The Package

My name is Jackson Adams I am 16 years old and live in a dump have no money or so I say. “Jackson you should have been up 30 minutes ago!” cried my Mum.
“I’m coming I’m coming” I shouted back. Another rubbish day at school again. Mum says Marble High is the best choice for me because she went there but I hate it. Finally I make it out of the door. Now the streets are ruled by two gangs the Downs and Mcbar, the Downs rule the east and Mcbar rules the west. I have always gone by the Downs because Marble High is on the east. The rains starts and tiny little fists of water hit my face and just then a RMW (Rich Mans Wheels) pulled up along the curb I feel the hair on the back of my head start to prick up. “Jackson Adams stop right there my name is Alex Mcbar” said Mr Mcbar “H hello Mr Mcbar” I slowly said ” h how may I help”
“Ah so polite just as I remember I believe your very clever”
“Yeah”
“Well could you make some deliveries for me.”
My brain went mad I didn’t know what to say.
“Y yes sir” I said
“Very good- here is your first package just give it to this adress and but make sure no one sees you”

He shoved a package in my hands and left just like that. I had a lot on my mind Mcbar had gave me a package and worse he knew my name.

I waited till the dead of night to deliver the package and checked if Mum was asleep ( I only did it because I knew what Mcbar did to people who didn’t do what he said).l arrived just before 4:30 outside the hotel. It had been 3 weeks since Mcbar and I had our chat and I was really scared. The stairs went on and on so I had a rest. My short brown hair had been drenched in sweat there had to be atleast 1,000,000 steps. I decided to have a sneak peak but thought against it. When I got to room 173 .lt had to be about 5:30 so I had the sneak peak I put my hand down in the bag and pulled out the object it was tube no longer than a piece of A5 paper with 3 wires one red, one blue, one green and the give away a timer with 5 minutes on the clock.lt was a bomb. I dropped it and ran down the 30 flights of stairs and ran to the doors but they were locked so ran into the kitchen and ran to the fridge cleared out the contents and jumped inside and waited.

Waiting the worse part. Waiting to die. BOOM

“This is 4 news and a bomb has gone off at 5:35 killing everyone in the hotel.. “ the news
reporter was cut off
“Hey there is something moving over there” cried a fireman.
As a door opened from the rubble.
“It it its a kid”

I remember… I remember just as if it was two hours ago. It was actually ten years ago. Yes, I was care free like a bird in the sky. I didn’t know where I was going, didn’t actually care where my destination would be, just the journey. The road was scarily dark, not even one light bulb was lit. Only a roaring Nissan engine made a sound.
It had parked outside the house. I remember it vividly in my head: the worn, old, grey-slated roof; the sandy walls and, last of all, the brown oak door. Okay, the whole house looked like it was falling apart … but in my mind it was paradise. It was where I’d spent my teenage years.
Do you know somewhere you will always treasure for the rest of your life? It could be where you grew up; the venue of your wedding or the birth of your first child. Well this is the place that I will remember for the rest of my life. A middle-aged woman stepped out of the Nissan Micra, she gazed at the house, 64 Magnolia Lane. She gave a huge sigh and tuned around to see her thirteen year old daughter (me) playing with a Rubik cube. I was a quiet child; I always liked being on my own – you could even call me a loner.
My mother always left me on my own. I guess … I got the habit of it really. I walked out of the car carrying my teddies, book and shoes in one cardboard box. My scruffy trainers were untied. I wish I could stop myself, I really do but that would be messing with my future. Anyway I wasn’t aware that my shoes were untied; I fell over with a loud thump. All of the things in the box came tumbling out. I thought I had broken an ankle but some kind of miracle happened. There wasn’t a scratch on me. In the sky a magpie flew away. I have always loved birds; I was curious about how they flew. But then again, I was curious about anything. For example, if my mum asked me to get water I would always ask why!

Anyway, the next moment my mother turned around and said, “Noor, you useless child! Can’t you do anything right!” She gave me a poisonous look. ‘Useless!’ echoed in my head. I didn’t care about my stuff scattered on the pavement. I ran for the open door and went straight upstairs. It didn’t smell like home. It smelled like it belonged to someone else.

The walls were yellow and the wallpaper was peeling off; the carpet was dark blue with a horrible pattern. I ran to the bathroom. The bathroom was an inviting colour of light peach to light yellow. I looked around the inviting room and I came across a magnificent portrait. It was the sort of portrait you had to give a second glance to. There was a beautiful blonde haired woman kneeling beside a small pond. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. My fingers traced the lines of the blonde haired woman; her hair was wavy and thick.
I heard mum’s footsteps coming in and out of the house downstairs. I panicked. It is so weird. I stayed still for a minute and a half, not even taking a breath, thinking it would save my life. I waited and then, when I knew it was safe, I walked swiftly passed the corridor to my room. I saw my reflection. I had always thought I looked ugly but my friends always said how they liked my dark brown hair, my wide eyes, my small nose, thick lips and my silky skin.
My family said I looked like my dad. I had one tear in my eye. My dad is gone. What I mean is … he is dead. I found it hard to understand death – it had confused me to the point of crying. It puzzled my mind. Where do we go? How does it happen? Do we see a light? My dad had cancer … he was suffering but he had put on a brave face for me. Suddenly, a whooshing sound, like a gale force wind, came into my room. The blonde haired woman I had seen in the portrait had come to life.
“Hello! I am your guardian angel. You have seen me a few times before.” She spoke slowly like she knew that I would freak out.
My mouth wasn’t moving. I stayed still. Maybe it was an hallucination. Yeah, that was it – my imagination getting the better of me.
“And, guess what? I am not an hallucination. I can read your mind. I am your guardian angel. I look after you even if you don’t know it. You always see a magpie. Well, I’m the magpie. I know you have been feeling upset ever since your dad died. But don’t kill yourself to be with him. You have a wonderful life ahead!”
I simply answered, “Nothing will be the same.” If my own guardian angel didn’t understand that, no one will.
Rage came over me like wild fire. I stormed outside not knowing where I was going. Immediately the cold stung my face; my hair was everywhere. The wind was whipping it like a whip taming a lion. I ran and ran. You could hear my footsteps echoing in the tense atmosphere.
I ended up near a cliff. I read the sign. It said ‘Greendore Cliff’.
“Don’t! I can’t save you if you do this intentionally … please.” She looked so sweet as she spoke. It was almost a beg.
But I jumped. I died.

The Perfect ‘No-Parents’ Party

Q. What do cows read at bed time?
A. Dairy tales!

Don’t you just adore jokes? They quack me up! Oh sorry, I’m being so rude. My name is Tiriana but I’m mostly called Teddy (my nick-name). It’s because I used to always take my teddy bear everywhere, even the bath room, and trust me it was extremely hard to take turns! I used to treat my teddy bear like it was a real pet. After two months I’d lost my teddy bear and that’s when my mum and dad got me Claws.

Claws is my pet cat. Her real name is Miss Pepperwinkle but we call her Claws because she has enormous claws and always scratches people who are mean to her, it’s just her personality!
“Hey Teddy, where are your parents?” Demi asked suspiciously.
“They’re out of town for two days!” I replied happily.
“Okay, that’s cool… So I was thinking…”
“No! We’re not throwing a party”
“How do you know I was going to say party, maybe I was going to say…”
I glared at Demi.
“You got me but can we please throw a party?”
“Sure,” I muttered with a bad feeling inside of me.
Demi is my best friend, I call her Dramatic Demi because she tries to be dramatic and always ends up missing class by faking an injury or something like that… Lucky!

Q. What do you call a donkey with three legs?
A. A Wonkey!

Mind you, I kept quiet after the day of the ‘no-parents’ party. Let me give you the low down. I was sitting there, eating breakfast, and…
“Hey Teddy here’s a fancy letter for you” P.J babbled, when he threw the letter literally in my face. “It’s from mum and dad, it says”.
“Dear Kids,
Dad and I are out of town for two days… DON’T GET INTO TROUBLE!
From,
Mum and Dad.”

“Wow!” P.J whispered.
“I know mum and dad are out of town for two days!” I yelled.
“No not that. Who would have ever have thought mum could be so fancy and dad would agree to buy fancy envelopes!”
“P.J how could… wait you’re right …” But how? P.J is never right!

We decided to throw a party. I set up the decorations, P.J was in charge of music and finally, Demi was in charge of the food and drinks. After a while the party got really out of hand. Everyone kept on breaking things! Someone pushed me and my water fell on Serina, the mean, popular girl. Did I mention I hate her?”
She took one look at Claws and turned back to say Claws was the ugliest thing she had ever seen! Claws then jumped on her face and scratched her badly! Serina left and everyone followed her. She fell into a puddle of mud and everyone laughed! Some people came back and started telling me it was a great party.

We cleaned up on time so mum and dad suspected nothing. Mum walked in and yelled,
“Hi Teddy, what have you done?”
“Nothing mum, I was hoping for you look great.” I screeched.
“Ok, but whatever you’ve done, you’re not in trouble this time – ONLY THIS TIME!”

The End

Wind brushing through my hair, water splashing on my face, I, Natalia, was on a speedboat with my family. My mum, my brother, my dad and I were leaning out to sea, our clothes flapping about in the wind. Suddenly we were heading towards a jagged rock in the middle of the sea. Dad couldn’t turn the wheel… It was locked! Our eyes all met. Then “CRASH!”

My eyes flickered open like a faulty light bulb. I could hear the ocean pushing and pulling in the distance. I opened my eyes. An array of fuchsia pink flowers surrounded me. As my pupils started to get used to the colour and brightness of it all I felt a strange feeling on my leg, fluffy and soft. I looked down and saw a small black figure. Then it started to become more vivid. A small jet black rabbit was leaning on my foot. I looked around. More black rabbits, eleven or twelve more. All of a sudden my attention was drawn somewhere else. There was a pair of huge doors with locks and bolts all down the wood. Above them, a name:
FORT MAMULA
I wandered around. I loved rabbits and was so distracted by them I didn’t realise for a while I was in front of a round, stone fortress. I wandered through its oppressive doors. There were weeds twirling and twining around the flat acacia trees that arched over me. I pushed away the leaves and branches and found an isolated area in the middle of the fortress. I headed for the centre and then… Creek… BANG! The doors were shut, locked and bolted down.
“No one lives here,” I murmured to myself as I started to go through all the possibilities in my mind of this being logically explained. There were no logical explanations. None. My heart started to race now. Where were the others? I could hear myself breathing rapidly. I shook my head violently. I swallowed sharply. It felt like I had swallowed a tooth pick. I noticed some straps attached to the wall and had a strange feeling that they were used to strap people upside down. I shuddered. It was only then did I realise I was inside a torture chamber!

The chains jangled around me sounding like out of tune wind chimes. It was clear someone was there. I instantly ran to the edge of a wall making sure no one was behind me. Then I stuck my head round the corner…
“Ahh!” My scream was cut short by a wet salty hand which had covered my mouth. I felt a sharp pain in my neck and started to go all hazy. I was on the ground. I couldn’t feel my legs and arms. I couldn’t move!
‘This is weird,’ I thought to myself, still a bit light headed. I felt a cold hand running down my arm. Then a hot velvety feeling came around my eyes and I was wide awake.

“Hello, my name is Marcus” said a soft voice from beside me.

I turned to look at him. He had a kind old face with pale blue eyes. I looked behind him to see if anyone else was with him. I didn’t need to. He was see-through! A ghost! I tried to escape from him but he pulled me back again.

“You are lost. I know that your family are alive on the next island. I will help you find them,” Marcus explained.

I instantly relaxed. He led me to an old wooden, handmade boat which he said he had used whilst trying to escape. But ‘they’ kept bringing him back and he had died there. His suffering was clear. The boat’s decks were battered and the oars were rotting away.

“We need to fix it!” I said.

He nodded. It would take about two days so I’d have to stay for a bit longer then I wished.

In the morning we started on the boat. Hour after hour we hammered nails in and covered the rotten bits up with palm leaves. We painted the deck with clay and water in a tone of brown. It was also useful for holding the boat together. Finally, we were finished and the boat looked good enough to sail! I tested it on the crystal clear water and held the boat with one hand. It floated! Marcus looked at me with his clear blue eyes. I had a feeling he had bonded with me as I had with him. I looked out to sea at the sun going down. I couldn’t sail in the night, it would be too dangerous. I decided to set sail the next day. In the morning I felt anxious. I looked at Marcus sleeping and sobbed. I hugged him gently so that he didn’t wake up and turned away bravely. Finding a chalky pebble and I wrote on a large flat rock:

Dear Marcus my loyal friend,
I have really enjoyed my stay with you and you looked after me well. I hope you don’t mind that I have taken half your supply of food so I can stay alive on my journey back to my parents. I have left you sleeping so it wouldn’t be too hard to leave. I hope you understand. You have been a very good friend to me Marcus and I appreciate your helpfulness. I wish that we could meet again but sadly I doubt it. But you never know, I may have another boat crash again.

Yours thankfully,
Natalia.

I looked over the sea, pushed the boat off the shore, jumped in and set sail. I stared back at the fort and kept having an image in my mind of Marcus sobbing all over the message on the rock. I pushed the thought out of my mind and rowed frantically. What was Marcus trying to escape from? I guess I’ll never know…

The End

It was a cool, crystal clear night as Daniel and Finn pretended to sleep. They could hear the hooting of a nearby owl. A holiday is something that you are supposed to enjoy, however they hadn’t done a single thing that was fun. They vowed that they would have some fun that night. What they didn’t know was that this vow would lead them into danger.
A few minutes later they were stood outside their terraced house. They synchronised a deep breath and paced towards the forest.

The murky mud seeped into their wellington boots and the swaying trees blocked their vision. Annoying ants were climbing into the trees and the irritating flies went “Buzz” as though they were bees. They were as noisy as bees so they could have been bees.
All of a sudden, from behind him, a man on a motor bike snatched Finn and drove off with him.
“Daniel, Help me! I’m being kidnapped!” Finn screamed.
“I’m coming! I promise!” Daniel replied, not wanting to give up.

With a new power to his legs, Daniel bolted towards the van. The murky mud was not hindering him any more. Trees swayed from side to side and Daniel felt his strides getting longer and more frantic. With each glide he got nearer and nearer towards the vehicle. Soon the world didn’t matter, his only brother needed his help and Daniel would give it to him. Soon Finn was in arms reach, however the bike violently swerved and Daniel was left by himself. Finn, and all hope, had gone.

Daniel felt completely and utterly alone. His hugest companion had been taken away from him and left him without any hope. He felt his heart beating through his ears and just wanted the ground to open and swallow him up. Soon he was too tired to be conscious and fell asleep.

The next morning, he woke up in his bed with amnesia. He was right next to Finn and seemed to be holding someone’s hand. When he looked up he saw that it was his girlfriend Ella. She kissed him on the lips and said “You’ll be fine babe, I promise.”

The End

Lizzie Mayson always wonders why people don’t like her. Lizzie spends hours with her head in her hands thinking “Why, why doesn’t anyone like me?” She thinks it’s because she smells, but really that’s nonsense – all she smells of is perfume. Maybe it’s because she never has the courage to make decisions for herself (she’s certainly old enough).
The next day at school Lizzie stayed away from all the other children and minded her own business but at play time a boy called Malcolm pushed her over and she fell on her knees. Lizzie thought “What did I do wrong?”
That night Lizzie crept down stairs and grabbed the telephone and the phone book to see if she could get in touch with an agony aunt. She started writing to a helper called Stevie.
Lizzie’s letter to Stevie:
“Dear Stevie,
I don’t know how to make any friends at school and everyone is terribly mean to me. I need some serious advice.
Please, please, please can you tell me the best ways to make friends?
Yours,
Lizzie.”
Stevie’s reply:
“Dear Lizzie,
I can see what trouble you are going through, I feel very sorry for you. Here’s some advice…
When people are mean to you just say what it feels like inside and how they would like it if someone treated them like that. When someone physically hurts you tell the teacher and they’ll sort them out. Also use your wits; walk away, ignore them, tell the teacher, or stand up for yourself.
Hope my advice works.
Yours,
Stevie.”

The next day at school Lizzie did just what Stevie had advised and it actually worked. She made lots of new friends and more people liked her… but of course you can’t get everybody to like you.

The End

Chapter Two
Donald couldn’t explain that journey – nothing could. Not words, not pictures… nothing.
“I hope I wasn’t too bumpy, I have a full stomach.” Flyzoom apologised.
Donald couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Flyzoom thought that he was bad transport!
“No, not at all. It’s fine, better than fine actually.” Donald was puzzled.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a flying silver rock appeared. It was a crystal rock. Surprisingly, carved into it was a message:-
“Donald, our identity is too private to reveal outside. Please continue through our precious island until you come across a cave. We will meet you there.”
Donald set the crystal rock down. Out of nowhere an immense gust of wind appeared and the rock disappeared. The professor flew past and made a sturdy landing five feet away (he made it look easy).
“Ah, I see you made it safely.” the professor said wisely.
“It was a spectacular ride!” Donald praised.
“Well, let’s get going.” encouraged the professor.

Chapter Three
Cautiously, Donald stumbled through the treacherous jungle. An aged, mouldy sign was hidden behind some emerald green foliage.
“Professor, a sign.” Donald was ready for anything now. Donald waited… “Professor?”
Donald felt a shiver of sacredness. Where was he? Attentively Donald crept towards the bushes, he scrutinised the area and found he was struggling to breathe at the sight. Lying before his very eyes was his professor, the life sucked out of him. Blood, thick ruby red blood, oozed out of the professor’s brain. Rage surged through Donald.
“Who did this?” he screamed up into the bland nothingness.
After grieving for a while and once he had controlled his rage, Donald chose to carry on. He remembered the sign. Could it be useful? Hopefully, Donald trekked on towards the sign. Donald stuttered aloud as if the professor was still here.
“The One, or maybe not? You have travelled far. I am sorry for your loss today; Mr Jack Professor was a wise man.”
How did he know that had happened? Suddenly a bright flash and then the words on the sign had changed!
“If you are the One then it is your duty to complete the task of defeating the evil holder of the deathly wand. Good luck!”
Donald yawned, his watch shrieked at him. 1:30a.m! Serenely, Donald drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Four
When Donald woke his surroundings were different, he was beside a dark towering cave. Standing beside him was a familiar face.
“Flyzoom?”
“Donald, you’re alive!” Flyzoom grinned widely. Donald didn’t understand so he chose to ignore him.
“I have given you guidance Donald, however only wizards are allowed through the One cave.”
“Really? Um.. oh.. ok!” Donald was worried.
Donald glanced through the cave; the crumbling opening was narrow.
“Goodbye Donald, good luck as well,” encouraged Flyzoom. “I hope you’re not the One.”
“I think it is time I knew what is so deadly about being the One!” questioned Donald.
“You’re right, it is time” Flyzoom spoke wisely.
“It was a gloomy night, the magical king had died and Prince Jack took to the throne. Of course he now possessed the deadly wand. The deadly wand had powers, powers you wouldn’t believe, however, the evil ones, such as Professor Tingletongue, …
(Flyzoom hissed at the name but carried on)
… could sense that Prince Jack wasn’t ready, they killed him and took the wand. Ever since then there have been mysterious killings and Professor Tingletongue stole the throne. He was a bad ruler, he enslaved the fellow people but they could not do anything. They were helpless against the mighty deathly wand. Flyzoom smiled.
“He died and now his son is on the throne and it is the One’s job to retrieve the deathly wand,” explained Flyzoom.
“Oh! I don’t want to be the One.” stuttered Donald.

Chapter Five

Meticulously, Donald searched for the inch wide gap that would lead him to his future. He scrutinized his surroundings and then his eyes met the gap.
“Thank you Flyzoom, for everything.”
Donald was grieving inside, could he make it alone?
“Never again shall we meet.” And then he was gone!
“Uh, ok; let’s get this over with,” muttered Donald. He cautiously crept through the broken cave.
“Oh, sorry I did not mean to startle you.” He spoke slowly as if to torture Donald’s mind.
Donald worked up the guts to speak.
“Well, am I the One?” he murmured.
“My boy, that will be determined,” replied the man. “Please place your hands on my future crystal ball.”
Donald did as so and immediately a fiery, burning sensation spread through his body. Pictures flooded through mid-air and made a screen of clear information.
The both stared at it, Donald was in a trance.
“Donald you are the One!”

The answer Phone Message

“I hate London!” said Claire under her breath. “I mean what’s to like? What’s not to hate? All it has to offer is some crummy tourist attractions. You see them once and you never want to see them again.”

Claire’s routine is the same everyday, wake up, go to school, come home and the high light, check the answer phone to see if she has won a competition. Then she goes to her room and when her dad comes home she listens to them argue with her mum and then eats and goes to bed. Everyday was the same except for one.

She was walking home one day thinking about how much the air smelled of smoke from cigarettes and all the cars. She came home and pressed play on the answer phone (as usual) heard a recorded conversation of her mum and dad. This argument was somehow different from the others. Instead of the normal arguments about who did what wrong, they were arguing over her. “I want her ove Christmas!” exclaimed mum. “But that’s unfair!” replied dad. This made her feel dead inside, like there was no reason to live. As if the whole thing was her fault. She ran upstairs and started to pack her bag. Another thing I should tell you is that her Dad has moved and her parents are on the edge of divorce. Something inside her head was telling her that it was all her fault! “If I go they will be happy.” She began to pack her bag. But her other conscience said, “Stop it’s not your fault!” She slowed down. Then she remembered the message and sped up again and decided to leave.

She left a note only saying that she was in the shower and not hungry and was going to bed. She snuck down stairs and out the door. Her plan was to get the train as far as possible to her Aunty’s in Kent and if she did not have enough time to do it in one to, then she would sleep in a travel lodge. There was only enough money for the train and a travel lodge. She was walking along a very busy street wondering which way the way to the train station was. She could nor remember if it was to the left or to the right. So she decided to ask someone. “Hello, hello, what is the quickest way to the station?” Claire asked. “Hello! Which is……will anyone help me?” she shouted.
“I will.” Said a voice. “Thanks!” said Claire. Claire thought this person was rather strange because he held his hand on her rucksack. She thought he was probably just being friendly. When he had told her she said “thanks” and walked off. As soon as she was in a place where she could stop, she checked her bag and found that her money had gone! Did the man steal he money? Or had she forgotten it. Without she could not catch a train let alone a travel lodge. What should she do?

Aaron Whispers

Aaron whispers everywhere he goes,
Even when he shows
His compassion to his girlfriend,
At the classes end.

Later in between the book shelves,
Aaron and his friends whisper amongst themselves.
They’re thinking of a secret plan,
To collect as many things as they can…..

For their tree house where there’s no need to whisper,
They can jump, shout and dress in fur.
You must be wondering why they brought,
So many things, It’s to build a fort.

They did this because their tree house is too small,
But a fort is large and tall.
For them to play, run and hide,
As well to move things from side to side.

Now at a party you can see,
There’s him and her, you and me.
At Aaron’s fort the party takes place,
And each laughing at every face.

It is time for a little game,
Chinese whispers, the message is “shame.”
Aaron’s girlfriend Lillie’s turn,
To choose a message which is “furn”.

That’s Lillie’s best friend indeed,
And now it’s time to feed.
On some of mum’s yummy pies,
Packed with secrets and lies.

The noise pss pss pss,
Ssh ssh ssh pss pss pss.
But one whisper that made me look,
“I love you!” Aaron whispered and Lillie took.

Questions

Crying.
In an open white space,
Apart from the world that I come from,
The world I know.
There is nothing in from or behind me,
There is nothing above or below.

Wondering.
Where I can go from here,
I there’s any way I can get home,
To the world I know.
I long for my friends and my family,
I long for a friendly hello.

Gazing,
Into the endless sky,
As white as the snow in winter,
In the world I know,
I look to see all kinds of colours,
Like orange, pink, purple and yellow.

Listening,
For my favourite sounds,
Instruments that I know well and love,
In the world I know.
I miss all my favourite instruments,
Like oboe, flute, piano and cello.

Questions.
Will I ever get home?
Is thee a way I can get back,
To the world I know?
Do my family back home miss me?
When can I leave; can I go?

I s this,
Heaven or maybe hell?
Is this place my imagination?
Where’s the world I know?
How can I find all the answers?
If I live I will make sure I know!

Crying,
In an open white space,
Apart from the world that I come from,
The world that I know.
There is nothing in front or behind me,
There is nothing above or below.