Characteristic Property

The space pods zoomed above Cassiopeia Jaiden Starwing as she stood on the moving sidewalk on her way home from Academy. Cassie ignored the zooming noise as everyone else did, but her mind did not focus on the obvious. Cassie always acted mellow—she was the youngest of seven children, and the only girl, and she was used to lying low while her brothers got into trouble. But today Cassie was bubbling inside. Tomorrow was her thirteenth birthday, but, like everyone on the planet Earth, she celebrated a day before with her family members. Today was her special day—her day to shine. Cassie grinned as the sidewalk approached her home. It was common knowledge throughout the galaxy that the people on Earth had some of the richest homes anywhere—Earth was a base station to the other planets and jobs there were well paying and important. Cassie’s home was no exception—it was a huge house, with floor upon floor of circular living space. Cassie’s father owned the fastest growing rocket ship company in the galaxy, and was always busy. Cassie’s mother used to work for the Intergalactal Peace Council and retired soon after her second son, Forrest, was born. Now Oriana Starwing was one of the most admired economics teachers on Earth, and was known as far away as Neptune. The space pods zoomed above Cassiopeia as she stood on the moving sidewalk Cassie entered her home, expecting to be greeted by her family at the door, the way her brothers’ celebrations began, but things were not as she suspected. In fact, they were the opposite. Her mother rushed around, collecting papers and briefcases, her pretty blond hair pulled off her face, exposing her Martian features, a skinny pointy nose and a heart-shaped face. Her father, unusually harried, barked instructions into the videophone in the living room. Cassie could see he was talking to his secretary, the chubby one, and an immigrant from Venus. Something about his wife going away . . . needing a housekeeper . . . “Cassie, star beam, how was your day?” Draco Starwing said quickly as he pounded the TERMINATE button on the videophone. “How was that event . . . what was it? A debate on who discovered Mercury first . . . or was it a Moon Ball championship?” “The debate was two weeks ago. I lost. Yumi plays Moon Ball. His championship is in two weeks. He’ll probably lose too . . .” “Oh, that’s fab!” exclaimed Draco, having not heard a word Cassie had said. “Now, Cass, I gotta tell ya something. Your mom got a grant to go get her hands dirty and learn about the third-world areas in Saturn . . . so she’ll be going away for a month or so. And I’ll be at a forum on Jupiter for the next two weeks, so that means you’ll be here with your darling bros, won’t that be fun?” Cassie felt her face grow hot. She hated her life sometimes—her parents never home, her brothers endlessly annoying her, and now her own birthday was ignored. She stalked away from her father and headed up the curving DNA-like stairs. Right before she reached the second level, she swung around on her heels. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” Cassie asked quietly, her face twisted into a sarcastic smile. “Cass, whadaya mean? We’ve got it all set up, a student from Neptune is studying here and she’ll live with you guys for a month to take care of you. The school knows, the government knows, your brothers know. Your grandmother knows. What’s missing?” “A happy birthday.” And with that, Cassie dashed up to the seventh story. The next day, in the wee hours of the morning, Cassie heard the vr-vrooming noise of her parents’ space pods zooming away, one to the right, one to the left. Throughout the night they had tried to come in and apologize, but Cassie would pretend to be asleep. Finally, an hour before they left, Cassie’s mother simply came in and placed a parcel on Cassie’s Holovision. Cassie woke up at exactly nine o’clock. It was the first day of Daybreak, the three days of freedom that came after every eight days of work and school. She turned off her floating bed as she hobbled to her mirror, her back sore. Cassie stared at her reflection. She had fallen asleep in her academy uniform. All I see is a short girl in a purple-and-white outfit. Long, stringy dark hair. My father’s big green eyes, my mother’s broad smile. No one even knows my name. Ha, but maybe that will all change, now that I’m thirteen—if they even remember. She moped into the shower and emerged eight minutes later. She changed into one of her comfiest outfits—a silver shirt with fleecy black pants. Now she was prepared to meet the housekeeper. “Oooh, wet hair, did wittle baby Cryeoweepa have a bad night?” Pisces, her fourteen-year-old brother on his way to the kitchen, ambushed Cassie. Only a year older than she, Pisces was Cassie’s biggest annoyance. Her other brothers had a more seldom and subdued teasing style, but Pisces did not pick up on the trend. “Heavens, Cass, you’re what? Thirteen now? And you still act like a baby. Mom and Dad just forgot. Oh, yeah, by the way, they couldn’t find a good present at such short notice, so Dad got you a Starwing Rockets shirt. Have a great one.” And with that, Pisces was on the run again, toward the kitchen. “Oooh, you must be . . . uh . . . Kwasseo- no. . . no . . . Caspian? Ugh, I’ve taken Earthen for several years and still I cannot pronounce the simplest of names. But, no worries, I am Daviana, your housekeeper. I go to school in Neptune where I study Earth, but I wanted to come here and learn about an average family on Earth. At the University of Neptune, all they teach is history

The Best Thing in the World

The late August sun warms the carpet in my room. I sit listening to the sounds below me. Mom and Grandma cooking food in the kitchen. Dad putting the finishing touches on the cake Aunts, uncles, cousins, friends ringing the doorbell My brother running to the door with hellos Loud laughter sounds throughout the house Squeals of delight from baby Maddy’s discoveries “Come down Craig, you’re being rude,” yells Mom. It’s my birthday, I’m not being rude. I’m thanking God for the best thing in the world. The best thing in the world is this moment in my life. Craig Shepard, 12Camillus, New York

Basketball Season

I roll down the car window. It’s hot. The engine murmurs steadily. I can feel my stomach flipping as we near Fullor. The basketball courts loom ahead, all empty but one. The two-door Toyota stops. Amy jumps out quickly. I take my time, slowly stepping out onto the scorched cracked blacktop. I can feel the heat through my black sandals. We wave good-bye, and I force a smile. Inside I am whimpering. Amy jogs over in her running shoes, short brown hair tied back. A blue sweatshirt casually blends into relatively baggy jeans. I wobble after her, my shoes slowing me down. I had curled my hair the night before. It lay like a doll’s. Big hoops dangle from my ears, giving way to a silver choker necklace. It was all planned out the night before. The clothes. I wanted to make a good first impression. Tight jeans match with my tank. It reads “Princess.” We stop in front of the coach. He frowns at me, observing my ensemble. I can feel my face turn red. I didn’t know they would all be boys. Sixteen boys. Sixteen pairs of eyes. Sixteen smirks. But now, as I look around me . . . I just don’t belong We need to run a warm-up lap around the bare field. The boys gradually pass me. Sympathetically, Amy matches my slow pace. I stare longingly in the direction of home, but am forced to turn a corner and head for the sneering crowd instead. A ball rolls out toward me, slowly. I pick it up. What am I doing here? Who am I trying to fool? Being on a team seemed like a great idea two weeks ago when I applied. But now, as I look around me . . . I just don’t belong . . . I close my eyes, in hope that I can just wake up from this bad dream . . . They open, looking down. I hold in my hands a basketball. I drop it, watching it roll away. Slowly, I turn to run. We both slip on the gravel. The boys make no attempt to muffle a loud laugh. I know they’re laughing at me. Amy goes to Felton Junior High. Fullor and Felton are like brothers. The two schools end in the same high school. They accept Amy as one of them. I am the outsider at Remdon Private Middle School. I arrive last, panting loudly. Everybody stares at me, annoyed. I held back the group. Coach says something about an all-star team. “The judges will choose the two best players . . . It’s in your hands . . . Only those who really want it . . .” I am not listening. A boy with mousy brown hair and large front teeth whispers something to his friend. Distinctly I can make out the words “pathetic” and “blondie.” They snicker, causing the coach to clear his throat loudly in their direction. I stare down at my feet. The private whimpers inside of me are threatening to reveal themselves to the world. The only pathetic blond here is me.   WEEK TWO I feel my forehead. It seems fine. I stand still and close my eyes, searching every inch of my body for any sign of pain or illness. If I concentrate really hard, I can almost feel some pressure in my head . . . It’s useless. Unfortunately, it seems I’m in perfect health, and basketball practice starts in fifteen minutes.   WEEK THREE I don’t know if it is the boys’ taunts or really just my lack of ability that is causing me to miss. Every shot. Insults are murmured constantly in my direction, loud enough for me to hear, yet concealed from the coach. Things like “princess” and “loser.” I don’t dare tell him, for fear of what the rest might do to me. It doesn’t make the situation any easier to accept, that apart from Amy, I am the oldest. No matter how much older I am than the boys, I’m still too young to have a nervous breakdown, but I fear it is edging close. Sobs echo throughout the inside of my head. My life is turning into a living nightmare. Amy gave up trying to convince me to ignore them. Ignore them? How can I just ignore them? Easy for her to say; feet don’t stick out in attempts to trip her as she walks by. Every little mistake of hers is forgotten automatically. Mine are as good as posted for public viewing.   WEEK FOUR Shoot . . . miss. Shoot . . . miss. Shoot . . . miss.   WEEK FIVE The boy with the big teeth goes by: C.J. Every now and then I make a shot. Nobody notices.   WEEK SIX C.J. says he’ll give me a dollar for every shot I make. He coughs when I’m about to shoot and makes attempts to trip me when Coach isn’t looking. So why don’t I just leave? I thought about it. It’s too late. If I go now, C.J. will think he defeated me. I feel like Hamlet. To leave or not to leave . . . I’m not the quiet accepting type. I’m proud. Perhaps too proud. I shout back the first insults that come into my head. C.J. and his followers can top anything I say. I don’t care what the coach thinks, either. I don’t think he even notices anything is wrong. He’s far too ignorant and absorbed in his own little world. C.J. says something about my school. I throw the ball so hard at him, he falls over backward. Coach sees this as an accident. With their “chief” gone for the day, the boys don’t seem to find any pleasure in making my life miserable. Only a fraction continue to taunt me. Today I made my first three-pointer.   WEEK SEVEN I am wearing sports pants today. My hair is

Rare Treasure

The day Gu Zewei was born, we got the first notice. We had a month to choose a child to give away. “I will come to take her when you have decided,” the official who delivered the notice said. She said “when you have decided,” but her words implied that she was sure we would choose the girl, not the boy, to give away. Zewei’s name, which means “Rare Treasure,” caused a great deal of confusion in the adoption department, because it is usually a boy’s name. No one thought of girls as rare treasures. After the official left, Zemin took Zewei’s hand and looked at her with a mixture of envy and love, as I watched them and thought. The only other choice besides giving one of the children up was leaving the country. However, after how much we were fined for having Zewei, we would have no money left. During the next two weeks, my husband and I cared for the baby and looked for solutions constantly. We hardly ever spoke, except to ask each other to hold Zewei or change the blankets on her bed. So far, she had been much more quiet than Zemin when he was her age, and the house’s silence, combined with her simple, calm stare, hurt me more than any cacophony or uproar. At the end of the second week, there was a loud knock on the door. It was the official again. Would we be able to leave these familiar sights and sounds we had grown up with? “If I were you,” she said, “I would just give her up now. There is no point in getting more attached to her.” “How do you know that we will choose to give her? Do you just assume we will give the girl?” I asked. “The boy is your first and he is a boy.” “I did not say I wanted to give him either.” “Just make a decision,” said the official, and slammed the door. I needed to get out. The stillness in the house clashed too strongly with the inner tempest and indecision in my mind. I went out on the clattering, crowded Shanghai street—so crowded. I blamed the crowd for the indecision. If it hadn’t been for overpopulation, the government wouldn’t have had to make the one-child law. What became of the children who were given away? Most went to other countries, so Zewei or Zemin would leave China even if we did give one away, except separated from the family. And the rest of us would still be here. We did not know if it would be better somewhere else, but at least most other countries didn’t have the one-child law. However, there still was the money problem. As I dodged rickshaws and bicycles, and the shouts of fruit- and umbrella-sellers rang in my ears, I wondered, even if we had enough money, would we be able to leave these familiar sights and sounds we had grown up with? When I returned to the house, my husband greeted me at the door. “The baby has been hungry,” he said. “I’m sorry.” He nodded. “I’ll go back to her now.” He nodded again. I broke out, “We have hardly spoken for two weeks, and now the official came again, telling us we just have two weeks left and now you won’t speak at all. You always just let things happen.” “The baby is hungry.” I stomped off to Zewei’s bed, then remembered to tiptoe, for fear of waking her. The official came at the third week again, and we were still undecided. In the meantime, Zewei learned how to work both hands and kick her feet, discovering a world which might not end up being hers. During the fourth week, I was so tired I fell asleep as soon as I lay down in bed. One night I had a dream in which I was gazing out across the sea to the other side, which was almost hidden in mist, causing its shape and outline to be unclear. Zemin and Zewei crawled toward it, making hardly any progress, and occasionally being tossed back by the high, dagger-like waves. I found myself hoping they would make it and wanting to go myself. Then a tidal wave came and washed me toward them . . . That morning was exactly a month from Zewei’s birthday. We would have to choose soon. I got up and started to make breakfast. Shortly after, my husband got up. I gave him a futile, inquisitive glance. He shrugged. We sat through the day, waiting. At five o’clock sharp, the official came for the last time. She was in a bad mood when we opened the door for her. She didn’t come in. “Why don’t you have her ready?” she asked. “We haven’t decided.” “You have to. All the other families give them right when they’re born. This is ridiculous.” I sat down on the porch steps and didn’t say anything. My husband said, “They’re more yours than mine, really. You decide.” Just like him to lay the decision on someone else. I sat there for a long time, almost peaceful, lost in the importance of the moment. I should be crying, I thought. I should protest. But I felt outside my body, my tumultuous mind floating far above. And then in an equally external voice, I spoke. “We’re going to leave the country. I don’t care where we go, or how much it costs, if they don’t have the one-child law. We’re going to leave China.” *          *          * After many delays and uncertainties, Zewei, Zemin, my husband and I stood on the deck of a ship taking us to another continent. Between us, we only had a few yuans. The horizon was cloudy, but I looked that way eagerly. Then I looked back at my children’s faces. Justine Koo Drennan, 12San Mateo, CaliforniaJustine’s Chinese name is Gu Zewei. She learned about the one-child law

A Chorus of Coyotes

Hannah leapt out of the truck, hardly able to restrain herself. Snow had come, winter had come! And here she was, about to spend a full afternoon cross-country skiing with Grandpa; the first time since last March when they had been forced to leave early due to the rapid melting of the snow. Around the parking lot, the deep woods looked inviting. Hannah followed the trail with her eyes until the first bend, and, wondering what secrets the rest of it held, she felt another surge of joy inside and wanted to sing, though she didn’t dare break the delicious silence that surrounded her. “Hannah,” chuckled Grandpa’s voice from behind, startling her and breaking the peaceful spell, “don’t just stand there and dream away, but come wax those skis. It’s going to be suppertime before we get skiing!” Hannah tore her hungry eyes off the trail and did as she was bid. The sound and smell of the sticky wax as she applied it made her sigh with happiness, causing Grandpa to chuckle again. Each of the numerous adventures in the woods which Hannah had experienced and gained knowledge from came back to her as she scraped a thick coating onto the bottom of her skis. When both pairs of skis were waxed, and the picnic they had prepared was divided equally between Hannah and Grandpa, they set off down the trail. Hannah was in the lead, her skis pushing and gliding rhythmically down the shining trail as the sun’s bright rays bounced off it. Hannah felt so lighthearted she was sure she could do the same. But the forest was peacefully quiet, and despite her gaiety Hannah felt strangely like an intruder, even though her skis made only a soft, soothing “ssssk, ssssk” as she skied along. She wished she could be a part of the forest rather than a visitor in it. She wondered if the animals of the woods were gaping out from the shadows, awed at these brightly clothed creatures who traveled the paths. She wished she could be a part of the forest rather than a visitor in it “Darn!” exclaimed Grandpa suddenly. “Snow is getting into my boots—I forgot to put on my gaiters!” Hannah laughed at him for being so foolish and flipped her long, dirty-blond hair over her shoulder as she stopped and turned to look at him. “Grandpa,” she said, “we’ve been skiing every year for seven years and you forget your gaiters of all things. How did that happen? Gaiters are a waterproof garment used to stop snow from entering the ski boot in cross-country skiing. Hannah was incredulous, because Grandpa was an expert skier, and he had taught her everything she knew about skiing. “I just forgot, honey,” he said, grinning with his granddaughter over his stupidity. “I’ll go back. I’ll only be a minute, so you can go on, but when you reach the fork take the usual route.” He turned and headed for the parking lot, and Hannah kept going, still smiling to herself. Hannah Louise Richard had been born the youngest in a large, happy family, with her mother, father, and five siblings. But shortly after her birth, Mr. and Mrs. Richard had decided that taking care of Hannah’s two-year-old twin sisters and her, plus the other three, was too much for them, and she had been sent to live with Grandma and Grandpa until they could cope with the situation and have her home. The time had come, but little Hannah had already accepted her grandparents as her guardians and wouldn’t be moved from them, so with them she had stayed. One of the hobbies the three had always shared was cross-country skiing, and they had always done it together until two years ago when Grandma had died. Now it was something that Hannah and Grandpa did together. Hannah had reached the fork, so she took the left turn unhesitantly (it had always been the way she and Grandpa had gone). The trail was a loop, so it would come right back to the fork. She began to sing softly to herself, enjoying being alone in her favorite place, and the time slipped softly by while Hannah, carried away in her own contentment, forgot about Grandpa until half an hour later when she sat down to wait for him. She remained there for ten minutes, and he still didn’t show up. She had expected him to be close behind, but obviously he wasn’t. On these trails it was easy to be close behind but out of sight as there were many small hills, twists and turns in the path. Hannah supposed he had forgotten how to put on his gaiters, and suppressed a giggle at the absurd thought. Then she started on the gorp which she was carrying in her daypack; she was famished after lots of skiing and saw it as a way to pass the time she spent waiting for Grandpa. But when he still didn’t come, she continued on without him. As she began to ski again, Hannah felt a growing triumph inside of her. She was alone in the forest and having a splendid adventure. She didn’t know where Grandpa was, but she knew he’d be OK, however far behind he had become. Although his age was going on seventy, he was in good shape and looked young enough to be her father, and she knew nothing could have harmed him. Another half hour ticked by, as Hannah skied through the still forest, the moss- and lichen-covered deciduous trees bare but possessing a certain gentle beauty despite their lack of summer greenness. She was still enjoying herself immensely when she heard the coyotes. Their high-pitched yowling echoed through the forest and Hannah halted. They sounded very nearby, and she knew it was a whole pack. She also knew they probably wouldn’t hurt her (it was rare for them to carry off even a small child), but their wild, eerie cries

Crystal Desolation

My hand felt like ice against the cold, hard metal doorknob on this hostile, windy crisp day. As I opened the door, I was greeted by a cold gust of wind that stung my face like a thousand bee stings. This cold does not bother me, but instead provides me with a queer comfort. I cannot explain this, just like you can’t explain how the universe came to be. As I took another long step outside, wind pounded upon my jacket, sending cold ripples through it like ocean waves. Shivering, I smiled. I knew that I was basically alone in the town, that all the other people were hiding in the houses. This gave me comfort, knowing that I had the streets to myself, and the only one I had to share them with was the wind. Wind continued to stampede towards me, tackling me backwards like an angry dog protecting his bone. It was as if he wanted the streets all to himself as well. My shoes made a crunching sound against the damp grass like a sponge. Dead leaves swirled around me, pushed by cruel gusts of wind in a tornado-like dance that broke the sudden silence. The icy wind howled and roared at me as I pushed onward into this dead world slowly and carefully. The wind was the only thing making noise besides the dark, large crows squawking, as if pleading for help, in the air beside the gray clouds. Not a soul could be seen outside on a cold, rainy day like this one As I scanned my desolate surroundings, which this morning had been my warm, sunny street, bare trees loomed over me like dark, misty mountains; cold, menacing. The edges of the trees appeared blurry, but smooth and wide. These trees made large shadows on the bare street, making the gloomy scene look even gloomier. Suddenly, I felt terribly alone and tiny in the world; not a soul could be seen outside on a cold, rainy day like this one. Puddles began to form as rain pounded upon my hood, which was knocked over by the unexpected gusts of wind. I risked a glance upwards at the dark clouds, but expanding tree branches blocked my view far above me. The dead branches looked like mysterious hands stretching on forever as if pleading for help upon the angry sky. Pearls of rain trickled down my cheek and danced down my shirt, tickling me while making me shiver. The rain came down harder, harder until it splattered upon the empty streets that loomed around me. The dim sun played hide-and-seek behind the clouds, darkening and lightening the scene unexpectedly. The leaves no longer danced; they flew around frantically while chased by the angry, howling wind. My face stung and seemed to be splitting open by the cold. I stuffed my hands in my warm pockets, but rain continued to splatter upon them. Lightning flashed, lighting up the scene for an instant, but then the world became dark again. The rain continued to shoot downward, making me have to blink constantly to prevent my eyes from becoming soaked. Deciding that I had fought the cold enough, I gave up and retreated inside my warm, safe, cozy home, leaving the wind to own the streets as I had. Wind chased me there, but I did not let it inside by closing the door firmly. I smiled, but I didn’t know why. It’s just one of those things that you can’t explain. Just like desolation. Andrew Fine, 11Ridgewood, New Jersey Jackson Harris, 11Tampa, Florida

A Face First

A Face First by Priscilla Cummings; Dutton Children’s Books: New York, 2001; $16.99 When Kelley got in the accident it made me realize how precious life really is. The poor girl is only in sixth grade and she is scarred for life. I cried as I read about all the things that happened to Kelley, and the way she felt about life; she wanted to die if she had to look the way she did. I can’t imagine how life could be so bad that you would want to die. This book showed me how quickly your life can change, from being healthy and great to being at the hospital with a broken leg and having third-degree burns on your face and body. Thinking of how quickly things can change reminded me of September 11. How the day before the nation was bright and on September 11 the nation was torn and shattered; that one day has scarred the nation forever. Kelley is scarred forever in what happened to her, for the thought that she will never look the way she used to. Priscilla Cummings, the author, described everything so well. I felt like I was there watching the whole accident, and being there at the hospital with Kelley it is unbelievable how she describes everything. One part that I think was just unbelievably moving is when Kelley’s sister Leah was in Paris for college, and she wanted to come home because of Kelley’s accident. Kelley knows that going to college in Paris is her sister’s dream so she begs her not to come; her sister says she won’t come. Then when Kelley comes home from the hospital, Leah comes without telling Kelley. Kelley is so happy to see her. The thought that Kelley was thinking of her sister and her dream of going to college in Paris, before thinking of herself and how much she needed her sister at the time, was really moving. This book is so truthful because the story it tells is so true. I don’t think people want to realize it though—the fact that there is a chance you can die tomorrow, or that you will be diagnosed with cancer, or get in an accident. This book does not hide the truth, it tells it, and that is something I really like about this book. This book changed my outlook on life, and it will change yours too. Tahani Al-Salem, 11Dubai, United Arab Emirates

To Begin Again

A gleaming silver picture frame stuck out from among the ashes. With renewed determination, Angela squatted down and began unearthing the priceless treasure from the still-smoldering cinders. She recognized it as her parents’ wedding frame. Angela closed her eyes and tried to imagine herself standing within her cozy living room, near the hearth. In her mind’s eye she walked over to the mantel and looked longingly at the family photographs. Her baby brother on his first birthday, face and cheeks covered in chocolate cake, her mother and father, smiling radiantly on their wedding day, and her grandmother, with twinkling forget-me-not eyes. The image blurred, and Angela was brought back to the present, sitting in the remains of her house. Trying to fill a void that could not be filled, Angela gently wrapped the picture frame in her sweater and deposited it in a paper bag. For the past two days she had slipped away from the chaos of her family’s rental apartment and had come down to the spot of her old house in search of something, anything, that was from her old life. The search had been a disappointment. Until today, the only thing salvaged from the flames had been two toilets, and a sink. Angela recalled with surprising vividness the night of the fire at her house. She had been awakened from a dream by the shrill cry of the smoke detector. While she was still trying to contemplate the noise and confusion, her dad burst wildly into her room. She unwrapped the picture frame, with the charred photo, and her tears fell upon them “Follow me, Angela, quickly!” “Dad, what’s happening!” she had cried out in fear. “Our house is on fire. Follow me, and stay low to the ground,” answered her father, in an attempt to be reassuring. Angela followed doggedly behind him. The whole thing seemed surreal to her, like a bad dream. She still did not believe that her house was on fire, not when she heard the great rumble of flames, or smelt the smoke clogging her lungs, or even when she saw the yellow tongues of fire licking the chimney. Angela remembered her brothers and sisters and mother all sitting in a pile weeping. “Angie, our house is burning, our house is burning down,” Molly, Angela’s six-year-old sister, had said between sobs. Angela did not answer her. She was in a state of shock, as if her body was going through the motions while her mind was in another dimension. The rest of the night had been a whirl of neighbors and friends coming to console Angela’s family. They congregated on the front lawn and watched in silence as firefighters battled with the scarlet dragon. It had been a little over a month since the night of the fire. In that month Angela had experienced many strong emotions: shock, anger, sorrow, and most of all emptiness. She had come back to the scene of the fire in the hope of finding something of value buried in the ashes: diaries, photos, maybe even her violin. Angela realized now that, as hard as she tried, she could not undo the damage that had been done. She could not bring back her house, or her old carefree life. For the first time since the fire, Angela began to cry. She cried with a passion and force that shook her small figure. She unwrapped the picture frame, with the charred photo, and her tears fell upon them. The sun sank behind menacing gray clouds, and like tears, giant raindrops fell from the sky. After a while, Angela’s crying subdued to momentary sniffles. She felt a surprising sense of relief, like a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders. It stopped raining, and glorious sunshine warmed her body. Angela felt homesick, but not for her old house; for her family and friends. She had been so cold to them since the fire, pulling away when they tried to comfort her. Now Angela wanted their company, and wanted to repair the damage she had done to their relationship. “I knew I’d find you here,” said a tall, sinewy woman, with light brown skin and warm brown eyes. “Mother!” Angela exclaimed, jumping up and rushing into her arms. There was a long silence while Angela’s mother surveyed the ashes and the burnt wedding picture. Finally she said, “I’m sorry.” “I’m sorry too, Mother,” Angela said in remorse. “Come, let’s go home. We have a lot of catching up to do.” With one last look back at the place of her childhood, Angela turned to leave. But not before she had securely tucked the silver picture frame in her pants pocket. Mara Elizabeth Lasky, 13Walnut Creek, California Eliott P Frank, 11Evergreen, Colorado

Alone

Alone is the homeless man looking at all the goods      in the grocery market that he cannot have Alone is the refugees leaving all they ever knew behind,      their friends, their houses Alone is the single pillar Standing in the rubble of a bombed building Alone is the Iraqi mother whose children have died From lack of medical care Alone is the turban among a thousand baseball caps Brendan Grant, 11Piermont, New Hampshire

Girl in Blue

Girl in Blue by Ann Rinaldi; Scholastic Press: New York, 2001; $15.95 Girl in Blue was one of the most fascinating and suspenseful books I have ever read. I could hardly put it down! Girl in Blue is a story about a sixteen-year-old girl, named Sarah Louisa Wheelock, who disguises herself as a teenage boy and runs away to serve in the Union army during the American Civil War. Ann Rinaldi captivates you with her story and her characters. Although there are no illustrations in the book, I feel there really is no need for them. She paints a vivid picture of each of the characters, in appearance, actions, and personalities. For example, Sarah was described as a sweet, quiet girl, who was always there for anyone who needed her. But she was also described as the one in the family who always supplied them with fresh venison for dinner. She loved hunting in the woods, carrying her father’s rifle, which she had named Fanny. Throughout the book, her character traits were displayed through the different experiences and problems she had. When she served in the army, she was brave, and although it was very difficult to keep disguised who she was, she kept going and pretended to be Private Neddy Compton. She was very gifted in medicine and doctoring. She knew many remedies to cure diseases that even the so-called doctors in the army had not been taught. Rinaldi described Sarah’s experiences in this book so well, and realistically, I felt like I was truly a part of the story. For example, at one point in the book, Sarah crosses the borders, into the Rebel territory. She is stopped and searched, and the suspense in the book was captivating. Sarah was carrying some very important letters to deliver, and if they were discovered, it could mean death for her and many others. When Sarah received word that her father had died, and she was grieving, I felt like I had known him as well and was sad too. My great-grandmother died recently, and that was really sad. She had been a wonderful great-grandmother to me and my three brothers. She would always send us a card with money in it for our birthdays and at Christmas. Whenever she was able, she would come visit us, or come to our plays or piano recitals. In a way, I can relate to Sarah, when she found out her father had died. There was one character in the book named Rose Greenhow. Sarah was assigned to work as a maid for her, after Sarah had been discovered to be a girl. Mrs. Greenhow was suspected of being a Rebel spy, and Sarah was given the job to find out whether or not that was true through her duties as her maid. Rose Greenhow was the most stuck-up person I have ever read about! She was always cranky and grumpy, even though her every want and need were catered to immediately. Sarah must have been in an awful position living with her! I know I would hate having to constantly be wondering if anyone knew who I was, or where I was from, like Sarah, and having to watch my back around every street corner. At one point in the book, Sarah went home to visit her family. She was still disguised as a boy, dressed in the Union Army’s uniform. Her mother did not recognize her, but her brother Ben did. She and Ben had always been close. Sarah really struggled with wanting to tell her mother that she wasn’t Private Neddy Compton, but that she was her daughter, Sarah Wheelock. I can’t imagine being away from my family for more than a year, and then going back home to all the familiar smells, sights, and places, and still not be able to reveal who I really was. Sarah must have felt awful. This was a wonderful and exciting book. I could read it several times. Girl in Blue revealed the hardships of the war in the times of slavery and showed what people had to endure. I came away feeling like I had made a new friend in Sarah Wheelock. I love the Civil War, and this book made it even more exciting. Sarah Bollenbach, 13Coatesville, Pennsylvania

Trapped Heart

The icy air caressed Jeff’s cheek, hissing softly through the gray-brown stubble that decorated his weather-beaten face. His faded leather boots smashed the freshly fallen snow, leaving a heavy imprint on each perfectly formed flake. The bluish glow of morning shone on the dewy leaves of the spruce trees, peppering the ground with glowing rays that danced to and fro. Jeff smiled as his trapline came into view. A plump snowshoe rabbit was struggling valiantly between the steel teeth, emitting plaintive squeals of distress. Lifting his rifle to his shoulder in one fluid, effortless motion, Jeff pulled the trigger and ended the rabbit’s pain forever. The shot echoed hollowly through the surrounding mountains, a mournful cry that pierced the heart of every animal that could hear it. The second trap was untouched, but had a telltale circle of paw prints rimming its rusted structure. Jeff bent over and studied the clearly defined tracks, cursing under his breath. Lynx. A chill scurried up his spine. A lynx was an unmerciful killer, a thief to be reckoned with. The next trap was sprung, but only a tuft of fur remained between the metal jaws. And another ring of identical prints decorated the surrounding area. Jeff carefully reset the trap, smearing deer fat onto his callused fingers so as not to leave man-scent. The next one had a bare skeleton attached, with a bloody trail that writhed away into the bushes. And the next was no better. A half-eaten carcass of a marten lay frozen in the snow, its pelt shredded and the upper half of its body scattered around the site in bloody bits. It was a baby lynx; a perfect miniature of its mother Jeff groaned in anguish. That’s ten dollars lost already, he thought with a sigh. What am I gonna do? A chilly wind whipped through his hair, burning his eyes until they turned red and began to run. He continued along the trapline doggedly, watching as the damaged pelts materialized before him. His finger played with the trigger hungrily, eager to kill something, anything, to pay for this destruction. He returned home with a meager allotment of pelts, all worth under two dollars. His cheeks were flushed under the shadow of his growing beard, and his dark eyes glinted with rage. He would catch that lynx. He had to catch that lynx. And when it was caught, he would kill it. Jeff licked his cracked, bleeding lips with anticipation. Everything was ready. The traps were set and baited, and Jeff had slathered on a layer of lard to mask his scent. The sun, cold and pale, was setting over the mountains like a scoop of vanilla ice cream melting on its cone. The bitter Alaskan wind tossed flakes of fresh snow about in a raging tempest, clouding the air with stinging drops that clung to anything and everything with their sticky tentacles. Jeff pulled his rifle down from its regal throne on the shelf, cleaning it gently with a soft chamois rag. People often said that this was his best friend, his companion, the love of his life. And perhaps they were right. An old, hardhearted hermit that caught animals for a living couldn’t possibly care for something of flesh and blood. It seemed only right for him to dote on his steel destroyer, an object that existed only to wound and take away life. But there had always been a hole in their relationship—an emptiness that Jeff could not explain or even try to understand. His rifle was a part of him; but a dead thing of metal could not fill the void that existed deep inside his hardened and seldom-used heart. But right now the lynx consumed his thoughts. It would be on the prowl tonight, hungry for an easy meal that took little effort to kill. Jeff buttoned up the collar on his weathered, fur-lined jacket and stepped outside. The snowladen wind slapped his bare face viciously, sending icy tingles down his stiff spine. But nothing could keep him inside tonight. Darkness settled in on the frozen Alaskan wilderness. The local screech owl began to hoot, its glowing green eyes roving the ground for a mouse or two to satisfy his rumbling stomach. Jeff hid himself in the frosty brush in front of the trapline, wetting his finger to make sure the wind wasn’t blowing his lard-covered scent straight down to the traps. The minutes ticked by. A small mink crept silently out of the brush on the opposite side and pressed his nose to the ground. The strong, alluring odor of meat soon led him into the mouth of the third trap, which closed with a SNAP! around his back leg. Jeff fought off the urge to kill the writhing, squealing animal. He knew that the noise would soon lead the lynx straight to him. All he had to do was wait. Time crept by like a weary snail. Each minute seemed an hour, each hour seemed a day. A fine dusting of snow had settled over Jeff’s immobile form, melting into his coat and sending shivers down his back. He clenched his jaw to stop the chattering of his stained teeth and clung ever tighter to his long-barreled shotgun. The mink screamed and twisted against the cruel steel teeth of the trap, but only succeeded in tearing his flesh even more. A crimson trickle of blood pooled under the metal vise, its warm scent reverberating in the cold night. A twig snapped. Jeff cocked his rifle and tucked it into his shoulder, his fingers trembling with excitement. Two green, almond-shaped eyes glittered from behind a spruce tree, cautiously roving the area. Jeff held his breath. There was his enemy, the unmerciful thief. The sleek, cat-like creature stepped into the clearing, her pointed, black-tipped ears twitching nervously. Jeff found a bead, aiming for her snowy breast. The lynx bent her regal head and sniffed the mink, her ivory teeth shimmering in the moonlight.

Of Basketball and the Valley of the Stoops

I spent the first twelve years of my life in Brooklyn, New York, in the area below Park Slope. It was a nice neighborhood, with the brownstone houses lining the streets, dotting the sloping hills. Trees grew abundantly along the sidewalks, in tiny patches of grass in front of each house. It was a happy suburban neighborhood where children laughed and sang, playing basketball in the school playgrounds. Momma (fondly) called it the Valley of the Stoops, because everywhere you went on the wide, slanting streets you would find people lounging on the stoops (our name for the steps in front of a building), people of every age and color; laughing, joking, selling old knick-knacks. Dad (not so fondly) called it the Cage because to him that’s exactly what Brooklyn was. He hated the neighborhood, the houses, he may even have hated us, his family. Dad hated anything that tied him down. Everyone knew everybody else; my family was part of a laughing, caring community in the large Brooklyn neighborhood. *          *          * “Kaila!” Melissa called. “Kaila, they just put the list up.” I screeched to a halt in front of the door to my Spanish class. I had been running; the bell was about to ring. “Really?” I said excitedly. “Did you see it yet?” Melissa, my best friend since kindergarten, shook her head, eyes sparkling in excitement. “No, but Denise saw it.” “Did she make it?” I asked. The three of us had been waiting for the list to be put up ever since we’d tried out for the girls’ basketball team. Melissa shrugged. “I dunno, but she looked angry. I bet she didn’t.” The bell rang. Melissa started to run to the school bulletin board. “I can’t wait all through Spanish to find out,” she told me as we ran. The list was there, with ten names typed on it, showing the names of the new girls’ basketball team. I scanned it and found my name, the sixth on the list. “Yesss!” I cried, pumping my fist in the air. Melissa smiled politely. “Good for you!” she said. Her name wasn’t there. *          *          * The first game was held only a week afterward, but we were a good enough team. We were playing against Bay Ridge Middle School, who had won the last three championships according to Coach. The game started out fine. Sarah, an eighth-grader, scored three points and got a couple of steals. We were ahead by seven points by the end of the first half. In the second half we started to slip. I scored once and put us ahead by nine points in the beginning, but Bay Ridge tightened their defense and managed to cut our lead to two points. Coach called time-out with a minute and sixteen seconds to go. She gave us a pep-talk and switched a few players. I was still in the game. We scored twice more, but Bay Ridge cut the lead to a single point and scored with 8.3 seconds to the end of the game. I took the ball and passed it to Sarah, who shot a long three-pointer. The buzzer sounded as the ball hit the rim and bounced off. Bay Ridge had won. *          *          * Momma sat at the kitchen table, eyes snapping, head bent over the potatoes she was skinning. I stood uncertainly in the doorway, the rain from my umbrella dripping onto the floor. The house was warm and unusually quiet; my younger brother, Louis, was seven and ordinarily made a lot of noise. And Momma had been fighting with Dad an awful lot lately, so the noise level in our house had increased. “Didya win your basketball game?” Momma raised her head and looked at me. I shook my head. “No, they beat us.” “By how much?” “A point.” I put away my umbrella and raincoat, coming to sit next to Momma. I picked up a potato and a knife and started to scrape away the skin. “Momma, where is everyone? It’s so quiet.” Momma looked up sharply. “Louis is up in his room,” she said. The cold November rain pattered in rhythm on the roof and windows. It was late, maybe seven or so in the evening. Dad should have been home an hour ago. I wondered where he was, but I didn’t dare ask Momma. She cleared her throat to fill the silence. “Rain hasn’t let up,” she observed. I nodded, finishing the last potato. I stood uncertainly in the doorway, the rain from my umbrella dripping onto the floor “Need any more help?” I asked Momma. “No, go on upstairs. Do your homework or something.” I went upstairs, but I didn’t go to my room. “Louis?” I said, poking my head into his room. He was sitting on the floor, quietly filling in a worksheet. He looked up at me. “Did Momma stop crying?” I was surprised. “She was crying?” I asked. “Yeah, when Daddy came home. He made her cry. He yelled at her and told me to go to my room and get out of his way.” “Dad came home?” Louis nodded, returning to his worksheet. I went downstairs. “Momma? Louis says Dad came home before. Where is he?” Her head whipped around, eyes flashing. “Kaila, if I knew I would have told you when you came home. I don’t know where your father’s got himself to, but when he comes home . . . !” She sucked in her breath and made a violent gesture with her fist. I gave a small smile, knowing Momma had never and would never hurt a soul in her life, and went to my room. *          *          * My life at home did not improve over the next month or so. In fact, the only high point in my life at all became basketball. Even when Momma and Dad yelled until three in the morning, it made me feel better when I did well in practice