December 2020

Inspired by an unexpected discovery, Rosin decides to create her own newspaper The sun beat down on Rosin Molly Sully. The heat of the farm clouded over the barn like a blanket. Rosin’s Rosin’s uncle, Ronny, had been making hamburgers for the past thirty minutes. As Rosin hungrily got up from her work, she stared down at her red hands, which were covered in her sweat. The sour taste of lemons that she had eaten hours ago swept flavorfully in her mouth. The day was terrible so far. Minthe the dog didn’t want to play, and Rosin’s cousins were busy being mischievous. Rosin walked with her cramped foot and aching back all the way to the small, ramshackle house. She loved exploring the old house. The bricks were dilapidated, and the front porch was covered in soft, green moss. The smell of cigarettes filled Rosin’s nostrils as she crossed over to the front of the house. The hinges creaked as she opened the rusty old door. She went to the corner of the ramshackle house toward the rakes. The heat was making her pretty dizzy. She wanted to get out as soon as possible. But she didn’t. Out of curiosity, she grabbed a small rake that was leaning against the dusty wall and caused a chain reaction. Dust was everywhere as Rosin shook away the amount of rubble that had fallen too. She looked back at where the rakes had been when she saw a door that looked older than the house itself. Spiders crawled through the hole in the door. Ants crawled around the moss that was covering at least half the door. Little crayon drawings partly showed through. Beneath the door, a fallen chain lock looked like it had been there for decades, sinking into the ground. Rosin opened the door, scattering ants and spiders. The lock made a terrible crashing sound as it went across the broken wooden floor. The dark room made it almost impossible to see. Then she saw something she had only ever used once, not even at home. There, behind the hidden door she’d found, was a ragged old pile of paper. Her family was ever so poor, and she hadn’t started school yet, only because there wasn’t enough money to go around. Her heart skipped a beat as she explored deeper through the thick darkness, having difficulty seeing. Suddenly, a small crunch came from under Rosin’s foot. She looked down at the wooden floor and spotted some crumpled scraps of paper. “Probably nothing,” she said in a hoarse voice. “Just a ragged old page.” But still, she cautiously picked it up and unfolded it. A small gasp escaped her mouth. She ran to the stack of paper she had seen earlier and picked it up along with the crumpled pages and brought both to the house, where Uncle Ronny was still cooking. It turned out that Rosin hadn’t only found regular paper. She’d found fifty $100 bills. *          *          * Uncle Ronny served the plates and put two pieces of hamburger bread on everyone’s plate. “Get up, everyone! I set up a bar to choose whatever you want!” Aunt Susan and Rosin’s parents got up, smiling, and poured food onto their plates. Then Jaime and Rossie, Rosin’s cousins, got up. Even Minthe got up to check out the kibble treats that were poured in her bowl next to the wooden cart—the so-called “bar.” Rosin sat, though. She had something on her mind. She touched the money in her pocket and thought of the paper, which she’d hidden in her shoe closet. She thought of the many things that $5,000 could do for her. She could buy her own food and not eat from Uncle Ronny’s bar. She could go to the mall and be part of the popular group in town by going; her life would be so much easier. Then, at that moment, a bright idea came to Rosin’s head: She could go to school! She could be part of a better popular group, or even the best! Even the thought of it made her squeal. “Be quiet, you fool. Go get your food,” said Jaime. “Shut up!” Rosin retorted. Yet she got up and grabbed a plate to get some food from the bar, still thinking of the hundreds of opportunities she had with $5,000. When Uncle Ronny and Aunt Susan left with Jaime and Rossie, Rosin made sure no one was looking, and she got the paper out and went up to her pink bedroom, locking the doors. She set out the paper onto her bed and looked at the amount of paper she had. “What could I do with this?” She thought out loud. She absentmindedly started doodling something she paid no attention to. She reviewed her choices of what to do with twelve stacks of fifty pieces of paper and $5,000. When boredom finally swept over her, she looked down at what her fingers were doing. Her dark-brown hair blew through the wind as Rosin rushed to a box of art supplies she used. She grabbed a black Sharpie and traced over her words in a neat print. She proudly looked up at her new creation: Sully Times Rosin left a note on one of her pages telling her parents she had found money. She only gave them half of it, though. She kept the other half in her unused piggy bank. Then, she organized her day. Morning Routine was the first thing for her to do, and the rest of what she would do was simple: work on Sully Times. A newspaper of her own would be amazing! She could get much more money! Sully Times could include major events in her town. She could add a crossword puzzle, games, ads, sudoku, and everything a child’s newspaper could dream of. Rosin neatly started printing words: This is a newspaper of fun, made by Rosin. Who in the