Closed Trail by Alex Trudgen (A First Chapter)

Alex - 9th Grade

“I don’t know, Will …it…it just doesn’t seem like a good idea.”

“Mariah, I’m pretty sure it will be perfectly fine. Come on, Joe and your sister are way ahead of us now.”

Mariah took a few deep breaths and started walking towards the closed trail.

“I still don’t think this is a very smart idea and it’s not my fault if we get in trouble, okay?” Mariah stated in a firm voice.

Will looked at Mariah, nodded his head and walked faster.

Mariah and Kayla had been best friends with Joe and Will for as long as they could remember. When they were all together their daring sides came out.  They did everything together whether it was stupid or not, and for sure this was stupid.

“Good Morning, Dan. So tell me what we’re looking at right now.” Detective Jules asked as she handed Detective Dan an extremely large coffee.

“Oh, thank you very much. I really needed some caffeine!” Dan took a huge gulp of coffee and started to explain what had happened.

“Apparently four people came to this camping sight five days ago. All four of the campers were supposed to be at work today and the two days before. A couple of their bosses called them yesterday, but of course no answers. Today they called our station to see if we could make sure they’re fine, but I don’t think they are.”

“What are the names of the missing persons and what makes you think they’re not okay?” questioned Jules.

“Their names are Joe Danes, Will Peters, and two sisters, Mariah and Kayla Barns. A Mrs. Katers saw them start to hike a closed trail two days ago. This trail is not closed for construction, but it’s closed because three people died on this trail!” Dan answered.

Jules now remembered the case on those three missing persons. The trail was right by a cliff and they had fallen off.

Short Story  (Alex has written the first chapter in a longer book.)

Face the Fear by Annika Rasmussen

Annika - 7th Grade 

            Mr. Quinn jumped into the water with a splash! His daughter Kasey looked frightened standing at the edge of the boat.  It had been almost a year since her last time in the ocean.  “Come on!” coaxed her father. “The water’s great!”  Shaking her head, Kasey paced the perimeter of the deck above her swimming father. She wasn’t going in the water until she was sure it was safe.

            “I don’t want to.” Kasey’s hands were on her hips.  “Remember what happened the last time?”  Shuddering, she began rewinding the tape of her life to last summer. “We were at that beach with the clear water, right?”

            “The Boracay Beach, to be precise!” reminded Eugenia, Kasey’s older sister.

            “Anyways…,” Kasey began.  Mr. Quinn and Eugenia listened patiently for the billionth time to Kasey’s story. It had been right after the tide came in. Her father waded in and asked Kasey to join him.  She did. But to her dismay, Kasey saw two small sharks lurking near her.  She’d seen them, let’s just say, viciously devour a small jellyfish.  It happened not four feet from her body

.

            Kasey snapped back into the present.  She peered into the clear waters below.  She could see no sharks. Deciding it was time to face her fear, Kasey took a deep breath and plunged into the warm water.  The water felt refreshing, giving her a break from the hot-as-sulfur sun.  She had fought her fears and there were no sharks!  Being in the water wasn’t so scary after all.

Short Story

                

Dream On by Whitney Kutz

Whitney - 8th Grade

           I'd dreamed of being in the Olympics as a gymnast from the time I was four and saw Simona Amanar of Romania win the all-around gold medal. The way the athletes could move and jump and twirl through the air fascinated me. More than anything, I wanted to do that.

Finally, I was here, at the 2012 summer Olympics in London, England. Standing on a stage, with a gold medal hung around my neck. The flowers I was holding shook slightly in my excitement to have won the all-around. As we sang the National Anthem, I could barely keep from jumping up and down and screaming for joy.

I waved at the crowd and blinked through tears. I could see my family in the stands, cheering and clapping. My brother was mouthing my name, his voice lost in all the noise. I could almost hear him saying it. With a sudden jerk, I realized I was hearing him call my name.

"It's time for dinner!" He was yelling now. I blinked a few times, remembering now that I wasn't at the Olympics. I was in my backyard and apparently it was time for dinner. "Coming!" I called back. Before going through the back door, I glanced over my shoulder at the tree branches that had served as my high bar, the bench for my beam, that little circle of grass for my floor mat, and my brother's picnic table for my vault. I smiled, tucking loose strands of hair behind my ear that had fallen out of my ponytail. Maybe I wasn't there yet, but I could always keep dreaming.

Short Story

Mastering the Bike by Jenna Kutz

Jenna - 6th Grade

             I stared at my feet as I wobbled down the sidewalk on my bike. The farther I went, the faster I rode, and the more worried I became. It’s only my second time trying to ride! I’m not ready to go this fast! I thought desperately.

 

             “Slow down, Beth! Wait! Watch out for the mailbox!” Dad shouted. Clang! I groaned and disentangled my legs from my bike. Dad ran to help me up.

            “I’m never trying to ride that thing again!” I told him stubbornly. I could feel him watching me as I ran into the house, slamming the door behind me.

            Despite my vow, I had tried to ride “that thing” again . . . and failed.  Once again, I stared wistfully out the window, my eyes following my older brother and sister, Nick and Maggie, as they bike back and forth in front of our house. Although I really wanted to learn how to ride a bike, I was scared of crashing again. I tried to go slow but if I went too slowly, I just toppled to one side. And all that accomplished was scraping my knees. Unless . . .

            “Alright, you have elbow and knee pads and a helmet, so it won’t hurt if you fall. I’ll hold the bike and run beside you until you’re ready for me to let go. Okay?” I nodded and Dad took a secure hold on my bike. As I started pedaling, Dad kept me from tipping over.

            “You can let go!” I shouted, and Dad’s hands fell away. But instead of spilling onto the sidewalk, as I expected, I breezed all the way to the corner. Dad cheered and I gave him a thumbs-up. I couldn’t keep the grin off my face. I was on my way to mastering the bike.

Short Story 

A Scary Cheetah Dream by Ben Hartman

Ben - 7th Grade

          A long time ago, I completed a school project about cheetahs. In this challenging project, I was required to study the life and habitat of a cheetah. I learned a lot about these animals such as they are the fastest land creatures on Earth. They can run up-to 60 miles per hour. I learned so much about cheetahs that one night I had a dream about them, a dream that I would not appreciate later on.

   

          In this dream, I hiked through Africa searching for different animals to learn new things about. At the same time I was scared because the hot African sun descended into the horizon. I thought in my mind that I should get back to the camp area where my other friends were.

          As I got back onto the ATV I rented, I saw the large white moon ascend into the sky. I started the ATV and then all of the sudden it died, (meaning the ATV stopped working). I checked the gas, but the tank was empty, there was a leek. I could not believe it. I lit my torch and stated walking in the way where my friends were camping. The only issue is that I had no communication and I needed to walk at least 4 ¾ miles.

          Then, out of nowhere, POOF! I was attacked by a cheetah, (I knew it was a cheetah because of the golden brown fur and the black pocka-dots on its back). With a single blow to the gut, I became unconscious. Once I woke-up from the attack, I felt fury and warm. When I looked down at my-self, I had become a cheetah. When I tried to yell & scream it came out as a bit of a squeal. I thought, “OH, NOOOO!” I just ran as fast as I could and because I was a cheetah I ran 60 MPH. After that, I found my-self screaming or squealing, “AHHHHH.” I ran so fast that I could not stop from falling off a cliff.

          While falling off the cliff I woke-up from the dream. Scared to the bone I washed my face in my bathroom, jumped back in bed, and pulled the covers over my body. I knew from that moment on, if I ever had to complete a project like this ever again, I would definitely not pick cheetahs.


Short Story

Whirling Wind by Grant Frazey

                For my cousins 13^th birthday, we went to SkyVenture Arizona!  SkyVenture Arizona is an indoor sky diving center. The room was a large vacuum that blows winds so fast it gives you the feeling of skydiving.  My cousin and I were very excited and couldn’t wait to get there! During the long drive to Eloy, we had lots of time to talk about what we were about to do. We arrived nearly an hour early just to make sure we didn’t miss anything.  We watched the pros do all their cool tricks while we waited.

               When it was time to begin, my cousin went first.  I watched my cousin from a small room with about fifteen other people. It looked so cool! Sitting there quietly, anxiously awaiting my turn was not easy. What would happen?  Soon, despite all my doubts, it was my turn!  The wind felt great blowing at my face!  I soon started to float, then the man inside, helped me learn to go up, down, and all around!  Soon, my first flight came to an end.

               My next turn was even better.  In contrast to my first time, I was very excited because I knew exactly what to do!  I got in the wind tunnel and began to float again. Near the end of my second session, the man helping grabbed hold of me and we both started to spin while going up and down. Eventually, my turn ended and my fun at SkyVenture Arizona came to an end!

Second Autobiographical Incident

Grant - 8th Grade 

My Plane Ride by Garrett Frazey

            One exciting morning, my brother and I drove over to our friend Bret’s house.  It was his 16^th birthday and he wanted to invite us on a fun trip.  He had decided to go to Monterey, which in itself would be fun, but the best part was the way we were getting there!  When we arrived at his house, we immediately left for the airport.  We were traveling by private plane!

When we arrived at the airport, we walked right up to the plane which was waiting for us.  The small plane was sleek and clean.  It was kept in very good condition and looked comfortable inside.  The pilot and copilot gave us a short tour, showing us the bathrooms, drinks, and food.  When we sat in our seats we noticed that there was a table, a television, and that our seats moved in nearly every direction.  “Look,” yelled Bret as he opened a small box by his seat, “Candy!”  We soon found out that each seat had a small compartment that held candy, gum and a deck of cards. This seemed to be the beginning of a very entertaining plane ride.

After take-off, we decided to enjoy the food that was provided for us.  There was fruit that looked and smelled delicious – cantaloupe, watermelon, honeydew, and grapes.  It tasted extraordinary.  The pilot pointed out the Grand Canyon, and other places we might be interested in seeing, out our windows.  Our individual televisions showed the speed of the plane and the temperature outside.  To my surprise, the temperature outside was under 0 degrees Fahrenheit!  After what seemed to be a very short time, our plane landed in Monterey and our exciting adventure had come to an end!

2^nd Autobiographical Incident

Garrett - 8th Grade