The First Day by Eric Thomas

Published on by wmelnickLeave a comment

dodge-ball

            It was a warm September morning. It was the first day of high school and the day that Claude had been dreading ever since eighth grade had finished. Claude had many fears of high school. He had heard stories about what happened to grade nine boys in the first few days. He did not want to get bullied and harassed and could not stop thinking about how it would ruin his life. He stopped to walk with his friend Danny. Claude thought that if there were two of them, maybe they would not be such an easy target. The two boys were walking towards the high school of their small town. Danny wouldn’t stop talking about how excited he was. Claude was thinking more of his fears then listening to Danny. Danny looked at Claude and asked “Aren’t you excited bud?” Claude looked up from the ground.
“Oh yeah sure. Real excited.”
“Are you sure? You don’t look too excited or happy.” Danny said as he observed Claude’s tone.

Claude looked up at Danny “Can we just get there and get it over with?” Danny nodded and kept walking but staying much quieter than before.

 

The school would be in sight just after they crossed this street. Claude reached forward and pushed the crosswalk button. They waited and watched as all of the colours of different cars raced by. Claude could see the top of the school over the hill that the football field was on.  The suns light shone brightly off the blue roof while the Canadian flag flew boldly in the sky. Claude got caught up staring at the intimidating sight of the school, not noticing that the light had changed. Danny started walking and looked back. “Claude? Are you coming?”

Claude snapped back into reality and started walking “Sorry yeah.” He walked across the street with Danny and they made their way around the corner that was hiding the school. As they turned the corner Claude looked up and saw what he really did not want to. The intimidating building stood in its place. It was three times the size of his elementary school and looked like it had no life to it. The sun went under a cloud just as the school came into view, revealing the real dull blue that the roof really was. The brick colour that covered the whole school was even dull and depressing. Claude’s eyes wandered down to the doors where all the kids were going in. He saw other boys that were twice his size. Danny seemed to take notice of how intimidating the school was too. The smirk that he had on his face all morning had disappeared very quickly. The boys looked at each other but did not even need to say a word. Claude and Danny had known each other for so long that they knew exactly what the other one was thinking. They continued to walk up the pathway and opened the door into a whole new world.

         As they entered into the school, there was a table next to the door with seniors handing out schedules. Claude and Danny walked over to the table and got their schedules from the seniors. Claude thought to himself that if all the seniors were this nice then high school would be great. Danny looked at Claude and tried to see his schedule and said “Hey, lemme see your schedule.” Claude handed it to him and started looking around. He noticed how high the roof was and how much larger the lockers were compared to the tiny ones you get at elementary school. As he was caught up looking at everything, he bumped straight into a much larger guy. He looked up, convinced that he was going to get punched in the face. The sights of him lying on the ground with blood gushing out of his nose were constantly running through his head. The bigger kid looked down at him. His face was started to turn an angry red and he said in a deep voice. “Watch it niner.”

 

“I’m s..sorry..” Claude said in total fear and started walking quickly

 

“Hey wait up.” Danny said running up beside Claude. Danny seemed completely oblivious to what had just happened and seemed really focused on Claude’s schedule. Claude slowed down and started to calm down by taking deep breaths and not looking back. Danny handed him his schedule and said “Our lockers are beside each other and we have a few classes together. How great is that?”

“That’s awesome. So where are our lockers then?”

 

Danny looked at Claude and then at some of the lockers to get an idea of where they were. He saw the numbers; 131, 132, 133, etc. He knew that his locker was 214. “Maybe they’re upstairs. All these numbers seem to be in the one hundreds.” They walked up the stairs and down a long hallway that seemed like it would never end. They turned a corner and started to see more people they knew. They saw their lockers and figured that this must be the hallway for all the grade nine’s lockers. They put their stuff in their lockers and Claude let out a sigh of relief knowing that all of the kids around him were probably feeling the same way he was.

 

Claude and Danny put their bags away in their lockers. The lockers were gigantic in comparison to the tiny lockers they used in elementary school. These lockers had two shelves which was more room than any students needs but Claude was glad because he never had enough room in his old locker. He put his empty binders into the locker, which still looked empty but he knew he’d be getting a lot of textbooks. The workload of high school didn’t scare Claude. He was used to a lot of work and handled it very well. Claude was more scared of the bullies and that was all that was on his mind. He couldn’t stop thinking about the incident earlier when he bumped into the bigger kid. Danny surprised him when he said “Should we just hang out here for a bit then?” Claude looked at Danny and said,

“Oh yea let’s do that. I don’t really want to go back into any other hallways. I think this one is nice.”

“Alright man. So we have Gym first or what?” Danny fumbled with his schedule to see what his first class was then nodded, “Yea we have Gym. What sport do you think we’ll do?”

 

“I’m not sure. Probably not anything too much since no one will have anything to change into.” Claude thought about what sports they could play and then it hit him. Dodge ball. In every high school movie he’d ever watched, the small grade nine kids always got picked on in Dodge ball by the giants from twelfth grade. The thoughts of getting pelted in the face by the senior he ran into earlier were terrifying and it was a good thing Danny was not paying attention because Claude was shaking a little bit. Claude tried to stop himself and finally did. Danny looked up at Claude then down the hallway. He smiled,

 

“Hey look it’s all the rest of the guys.” Danny walked towards them and Claude smiled for the first time since being in this building and walked towards them. Danny did most of the talking as usual but Claude looked at his other friends, observing their faces. They all seemed fairly calm but maybe that was just because they were in the safe hallway. He found out that a few of them were also in his Gym class. One kid, named Scott knew where the gym was since his brother had attended this high school and told him where it was so they all followed Scott towards the gym. As Danny and Scott opened the door to the gym and Claude stepped in, he saw the big senior with a few of his friends standing in there talking to the gym teacher. He stared in the direction of those seniors and he felt chills go down his spine.

 

Claude and Danny went and sat down on the bleachers next to a bunch of other guys that were in their class. Claude knew some of them but never really talked to them so he stayed quiet and started to look around. The smell of the freshly polished floor was very noticeable since he had walked in the door. It was so shiny and made him wonder why the school would want it so shiny if it was just going to get all marked up. He saw how big the bleachers really were and figured how many people must come to all the basketball and volleyball games. He looked a little more left and saw a giant hawk on the wall with eyes that looked right at you no matter where you were in the gym. He knew that the mascot of his new school was a hawk. The walls were littered with lines of red and black so Claude figured that those were his new school colours. His eyes kept moving to the left and they came across the scoreboard that was on. It made a surprisingly loud buzzer sound that made him jump but it was quickly turned off by one of the seniors. Claude wondered why the scoreboard was on and it gave him hope that maybe they were playing something else that wasn’t dodge ball. The gym teacher turned and started to talk about what he expected of everyone. The gym teacher had a booming voice that you could hear from across the gym. He saw one of the equipment room doors open behind the teacher and started to look in there. He saw hockey nets piled in the corner, basketballs piled up in a basket and then he saw what he didn’t want to see. Beside the open door were 5 volleyballs. They had red and black stripes just like the wall and they looked very firm, like they were freshly filled with air. Fear had filled his mind again. He looked back at the gym teacher who was surprisingly still talking and started to listen.

 

The big senior was standing next to the teacher and he had noticed Claude. He started to stare at him. Claude tried not to look back but he couldn’t help it. The senior had an intimidating smile on his face and Claude knew that he was going to be a target for this kid. The other kids started to move off the bleachers and move towards the outer walls of the gym. Claude followed Danny and whispered,

“Hey what are we doing?” Danny looked at Claude. He could see the fear in Danny’s eyes for the first time today and that made Claude even more scared.

“Dodge ball. Us against the seniors.” When Claude heard this, he looked over at the seniors lining up on the wall. All of them were huge. Not even one of the ninth graders came anywhere close to their size. The teacher lined the volleyballs up along the center of the gym, which had an enormous hawk in the middle. The floor was a dull brown colour with a few lines going through it for the various sports that were played. He looked back up at the seniors and the whistle blew to begin the game.

Claude started to run towards the balls in the middle and then stopped because he realized he was the only one. The seniors had grabbed all the balls and looked at Claude and his team. They all backed up right against the wall as the balls were pelted at them. Claude managed to dodge them all but some of his friends weren’t so lucky and were hit. He looked up to see the big senior from before. He had a ball and he was winding up right at Claude. This was his worst fear and Claude dove out of the way and onto the floor. He looked down at the floor trying to decide if he wanted to just stay there but that wasn’t Claude. He pushed himself back up and looked around at this team. It was just he and Danny left. He grabbed the ball that was thrown at him and used it for a shield. He threw one to Danny as well and Danny followed suit. There were only two seniors left which wasn’t surprising since there was only five in the class. He saw Danny race up to the line and throw the ball and it hit one of them. Danny turned and ran back towards Claude to celebrate. The big senior grabbed a ball and hit Danny right in the back of the head. Danny dropped to the shiny floor but just as he did, Claude realized how vulnerable the senior would be and threw his ball on pure instinct. He nailed the senior and raised his arms in victory. All of the ninth graders started to cheer and Danny gave Claude a huge pat on the back. The senior looked at Claude with anger in his eyes and Claude started to regret what he had just done but he was so proud of what he had just done at the same time.

 

The gym teacher came out onto the court and got the seniors to put all the balls away. The big senior was walking around the outside of the gym and he did not look happy. The gym teacher yelled out to him,

 

“Hey Marc, Help out would you?” He looked up and walked into the equipment room to help out. Claude was just standing around with the other ninth graders and he had just learned the seniors’ name. He intended to stay away from him the rest of the day and maybe even the rest of the year if possible. He saw all the seniors come out of the equipment room and decided to go in. All the other ninth graders were distracted by something the seniors were doing so he decided to slip away. He wanted to see how much better the equipment was then what he was used to back at elementary school. He turned the corner into the room and started to look around. He heard the quiet clicking noise of the door shutting. Claude turned around to see Marc standing over him. He towered over Claude and Claude looked up at him.

“Oh hey.. G..good game out there.” Claude said as his voice trembled.

 

“No. It wasn’t a good game! You made me look like an idiot! Who do you think you are?”

 

“I.. I’m sorry. I was just trying to win like everyone else..”

 

“I hope you know what you’ve done.” Marc looked at Claude with wide eyes.

 

“N..No.. I don’t..” Claude’s eyes did not leave Marc’s the whole time.

“Then come behind the school after the bell and you’ll find out..” Marc opened the door behind him and walked out, leaving looked standing in the equipment room. Claude’s fear had returned and as he looked down, he found his hands shaking uncontrollably. Claude leaned against the door and closed his eyes. He didn’t let himself cry and made himself stop shaking the best he could. He took a few deep breaths and gathered himself. He opened his eyes and turned around. He left the equipment room and went back over to Danny and his friends. Claude didn’t mention it at all to Danny because he didn’t want to drag Danny into this too. This was Claude’s’ problem and he did not have a good feeling about it.

Claude walked out of the gym with Danny to go back to their lockers. It seemed as if the fear that Danny had before the dodge ball game had disappeared and he was back to his talkative and excited state. Claude gave a nod and said ‘yea’ every now and then to make Danny think he was listening. However, Claude was much more concerned about Marc. He wondered why Marc wanted to meet him after school. What did he want? Is he just going to beat me up for winning? Why did it have to be Claude? Why not someone else? Claude had no answers for these questions and he wouldn’t until he went to go meet Marc. Danny and Claude had made it to their lockers. They opened them and grabbed the books they needed for their next class. Claude had Science and Danny had Math so Danny put his books under his arm and looked at Claude who was still looking for the right binder.

 

“I’ll see you later man. I’m gonna go see if I can find the Math rooms.” Claude nodded to Danny and pulled a binder down into his arms.

 

“Alright. See you later then.” Claude gave a little wave and shut his locker. He knew his next class was in room 210.Luckily for Claude, it was directly across the hallway from his locker. He walked straight ahead and into the room. He picked a seat near the back so that he could keep an eye on everyone. Claude was so on edge that he couldn’t stand having anyone behind him. He sat down and put his head down on his desk as everyone started to come into the room. He stared at the markings and writing on the desks. One of them read: “Niners suck! Better watch out cause we’ll make you pay!”

 

Claude looked at it and wished that he’d saw that before he went to gym class because he would have purposely lost to Marc so that he wouldn’t be in this situation. Through his whole Science class while the teacher talked. All that went through Claude’s head was images of what could happen after school. Maybe he would shake Claude’s hand and tell him that he was really brave and courageous but Claude laughed a bit in his head and thought that was so doubtful. He mostly thought to himself that he was going to have a broken bone or two and Danny would end up having to help him get home. The rest of Claude’s classes went the exact same way as his Science class. He spent them constantly thinking of what he feared most. Marc. He went to his locker after the final bell of the day and put his binders into it. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His heart started pounding and it wouldn’t stop. He pulled his backpack onto his shoulders and Danny showed up beside him.

 

“Hey you ready to go?” He quickly put his books away and grabbed his bag. Claude looked down at Danny with more fear in his eyes then he had felt all day.

“Are you alright man? You look scared as hell.” Danny said as he noticed.

“I am… M..Marc told me to meet him behind the school after class.” Danny’s mouth dropped open and he started to feel Claude’s fear.

“Wow.. Well I guess we have to go then. He’ll find us if we don’t.” Claude nodded at Danny and felt a bit better that Danny would be with him. Of course that wouldn’t do much but it meant a lot to Claude that Danny would be there. They walked out the back doors of the school to see Marc standing off in a patch of pavement that looked like it used to be a basketball court. A few of the seniors that were in the gym earlier were also with Marc. Claude’s legs felt like they had fifty pound weights on them but Danny and him slowly made their way towards Marc and the others.

 

         Marc had noticed them and stared both of the boys down with cold eyes as Claude and Danny slowly walked towards him. The boys stayed close to each other to make themselves feel bigger. They reached the edge of the pavement and both stopped. There was a silence. There was a distant noise of talking and laughter from the other side of the school but the building blocked most of it. Marc just stared at the two boys. Even the few seniors behind him were quiet. Claude looked up at Marc and decided to speak first.

 

“Why are we here?” He said, trying to sound as confident as possible. Marc looked back at his friends and made a face that neither of the boys saw. He turned back around with the same look he had on before. He looked down at Claude.

 

“Because you think you’re a big shot when all you really are is a niner that is gonna get his ass kicked. You don’t come in here the first day and beat the seniors in dodge ball.” Marc looked at Claude angrily and you could see the pure rage in his eyes. Claude was frozen in his place. He couldn’t move. All he could do was at least try to defend himself and make it so that his best friend and him didn’t get beat up.

 

“I was just trying my best.. I couldn’t just let you win. Come on let this go I promise I won’t do it again.. Don’t beat us up.” Claude said as Danny stood next to him, starting to get scared. He had never seen Claude scared enough to beg before but he was now. Marc didn’t respond right away and instead turned around again to his friends. They were obviously saying something to each other but Claude couldn’t understand and neither could Danny. He turned around again but this time he was laughing. Claude looked at Danny with a confused look. Marc pointed at Claude.

“Are you actually begging me right now? You’re that scared that we’re gonna kick your asses and leave you behind the school?” The two boys looked at each other then back at Marc and nodded slowly. As they nodded, it just made Marc laugh even more.

“God.. I love being a senior. I can’t believe this actually worked on you two.” Claude realized that all of Marc’s friends were laughing too. He felt all of the tension that had been around all day, suddenly float off into the air. Claude had no idea what was going on and he nudged Danny but Danny had no idea either.

 

Marc laughed and came over to the two boys. He smiled down at Claude. Claude hadn’t seen his smile all day but Claude was still scared because he was clueless right now. Marc’s friends had stopped laughing and had begun walking away. Marc stayed in front of Claude and Danny.

 

“You guys don’t have older brothers or anything that went to this school?” Claude and Danny shook their heads. Claude was an only child and Danny had a younger sister. This made Marc smile more. “Wow this was perfect then. I picked the perfect two guys to play this prank on.” Marc was seemed very proud of himself. Claude was angry that this whole thing was a prank and he’d just wasted his whole day being terrified but he was also happy because he wouldn’t be getting beat up today.

“So this was all just a prank? Does this happen every year or did you just do it to us?” Claude asked, wanting to figure out more about what was going on.

“Yea it was a prank. I don’t know if it happens every year. Just something the boys and I came up with. We didn’t really think it would work but you guys were scared out of your minds!” He laughed and continued to boast about his prank. “They banned the real initiation when I was a niner so we’ve started to pull pranks on the niners instead of actual initiation. Now you can do it when you’re a senior.” He said. Claude thought to himself that he would never do anything like this to anyone. Marc offered Claude a handshake. Claude took it and then Marc offered the same thing to Danny.

 

“I am really sorry guys. We thought it’d be funny and you guys took it really well but hey if you guys ever need something, don’t be afraid to ask me. I honestly won’t beat you up.”

 

“Thanks we guess?” Claude said not knowing what to really say.

 

“See you around!” Marc said and turned, running after his friends. Claude looked at Danny. They didn’t say anything to each other and started walking home. They both felt like total idiots but once they turned onto Danny’s street where Claude had met Danny that morning, Danny turned to Claude and said,

“It was kinda funny I guess.” Claude laughed and gave Danny a light punch on the shoulder.

“Yea but we’re not gonna talk about this again. We’ll just leave it like this.” Danny nodded in agreement and walked up to his house “See you tomorrow Claude!” Claude waived and continued home.

 

Claude always remembered his first day of high school. It was turning out to be one of the worst days of his life but actually turned out to be a bit funny. Claude even started to love his school even though he thought that he never would when he was sitting in that gym. Claude and Danny never said a word about what had happened. Marc surprisingly didn’t either and for the rest of Claude’s freshman year, Marc was one of his good friends. When they played dodge ball in gym class, Marc and Claude were almost unstoppable together. Sometimes things can’t get worse but they can always get better and Claude never forgot that.

 

 

 

 

The Man at the Window by Rinor Berisha

Published on by wmelnickLeave a comment

abstract-art-explainedThe rain gently fell into the dirty railed windows of Jaime’s classroom. The sound of slight scribbles echoed in the quiet room as all the students were viciously writing on their test papers. Mrs.Northrich, a middle aged elementary teacher, was silently browsing a news site while waiting for the first student to finish their test. A pencil hit the ground, and the sound of footsteps followed. Daniel eagerly raced towards Mrs.Northrich’s desk and placed his finished test onto the test basket.

“Did you double-check your answers?” asked Mrs. Northrich with a slight sigh.

“Y-yes miss!” stuttered Daniel.

“Alright then, go back to your seat,” replied Mrs.Northrich, not giving even a glance.

And he wonders why his lunch money is missing everyday, thought Jaime. She continued slowly writing down her test answers, questions she’d seen before, questions she hadn’t. Two times five, she thought. Two fives, five twos, who cares? She writes down the answer, and looks at the next question. Minutes pass, and she finally writes down her last answer. Fifty-five, no more, no less. She perked her head up, and she looked around the classroom. Most of the students had already finished, creating a quiet droning sound of chatter. She gets up and goes to Mrs.Northrich’s desk to hand in her paper. The teacher makes no movements, almost like she didn’t notice the little girl slide her test onto the pile. Jaime walked back to her seat and sat down, and looked behind her. Alvin, her friend, was still writing his test. He also didn’t look like he was almost done, either.

“Hurry up!” whispered Jaime. “You’re going to run out of time!”

Alvin started writing faster. Suddenly, he paused. He looked at Jaime with wide eyes, pleading for help.

“Four times seven!” whispered Alvin eagerly.

“It’s just four sevens! Count it out.” Jaime replied hastily. Suddenly, she looked to her left and noticed Daniel looking at her while walking towards Mrs.Northrich. Daniel grabbed Mrs.Northrichs attention and pointed towards Jaime. Oh, what an idiot, she thought. Mrs.Northrich nodded at Daniel and sent him back to his seat. He sat down with a smug look on his face, and slight anticipation for something to come. Five minutes remained, and Jaime just sat and waited for the bell to ring.

“Jaime, Alvin, please stay after the bell rings,” echoed Mrs.Northrich in a monotone voice.

The sound of scurrying feet and dragging chair legs drowned the bell as the students hurried their way out of the classroom. All but Jaime and Alvin left. Mrs.Northrich remained silent, staring at her computer screen. Her big nose twitched as she adjusted her glasses. Her skeletal hands moved the mouse slightly to the right, clicked once, and let out a nasally sigh.

“Someone told me you two were talking during the test.” she said. “You know you aren’t allowed to talk during a test.”

Alvin and Jaime made no sound. They stared at Mrs.Northrich, like a deer caught in headlights. Mrs.Northrich’s bland but fearful glare persisted, trying to make one of them move in discomfort. But Jaime remained strong, staring right back. The tick of the clock was heard as the room took on an eerie silence.

“I wasn’t talking to Alvin,” blurted out Jaime, breaking the tense quietness.

“Then who were you talking to?” quickly replied Mrs.Northrich.

Jaime stopped for a second to think.

“To myself,” she replied.

Mrs.Northrich took a deep breath, usually a sign that she isn’t too happy. Jaime remained quiet, still looking at Mrs.Northrich.

“And now you lie to a teacher?” asked Mrs.Northrich. She started irritably tapping her pen on her desk.

“No, no, no, this won’t do. You missy are going to report to the principals office NOW!” she exclaimed.

“You have no proof!” rebutted Jaime.

Mrs.Norchrich gave Jaime the most menacing, heinous glare she had ever given anyone in her whole years of teaching.

“I don’t need proof,” said Mrs.Northrich with clenched teeth, slowly bending her pen.

Her pen started to crack, but she didn’t notice. It then exploded, sending ink all over her desk, papers and clothes. Her nose wrinkled in anger, her eyes had widened to two times their size. She slammed her fist against her desk.

“NOW!!!” she yelled at the top of her voice. “NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW!”

Alvin and Jaime leaped off their seats and sprinted out of the classroom, and made their way to Mr.Ward’s office.

Both children sat quietly on their chairs as they waited for Mr.Ward to settle all his papers. After the final stack was placed where it needed to be, Mr.Ward quietly put his hands together and looked at the two children. His face was dull, boring, and bald. He had quite large shoulders, but also a slightly large belly. He always wore a full suit, and carried around a suitcase. He reminded Jaime of a businessman.

“I heard from Mrs.Northrich you two were not behaving today,” he blandly stated.

The two remained quiet. Mr.Ward looked at both of them before he spoke.

“Cheating on a test is one thing, but you also had the idea that you can talk back to a teacher,” said Mr.Ward. “Inconceivable!”

“But I jus-”

“Here we go again!” interrupted Mr.Ward. “What did I just say!”

He began to angrily scribble down something on his notes.

“Detention for the both of you!” he said. “I think you know when and where.”

“Yes, sir,” both children replied in unison.

“You may leave now,” he said.

Both Jaime and Alvin stood up and pushed their chairs in, and left for their next class.

***

            Jaime opened her front door slowly, afraid of what was to come. She looked inside. Both her parents were standing there, waiting. They both had their arms crossed, and they didn’t look happy.

“We received a call from the school today,” said her father, initiating the imminent conversation.

“We are not very happy,” said her mother.

“All I did was help Alvi-” replied Jaime before she was interrupted.

“But that was against the rules!” exclaimed her father. “You also were acting VERY rude to all your teachers!”

“We have to take this to counseling!” exclaimed her mother. “Maybe we should start with that medication the doctor recommended!”

“NO!” shouted Jaime. She ran up to her room, with tears forming in her eyes. She slammed the door, and jumped on her bed. Minutes past, and Jaime just took her book and read for the rest of the night.

The final bell rang, and all the children sped out of their classrooms and on their way home. Everyone but Jaime and Alvin, that is. They instead made their way to the detention room. Room 308. They entered the room, and sat down at a desk. A teacher they didn’t know sat in the front of the room, reading the newspaper. The teacher said nothing, not even acknowledging the fact that they were there.

Minutes past on the clock, and Jaime was becoming restless. Still thirty more minutes until 4:45. The teacher still remained at his desk, hardly moving since the detention started. Suddenly, he put his newspaper away, and looked at the kids over his rimmed glasses.

“I’m going to go make a pot of coffee,” he said. “Do not move.”

He stared at them for a few seconds before he got up and left the room. The door snapped shut, and the footsteps became quieter. Suddenly, Alvin stood up.

“Let’s have a look around!” he said.

“No!” exclaimed Jaime. “We’ll get into much more trouble!”

“Only if we get caught,” he replied.

Alvin started looking through the desks for any valuables, but Jaime remained at her seat. She started getting restless again. Oh, It won’t hurt to just have a little stretch, she thought. She stood up and wandered around the room. What a boring room it was. Old wooden desks, fogged tinted windows. The lights were sometimes flickering, creating a sort of creepy effect. This room seemed much older than the others, she thought. There were a lot of old wooden shelves and closets near the back.

“How curious,” quietly muttered Jaime as she noticed an oddly placed floor tile. She stepped closer to it. She bent down, and moved it a little. It budged, but it was heavy.

“What’s that you’re looking at?” asked Alvin.

“I don’t know,” she replied.

Alvin took a closer look at it.

“Let’s lift it, I think its a trap door!”

They both took each side, and lifted the big tile. It made a small opening, but big enough for them to fit. They both looked down, but it was all black.

“I wonder what’s down there,” said Jaime.

“Let’s find out!” exclaimed Alvin.

He quickly put his feet in first, and slid down the hole. Suddenly, he was gone.

“ALVIN!” shouted Jaime. No answer. Suddenly, she heard footsteps again, the teacher    was coming back!

She hurried back to her seat, forgetting about the open hole. The teacher walked in, and looked around.

“Wheres the other one,” he said.

“I…I don’t know he left,” Jaime said quickly. She looked back, and the hole was covered. I guess he covered the hole himself, she thought. The teacher let out a big sigh, and wrote something on a slip of paper. He then sat down, and Jaime waited the rest of the detention.

***

It was the next afternoon, almost time to go home again. Jaime was very worried, Alvin wasn’t seen all day. She wondered if he was trapped down that hole, how horrible that would be. But she thought, if he could close it, he could open it. The bell rang, and Jaime left the classroom, and made her way to the old detention room. She looked inside, no one was there. She opened the unlocked door, and entered. Quick as a rabbit she ran to the tile, and used all her strength to lift it.

“ALVIN!” she cried.

No reply.

“Are you down there!?” she shouted again.

Still no reply. She looked at the hole for a few seconds, and then decided to just go inside. She put her feet in first, and suddenly, she felt light headed. The world started to go dark, and she passed out.

A strange looking face was peering down at Jaime. Oval eyes, pointed ears. Her hair was wavy and white, all over the place but neat.

“Hello,” it said.

Jaime looked around. She was in a beautiful white room, filled with elegant furniture and a bed. A tall pale looking woman was standing next to her. There were children at the end of her bed, looking curiously at her.

“Where am I?” she asked anxiously.

“A room,” replied the woman.

“Who are you!?” asked Jaime frantically, now getting frustrated.

“We are the children,” one of the kids replied.

“Who?” she asked again.

“The children!” another one said.

Jaime quickly threw off the bed covers and ran to the door. She opened it, and outside she say a small village; little houses with gravel pathways, a fountain in the middle. There was a small park with swings and a slide, and trees surrounding the entire village. She started panicking, and then teared up. All the children from the house ran outside.

“What’s wrong?” one of them asked.

Jaime looked up.

“I have no idea what’s going on!” she replied, still sobbing. “I just passed out, and now I’m here!”

The children remained quiet. Suddenly, the woman with the pointy ears walked out of the house.

“You are in another world,” she said. “City.”

Jaime looked at her.

“City?” she said, through her sobs.

“Yes. You came here just like the rest of the children.”

Jaime looked around. She looked at all the faces of the children, they looked about her age. She then remembered Alvin.

“Where’s Alvin?” she asked.

“Ah,” replied the strange woman. “He did come here but…”

“But what?” quickly asked Jaime.

“He was taken.”

“Taken by what!?”

“The Parents,” said the strange woman.

Jaime remained silent, looking at the woman.

“The Parents live in the City,” she said. And then she pointed in a direction. Jaime looked over, and saw an enormous building. She wondered how she did not see it before, it looked like it touched the sky. The building seemed to bend a little bit, curving towards her. The more she looked at it, the more it started to curve.

“Stop!” exclaimed the woman. “Do not look there for too long.”

“What are Parents?” asked Jaime.

“They’re the minions of the Man,” replied the woman. “The Man at the Window.”

Jaime stood there, thinking about all that has been said. She then remembered Alvin.

“Where did Alvin go?” she asked.

“He was taken,” she replied. “Into the City.”

“Well get him back!” she cried out.

“I cannot go near the City, and neither can the kids,” she replied. “The only person is you.”

Jaime thought about it for a moment.

“Ok I’ll go!” she said.

“Then we will rest for tonight, and prepare tomorrow morning.”

All the children went back to their houses as the sun was setting. Jaime thought about what would happen. She was very confused, and still in shock. It was a hard sleepless night, with a little sobbing throughout, but she finally fell asleep.

It was the morning. Jaime, the children, and the strange woman were walking towards the City. They walked for what seemed like a long time, but the sun was still in the far east. They finally arrived. There was a big, grey wall with a giant gate. The wall went on forever, going around the city limits. The big building was even more visible than before, with other buildings there too.

“You must go alone now,” said the woman. “Take this with you.”

She handed Jaime a red balloon.

“What’s this going to do?” asked Jaime, slightly annoyed.

“Pop it when you find Alvin,” she said. “Now go! The door will close soon!”

Jaime looked at the wall. The gates started slowly closing, creating a loud creaking sound.

“Go!” cried out the strange woman.

Jaime sprinted all the way down the path to the gate, reaching it before it was even halfway closed. Suddenly, everything was grey. The road, the sidewalk, the buildings. she looked behind her, she couldn’t see the woman or the kids, it was like a fog was on the boundaries of the City. She looked around again. No one was here. There was an eerie silence about.

“Hello?” cried out Jaime.

No response. She started slowly walking forward, tightly gripping the balloon in her hand. She kept walking and walking, going through street after street. The streets had no names, and the constant greyness made Jaime become lost. It was like going through an impossible maze. Hours past, and Jaime became very, very tired. She sat on the nearest bench, and started weeping. She then heard a siren.

“Oh..” whimpered Jaime.

She started to get scared, and ran to a nearby stone monument and hit behind it. Suddenly, the doors from the buildings across the street burst open. A grotesque figure stepped out. A Parent, she thought. The monster had pointed hands and feet, and an ugly disfigured face. Two rows of evenly sharp teeth formed a menacing grin. Its eyes were black and triangular. Jaime let out a whimper. The thing start moving in an unnatural way, walking down the street. It made no sound at all, not even its footsteps on the ground. Suddenly more and more of these things piled out of the buildings. Jaime looked to her right, and saw a Parent looking right at her.

The Parent opened its mouth, and let out a high pitched screech. Jaime screamed, covered her ears and ran as fast as she could. All the surrounding Parents turned at the same time and sprinted after her, like a group of crazed spiders. They were gaining on her, when a hand shot out of the ground and grabbed her leg, tripping her. She looked over, and a sewer lid was open. The Parents were seconds away from catching up, so she had no choice but to jump into the dark hole.

She climbed down the ladder, hoping that whoever took her down here was a friend. They finally reached the bottom, and a light started to shine. She looked at the face, and it was

Alvin!

“Alvin!” she cried.

“Jaime!” he replied back. The two hugged, then quickly stopped, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“What is going on!?” asked Jaime frantically. “What are those things!?”

“Parents!” replied Alvin. “I…I don’t really know what they are.”

The two stood quiet for some time, still both in shock.

“Who… Who is the Man at the Window?” asked Jaime slowly.

“I don’t really know either, just… I think he controls those things, the Parents,” replied Alvin.

“Oh… the balloon!” cried out Jaime. She still had the balloon in a death grip, even from jumping down the sewer hole. She then remembered what the strange woman said.

“Hold on to me!” she told Alvin.

“What?” he asked.

“Just do it!”

She grabbed his arm, and then when and bit the balloon with her teeth. It popped, and suddenly she felt very light. She then began to pick up speed, going up into the air. She and Alvin went up the ladder, and smashed through the pothole lid (hurting their heads a bit) and all the way up into the sky. As they were going up, Jaime looked at the giant building. It curved faster than before, and eventually It was like Jaime was right next to it. She could see the Man. He had a balding head, wore a suit, and had glasses. But she noticed something else too; he had no face. She closed her eyes, and they drifted all the way back to the village.

They made it on the ground, and the children with the strange women all ran up to greet them.

“You did it!” cried out the strange woman. “You brought him back!”

All the children started cheering.

Suddenly, the strange woman’s face turned into a large frown.

“But all is not well here. The Parents are going to attack,” she said. “They are going to kill everyone.”

Jaime and Alvin stood there saying nothing.

“We need your help, we need all the help we can get!” she said. “But there is the portal back to your world. You can stay or you can go.”

The woman pointed to a glowing hole in the dirt. Jaime and Alvin both looked at it, then looked at the strange woman.

“We need to defeat the Man, or he will take us all and turn us all into Parents,” said the woman.

“Sorry,” said Jaime.

The woman started to cry. Jaime grabbed Alvin and jumped into the portal, and they both blacked out.

Jaime ended up in her room. A knock was heard on the door. She flinched, still scared from the experience. The door opened, and her parents came in.

“Here are the medications, Jaime,” said her mother.

“We have to start taking them now,” said her father.

They placed the glass of water and medication bottle on her desk, and left the room. Jaime took the bottle, opened it, and swallowed a pill.

A Model Mother by Haley Price

Published on by wmelnickLeave a comment

chic_bridal_makeup

            A burgundy sun dances slowly across the horizon to the constant humming of street lights springing to life.  All the while the sun is maneuvering among an entourage of stalwart purple guardians vigorously protecting the last few moments of daylight.  A time of day for most that means the relaxing end to a stressful day, often involving dinner with ones closest family and friends.  However for Diana the dinner orchestra of pot lids embracing their stainless steel companions and the constant drum of knife blades on the cutting board is a source of great anxiety and tension.  Like most fourteen year old girls Diana has to endure a tremendous amount of pressure to live up to the feminine ideal of beauty.  A task in itself that any woman can say is a struggle at best, but for Diana it is a nightmare as she has the added pressure of being the daughter of a former fashion model.  This pressure combined with Diana’s innate teenage desire to spar with her parents has resulted in the past with some rather spirited battles between herself and her mother over how she looks, and the types of clothes she prefers to wear.

The primary source of the tension between Diana and her mother Jessica comes from her mother’s constant droning over how pretty Diana is and how she should wear more flashy clothing to show off her figure.  However it is hard for Diana to accept these comments as genuine, firstly because as a teenager is there any compliment a parent can give their child that isn’t a backhanded comment in order to get them to behave in a more idealized manner, and secondly because the woman trying tell her how beautiful she is just happens to be a blonde five foot and eleven inch natural beauty for whom time seems to have forgotten.  Unbeknown to Diana on this late August evening is that her mother knows exactly the types of pressure she is facing from her friends at school, and it is in fact the woman who Diana believes couldn’t understand her in the least that will turn out to understand her the most.

As the sun finally sets in the backdrop of their Victorian style townhouse located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Diana and her mother sit down for a late Sunday dinner of roast beef with mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables.  The weekly family tradition of over cooked beef and generic conversation is broken today.  Not because Diana’s mothers cooking classes were suddenly paying dividends, but because the last weekend of August marked her Father Chris’s annual tech conference in Denver, Colorado; which means that the conversation tonight would Jessica’s chance to have real women’s talk with her daughter.  Tonight, because her father is not there Diana is given the privilege of sitting at the head of the glass and metallic family dining table.  Although to Diana it feel less like a privilege and more of a punishment as it forces her to participate more actively in the uncomfortable dinner conversion for fear of being will out of existed by her mother’s judgemental stare.  As uncomfortable as the daily dinner conversation made Diana feel tonight’s would be infinitely worse as tonight her mother would be confronting her with the fact that she knows Diana has an eating disorder.  It would be after this evening’s routine of food shuffling and unwanted conversation that Diana’s future health would be determined.

Quarter after nine in the evening on a cool and dry August Sunday Diana and her mother Jessica finally sit down enjoy the roast beef dinner that had been in preparation for the last 2 hours.  After taking several moments to delicately choose the smallest piece of meat with least amount of fat and getting a perfectly adequate spoonful of mixed vegetables Diana slowly wandered her way over to her father’s throne.  As she sat down and felt the cool metallic chair through her light summer clothing Diana couldn’t help but hope that her mother wasn’t in a chatty mood as she had a tendency to drone on about meaningless meetings with obnoxious clients, which is was a seemingly redundant description as Diana assumed the clientele of a Ferrari dealership would all be obnoxious corporate elites.  Tonight however Jessica’s focus of conversation would be on some of the disturbing habits of her daughter’s that she had noticed.  Behaviours that she recognised as warning signs to bulimia, an issue with which she herself was well acquainted with having made a name for herself in the modelling industry.  After having been seated for several minutes and failing to find an easy way to bring up the warning signs she had noticed Jessica finally came out and just said, “I have been really worried about you lately Diana. I’ve noticed you haven’t been sharing as much lately with me or your father, and you have been spending a lot more time alone in your room.”  Diana replied quickly in a snarky tone, “Why would that worry you? It’s the end of summer what exactly should I be doing with time?”   Jessica quickly realised that it would be more difficult than simply getting Diana to openly admit to what was bothering her lately and how it was affecting her, so she instead remembered back to when she was working through many of these issues for herself early in her modelling career at the age of sixteen and how she recorded it in her Diary.  A Diary that she kept till this day tucked away subtly into the bottom drawer of her Oak three drawer nightstand underneath a copy of the first fashion magazine she ever appeared in.  Not that anyone else would know that she appeared in this magazine as it was merely a two by two inch picture of a pair of well-groomed feet wearing a pair of out dated Velcro sandals, and sporting some out dated neon green nail polish.

Instead of trying to win a verbal game of chess all the while preserving the fragile self-esteem of her young teenage daughter Jessica instead decided to that it would be better to let the teenage version of herself share her experience with bulimia with her daughter.  Jessica looked up and locked eyes with her hazel eyed daughter and said “I know that you think I can’t possibly understand what it means to be a teenager because it was so long ago that I was one, but I want to share with you my diary from when I was a teenager.  You can skip over the parts of it where I talk about wanting to marry Jason Priestly and focus on the last half of it.  I want you to do this as a favor to me, and if after you read it you want to talk to me about it then we can, or if you don’t want to talk about it we don’t have to do that either.”  With a confused look on her faced, as if her mother had just spoken to her in a foreign language Diana replied, “Okay I guess”.

After finishing putting away the leftovers from dinner into the fridge portion of the fridge freezer combo appliance; Jessica looked over at Diana who was putting the dishes from dinner into the dishwasher and told her where the diary could be found.  With her back still facing her mother, and in a grumpy mumble Diana replied, “Okay in your nightstand under some stuff, got it”.  Diana’s post dinner routine remained unchanged despite the conversation with her mother, as she quickly returned to her room after helping clean up the mess in the older kitchen.  Within what seemed like seconds Diana was back within the protective violet walls of her castle that were heavily decorated in movie posters, and posters of her past and present favourite musicians.  On the far corner of her dimly lit room was located her wooden desk covered and resting on top amid of a bundle of assorted old school projects and used make up was her MacBook Air.  This computer is her connection to the salvations of the outside world as well as the unrelenting criticism of her female classmates that would dare to identify themselves as friends.  The worst of these so called friends is a five foot tall chubby little blond hair and blue eyed girl named Christine who would make George Carlin look like Weird Al Yanchovich.  Christine was the epitome of class bitch and she made sure that she lived up to this reputation even during the summer break by constantly harassing Diana over the internet through Facebook and Twitter.  She would post links to online diets and exercise videos on Youtube in private messages to Diana’s all the while telling Diana that she looked good in the comments section underneath her summer photos.  Diana paused for a minute after entering her room and she looked around for something to do.  There was the t.v. in the corner, but she knew that there was nothing good on t.v. at nine forty five on a Sunday night during the summer.  Diana then looked across the room to the bookshelf beside her bed.  The bookshelf had all three of its shelves filled to the brim with books but most of them were either from her childhood, or they were her grandmother’s used crime novels and romance stories that her grandmother mistakenly thought she would want to read.  Deciding that not a single book of her more than one hundred was worth the effort of prying from the firm grasp of the book shelf she looked back to her desk in the corner and thought about going online just to see what her friends were up to.  Diana sat down on her ergonomically correct black wheelie chair and began to go through her online routine of browsing gossip magazines and checking for notifications on Facebook and Twitter.  There was no earth shattered news on the celebrity front, and it appeared that none of her friends (at least the ones she was actually interested in) had any interesting updates either.  After ten minutes of browsing through spam notifications about Facebook games and great deals on airfare Diana stumbled across a message from Christine and it read “hey ya fat bitch you want to hang out with us next weekend? we can make sure we get some candy for you”.

It was a one in a million comment that people would probably say was just a joke from Christine but to Diana it was a lot more than joke.  It was a comment that hurt her deeply and told her exactly how not only Christine, but how the other girls in Christine’s gang felt about Diana and how she looked.  Diana could feel her eyes swell up and she knew as she repeated the comment over in her head that that bitch was right she was fat, and she deserved to be made fun of she thought as she starred at herself in her full body mirror with her tear filled eyes.  It was in that moment out of the corner of her eye that she caught a glimpse of herself and her mother when she was ten years old at the county fair after her father had just won her favourite green teddy bear from a game of ring toss.  It was in this moment when her eyes locked on the face of her ten year old self that she thought back to what her mother had said at dinner, and about the diary that she assumed her mother thought contained all the secrets of the universe.

Diana took two minutes to calm down as she repeated over and over in her head “who cares what she says I hate her anyways” and wiped her teary eyes with her blue and red One Direction shirt that she had worn the day before.  Finally when she decided there was no way that her mother could possibly tell she had been upset Diana finally walked down the seemingly endless hallway, past the bathroom with its lights on and just beyond the guest room (which at this point had become a storage room for her dad’s growing collection of used broken electronics) to finally arrive at her parents room at the end of the hallway.

Jessica was sitting up waiting for her daughter to arrive as she had heard her daughter’s door click open just a moment ago.  Before Diana could even knock on the door Jessica quickly blurted out “just come in”, but Diana was already halfway in before she finished her sentence.  Diana stood shyly on one leg quickly rubbing her other foot on the back of her leg as if trying to start a fire, and quietly said “I just came to say goodnight… you know since dads not here”.  Jessica smiled in that sideways kind of smile people do when they are more glad then happy, and said “good night sweety” and handed Diana the diary before she could even ask for it.  Diana quickly replied “Oh I was just coming to say goodnight, but I guess I could take this now… anyways I’m gonna head to bed goodnight mom” and she quickly turned around and made her way back to her room.

After arriving back in her room Diana flopped onto her bed and laid there on the covers just looking at the cover of the Diary trying to decide if getting to know her teenage mother was really worth the risk.  After about thirty minutes mulling over that decision and starring at the blue light emanating from her phone charger she decided it couldn’t possibly be worse than just lying there doing nothing.  Diana opened the diary and skimmed through the pages at a pace that most people reserve for the magazines in a doctor’s office.  That is until she came across an entry titled the worst day ever, and it was dated October twenty first nineteen eighty eight.  At this point Diana stopped just aimlessly flipping through the old yellow pages of the fabric bound diary and she actually began to read.  The diary read:

“Today was horrible, me and Tessa were about to go on our typical lunch when Jeff came in and told us that Jeanie had died of complications from an eating disorder.  It doesn’t make any sense Jeanie seemed completely fine she ate like the rest of us and she looked amazing.  She was always the most popular of the girls that worked for the magazine and she had been there the longest.  She taught us all what we knew about modelling and she was just booked to do a national commercial on tv and now shes just dead.  It just doesn’t make sense she must have had some rare disease or illness.”

Diana was surprised by what she was reading.  She wondered how her mother could be so naïve and not understand what an eating disorder was.  Diana knew that everyone nowadays knows what an eating disorder is.  This entry had been enough to peak her interest though and he flipped a couple of more pages past some entries about boys and amazing movies and came across an entry titled sick of it all.  Diana continued to read this entry cautiously, she followed along each line as if reading to fast would make the words disappear.  As she read the entry she saw how her mother began to grow tired of the modelling industry.  She read as her mother talked about just wanting to be able to enjoy eating food again, and about not having to watch her friends get sick or addicted to drugs or alcohol in order to cope with the pressures of the industry.  Most of all her mother was sick of watching her friends die well before there time.

Diana stopped reading before finishing all of the gruesome details for the entry on January third nineteen ninety.  At this point she thought she had better just stop for tonight and take a break or there is no way that she would be able to get any sleep without having nightmares of skinny zombie models.  However it was this exact fear of not being able to sleep that caused Diana to toss and turn under her satin sheets.  No matter what angle she faced, or no matter how hard she closed her eyes sleep would continue to elude her.  Laying there with eyes too tired to keep open but sore from being forced closed for the past two hours Diana wondered why her mother would want her to read that horror story that was her diary.

Lying in bed unable to sleep and tired of trying to force it Diana decided that there was only one way to solve the problem and be able to sleep again and that was to finish reading the diary and not be haunted by thoughts of what could be waiting to be read in further pages.  Diana rolled over in bed flicked on the light on her nightstand and picked up the book that she had tossed on the carpet beside her bed.  She decided to skip ahead to the last entry and see what her mother’s life was like during the last time she wrote in the diary.  The last entry was surprisingly short and simply read:

“Today was amazing it was my third date Jeff and he took me to this amazing bistro, I know its crazy to think this already but I think he might be the one, and he says he says he would totally be the first customer when I open my own business.”

Diana laid there in bed completely stunned at how much of a one eighty her mother had pulled between the last two entries that she had read.  She thought to herself what the hell her mother’s point could have been in making her read the diary.  Completely confused and dumbfounded Diana laid there in bed with a new found solace that her mother’s diary had ended on happier terms then it began, but she still struggled to understand the point of it.  The next morning, after a short and not at all restful night’s sleep Diana came into the kitchen to see her mother sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal and drinking a coffee.  Before even saying good morning, or thinking about getting something to eat Diana glared at her mother and in a loud voice said, “What the hell was the point of your diary! It was so f’ed up, and then it just ends!”  In a completely calm manner Jessica set down her spoon and looked lovingly up and Diana and said “The point is that I noticed how you weren’t really eating lately and you were spending a lot of time looking at yourself in the mirror like it was a different person looking back.  I know how it feels to be a teenage girl and I know how it feels to have people tell you that you aren’t pretty or that you aren’t thin enough, but I wanted you to know that even if you go down the wrong path like I did that you can get help and there will always be people that will love you and support you.  It might not seem like it now, but the mountains it feels like you’re climbing right now will be mole hills in just a few short years and there will be someone at the end who will love you for who you are.”  Diana didn’t know it at the time as she felt like her mother had just been watching too many made for t.v. movies on the Hallmark channel, but in her final year of high school she met a new student named Todd who transferred from Spain and would turn out to be her soul mate.

The Tail of Bernard the Bear by Natasha Stefanovic

Published on by wmelnickLeave a comment

bear head

Once upon a time, in an enchanted forest there lived a small bear tribe. The bears lived in harmony with the other inhabitants of the forest and spent most of their days in the peaceful shade of their estate. There were many different bears of all shapes and sizes. Although some were bigger than others, they all seemed to fit in – except one.

 

For as long as he could remember, Bernard Bear was different from the rest of the bears. While bears aren’t known to have long tails, he was born with a long, bushy tail. For years Bernard was teased by all of the other bears, for he was not like them.

 

“How’s your tail today Bernard?” they sarcastically asked.

 

“Bernard has a big bushy tail!” others would chime in.

 

“You don’t belong with us, bears don’t have tails like THAT!” they teased.

 

The taunting continued for many of his years. Instead of weeping, Bernard allowed the others to tease him although he knew deep down he was the same as every other bear. Though Bernard Bear asked every Elder Bear of the tribe, none of them were able to find a reason as to why he had a long bushy tail. They would smile sadly and tap him on the head with their paw trying to comfort him. However, the Elder Bears had no helpful advice, they would simply tell him to continue playing in the stream with the other cubs.

 

One day, when the bears were out playing by the stream, young Bernard Bear decided that he had enough of the other bear’s taunting and teasing. All of their remarks over the years have accumulated and suddenly Bernard decided it was time for a change. It wasn’t long until Bernard came up with an idea to solve this ongoing issue, an idea along with ambition. With nothing but the fur on his skin to keep him warm and his two eyes to guide him along the way, young Bernard set off on an adventure to search for answers and he would not stop until they were found.

 

When the sun had finally fell below the horizon, young Bernard Bear snuck away and disappeared into the night. The nighttime was not a place for a young bear to be alone. Bernard Bear travelled across the enchanted forest to meet with The Wise Old Owl that was said to know the answer to any question. According to the elders, he resided at the heart of the forest. It was a long way to travel for Bernard Bear but he was determined to receive answers. The bear was yet again lonely, but this time he had courage by his side, something Bernard never felt before.

 

After three long days and nights of blustery winds, winding roads and freezing temperatures, young Bernard Bear finally reached a large clearing. He was exhausted from travel so he decided to take a little rest. Just as Bernard was about to stop he heard a rustling noise coming from the bushes. Though the treetops were deserted and the path was quiet, he couldn’t help but feel like someone was watching him. Slowly but surely fear was lingering within Bernard. What did anyone want with a young bear in these parts of the forest? Inching ever closer to the bush, he gnashed his teeth together and let out the most frightening growl he could make.

 

“Show yourself, or feel the wrath of Bernard Bear!” he roared. Although being scary was odd to Bernard Bear, it was his only choice at this moment.

 

After a few moments of silence, he pounced into the bush. Bernard’s initial fears soon turned into curiosity.

 

“Hey, watch it up there, lay off!” the muffled voice yelled. “Get off me you big dumbo! Oh not the hair, please not the hair ugh!”

 

When Bernard Bear saw the small creature beneath him, he fell back onto four legs. He couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.

 

“So you’re the one that’s been following me? You’re just a little squirrel!”

 

“JUST a squirrel, JUST A SQUIRREL?” the voice wheezed.

 

Emerging from the bushes was the most peculiar squirrel Bernard had ever seen.

 

“I’ll have you know I am the most unique squirrel of the whole forest. Not to mention the most feared. I am sir Skippy the Nobel, protector of the Wise Old Owl who lives at the centre of the forest. Don’t underestimate me you silly bear!”

 

After a deep breath he looked sideways at the bear. “Wait, what is a bear like you doing in these parts of the forest anyway?”

 

Bernard Bear seemed to forget how tired he was as his eyes lit up and he jumped up in excitement. “You know the Wise Old Owl who lives at the center of the forest? I must see him immediately!”

 

“Oh no no no you can’t just demand orders just like that! I’m afraid I cannot let you pass,” Sir Hector chimed, puffing his chest out to show bravery. “The Wise old Owl does not take any visitors, perhaps try someone else?”

 

Bernard dipped his head in defeat. “But you don’t understand. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had this good for nothing, pesky tail attached to me” Bernard pointed to the tail and sighed in embarrassment. “All of the other bears make fun of me for it so I came here to meet the Wise Old Owl hoping to get some answers. I’ve travelled for three nights and three days through this harsh weather with nothing to eat but rotten berries searching for this Wise Owl. I just want to know why I’m so different, why this has happened to me.”

 

With that, Bernard Bear turned away from the squirrel, slowly making his way back towards the trail, his long tail dragging on the ground.

 

Sir Skippy watched the bear go, deeply troubled and amazed by the perseverance of this traveller. He had never seen such courage in all his years in the forest, not even from himself.

 

Finally, his amazement turned to sadness. “Wait!” he cried.

 

Bernard Bear swiftly turned around. His eyes gleamed in hope of a different ending to the same old story.

 

“The Wise Old Owl may not take visitors, but I’m sure we can make an exception…for a friend. Some call me Sir Skippy the squirrel, but you Mr. Bernard Bear, you can call me Skip.”

 

For the first time in a while, a giant grin spread across the face of Bernard Bear. Approaching the creature again, he held out his paw as a sign of friendship.

 

“You don’t have any food by any chance, do you? I feel like I haven’t ate in weeks!”

 

“The Wise old Owl may just have something.” Sir Skippy said with an alluring smile. “This way Bernard!”

 

With that, the two set off; the most unlikely companions in the entire forest.

 

After what seemed like hours, Bernard and Skip reached a great wooden door with a large brass knocker at its center, bigger than Sir Skippy.

 

“Welcome to the lair of the Great Wise Owl, the knower of all answers, the king of the deep green forest” Sir Skippy explained proudly. “This way Bernard.”

 

With that, the door slowly opened and revealed a long winding staircase. Wasting no time, Sir Skippy rushed into the hall with Bernard Bear clambering noisily behind. After a few minutes of walking and discussing matters related to Bernard’s issue, the pair finally reached a latch. Beyond the latch was the biggest nest Bernard Bear has ever seen.

 

“Welcome to the nest of the Wise Old Owl, the king of the deep green forest, the –“

 

“I understand Sir Skippy, that will do.”

 

Peering over them sat a great white owl. His feathers were whiter than snow and his eyes as blue as the summer sky. “ Young Bernard Bear, I’ve been expecting you!” and the Wise Owl finally spoke.

 

With that, Skippy gave Bernard a friendly tap on the shoulder and hurried back through the latch and down the staircase.

 

The young bear gave a smile to the Owl. After Bernard recognized they were alone he presented the owl with his lowest bow.

 

“So this is the Old Wise Owl of legend. I thought I’d never see the day. This place is like  a kingdom! Is it true that you’re the knower of all questions and the keeper of all secrets?

 

With a faint chuckle the Wise Owl replied, “It seems my reputation precedes me. Do not waste the energy that you do not have young bear, or should I say Bernard? First, we must fix you up a meal, then when you are all full we can talk.”

 

Moments later, after the most delicious meal Bernard Bear had ever eaten including  pure and sweet honey, fresh salmon and walnuts straight from the forest, Bernard was alone once again with the Wise Old Owl.

 

The owl leaned in close to Bernard Bear and finally spoke about the young bear’s problem. “I understand your situation and I know why you’re upset. You believe that you are different from everyone else but the truth is, you are unique. Everyone was made to be different, wouldn’t it be boring if we were all the same? In fact, I sense that one day you will be the ruler of the bear pack and I know that you will do a great job. Do not listen to what your siblings and the other bears say for one day you will rule them. I advise you to not let your anger and sadness get in the way of your duty. You are a bear, a strong and wise bear and you must act like one.”

 

Young Bernard Bear was relieved and began to believe what the Wise Old Owl was saying. He was unique and would never let anyone tell him differently. Maybe it was the journey that made him believe, or maybe he just needed to hear the words, but he promised himself that he would never let the other bears tease him again. After all, he is a strong and wise bear.

 

“Thank you so much, Wise Old Owl,” Bernard managed to say. “I will never let anyone treat me badly ever again. I understand why they call you the keeper of all secrets, the knower of all questions and the ruler of the entire enchanted forest!”

 

“I think that is enough praising for one day, its not me who made you feel different, you’ve become happier because you started to believe.” The owl said with a smile. “Now you should get to bed, you have yet another journey in the morning.”

 

After following Sir Skippy to his lavish bedchambers, thanking the squirrel for his help, and settling in his bed, he quickly fell asleep for the first time in days.

 

The one part of the journey Bernard Bear would never forget was being flown back home by the Wise Old Owl’s assistant woodland creatures including Sir Skippy. No blustery winds, no winding roads, no freezing temperatures, Just a magnificent view of the entire forest, and a trip that took much less than three days.

 

When the group finally touched the property of the bear tribe, the other bears came running to where he landed, both worried and excited.

 

“Bernard Bear, where have you been?!” his brother asked.

 

“Looks like he met the Wise Old Owl! That’s so cool!” another bear added in.

 

“Tell us about your adventure!”

 

Before the Wise Old Owl and his troupe left, Bernard Bear explained the story again and again to the angry elder bears who wanted to know every detail about their journey. They were worried sick about the disappearance of one of the members of their bear tribe. Eventually, the Wise Old Owl gave Bernard Bear a small wink, spread his wings and took flight. Every bear of the bear tribe watched the Old Wise Owl’s company leave, amazed at the sight of the beautiful, magical birds.

 

Young Bernard Bear felt more confident than ever being around the tribe. He was never made fun of for his tail again. In fact, his tail was starting to have importance among the tribe. Bernard used his tail to save countless bears from the rushing waters of the stream – they would hold onto his tail and use it for support when the waters got rough.  He told the story of his adventure to the centre of the forest for years and years, and the small bears would gather around and listen, their ears perked in interest.

 

They heard of small but strong squirrels, owls as big as the sun, and mice that could make the best food in all of the enchanted forest. Needless to say, it was a frequently told story.

Many years later, after Bernard Bear’s voyage to see the Wise Old Owl was nothing but a memory, the young bear, who wasn’t so young anymore, became the sole ruler of the bear tribe. Though he ruled with kindness and respect, he always remembered what the owl told him.

 

The Wise Old Owl’s words would repeat in his mind day by day. Everyone was unique, no matter how they looked, and everyone deserves to be treated with kindness and respect. Those words were the one thing that Bernard Bear could never forget, even if he tried.

 

The Reluctant Adventurer by Emma Harrison

Published on by wmelnickLeave a comment

rain in vancouver

The sun shone hot as a lizard’s heat lamp on Carol Meaford’s neck while she worked away tirelessly in her garden. “I cannot wait to be out of this place, it’s too hot. Always sunny – why did I bother moving out here,” Carol asked herself as she proceeded to rip weeds from the overgrown beds at the front of her simple home.

Carol had been planning a trip from her Arizona home to visit the West Coast; more specifically to visit the rain. Carol thought back to when she had planned her trip. Carol told her travel agent she wanted to go be where the rain was, just not a rainforest – too many dangerous things could happen there to her, thought Carol. Carol was terrified of danger and things that went unplanned. When things did not go according to schedule, Carol was not a happy individual. Carol’s trip was something she had begun planning long before her meeting with her travel agent, Angela. Carol has researched where she would sleep, where she would eat, where she would visit, what she would visit and at what time all these carefully articulated activities would take place.

Angela had asked Carol what had brought her into the travel agency several weeks back, assuming Carol wanted a bright, sunny trip somewhere tropical like Barbados or Puerto Rico. When Angela presented this idea to Carol, she immediately reeled back in her chair crying out, “Warm and sunny! You have got to be kidding me! I would like you to book me a trip out West, particularly to somewhere in Washington State, like Seattle. I watched that movie Sleepless in Seattle, I think I could like that city.”

“Well, if that is what you want, then that is what you will get”.

And here, Carol sat, several months after that conversation took place with Angela, not knowing what to expect. “I best be on my way – finishing my last minute packing,” Carol muttered to herself. Her taxi for the airport would be at her doorstep in only a few hours.

The next few hours flew by her  in a flurry of events. From the time the taxi arrived at her front doorstep to the time Carol stepped off the plane on the West Coast, she had encountered enough uncomfortable, unfamiliar situations to last her a lifetime.

“Carol, Carol Meaford?” called out a low, gruff yet seemingly rugged voice from beyond the baggage claim.

“Um, yes, yes that’s me,” Carol replied timidly, almost completely forgetting that Angela had arranged a tour guide for her.

Just then a handsome man, who appeared to be in his mid-fifties, came into Carol’s line of sight. His hair was lightly dusted with a salt and pepper colouring with a short beard to match.

“Well, my golly, Angela never told me I’d be showing around such a beautiful young woman! My name is Richard, Richard Dowling. And how do you do Miss Meaford?” exclaimed Richard.

Carol blushed for the first time in a long time. Who was this man dressed in all plaid, holding just a coffee cup in his one hand and a sign with her name on it in the other? Was this how all of Washington’s residents reacted to visitors? “I am very well thank you,” replied Carol, somewhat coolly due to her uncertainty with her newfound enthusiastic friend.

“Are you ready for an adventure” Richard questioned Carol.

“Well I had better be, hadn’t I? I don’t seem to have much of a choice, do I now?” Carol said, almost to herself since Richard had her bags in hand already and was halfway out the airport’s glass doors.

 

The next morning Carol woke up the sound of birds singing. To most, that sound is pleasant, something one looks forward to each morning, but to Carol it meant one thing; it was a sunny, bright day. Carol had come to the West Coast to avoid the sunshine and the singing birds and the cheeriness that the birds brought with them. “Why can’t it just rain right now! I thought Angela said this was the rainy season,” groaned Carol, as she pulled the fluffy hotel duvet cover over her messy, curly bed-head.

Just then, Carol heard a knock on her door. “Who is it,” Carol called out, thinking it odd that someone was calling on her so early in the morning.

“Rise and shine miss, it’s Richard! Are you ready for your first day on the West Coast. I’ve made sure you have a fun filled, adventurous itinerary,” Richard called out, nearly shouting right through Carol’s door.

“Who comes and wakes someone up so early,” Carol mumbled, glancing over at the alarm clock realizing it was already almost ten o’clock. “Oh, well I will just need a few minutes, where exactly are we going?” Carol hollered back, hating all these surprises her trip had brought thus far.

“Oh, I think you’ll like it Miss Carol, it’s bound to be a mighty bunch of fun!” Richard hollered back. Carol could almost hear the smile in his voice.

“Okay, be out in a moment!” Carol climbed out of her bed reluctantly picking up the hotel’s complimentary plush, white bathrobe and shrugging it on heading to the shower. “Well, this is bound to be interesting. I hope it does rain soon though,” Carol muttered to herself as she locked the door behind her.

 

 

Within fifteen minutes Carol was showered, dressed, and her hair half-combed sitting in a low knot on the nape of her neck.

“Time to tackle the day!” Richard said as Carol was just finishing exiting her hotel room door.

“Where are we going?” asked Carol, sparing little time in trying to decipher where her upbeat tour guide was taking her.

“Well, I thought I’d show you around, you know. Maybe treat you to some of the local flavour,” Richard stated as the pair began to make their way down the hotel’s hall.

“Local flavour?” Carol thought to herself, this did not sound very promising – there would be too much risk involved in meeting up with locals or even just “hanging out” at their small, hole-in-the-wall hideaways. That was not something Carol had ever taken much interest in. Carol had always preferred to spend her time in well-established, recognized establishments, not eating street meat off of a cart featured on a television program like “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives”. The unknown was not something Carol enjoyed, nor something she allowed often to infiltrate into her daily routine.

“Well you’ve been quiet for an awful long time now, everything alright Miss Carol?” asked Richard, who seemed a little upset to  Carol about her lackluster enthusiasm about the day he had planned for her.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Carol apologized as she realized she had wandered off in her own mind allowing twenty silent minutes to pass between her and Richard.

“No need to be sorry, Miss Carol, we’re here!” Richard stated as they walked right in front of a bustling market. “Pike’s Market! Let’s dive right in, you ready Miss Carol?”

Before Carol even had time to answer Richard had begun to wade his way through the crowd of people to the overcrowded marketplace. The stench of raw fish hung in the air as Carol glanced over all the people moving about her. “Richard, wait for me,” Carol called out as she straightened herself up a little and immersed herself into the heart of the market.

 

As Carol hurried after Richard into the busy market her eyes couldn’t help but to glance in every direction. The vibrant colours and sounds seemed as if they were leaping towards her like frogs in early spring showers. The smell of fish seemed to be subsiding and blending with the scent of fresh cut flowers, of deep-fried donuts and unfamiliar spices. Carol stood amazed, taking in all the sites that were laid out right before her. Having never been to a market before, obviously much too dangerous and risky of a place for someone like Carol to have ever ventured, she was a bit awestruck by everything that was happening.

“Come on Miss Carol, keep up!” bellowed Richard, who had turned around.

Spotting Richard several paces ahead of her, Carol quickly pushed her way through the crowd to reach him. Panic had began to set in now that the awe-filled moment had passed. “Is this place safe? Won’t we get pick-pocketed? What if I lose you? I don’t know where I am!” Carol spewed all of her comments and questions toward Richard at once in a quick breath.

“Well now, slow down there, Miss Carol! Don’t think for one second that I will let you get lost. A pretty thing like you can’t be alone out here, not with all these brazen fisherman, now can she?” Richard said to Carol as he shot her a wink.

Carol, blushing a second time since she had arrived in Washington, peered around the buzzing market staring at the vendors various carts along the long, covered aisle trying to take her mind off of Richard’s comments.

“Now don’t be shy when a man is just telling the truth, Miss Carol!”

“You can call me Carol. And I am not shy, I am merely observing what is happening around me. I’ve never seen a market like this – with all these people calling back and forth to each other, moving about so chaotically,” Carol shot back quite coolly.

“Well, we better get a move on then,” Richard replied brushing Carol’s cool comments off and making his way down the market’s main corridor.

As they passed Carol noticed the various items being sold at each cart; raw, freshly caught fish, jars of homemade jams and preserves, fresh cut flowers, different blends of spices, small, knit purses, and a table full of old, vintage-style jewelry. “My there are so many things that can be bought here, Richard, mind if we take a look?” Carol asked as she had already stopped, picking up a broach, examining it closely.

“No time for that Miss – I mean Carol, we are running behind as it is!”

“Running behind,” thought Carol, “ I thought this market was the plan. Where on earth is this man taking me!”

“Right ahead” Richard said, interrupting Carol’s thoughts and pointing to a dock that stretched just out the back of the market’s long hallway. “We’re going right there!”

And then Carol saw what Richard was pointing to – a large, fishing boat. “This does not look good, I do not like this. I do not like this at all.” Carol said out loud, although quietly to herself.

“I told you we were going on an adventure today, didn’t I Carol? You’re going to love it!” Richard cried it as he reached his hand out to Carol.

Reluctantly, Carol reached for Richard’s hand and made her way closer to the dock and the boat the loomed nearby.

 

As they walked closer to the boat, the knots in Carol’s stomach that had arrived the instant she stepped off the plane, starting tightening. “I don’t know if I want to go on a boat, what if something happens? I don’t have a life jacket, I don’t know how cold the water is, this is just bad. Bad all around,” Carol thought to herself. Richard seemed eager to reach the boat as quickly as he could. Carol slowed down her walking with each step creating more distance between Richard and herself with each step. Boats had never been something Carol had been fond of, even as a child. They did not bring the same excitement for her as they did other children. To Carol, boats were just floating cars. Equally as dangerous as a car, but this time there were added dangers; drowning, crashing, capsizing, even possible death by hypothermia if they fell in the water. “I came to Seattle for the rain. For the rain and the trees, not the boats and fish markets,” Carol told herself quietly, as if she was reassuring herself that this trip was not her own idea.

Just off in the distance of the harbour, Carol could see the ferries going back and forth across the harbour. “Those boats look much safer than what we’re going on,” Carol thought. “Richard, why can’t we go on a ferry?” Carol asked, looking skeptically to the rinky boat Richard was leading her towards.

“Ferry boat!” cried Richard. “Those are for amateurs, nothing more than a water taxi – my boat is where the real adventure happens!” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

“I just wanted a relaxing trip with some rain, not an episode from Gilligan’s Island” groaned Carol, as she hurried after Richard who had dropped Carol’s hand and bounded towards his boat. “Well, I better not get left behind,” Carol said as she reluctantly stepped aboard the swaying boat.

 

 

Over the next several minutes, Carol sat on one of the boat’s benches watching Richard untie several ropes, start up the engine, push the boat off of the dock and begin making his way into the bay.

“What makes you so afraid of boats, Miss uh, sorry Carol?” Richard asked.

“I never said I was afraid,” Carol retorted.

“You didn’t have to say anything! Your face is doing all the talking right now,” chortled Richard, steering the boat skilfully. “Are you not enjoying yourself?” Richard asked Carol in a low voice, seeming now to just realize his traveling companion was very hesitant about the whole day’s events thus far.

“I am having a fine time, Richard.” Carol replied, still keeping her gaze fixed on the water as if her own watchful eyes would protect her from any looming danger.

“Oh, okay good. Well, I just like to show people around Seattle – to show them the real Seattle! That’s how I got to doing this – travel agencies wanted a tour with some “local flair” or something like that, so I said I’m around, nothing to do with my day and here I am. Showing you around the lovely city of Seattle,” Richard explained maintaining a smile the whole time.

“Wonderful.” Carol said, only half-listening as the frightening images of drowning or crashing remained in the foreground of her mind.

“It still seems like you aren’t enjoying yourself. Angela said you were talkative, but all I see is a quiet woman in front of me.”

“I am enjoying myself, I just do not like boats. I’m not afraid of them, I just do not like them.”

“Well, why not Miss Car – Carol, what’s not to love? They can bring you to see a whole new side of life,” Richard stated as he pointed to Seattle’s skyline in the distance beyond Carol’s head.

“I don’t usually talk to strangers about things like this.” Carol replied, slightly uncomfortable now not only from the boat, but also from Richard’s probing questions.

“Oh, I’m sorry Carol, I didn’t mean to pry,” Richard said sheepishly, averting his eyes from her gaze.

“No, no it’s okay,” Carol answered, letting her guard down a little, “You meant no harm. I just do not like boats because I can’t control the outcome. I like to be in control of my surroundings. Also, I do not like this sun,” Carol said, shading her eyes from the blinding sunlight on the boat, as if she had just realized it had been shining all along. “Doesn’t it rain here all the time? I came for the rain.”

“Oh you just came during a dry spell, worst of luck Carol,” Richard explained. “So you like to be in control, makes sense. But doesn’t the idea of adventure intrigue you even a little? I mean – “.

Richard’s sentence was cut short but a loud scraping noise as the boat began to rock violently.

“Richard! What’s happening! What was that?” cried Carol, her eyes wide with fear. And just as the words had left Carol’s mouth, the boat began to sink, water rushing into the boat.

 

 

“Richard, why is the boat sinking! What is happening? What did you do? Did you hit something? What is going ON!” Carol shrieked, clutching the side of the boat for dear life and the boat sank deeper and deeper into the water.

“I , I don’t know. We must have hit something,” Richard spluttered.

“Well do something call someone!” Carol cried as the boat sank further and further into the water. “At least pass me a life jacket – you have those on here right?”

“Yes, here you go,” Richard said as he threw a jacket towards Carol. “Give me a moment, I’ll call the coast guard.”

“I knew I should have never come, I knew it.” Carol exclaimed, clutching her knees close to her chest.

“Look, here they come now!” Richard pointed to a boat coming closer to them.

“Just in time,” thought Carol as the boat was almost completely submerged and there was nothing left to hold on to.

“Hey, hey over here! Get her first,” Richard called to the coast guard.

“My name’s Tom,” called the coast guard who Carol noticed was much younger than both her and Richard, maybe in his mid-twenties, quite handsome in fact, Carol noted. “Grab my hand,” Tom said stretching out his tanned arm towards Carol.

“Thank you, thank you for saving us!” Carol gasped as she climbed into the coast guard’s boat. “Just take me to safety, please. I’ve had enough adventure for one day.”

 

Once on the boat, Carol noticed that Richard had becoming very quiet and solemn, nothing she had seen from him yet. That in itself made Carol uncomfortable since she only knew the smiling, sunny Richard, not a sad, desolate-looking Richard.”Maybe he’s missing his boat?” Carol thought to herself. “That would make me sad, losing something I enjoyed. If I lost some of my gardening tools, I’d be upset.” Carol’s thoughts were interrupted by the young Tom’s mindless chatter in the background.

“And that there, that’s the Space Needle. It’s pretty cool, first time I saw it I was probably nine, no I was ten, nope it was nine. Yah, nine, it was for a school trip. My mom loves it there, that was one of her favourite places to go. She loved it,” Tom stated matter-of-factly.

“Loved? As in past tense?” Carol asked, not very interested in Tom’s answer, but it would take her mind off of the fact that she was sailing back to shore after being in a boating accident.

“Yah, my mom passed away a couple years back,” Tom said as Carol noticed a hint of sadness in his voice.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” Carol replied.

“It’s okay. It’s, it’s the past.” Tom said. “Well, here we are,” Tom replied as he guided the boat skilfully back into the harbour.

 

 

A team of people from the coast guard unit were waiting with blankets and hot drinks for Richard and Carol as they climbed off the boat. Carol had never been more happy to see strangers in her entire life.

“Well thank you, folks!” Richard said, as he reached out for a blanket and wrapped it around himself. His warm personality seemed to already be returning.

“Thank you,” Carol said as she passed a blanket and a drink. “And thank you,” she said turning to Tom. “I really appreciate you rescuing us.”

“No problem at all – just my job. But I gotta go, back to patrolling the harbour! See ya,” Tom called as he hopped back on the boat, preparing to head back to the open water.

“So, Carol,” Tom started, as the rest of the coast guard unit returned to their work, “Ready for the rest of our adventure?”

“What!” cried Carol, “You can’t be serious? That was terrifying, horrifying, nothing I ever would have wanted or planned in a trip. I’m ready to return to the safety of my home. There’s not even rain here!”

“Oh come on, that was just some fun Miss Car- Carol, I’m sure you’ll enjoy yourself. I’ll find something safer to do – I’ll show you Seattle. I promise you’ll love it.” Richard replied, a wide smile spreading across his face.

Before Carol could even answer, she felt raindrops falling one by one out of the sky and right onto her face. “Maybe this trip isn’t a bust after all” thought Carol.