INTRODUCTION I love the beach. It’s my home, and I’m proud of it. I love to run on the beach and then dive into the sand and feel the warmth soothe my body. I love to feel the waves ripple on my toes. This is my home, Maui, Hawaii. Sure, it’s a big tourist place, but I don’t care. I also love the animals. There’s so many dolphins, whales, birds and fish, nobody could be happier. That’s why I never wanted to leave. * * * CHAPTER ONE THE MIRACLE Whoosh! The waves splashed against my boat. I laughed as my hair flew all around my face. It was one of those nice, hot summer days. There was a strong breeze, so it was perfect weather for sailing. The air smelled like plumeria flowers. I was out in my boat, sailing in the ocean. I glided for a while in the peaceful waves. Suddenly, a grayish, triangle-shaped figure popped up from the waves, right next to my boat. Then another one popped up! And another! Before I knew it, there were seven of them. I slowed down my speed. I knew what those figures were. My favorite animal on earth gracefully leaped into the air. It was a dolphin. This has got to be a dream, I thought, this is too wonderful to be happening to me The dolphin thrashed its tail in the air as it flew over my boat. SPLASH! It dove back into the water. Then, all of the dolphins raised their heads above the water. They chirped, and at that moment, I could feel all of their joy. Trust and happiness rushed through my body, and I could feel it pouring into my heart. Two ropes that were connected to my boat fell into the water. Instantly, two dolphins grabbed onto the ropes. They swam as fast as they could, pulling my boat along with them. We soared through the water. The wind tore at my face. It blew my hair behind my shoulders. I never wanted this moment to end. It was a miracle! I’d never been this close to dolphins before! An hour went by of sailing with the dolphins. I knew that it was time for them to leave when they clapped their flippers. I leaned over the edge of my boat to touch the dolphin’s back. I leaned out too far, so SPLASH! I fell into the ocean. Luckily I was in my bathing suit. Water poured into my eyes. I struggled around, gasping for air and trying to find something to grab onto. I felt something rubbery. Well, it was something, so I grabbed onto it. I wiped off my eyes, and saw that I had grabbed onto one of the dolphin’s dorsal fins. Then another dolphin swam under my open legs. It lifted me up into the air. Now I was actually on a dolphin. I let go of the other dolphin’s fin and grabbed onto the dolphin’s fin that I was sitting on. Then the dolphin suddenly raced forward. I almost fell off of him! The other dolphins swam on either side of me, as if for extra protection. I zoomed through the water. This has got to be a dream, I thought, this is too wonderful to be happening to me. The dolphins that were swimming next to me jumped in the air. After a long time of riding the dolphins (it seemed like just minutes of riding), the dolphins brought me back to my boat. Then they grabbed onto the ropes again and brought me back to shore. It had been the best moment of my life. * * * CHAPTER TWO BAD NEWS “Mom! Dad!” I yelled. I slammed the door behind me. I couldn’t wait to tell my parents about the miracle. My mom walked into the room I was in. “Oh, Mom!” I told her. “You won’t believe what just happened! There were dolphins in the water, and they . . .” “Start packing, Sunny,” she interrupted. “You can tell me your little story later. Right now I want you to start packing.” I was puzzled. “Where are we going?” My mom tried to look sympathetic. “Oh honey. Your father and I thought that you were spending too much time in the ocean. We are going to move to Montana for a year and see how it works. Also, your father got offered a very good job there.” “You’re kidding, right?” I asked. She smiled. “No, I am sorry.” Suddenly I got a very sick feeling in my stomach. I raced to our bathroom and threw up. I sank down and sat on the toilet. How could they do this to me? Tear me apart from my life? I was just about to go into sixth grade. My best friend Lydia would need me! They weren’t my real parents anyway. They adopted me. If only my real parents were alive, they wouldn’t wreck my life. Mom walked into the bathroom. She smiled like everything was normal. I glared at her. I got up to leave and stormed out of the room. * * * Up in my room I turned on the radio. They talked about some hurricane coming this way. Oh, well. It was probably just another fake call. Last week they had my “parents” scared because of a false alarm. I pulled out a suitcase and my backpack. I started packing. I wasn’t packing to go to Montana though. I was running away. * * * CHAPTER THREE LEAVING Today was the day. I was running away. I woke up and acted normal. I ate an extremely big breakfast. Then when my parents were packing in their room, I raced out of the house. My suitcase was luckily lightweight and easy to carry, while my backpack was heavier. I walked down to our dock and got into my boat. I put on a life vest. I checked my pocket to
May/June 2000
A Girl with Red Hair Is Nice to Know!
One day at school Sister Rachel, our teacher, asked for a volunteer to read out loud. A girl named Cindy raised her hand. Cindy was a shy, quiet girl who always sat on her hands. She had short reddish hair and a twitch in her eye when she was nervous, which was most of the time. I knew Cindy was proud of herself for raising her hand. Sister Rachel looked at Cindy with her eyes wide and bulgy. Cindy started to read the paragraph. When she came to the last sentence on the page she read, “A girl with red hair is nice.” Cindy was unaware that the words “to know” were on the next page, finishing the sentence. Sister Rachel said, “Yes . . . a girl with red hair is nice . . . what!” Cindy repeated, “A girl with red hair is nice.” I took a deep breath and lunged across the aisle Sister Rachel let out a big disgusted sigh. Cindy knew she was in big trouble! Now she was sweating like a sprinkler. She looked at me from across the aisle. I whispered, “To know.” She stared at me with a puzzled face. She looked at the girl on the other side of the aisle. That girl said softly, “To know.” Cindy looked back over at me, now in a panic. Her eye was twitching like a rabbit’s nose. Sister Rachel was walking slowly down the aisle. She was breathing fire, and smoke was coming out of her ears!!! She was ready to blow! Cindy’s salvation was only a page away. I took a deep breath and lunged across the aisle. In an instant I turned the page under Cindy’s nervous nose. The light bulb finally went on in her head! Cindy yelled, “To know. A girl with red hair is nice to know!!!” The bell rang and we all filed out of class. Cindy and I looked at each other and broke into laughter. For a moment we were the world’s best friends. She and I were very different people, but from then on we looked at each other with new eyes. A girl with “reddish” hair was nice to know. Annika Thomas, 11Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Kate Engel, 13Ojai, California
Irina Cleans Her Room
Irina sat gingerly on the fluffy gray computer chair. She loved to e-mail her best friend, Maxine, and play trivia games. “Meow!” Irina looked down. Her white kitty jumped aboard the computer table. Irina laughed. “Wanna play too, Annie?” Annie nuzzled the computer. “Irina! Check the chore chart, young lady!” Irina rose from the chair. She walked to the chore chart. Her name was listed, for cleaning her closet, at seven AM. It was nine Am. “Mom, I was on the compu- . . .” Mom cut her off. “Chores come before fun and games, Irina. Now, shut off the Oscar and clean your closet.” Irina glanced at the Oscar. The game list was on. Just then, Annie slipped, and pressed the mouse. A trivia game of the show “Perfect Angel” appeared on the screen. “Mom, it’s just a few lousy shirts, skirts, and pants! Besides, a trivia game is on for “Perfect Angel!” She arranged her headbands by brand names: satiny to cloth, vinyl to plastic Mom looked frustrated. “Irina Jess Lashoka! Turn off that darn Oscar, or I will do it myself!” Irina didn’t budge, so Mom, filled with rage, went to the Oscar and shut it off. Irina stormed upstairs. She could smell turkey roasting, and biscuits. She went to her closet and sighed heavily. “Stupid closet,” she muttered. She took a shirt and flung it on the bed. “Hey!” Irina cried. My old paddleball! I lost it about a year ago!” She dug around and found her old sweater, toy boxcar, stapler, and colored paper clip box. She straightened her clothes and picked up her paddleball. “Irina! The Oscar’s free!” Irina glanced at her messy dress drawer, then thought about the computer. Drawer. Oscar. Drawer. Oscar. She went to her dress drawer and straightened them. She looked in her scrunchy drawer. “That looks messy,” Irina said aloud. “So does that headband rack. And my beanie babies!” She arranged all her scrunchies by color: dark to bright. She arranged her headbands by brand names: satiny to cloth, vinyl to plastic. She arranged her beanie babies by animal, by alphabetical order. She looked at her room, which was sparkling clean. She went downstairs, and Mom checked her room. “See, honey? When your room is so clean like this, it’s enjoyable.” Irina smiled as she sat by the computer. She smiled again. The trivia game for “Perfect Angel” was still on. Susan Decker, 9Eau Claire, Wisconsin Hannah Richman, 12Kittanning, Pennsylvania
