The house has eyes

              One night these two best friends, Megan and Destiny, had a sleepover at Megan’s house because her parents were out of town on a night that they thought was going great. Her house sits back about 300 or so feet from any other house in their neighborhood and it’s right next to some woods so it was the perfect setting for any horror story. They were stupidly watching The Hills Have Eyes, all comfy and snuggled up on the couch. The movie got a little too scary for their liking and being that they were alone, they decided to pause the movie. Besides, they were extremely hungry and mac ’n’ cheese with hotdogs in it sounded amazing at the moment. So they headed into the kitchen and started boiling some water while they chafed away about how they both were going to have nightmares. 

              All of a sudden somebody or something knocked on the front door, being home alone that was not something they wanted to hear, especially after watching The Hills Have Eyes. Beyond freaked out, they both slowly walked to the front door to see who was there. Out of pure fear, they didn’t see anyone so they opened the door. No one was there. Understandably even more freaked out, they went back to kitchen to finish their mac ’n’ cheese and hoped that nothing would happen. A few minutes later knocks were heard at the door again. Now, about to crap themselves they both grabbed a knife and checked the door again. Once again no one was there. Luckily Destiny lived right up the street and had a big brother, so while she called him and explained the situation and told him he had to come get them immediately, Megan sat on the kitchen floor with a blanket over her head and a foot long knife in her hands, trying not to cry. 

              Finally, after what seemed like forever, her brother came to the rescue and the girls sprinted as fast as they could to his car. While going down Megan’s mile long driveway they saw a man walk across the driveway heading towards the neighbors house. It with out a doubt creeped all of them out and they were all glad to get out of there. After a night of reminiscing about what had just happened to them Megan gets a call from her parents asking if anything happened to them last night. She obviously said yes and as her heart rate flew up she asked them why they asked that. They replied with saying that their neighbors were home alone too and heard someone messing around their house and they guy who they saw walking across their driveway was another one of their neighbors who was checking to make sure everything was alright. To this day no one knows who or what was knocking on their houses but it’s a night none of them will ever forget. 

Story by Megan Beck

This is a 100% true story. 

Two friends make an exciting discovery

Edited by Farai Harreld 

After their evening class, she hung out with her friend Zoey. They talked about their homework and discussed the difficult questions. They complained about how much pressure they were under but also encouraged each other to keep working hard to attend the universities that they wished to study at.

Suddenly, they both saw something shining in a bush nearby. They were both surprised and wanted to find out what it was. At first, they thought it was something that someone left behind that had reflective paint on it but as they approached it they began to think it might be an insect.

“Wow!” they both shouted out.  “Maybe it is a …… firefly!” said one of them. They were both shocked, but they calmed down, not wanting to scare the firefly away. Finally, they saw it. It was really small, cute, and fragile like it might die if they touched it. The light on the bug flashed brighter and dimmer. They counted how many times it flashed at them. It reminded them of a twinkling star. 

They finally garnered the courage to hold it in their hands. They immediately named it Tiny. It began to crawl around on their hands and even though it felt weird, they wanted to hold it a little longer to observe it. Upon closer inspection,they found out it was a little robot because it had a battery on it is body which told them how long it would last.

The girls were really overjoyed at their find because to them, fireflies were like a little spark of hope that gave them the courage to face difficult times ahead.

Unexpected news causes heartbreak (Edited)

Edited by Jenn Funk

It had been a year since she had seen her camp buddy, Sara, but they still remained close. Unfortunately, because of school she didn't have the opportunity to volunteer at the camp where they had first met. Sara had been a dedicated camp member for the past four years, the same amount of time that she had been cancer-free. Since she was only 13 years old, it felt like this disease had consumed most of her life but she continued to stay positive and looked forward to attending camp every summer. 

The two were dedicated to their friendship but keeping in contact was difficult when one was pursuing a degree, working a full time job and continuing to volunteer. It broke her heart to have missed camp last year but next summer is only half a year away now. It wouldn’t be long until they were back in their normal routine of making crafts and hiking.

One night, she got an email from Sara's mother. They were in the hospital because Sara needed a have a blood clot removed. After skimming the beginning of the email she determined it wasn't too serious but she still decided to call her roommate about the update. Both her and her roommate had volunteered together and Sara meant a great deal to both of them. While she was on the phone she reassured her friend that everything was OK. She just wanted her make sure that she was informed. They made jokes and laughed when finally she said, "OK, but seriously let me read this so you know what's going on with Sara."

The email read, "Hello, I just wanted to let you know that we have been in the hospital the past week with Sara. Our little girl fought off cancer for four years but, due to the wear and tear, ended up forming a blood clot. We were reassured that it wasn't cancerous and that the surgery was fairly routine. Sara has been through so much that she was barely phased by the news. You know how she was always able to stay positive. Unfortunately, Sara unexpectedly passed after her surgery. We are still unsure what happened but I wanted to let you know that she is no longer with us..."

Wait… What just happened?

Shocked, she no longer knew what to say.

"I'm so sorry, Elizabeth! I should have finished reading the email before I called you. I had no idea how it was going to end! I just wanted to let you know that she was in the hospital, not that she had… I didn't know she had… passed. I'm so sorry."

Click. (She hung up)

She didn’t know what to do, what to think.

A life that had barely started was over and she was still struggling to comprehend what she had just read. Only regret filled her mind. She knew that her volunteering wouldn't have saved Sara or prevented this situation, but maybe it would have lessened the hurt and the pain she felt from losing last summer with her. Now, she can never get back the summer that she missed, or the friend that she lost.

Cycling competition stirs up excitement

Originally by Megan Dortch
Edited by Monica McDougal

What she saw after getting to the racetrack was nothing like she had seen before. Cones and ribbons were placed all around to mark the course and fans huddled in blankets nearby. A table with Boulevard Beer was beside the track with a stack of waffles and Nutella were available. A Hawaiian food truck was parked to the south of the table selling warm chicken and rice. A voice echoed through the stadium announcing the last call for the next race. A few minutes later, the gun went off to signal the start of the race.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw bicycles fly by as the cyclists strategically paced themselves for the 10-lap race. She watched as they crossed over steep hills and then jumped off their bikes and quickly carried them up six stairs. Then, they hopped back on and continued peddling towards the next obstacle. As the cyclists made their way around the stands, people yelled words of encouragement and motivation but the cyclists didn't seem to notice.

The announcer began to inform the crowd of which cyclists were the first, second and third place winners of the previous races, the juniors' race and the women's race. The winners claimed their medals and stood on the pedestals for people to take pictures of them. People standing by congratulated the medalists on a good race.

The girl wrapped a blanket around herself and watched those around her bond with others in attendance over their shared passion for cycling. They talked about where they had raced, how many races they had left to complete, what new bikes they had bought and what techniques had worked for them in previous races. Then, many of the people chatted about the weather and old gossip.

When fewer cyclists were rounding the corner, she realized the race was ending. She stretched her cold, stiff legs as she tried to walk in order to gain feeling back into them. Soon after, another race began. She briefly talked to the one cyclist she knew, and then she left the track to warm her car up. As she walked, she thought: there were no big crashes or tense rivalries that she knew of; there were just people cycling, not for the recognition or for the money, but because they loved to cycle.

Kindle a light of hope

By Yujie Zai

After the class in the evening, she hung out with her friend Zoey. They discussed the difficult tasks they met while doing the homework. They complained how much pressure they were but also encouraged each other to keep moving on and attend the university that they wished to study at.

Suddenly, they both saw something shining in the bush. They were both surprised and trying to find out what it was. At first, they thought it was something that might be left by someone by chance, and it happened to shine in the dark with some special paint or something else on it. Then they went closer to it, step by step, and they tried our best to be quiet and even held our breath. Everything around them was all in silence. As they moved towards to it, they began to think it might be an insect.

“Wow!” they both shouted out in our hearts. “Maybe it is a …… firefly!” They were both shocked, but they calmed down soon, not wanting to scare the firefly away.

Finally, they saw it. It was really small, cute, and fragile as if once they touched it, it might die. The light appeared to them a lot: it shined regularly, a time lighter, another time darker. They counted the times that it shined, “One, two, three,” just like the stars that fall from the sky.

At last, they held it in our hands. It could be called Tiny! It began to crawl on their hands. This did not feel comfortable, but a little itchy. They wanted to hold it a little longer to observe it. They saw that there was a battery on it is body, which could tell them how long it could live.

It was really marvelous. They were really so excited to have seen it and seemed very happy. The fireflies like the light of hope, gave them courage to face the difficulty.

There is no easy way to lose a friend

It had been a year since she had seen her camp buddy Sara but they still felt very connected. Unfortunately because of school she didn't have the chance to volunteer at the camp where they first met. Sara had been a dedicated camp member for the past four years the same amount of time that she had been cancer free. Since she was only 13 it felt like this disease took up most of her life. Sara stayed positive and looked forward to going to camp every summer.

Keeping in contact was hard when you are trying to get your degree, work a full time job and volunteer but the two were very dedicated about reaching out to one another. It broke her heart to have to miss a year but summer is only half a year away now. It would not be long until they are back in their normal routine of crafts and hikes.

One night she got an email from Sara's mother. They were in the hospital because Sara needed a have a blood clot removed. Skimming the beginning of the email she determined it wasn't too serious but she decided to call her roommate. They both volunteered together and Sara meant a great deal to both of them. While she was on the phone she reassured her friend that everything was OK she just wanted her to be informed. She made jokes and laughed when finally she said, "OK but seriously let me read this so you know what's going on with Sara."

"Hello, I just wanted to let you know that we have been in the hospital the past week with Sara. Our little girl fought off cancer for four years but due to the wear and tear ended up forming a blood clot. We were reassured that it wasn't cancerous and that the surgery was fairly routine. Sara has been through so much that she was barely phased by the news. You know how she was always able to stay positive. Unfortunately Sara unexpectedly passed after her surgery. We are still unsure what happened but I wanted to let you know that she is no longer with us..."

Wait, what just happened?

"I'm so sorry Elizabeth I should have finished reading the email before I called you. I had no idea how it was going to end! I just wanted to let you know that she was in the hospital not that she had. I didn't know she had. I'm so sorry."

Click.

A life that had barely started was over and she was still struggling to comprehend what she had just read. Only regret fills her mind, she knows that her volunteering wouldn't have saved Sara, but she believes it would have made the loss hurt less. She can never get back the summer that she missed or the friend that she lost.

Girl watches first cycling race

She wasn't sure what to expect but what she saw after getting to the racetrack was nothing like she had seen before. Cones and ribbons were everywhere marking the course and fans huddled in blankets crowded around to watch. A table with Boulevard beer was right next too the track with a stack of waffles and Nutella available for anyone to eat or drink. A Hawaiian food truck was parked to the south of the table selling warm chicken and rice. A voice echoed through the stadium warning racers of the last call for the next race and a gun went off a few minutes later signaling the start of the race.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw bicycles fly by as the men that rode them strategically paced themselves for the 10 lap race. She watched as they zigzagged over steep hills then jumped off and quickly carried their bikes up six stairs, hopped back on and continued peddling towards the next obstacle. As the cyclists made their way around the stands, people yelled words of encouragement and motivation but the racers didn't seem to notice.

The announcer began to announce the first, second and third place winners of first the junior's then the women's race from earlier in the night. The winners claimed their medals and stood on the pedestals for any pictures being taken then. The medalists were congratulated by everyone around on a good race then made small talk for a while.

She wrapped the blanket around her and watched the cycling community interact and bond over a shared hobby/profession. They talked about where they've raced this year, how many races they have left, what new bikes they bought and what techniques worked for them as opposed to what techniques didn't. After, many people talked about the weather and caught up on old gossip.

Less cyclists rounded the corner and she realized the race was ending. She stretched her cold, stiff legs as she tried to walk to gain feeling back into them and soon after another race began. She talked to the one cyclist she knew for a short conversation then left the track to warm her car up. She thought as she walked. There were no big crashes, no sizzling rivalries that she noticed; just people doing something they love not for recognition or money but because they like to cycle.