" I started saying. But my mom cut me off

"Honey, hurry up, you don't want to be late! I'll be down stairs if you need me." She had said. I sighed and got out the bagel bag. Lets see. What do we have here? Whole wheat, blueberry, or plain? Eneeny-meeny-minny-moe. Blueberry. I thought. I got out a white plate and put my bagel on it. Then I got out a silver, clean, and sharp knife. Sigh. Whenever I cut bagels there always uneven. I thought. I grasped the knife in my right hand and the bagel in the other. I was holding it correctly, the right way-the way my dad told me how. I took a deep breath. Okay Audrey, don’t mess it up. I thought. I took the knife and cut. The bagel was going uneven. Shoot! Then my left index finger slipped of the bagel and right in front of the knife's path. The blade cut my finger-not all the way, though.

"Ahh!" I ran to the other counter and grabbed a paper towel. I wrapped it around my finger. The thing was, I didn't cry. At all. I was just shocked, really shocked.

"What happened?" My sister asked from the table.

"I just cut my finger" I replied, looking at the blood seeping through the paper towel. I folded the towel over again on my cut. The blood went right through. Wow I thought its really bleeding. I ran downstairs to my Mom. I could hear my sister and brother's feet following me down the stairs. Tap-tap-tap.

"Mommy!" I yelled.

"What, honey?" she said.

"Look!" I showed her my left finger wrapped in the tissue.

"What happened?" she said.

"I was cutting my bagel and my finger slipped and then I accidentally cut my finger!" I wailed.

I moaned. Now it was starting to hurt. My mom got out the cleaning foam and told me to take the paper towel of. She sprayed on the foam and dabbed it with a napkin. Then she took a fabric knuckle band-aid and put it on. She took another band-aid, a regular one this time, and put it over the cut and knuckle band-aid. Lastly, she put the bandage tape over the band-aids.

"There, how does it feel?" my mom asked.

"Well, okay" I said, now it was really, really hurting. My eyes started filling up with tears.

"You're going to be okay, Audrey, just settle down, and have some lunch" She kissed my forehead. She started walking away when-

"WAIT! Can you cut the rest of my bagel?" I asked politely. My mom smiled.

"Of course" she said. We went upstairs and my mom cut my bagel. Perfectly. I ate my bagel happily.

"Get in the car!" mom said to my sister and me.

"Shot-Gun!" My sister yelled. She jumped into the front seat and slammed the door in my face. I jumped into the back. My mom started the car. We pulled out of the driveway and started down the street.

"Wow. Mom, it really hurts. And it’s really deep." I said.

"Well" my mom stopped the car right in front of my neighbor's house. "John's house is right there, remember he's a fire-fighter so he probably has some stuff to help your finger. "Or, if we go to the emergency room, you'll miss your play" she said. She looked back at me.

"I want to do my play,” I confessed, finally.

The play turned out perfectly, even with a cut finger. But me, my mom, and the rest of my family all remember the day I cut my finger. We all remember it so well; we went out and bought a bagel cutter. But I still think it’s weird that I didn't cry I was just stunned. I also remember the feeling of when the sharp blade cut through my finger, sharp and shiny.

The cut also left a tiny, light scar, right across my left index finger. Every time I look at the scar, I remember the sharp, shiny blade cut through my finger.

S.O.S

The day it all happened was picture day, the day where every girl must look her very best because it will be in the school year book forever! But for boys- not so much. That day me and my friends Nicole, Natalie, and Audrey went out to practice our skit for something called PPC's and we walked over to a table and sat down and practiced, now this doesn't sound important or s.o.s like yet but it Will come, be patient, well after we dd rehearsing I got up and a while later I was informed I had sat in a load of bird poop lets just say I panicked, thats what I did I went up to the office to ask what to do OK I know that the person who takes pictures wont take pictures in that part but you now its embarrassing! And the Secretary said " try calling your mom she can bring a new dress because the bird poop will only come of in a full wash" so I called my mom and she didn't awnser on the phone or cell phone . I basically went crazy at this and got her to write a note to the teacher about why I was late for class, it turned otu I wasn't late at all, whenever I ask for a note i turn out not to be late, its crazy. I managed to walk in a weird angle into the class so nobody would notice then i sat down only thinking about what happened. After a while Lily, a friend of mine said I could borrow her jacket ( LIFE SAVER!!!) so once I had it on around my waste I felt more safe as long as nobody takes it of or asks all the who, what, where, why, and how of why I have the jacket on. When we had to line up for the pictures I felt a tiny bit more worried. I watched as the women closest to me take pictures of my classmates asking them questions so the picture would look more natural as if the person was talking to you and you managed to get a picture. There was also another woman taking pictures who I knew well so I wanted her more. As I waited and watched both women do ther work I made a plan for if whoever I got asked me to take of my jacket. A couple of minutes later I was asked to sit with the person who I wanted a bit less because I didn't know her as well and I sat under a small canopy on I think it was a fake tree stump, but it felt real, back to the point. When I sat down she asked me to take of my jacket PLAN TIME! I took f the jacket from around my waste, there was nobody behind me so I made sure I walked straight forward so nobody could see behind me, in the canopy that I wanted to go to more somebody could of seen me. I didn't look behind me anyway, and it wasn't very likely, they were meant to be looking at the person taking the picture so it was like an 80% chance that would happen. I put it down on a bench and sat back down, walking backwards to yet still cover up the bird poop. I sat down on the maybe fake tree stump and answered her questions, well question. "Puppies or kittens?" she said.

"Both" I said, not wanting to be mean to cute kittens or puppies. After m picture was taken I walked the same angle forward and put the jacket around my waist to go to break. After break I continued wearing the jacket that Lily said I should give back to her at the end of the day. When my mom picked me up I told her the whole story and added that I couldn't give the jacket back to Lily because she had already left. You may think this is not S.O.S material, but to me it was a crazy day, and it deserved this!

S.O.S

The day it all happened was picture day, the day where every girl must look her very best because it will be in the school year book forever! But for boys- not so much. That day me and my friends Nicole, Natalie, and Audrey went out to practice our skit for something called PPC's and we walked over to a table and sat down and practiced, now this doesn't sound important or s.o.s like yet but it Will come, be patient, well after we dd rehearsing I got up and a while later I was informed I had sat in a load of bird poop lets just say I panicked, thats what I did I went up to the office to ask what to do OK I know that the person who takes pictures wont take pictures in that part but you now its embarrassing! And the Secretary said " try calling your mom she can bring a new dress because the bird poop will only come of in a full wash" so I called my mom and she didn't awnser on the phone or cell phone . I basically went crazy at this and got her to write a note to the teacher about why I was late for class, it turned otu I wasn't late at all, whenever I ask for a note i turn out not to be late, its crazy. I managed to walk in a weird angle into the class so nobody would notice then i sat down only thinking about what happened. After a while Lily, a friend of mine said I could borrow her jacket ( LIFE SAVER!!!) so once I had it on around my waste I felt more safe as long as nobody takes it of or asks all the who, what, where, why, and how of why I have the jacket on. When we had to line up for the pictures I felt a tiny bit more worried. I watched as the women closest to me take pictures of my classmates asking them questions so the picture would look more natural as if the person was talking to you and you managed to get a picture. There was also another woman taking pictures who I knew well so I wanted her more. As I waited and watched both women do ther work I made a plan for if whoever I got asked me to take of my jacket. A couple of minutes later I was asked to sit with the person who I wanted a bit less because I didn't know her as well and I sat under a small canopy on I think it was a fake tree stump, but it felt real, back to the point. When I sat down she asked me to take of my jacket PLAN TIME! I took f the jacket from around my waste, there was nobody behind me so I made sure I walked straight forward so nobody could see behind me, in the canopy that I wanted to go to more somebody could of seen me. I didn't look behind me anyway, and it wasn't very likely, they were meant to be looking at the person taking the picture so it was like an 80% chance that would happen. I put it down on a bench and sat back down, walking backwards to yet still cover up the bird poop. I sat down on the maybe fake tree stump and answered her questions, well question. "Puppies or kittens?" she said.

"Both" I said, not wanting to be mean to cute kittens or puppies. After m picture was taken I walked the same angle forward and put the jacket around my waist to go to break. After break I continued wearing the jacket that Lily said I should give back to her at the end of the day. When my mom picked me up I told her the whole story and added that I couldn't give the jacket back to Lily because she had already left. You may think this is not S.O.S material, but to me it was a crazy day, and it deserved this!

S.O.S

The day it all happened was picture day, the day where every girl must look her very best because it will be in the school year book forever! But for boys- not so much. That day me and my friends Nicole, Natalie, and Audrey went out to practice our skit for something called PPC's and we walked over to a table and sat down and practiced, now this doesn't sound important or s.o.s like yet but it Will come, be patient, well after we dd rehearsing I got up and a while later I was informed I had sat in a load of bird poop lets just say I panicked, thats what I did I went up to the office to ask what to do OK I know that the person who takes pictures wont take pictures in that part but you now its embarrassing! And the Secretary said " try calling your mom she can bring a new dress because the bird poop will only come of in a full wash" so I called my mom and she didn't awnser on the phone or cell phone . I basically went crazy at this and got her to write a note to the teacher about why I was late for class, it turned otu I wasn't late at all, whenever I ask for a note i turn out not to be late, its crazy. I managed to walk in a weird angle into the class so nobody would notice then i sat down only thinking about what happened. After a while Lily, a friend of mine said I could borrow her jacket ( LIFE SAVER!!!) so once I had it on around my waste I felt more safe as long as nobody takes it of or asks all the who, what, where, why, and how of why I have the jacket on. When we had to line up for the pictures I felt a tiny bit more worried. I watched as the women closest to me take pictures of my classmates asking them questions so the picture would look more natural as if the person was talking to you and you managed to get a picture. There was also another woman taking pictures who I knew well so I wanted her more. As I waited and watched both women do ther work I made a plan for if whoever I got asked me to take of my jacket. A couple of minutes later I was asked to sit with the person who I wanted a bit less because I didn't know her as well and I sat under a small canopy on I think it was a fake tree stump, but it felt real, back to the point. When I sat down she asked me to take of my jacket PLAN TIME! I took f the jacket from around my waste, there was nobody behind me so I made sure I walked straight forward so nobody could see behind me, in the canopy that I wanted to go to more somebody could of seen me. I didn't look behind me anyway, and it wasn't very likely, they were meant to be looking at the person taking the picture so it was like an 80% chance that would happen. I put it down on a bench and sat back down, walking backwards to yet still cover up the bird poop. I sat down on the maybe fake tree stump and answered her questions, well question. "Puppies or kittens?" she said.

"Both" I said, not wanting to be mean to cute kittens or puppies. After m picture was taken I walked the same angle forward and put the jacket around my waist to go to break. After break I continued wearing the jacket that Lily said I should give back to her at the end of the day. When my mom picked me up I told her the whole story and added that I couldn't give the jacket back to Lily because she had already left. You may think this is not S.O.S material, but to me it was a crazy day, and it deserved this!

What Do We Do?! SOS

One day when I was up in Tahoe celebrating one of my best friends, Lily's, 9th birthday. It had taken about six and a half hours to get up, because of all the traffic. You could even get out of the car and walk around. We had been listening to The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe. Lily's little sister Maia slept most of the time, and half the time Lily and I were hysterically laughing. We had finally arrived at the house that we were staying at. It was a beautiful wood two story house. Lily, Maia and I ran inside. It had felt so refreshing to feel the breeze and see the white shimmering snow on the ground. Our room had a big bed in it, though I had wished for bunk beds I still was quite happy with it. My parents room had a giant loft in it that we decided would be our secret hideout from Maia, it wasn't that hard for her to find us in. After we had checked out all the rooms we agreed to have a snowball fight. The snow was SO cold when you got hit so we went inside to get mittens. Then went back out again and made snow angles.

That night we had my favorite dinner ever, but I didn't know that then, SLOPPY JOE'S! I still have the stain on the long johns that I was wearing that night. After dinner Lily, Maia and I tried to go to sleep but each of us only got about three hours of sleep that night.

The next day we ate our breakfast, got ready to go out skiing, then headed out for Homewood. Maia had to go to lessons and she was really disappointed about it but knew that she would end up losing the fight and left with Dave, Lily and Maia's dad. When he had gotten back we all put on our skiing/snowboarding gear. Lily and I had finished before anybody else.

"Since you guys are done you can start heading up the onto the chairlift" My dad Gregg had told us.

"Don't forget to wait for us at the map near the ski patrol cabin" Dave added.

"We won't" Lily promised.

"Thanks" I said with a bit cheer.

We headed for the line that lead to the chairlift. After about three minutes it was our turn to get on. We scooted over to the red line and sat down we it. "I am SO excited to go down this run. It has been long year since I last went skiing." I announced.
We kept talking about things, until we saw, abot 100 yards up this place that looked like you get off. Then we saw that it kept on going after that. We stared panicing. It was a Huge ski resort and we didn't know if our parents wanted us to get off their or keep going. Then we got so scared we started to have tears coming down our cheeks.

"Where do we go" Lily cried

"I don't know" I said.  We kept on thinking what to do. Then all of sudden we heard a noise. It sounded like sombody calling

"Haley... Lily."  We looked behind us. Their was my dad. I had a big sigh in relief. Now I knew everything was okay. We ended up getting off at the second stop, and then my mom Stacey told us that that wasn't even a place that you could get off at. That day I went down a lot of fun routes including a black diamond. Which I went down all by myself, that is really good for the age that I was at. But this is a whole different story to tell.

Ethan's SOS

My SOS took place two or three years ago. I had just finished my book, it was 8:45 and I was ready for bed. I drifted into sleep. I was having a horrible dream. I was gutting chased by giant teddy bears with rabies. Then suddenly I woke up in a cold sweat. My pillows were all on the ground. I was burning under the covers, so I through them off. Little did I know that the night was about to get allot worse. I got up and walked to the bathroom. When I came out I looked at the stairs. I got this over whelming erg to jump all 17 of them. I took a few steps back and raced foreword. I jumped. As I fell I shouted "SOS!". I had snapped back into reality. Then without a warning some one grabbed my leg. I looked up and to my horror I saw one of those evil teddy bear thingies from my dream. His fuzzy brown paw was anchored around my leg. I started screaming " HELP! SOS! HELP! The bear started pulling and pulling on my leg then as I stared at it the bear started to burn. Not regular fire bright Green fire. When the flames lapped at my leg it didn't even hurt. Then I saw the strangest sight of my life. A lemur wearing a Harry potter suit, complete with a wand burst through the roof "HARRY RUBENS IS BACK!" he called as what was left of the bear shriveled up into ashes. The last thing I could do before I balked out was gape.

My eyes opened to the normal sounds of pots and pans. Only theese ones were different. I looked up at a furry face. Hmmmm that's strange I thought. Where had I seen that face before.... Then I remembered last night’s events. "Hello, Ethan said the face. "I am your great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, Grandpa. "My name is Harry Rubens,” he said.

"I know,” I answered.

"Check this out" Harry countered and pulled out a camera so small I could barely see. "All yours. It's even got a clock." said Harry as he handed it to me. I flipped it over and on the back was this little sign. :)

After a quick breakfast, we started talking about the past nights events. Turns out those teddy bear thingies were my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, uncle Snape Rubens's minions. Harry started filling me in, he explained that he and Snape hade used to be friends, but late one night Snape had broken into his house. Snape had stolen his brand new refrigerator. But this was no ordinary refrigerator. This was a magical refrigerator. The brothers had never been the same. I looked back down at my camera. The little clock said it was 12:55. PAST MIDNIGHT! I started to feel a little tired. Well, really tired. So I asked Harry to find me a place to sleep. He cleared off a spot on his couch, and I curled up then went back too sleep.

When I woke up I realized Harry Rubens was nowhere to be seen. I looked around. I was back in my room. That was weird. Then it hit me. LAST NIGHT HAD ALL BEEN A DREAM!

2 SOS

Chain of Pain

   My SOS took place 1 year ago, which was year 2007. It all started on a happy, sunny day. My mum was away in England visiting her mum. Whenever she goes away I always get hurt. I have started to think that if she goes away for one year then I am going to have something more painful happen to me.

  Anyway, my dad was taking me to go biking in Cal and my bike didn't fit me so my dad put me on the back of the bike even though I was WAY too big for it. My feet sometimes got a little caught in the chains but it was only for one second. I loved having the wind blow in my face and I don't have to pedal. We came to a place where there were no people. I was enjoying the wind as it blew my hair back. I felt so great that I started to swing my legs then, all of a sudden I heard a grinding sound and then shoe went flying off!! My dad stopped the bike when he saw my shoe but, my ankle still caught in the chain. It hurt so much. My ankle was twisted in a weird direction. In my head I was silently screaming "SOS, SOS, SOS, SOS!" My dad quickly lifted me off the bike and put me on the cement then; he got the bike and locked it on a bike pole that was nearby. He then picked me up and carried me to our house. Luckily our house was a block away from Cal. When we got inside my house he put me on the couch. Then he got a water tub and put my foot it. My foot made the water turn blood red. My Dad then got a towel to wipe off the rest of my ankle. After that my dad said I should try to get up. I tried and I couldn't walk on that foot. My Dad started to get worried like if my ankle was broken. Then my dad called the emergency hospital.

   When we got to the hospital we had to wait a long time until the doctors could see us. When they did they examined my foot and said that it was sprained. They put a cast on it then gave me crutches. We went back home. I played on the computer then lounged around a lot. One of my brothers named Andrew was at soccer practice and my other brother named James was at our neighbor's house playing with Liam. Then Liam and James came in and started to stare at my crutches. I said that I had sprained an ankle. Then Liam asked if he could try my crutches. I said yes, so I sat down on the couch and gave Liam my crutches. He went around the room with them then my brother James tried them and they both said that the crutches were cool. Then I said that it wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have this itchy cast on my leg. Then we all laughed.

It was hard to live for the two months that I had to have a cast and crutches; one of the things that were hard to live with (even if it was only two months) was that the crutches made my armpits sore. My SOS story had a lot of uncomfortable things in it and the main part of the story hurt a lot. At that I have to say that this is the end of my SOS story.