Friend or Foe? by KLB

Olivia and her best friend, Skylar, were walking to Spanish class in Raleigh Charter High School, North Carolina. Well, they were supposed to be walking alone, but some of Skylar’s other friends had tagged along. Olivia and Skylar had known each other ever since they were born. In school, Skylar was the better known of the two. All the girls wanted to be friends with Skylar, all the boys looked at Skylar, Skylar was the most popular girl in the school—even though she was just a freshman. Olivia tagged along most of the time, and her job was the brain. Everyone knew Olivia, but they just thought, Skylar’s best friend. Oliva had medium long black hair that was always straight, pale white skin, and was as short as ever. Skylar, on the other hand, had long curly blond hair and perfectly sun kissed skin and was one of the tallest girls in the grade. How they became friends again, Olivia has no clue. But Skylar was nice to Olivia.

“Crap!” Skylar exclaimed. “I forgot to do my homework! It’s still in my bag! Liv, can I copy yours? Please? Just this once?”

“Oh! You can copy mine, Sky!” a girl named Samantha offered.

“Same here!”

“Copy mine!”

“Oh, shush!” Skylar said. “I’m asking Olivia—anyway, she’s the only one that I know will get everything right.”

Olivia paused. She knew copying was bad, but she also wanted to help her friend.

“Uh, I—”

“Please?” Skylar cut off. “Pretty please? With the cherry on top?”

“Fine, here you go,” Olivia knew she couldn’t resist Skylar’s puppy dog eyes.

“Yes! Thanks bestie! Here!” Skylar squealed as she threw Olivia a fifty dollar bill. Skylar was filthy rich. She always had the new iPhone, at least five Louis Vittion bags, every single color Stanley, and so much more.

“Uh, Sky? Didn’t you mean a five dollar bill? This is a fifty dollar bill,”

“Oh, don’t be silly!” Skylar said while copying down Oliva’s homework. “I’d give you a hundred, but I only have fives and tens right now. Now let’s go, we’re gonna be late!”

***

Once we got there, we were late. A whole ten minutes late.

“Chicas, care to explain why you’re late?” Mrs. Garcia demanded.

“Well, you see, there was a . . . a busy hallway. So me and Liv took a different route.” Skylar explained. At the corner of Oliva’s eye, she saw Skylar drop a ten dollar bill on Tim Anderson’s desk, the linebacker on the football team. Tim had strawberry blond hair that was never tidy.

“Yeah,Mrs. Garcia, Skylar’s right. I saw a crowd starting to gather when I was heading to class. Plus, Sky texted me.” he said, holding up his phone. Olivia squinted at Tim’s

phone, instead, she saw a group text labeled, Football Team.

“Alright,” Mrs. Garcia growled. “Take a seat. Also, Ms. Skylar, it would be Liv y yo. I teach Español, not english.”

Olivia and Skylar made their way to the back of the class. Luckily, there were two open seats in the corner of the classroom. Well, it wasn’t really lucky for Olivia, as she liked to sit in the front. “Why sit in the front? The front has all the nerds and the back has all the boys,” Skylar always says. Olivia liked to sit in the front because then she could pay attention more. She was, after all, a straight A student. The only thing that Sky ever did was talk to all the boys.

***

After “horrible” (that’s how Skylar describes it) Spanish, we head to lunch!

“Oh! I almost forgot to tell you! Do you wanna come to the football game tonight? I can get you really good seats!” Skylar yelled.

“Maybe. What time?” Olivia wondered aloud.

“It’s at six. It’ll probably end at nine or so,” Skylar answered.

“Darn. I can’t. I still have homework to do, wash the dishes, all that stuff.” Olivia said, secretly glad that she couldn’t go. Skylar was the cheer captain, and she loved it.

“What do you mean, ‘wash the dishes’? Don’t you have someone else to do it? Like a maid or a butler?” Skylar demanded.

“No, Sky. Not everyone has a personal maid, you know.” Olivia teased.

“Whatever, you know that you’re missing out on a lot, right? If we win this game . . .”

“I know, I know.” Oliva said. “Where are we sitting today?”

“Well, yesterday it was just us, so how about this time we sit with the other cheerleaders and football players, you okay with that?”
“I guess,” Oliva sighed. She wasn’t a cheerleader, unlike Skylar. She hated eating with them, but she did it for Sky.

“Let’s go, then!” Skylar exclaimed. The table was right in the middle of the cafeteria, so everyone could see them.

Yay.

“Hey guys!” Skylar said. “Are you excited for the game tonight?”

“Heck yeah!” Tim responded.

“We’re gonna crush them!” Stacey Taylor, one of Skylar’s cheerleading friends, yelled. Stacey had long brown hair and offen braided it during class when she was bored.

“Love that energy!” Micheal Jones, the quarterback, said while punching the air. Olivia felt butterflies flutter in her stomach. She had had a crush on Micheal since the third grade. Micheal had jet black hair and tan-ish skin.

“Woohoo!” Skylar cheered.

“Please,” Ms. Mara’s cold voice interjected. “keep your voice down, or else there will be consequences . . .”

“Please, keep your voice down, or there will be consequences,” Skylar mocked. “I mean, honestly, it’s getting a bit old, you know.”

“For real,” Micheal agreed. “The only one who likes her is Elona—”

“—and no one likes Elona!” Skylar finished.

“Exactly!” Micheal exclaimed.

Olivia scrunched her eyebrows. Elona was a girl in their grade. She had crooked teeth and a long oval shaped head. Really short dirty blonde hair and a creepy smile. She was a math nerd like Olivia. Olivia never understood why people hated her, as Elona was always nice to them. Skylar must’ve noticed her scrunched up face because she said,

“Are you okay, Liv?”

All the sudden, in four words everybody was looking at Olivia. Waiting for a response. Olivia flushed bright red. “I-I’m fine. Just . . . Elona’s always nice to me, I guess.”

“Well,” Micheal started. “of course she’s nice to you, no offense or anything, but you’re a nerd!”

Olivia looked down and her lunch tray. Maybe it’s better if I say nothing at all.

***

Olivia was chilling on the couch, feeling content. She had finished all of the stuff she needed to do, so right now she had some free time. Until, of course, Skylar texted her.

Hey girl! Did u finish ur homework? The score’s 32-19!!!! Come! Pls!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, Skylar. Fiiiiiine. As long as u get me a good seat! Olivia responded. Olivia grabbed her coat and texted her mom telling her she was going out.

Once Olivia got to the game, she regretted it. Olivia had ADHD, which didn’t help the situation whatsoever. Olivia spotted Skylar and saw her waving her over. Olivia made her way to Skylar. Once she was there, Skylar yelled,

“Guess what?! My coach just told me: I’m doing a special part! At the end of the game! Sit right over here!” She pointed to a seat right next to all the football players on the bench.

“Cool! Good luck!” Olivia replied.

Skylar had to go back to cheerleading, leaving Olivia to watch boring football games. Lucky her.

The game kept going on and on, until Olivia saw something that peaked her interest. It was Elona Miller, sitting alone on the top of the bleachers. Well, she wasn’t really alone, as a group of boys looked like they were picking on her. Olivia liked Elona, she was nice. She might look . . . strange, but it didn’t keep Olivia from being nice to her and standing up for her. It was nearing the end of the third quarter, so she thought she should have plenty of time to have a talk with these boys.

“Excuse me, are you bothering Elona?” Olivia asked as politely as possible.

“What’s up with you, Davis?” One of the boys demanded.

“I prefer to be called by my first name, thank you,” Olivia shot back.

“Whatever. Now answer his question!” Another boy snapped.

“Well, what’s up is that Elona here is minding her own business, and you start to pick on her! What’s up with that?”

“Well, she’s not doing our homework anymore!” One of the guys said. “I-I mean—”

“You dufus!” Another guy yelled.

“You all are dufus’! You can’t even do your own homework!” Olivia snapped. “Now get away! Or I’m telling!”

So then, all of the boys, while glaring at Olivia, left Elona.

“Thanks,” Elona squeaked.

Olivia kept on talking to Elona, as she thought it was far more entertaining than watching football. They talked and talked, and Olivia was having a great time. Before she knew it— the game was over.

“See ya later, Elona!”

“You too!” Elona called.

Oh, shoot! Olivia thought. I didn’t watch Skylar’s performance! I should go and find her! Once Olivia found Skylar sitting on a bench talking to all of her cheerleading friends.

“Look who finally showed up, girls.” Skylar said while glaring at Olivia.

“Look, Sky—”

“No. Don’t waste your time. You chose Elona, someone you barely even know, to talk to like it’s any other day, over me, your best friend since birth! I told you this was important to me! I wanted you to watch! But no. Once I finished, I looked at your spot to see you gone! And then, to make matters worse, we lose the game! Micheal informs me that Little Miss Perfect has gone to talk with her nerd bff! Ridiculous!”

“Please, just let me explain—”

“No. I’ve had it with you, Olivia. I’ve made plenty of excuses for you. Plenty. This is where I’m drawing the line.”

“What do you mean, ‘drawing the line’? I let you copy my homework! I let you—”

“NO! Do you think I want to always eat lunch with you? Do you think I want to watch a movie instead of going to the school party? NO!”

And after all of Skylar’s yelling, she stormed off with all of the cheerleaders shooting death glares at Olivia.

***

The next few weeks were quiet. Skylar avoided Olivia, occasionally trying to trip Elona in the halls. Olivia and Elona had gotten closer over those weeks, eating lunch together, studying together. She liked it. No one asked Olivia to copy homework, and no one paid her fifty dollar bills for it either. It was relaxing. Olivia thought she’d hate not being friends with Skylar. No. To be honest, it was getting tiresome for Olivia. She didn’t wanna have to know the new “trend,” or have the newest clothes. She just wanted to be herself. And she didn’t wanna have to hate Elona to be friends with Skylar. Being kind is more important than being cool or popular.

The Winter Legend by LN

It is said that long ago, there was a penguin who granted wishes. The penguin never had a name, just was known as “The Penguin.” Once a year, The Penguin would grant one wish to one person. This year, Izzy the Ice Queen was desperate to be granted a wish. Her wish was to have powers of controlling the brutal ice storm so she could save her ill baby brother from his sickness, which had been caused by the cold. Izzy had already prepared her title, Izzy the Ice Queen, and insisted on being called just that.

“Mama, Papa! I’m going to see The Penguin now!” Izzy told her parents.

“Ok, sweetheart. See you soon!” Her mother replied.

“Good luck!” Her father smiled. Izzy smiled back and walked out of the house. Through the village she went, and down the winding path of ice and snow. She reached The Penguin’s igloo. There was a sign that said: NO ASKING FOR ANYTHING TO DO WITH MAGIC! Izzy sighed. What was she going to do now? Suddenly, she had an idea.

Once she got to the front of the line, Izzy looked The Penguin in the eyes and said

“I wish for a chance to try to earn my wish!” Izzy cried. The Penguin blinked.

“Whatever do you mean, child?”

“I want to have a trial to see if you’ll give me the power to control the weather,” Izzy demanded. “Since it’s not allowed, I figured I’d earn it.”

“Alright, then. Your trial will be one thing, but you won’t know what it is in your life. Some time today your skills will be tested, and it will determine whether you get your magic or not.”

“Okay! Thank you!” Izzy knew she’d be ready.

Izzy got home to hear some awful news.

“Izzy! I’ve got awful news! The weather is now 90 degrees! Your brother is better, but everyone else is suffering from heat stroke!” Izzy’s mother exclaimed.

“Everyone’s mad at you! They think you’re the cause, Izzy!”

“I need to get back to The Penguin!” Izzy cried, worried. The Penguin must have known her real wish was to help her brother get better and made it really hot!

“I’ve come again to tell you that I’ve realized that my wish to help my brother was selfish, because I didn’t care if it hurt anyone else, I just needed to save my brother! I’m sorry. Please undo my wish.” Izzy pleaded.

“You’ve passed the test, child. Your powers are now yours!”

“Thank you! Instead of Izzy the Ice Queen, how about Mother Nature?”

“Good choice,” The Penguin grinned. “And congrats!”

From that day on, Izzy used her powers to keep the weather evenly distributed throughout the year. Izzy never was selfish and never used her powers for her own good. She became a goddess. Some call her a myth, but just remember next time it snows and then it is 60 degrees, that Izzy, better known as Mother Nature, probably had something to do with it.

The Search by ED

One warm morning on Fremont street, Charlie was sitting on the big fluffy couch in his apartment living room doing his homework from Summer School. Then his dog came over and started barking. And Charlie knows that his dog only barks when there is something wrong.

Charlie asked his dog, whose name is Biscuit, “what’s wrong?”

Biscuit tilted his head toward Charlie’s room and Charlie followed him down the hallway while thinking what is wrong? When Charlie reached his room he understood why his dog was barking. Charlie’s bed was flipped over and there was a note on the underside of it. He slowly reached out and took the note and opened it. It said,

Dear friend, You have been invited to join our search to find the missing pegasus. This organization currently has five people in it. We would like you to join because we want all the help we can get and we chose you because we know that you like to solve mysteries and we also know that you hate summer school. Charlie did really hate summer school. If you would like to join the search, please leave a note on the door of your apartment. Charlie had mixed feelings about joining this secret organization. Biscuit now had left the room to eat some of his snacks. Charlie was still not sure because they didn’t give enough information so Charlie left a note on the front door of his apartment that asked for more information.

Then he went back downstairs to do more homework.

The next morning the first thing that Charlie did before going to Summer school was check the door. Sure enough there was a new letter on the door and the letter that Charlie sent was not there. On the bus, Charlie sat in his own seat and silently read the letter. The only thing that the letter said was We will tell you more until you get to the secret base. For Charlie he thought that now things were getting a bit more interesting.

That night, Charlie sat on his bed writing a short message that had two words, and those two words were I’ll join.

The next morning, the note on the door said We are glad that you joined my friend, meet us at the playground across the street from your apartment.

Charlie didn’t know how to feel when he was setting out to find the secret base.

When he was going to open the door, his mother asked from the kitchen, “where are you going my dear?” “I’m going to the park to play with my friends.” Charlie lied “okay, bye honey” his mom said “bye” Charlie said before opening the door and starting to walk towards the park. When Charlie reached the park, he saw a black cloaked figure holding a flashlight waiting for him standing next to the bench. “Hello my friend, my name is Will” the figure said and then held out his hand.

Charlie just stared at Will and then eventually said “my name is Charlie”.

Then Will said “ follow me” and with that he lifted up the bench revealing a staircase that descended into the darkness.

Will started walking down and Charlie followed. When their heads were fully underground, Will said “stop” and slid the bench back in place. As soon as the bench was in place, lights turned on revealing probably the most beautiful staircase Charlie has ever seen, The walls were marble and the railings were rimmed with diamonds. Charlie gasped and Will said “I know right, it’s beautiful but this is only part of the hideout. When the staircase ended, they emerged into a room, well you could call it that if the ceiling wasn’t as high as the world’s tallest castle. There were multiple crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and a huge T.V with like ten massage chairs in front of the massive T.V. Will said “this is our lounge room”. Charlie was still speechless, still looking around the room. There were multiple tables with a lot of delicious tapestries.

Let me show you to your room. ‘Wait, hold up, I’m going to live here?” Charlie asked. “Yes, you are,” Will answered. Charlie then said “But I don’t want to” “But you have to, because now that you have agreed to join the search, you have to search much more than a few hours every day. Charlie didn’t want to leave his parents behind but he did want to see a pegasus in real life and he also really wanted to figure out stuff more than going to summer school so Charlie decided to stay. “I’m going to stay,” Charlie said. “Great now let's get going on the tour shall we?” Will asked. He led Charlie down a hallway with doors with names carved into the door. When they reached the door that said Charlie, Will opened the door and Charlie stepped inside. The room was beautiful. There was a desk, a living room, a bedroom with probably like a king sized bed. The bathroom had a hot tub and a bathtub the size of a small swimming pool. There was a shower right by the bathtub.

The living room had a T.V and a huge couch. There was a massage chair next to the couch.

The floor was polished wood. There was a little crystal chandelier in the center of the living room but the lack of windows still made the room feel not right but it was still very nice. “There are already clothes in your closet and you are required to wear this badge everyday” Will said while reaching into his pocket and pulled out a badge that had Charlie’s name embroided on it. Charlie grabbed the badge and pinned it to his shirt. Then Will said “Tomorrow meet us at the lounge in the morning and breakfast will be served.

And with that, Will left Charlie’s room and closed the door behind him.

Then Charlie took a bath in the hot tub and then headed for the closet. The clothes that were inside all had a picture of a pegasus on it. Charlie changed into the pajamas that were provided and then Carlie climbed onto the couch and watched some T.V before going to bed.

The next morning in the lounge room Charlie ate breakfast with a couple of other dudes whose names were Tom, Jack, Jason and Reid. When everyone was done eating. Will walked in and said “Everyone, today we have a new member of the search and his name is Charlie”. Then Will asked Charlie “can you please tell the rest of the group about yourself”. Charlie said “Hi everybody, my name is Charlie and I am ten years old”

Then Will said “Welcome to the search”. Then Will said that everyone was dismissed. After everyone filed out, Will told Charlie “They’re going to work on packets, the packets are what you fill out and then hand to me and then I gather that information to figure out clues to find the missing pegasus. Charlie was then sent to his room with a packet and a pencil. The questions on the packet were like, Do you know a very tall building in New York City? Charlie wrote about the World Trade Center and Empire state building for his answer. When Charlie finished his packet, he went to find Will’s room.

And when he reached it he knocked and Will answered “come in” Charlie turned the door handle and stepped into the gleaming room and went over to Will’s desk and found him sorting through papers. Charlie handed Will his packet and Will said “thank you and now you may have a snack in the lounge room.

Charlie went to the lounge room and chose to take a bag of chips and a can of Coke.

The first thing that Charlie did when he arrived at his room was crash onto the couch and watch T.V while munching on his snack. When Charlie was done eating, his door opened and Will poked his head in and said follow me we are going to play some dodgeball. Instead of going towards the lounge Will led me down the opposite side of the hallway to a shelter which had a football field, tennis court, Ice rink and a trampoline park with a line in the middle. There Jason and Jack were already jumping around in the trampoline park. When they saw Charlie, they said “Hi Charlie, are you ready to play some dodge ball with the rest of the group?” “Sure but where are th…” before he finished his sentence two people came marching in. Apparently their names were Reid and Tom and they were obviously deep in conversation but as soon as they saw the rest of the group staring at them, they stopped and were about to apologize but before they could start,WIll held out his hand to stop them and said “No worries, Now does everyone here know how to play dodgeball?” “Yes” everyone said at the same time. “Well then let's get started, and I will play, so who are our team captains?”

Later that afternoon when they finished lunch, everyone got new packets and headed to their rooms. The new packet had the same type of questions as the other one and when he finished he went to Will’s room and was about to knock but then he saw a slit in the door and above it, it said, insert packet here. So Charlie slid his packet through the slit and a few seconds later he heard Will call out from his room “Thanks Charlie, now go get a snack.” Charlie chose to eat the same as last time he took a break. That night Charlie thought about how much he had accomplished in the last two days. When he first arrived, he felt like he didn’t belong and now Charlie felt that he kind of did.

Escape! by KK

Paper: Ow! Why did you do that?!
Pencil: Sorry! This person pushed me too hard.
Paper: He ran away! Why?
Pencil: I think he just realized that we can talk.
Paper: Can you patch me up?
Pencil: What if he figures out and sees that we can move?
Paper: He might call the police
Pencil: Then what do we do?
Paper: We can just start pretending again.
Pencil: Fine. How big of a rip is it?
Paper: It is very small.
Pencil: Why do you want me to patch it up then?
Paper: What if he finds out I can heal?
Pencil: He might try to put us in the trash.
Paper: We would stay trapped!
Pencil: We could just get out of there when he is sleeping.
Paper: Nice idea.

SIX HOURS LATER

Paper: Is he going to come back?
Pencil: Let’s wait a little more. He might be hiding somewhere to catch us.

TWO DAYS LATER

Paper: I don’t think he is trying to catch us.
Pencil: He hasn’t come in a long time either. In fact, nobody is in this house.
Paper: I think he left for good!
Pencil: Are we free?
Paper: I believe we are.

Pencil: Then what are you waiting for? Pencil and Paper: Let’s get out of here!!! Freedom!!

Stolen Spotlight by LN

Caroline and her best friend, Hannah, walked through the halls of Gilop high school, heading towards their language arts class.

“I hope Mrs. Josie is back,” Hannah sighed. “Mr. Oporu is so annoying! He hates my writing. You know that I want to be an author, and his criticism is not helping my self-confidence.”

“I like him better. Mrs. Josie is so nice that she doesn’t give any feedback, and it drives me nuts!”

“Easy for you to say. You’re his favorite student!” Hannah whispered as they entered the classroom.

“I’m not sure about that…”

“Hey! My favorite student! Hi, Caroline! Oh, and hi, Hannah.”

“See?”

“Hannah, he just didn’t see you,” Caroline smiled. “He greets everyone else that he sees the same way!”

“Caroline, don’t be modest. You know as well as I do that you’re his favorite student.” Hannah told her friend.

“Class, settle down. I have an announcement from Mrs. Josie. Please put your attention on me, because this is very important.” Mr. Oporu demanded. “Your teacher wanted me to tell you that one person in this class will be a published author. I will keep a ranking board over whose story is winning so far. But, your teacher, Mrs. Josie, will judge the final results. Everyone in the school will participate. The chances of you being a published author are very high, now. DON'T screw it up. That’s all. Now, today our class will read Moby Dick…”

“Caroline, this is my chance! I can publish a book!”

“Shh. I’m trying to listen.”

“Caroline, I’m going to publish a book! It’s a big deal. Don’t tell me to shush!”

“Hannah!!! Don’t be such a nuisance!!” Caroline screamed. Hannah pinked. The whole class stared at Hannah.

“Something wrong, Caroline? Come see me after class.”

“Yes, sir.” For the rest of class, Hannah and Caroline shot glares at each other.


After class, Caroline went up to Mr. Oporu and waited.

“Caroline, you are one of the best students I’ve ever had. You are an exceptional writer, especially considering you’re a 15-year-old freshman, so I wanted to tell you that I am a publisher. I’m on the hunt for talented writers. Mrs. Josie hired me so that she could have a break and one of you could get a published book. Well, the competition is a motive. You don’t need a motive. I want to publish your book, Elizabeth and Matt, a Love Tale. Do I have your permission?” Caroline sighed in relief. She had thought she was in trouble. But, even thoughiHannah’s dream was to be a writer, Caroline had also had the same dream.

“I’d love that! Thank you so much!”

“You’re very welcome. It’ll be published by tomorrow!”

“That’s so soon! I can’t wait!”

“Can you get the story from your desk?”

“Of course!” Caroline gushed. She went to her desk and got her story. Mr. Oposu was eating a bag of Cheetos when she got back, and his fingers were covered in cheese dust. Ew!

“Here you go!”

“Thanks again!” Suddenly, A ring tone went off. It was Hannah’s ringtone.

“Hannah?” Caroline asked, confused.

“Sorry! I needed to know if you were in trouble, and-”

“Hold on, Hannah.”

“No, go ahead! I’m all done.”

“Thanks, Mr. Oposu!”


When the two girls reached the Cafeteria for lunch, the girls had their conversation.

“You’re publishing a book? That’s my dream!”

“Sorry! But I'm allowed to publish a book, too. You're not the only one. Also, you were spying on me. Why?” Caroline and Hannah continued arguing, until they decided to both forgive each other.


The next day, Caroline bounced through the halls. Everyone was reading her book! It wasn’t until she opened her locker that she saw it. Her story had kindly been returned by Mr. Oposu, but the author's copy of the book had the name Hannah Smith on the cover.

“HANNAH SMITH, YOU DID NOT!”


Hannah walked with Caroline to the cafeteria.

“Hannah, why did you publish my book?”

“What?”

“Look at this! Don’t act stupid. There’s proof right here!” Hannah grabbed the book and gasped.

“Caroline, I was jealous, but I would never do something like that. Especially not to you!” Caroline sighed, snatched the book, and stomped away.


Caroline got home and sighed. She took out the printed paper copy of her story. Then she noticed something. There was Cheeto dust on the paper. Caroline gasped.

“Oh no! It was Mr. Oposu! I can’t believe I wasn’t more suspicious. He appeared out of nowhere, and suddenly I’m published! I have to call Hannah!” Caroline realized. Hannah answered.

“Hello?”

“Hannah! I’m so sorry. I need to tell you something…” Caroline told her the whole story.

“Well, the copy I bought says his name on it. He must have tricked you into thinking it was me so he could have the credit!”

“The nerve!”

“But we have no proof!”

“Yeah we do. The whole story is proof! So are the two different copies of the book, and my printed paper copy with the Cheeto dust.”

“Yeah! Let’s do this!” Hannah cried enthusiastically.

The two girls emailed the police. Mr. Oposu was arrested and the book was published as a book by Caroline Green. Summer had arrived, and Caroline and Hannah were walking in the park.

“I’m sorry I was so rude to you. I should have trusted you. You’re my best friend!” Caroline apologized.

“It’s okay. I’m sorry I was so jealous. I should have been happy for you.”

“It’s fine, Hannah.” Caroline beamed. They hugged each other.

“I have an idea!” Hannah exclaimed. “We should write a book together!” And that’s exactly what they did. They called it Stolen Spotlight. It was a story about them, and that’s the way it needed to be. After all, friendship is the most powerful thing in the world. And with it on your side, you can accomplish anything.

My bedroom’s Feng Shui...by MT

My bedroom’s Feng Shui

Is likely below average,

And I never sleep.

Popular Romance Author Mamie T Found Dead by TE

Mamie T, author of the Skyscraper Ranch series, was found dead in her Edina home on a rainy Monday afternoon.

Investigators say that she stubbed her toe on a loose nail in the floor, causing her to trip and fall, resulting in severe head trauma and unconsciousness. Unable to call the authorities, T passed away from her injuries. She was found about three days later by a concerned neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous. Noticing that the author hadn’t left the house for a while, they peeked in through the windows, drawing attention to the swarm of flies that had gathered in the house. The paramedics were called and T was declared dead on the spot; even if she'd survived, the infection resulting from the insects would’ve resulted in extensive surgeries and hospital visits.

Author of Skyscraper Ranch and its sequels, a series of romance novels about a woman with a pet horse and her lover, T gained attention for her whimsical prose and lovable characters. However, many derided the series as nothing more than “trashy,” claiming that the story followed the same format as many mass-produced romance novels– minimal worldbuilding, lineless art cover, and a focus on relationship over plot and story. The series also received criticism for romanticizing neglect of animals, as the main character’s pet horse is kept in conditions that are not ideal: namely, an apartment parking garage in the big city. Others have praised it for its positive portrayal of queer relationships, criticism of the pet and zoo industry, and cheerful tone despite the subject matter. Her family has refused to speak with the press regarding her death, as they found the event solemn; “Our daughter has never published a book, what are you talking about? She’s fifteen and she’s in the backyard, why are you in our house?” commented her mother. Her father called the police on the inquiring journalist, sparking a conspiracy of a cover-up. While a girl was spotted near and in the home, claims that she is their daughter, claims she has never written a book, and has no interest in “smelly horse lovers,” as she called it, there is still room for suspicion regarding whether or not she really is who she claims.